The history of the Zoroastrian people is closely tied to the development and spread of the ancient Iranian religion known as Zoroastrianism, founded by the prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) in the 6th or 7th century BCE. Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest known religions and has had a significant impact on the cultural and religious development of ancient Persia (modern-day Iran) and other regions.
The origins of Zoroastrianism are believed to date back to the ancient Indo-Iranian period. Zoroaster, considered the religion’s founder, preached monotheism, emphasizing the worship of Ahura Mazda as the supreme deity. Zoroastrianism introduced several key concepts that were revolutionary for its time, including the belief in a cosmic struggle between good and evil, the importance of individual moral responsibility, and the existence of an afterlife.
Zoroastrianism gained prominence in the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BCE) under the rule of Cyrus the Great, who practiced religious tolerance and allowed Zoroastrianism to flourish alongside other faiths. The religion continued to thrive during the subsequent Parthian and Sassanian dynasties, becoming the dominant faith of Persia.
However, the rise of Islam in the 7th century CE marked a turning point for Zoroastrianism. Arab Muslim conquests led to the gradual decline of Zoroastrianism in Iran, with many Zoroastrians facing persecution and forced conversions. Over the centuries, the Zoroastrian population in Iran significantly decreased, although a small community persisted and continues to practice the religion to this day.
Many Zoroastrians sought refuge outside of Iran, with significant communities forming in India, particularly in the region now known as Gujarat. These Zoroastrians, known as Parsis, established thriving communities and played a significant role in the economic and cultural development of India.
Today, Zoroastrianism is practiced by a relatively small number of people worldwide, with the majority residing in India and Iran. Zoroastrians have made significant contributions to various fields, including philosophy, literature, and architecture, and continue to preserve their unique traditions and rituals, such as the veneration of fire and the exposure of the dead to scavenging birds in specially constructed towers called “Towers of Silence.”
Overall, the history of the Zoroastrian people is characterized by the rise and spread of Zoroastrianism, its influence on ancient Persia, its decline in the face of Islamic conquests, and the establishment of thriving Zoroastrian communities in India and elsewhere.
The Origins of Zoroastrianism: Tracing the Roots of an Ancient Faith
Iran’s oldest still-practicing religion is Zoroastrianism. It was discovered in the middle of the second millennium BCE. Through conversions, the religion spread throughout the Iranian region before becoming the official religion of the Achaemenian Empire. In the sixth century BCE, this took place. Small communities, mostly in modern-day Iran and India, still practice the religion today. In India, Zoroastrians are known as Parsis.
The prophet Zoroaster, also known as Zarathushtra, is credited with founding the Zoroastrian faith, which bears his name. It is believed that Zoroaster discovered this religion in the middle of the second millennium BCE. It is said that Zoroastrianism is a religion today whose adherents worship one God. Ahura Mazda, which means “the good divine,” is the name of the god. Alongside him are other holy beings, including individual deities and natural phenomena. A manifestation of evil that seeks to create chaos and ruin stands in opposition. In Avestan and Middle Persian, this evil manifests as Angra Mainyu and Ahreman, respectively.
The Golden Age of Zoroastrianism: Parthian and Sassanian Dynasties
The Sassanid dynasty (224-651 AD) established Zoroastrianism as the official religion and encouraged its resurgence. The Sassanids had misgivings about Roman Christianity because of its ties to the Christian Roman Empire, which had been Persia’s main foe since Parthian times. After Constantine the Great’s rule, they occasionally persecuted it. In the Battle of Avarayr (451 CE), the Sassanid rulers engaged in combat with their Armenian subjects, causing them to formally secede from the Roman Church. But the Nestorian Church of Persia’s Christianity was tolerated or even supported at times by the Sassanids. The Zoroastrian religion gradually declined as Christianity gained ground in Georgia (Caucasian Iberia), yet as late as the 5th century AD, it was still widely practiced as something akin to a second established religion.
The Islamic Conquests: Challenges and Decline of Zoroastrianism in Iran
The Sasanian Empire ended in 651 as a result of the Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, and the Zoroastrian faith eventually declined in Iran. In 633, when commander Khalid ibn Walid invaded Mesopotamia, the Sassanid state’s political and economic hub (today’s Iraq),
Arabs launched their first assault on Sassanid territory. The Muslims eventually lost their strongholds to Persian counterattacks after Khalid was sent to the Roman battle in the Levant. The second invasion started in 636 under Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, when the Sasanian Empire’s rule west of Iran was finally permanently ended thanks to a crucial victory in the Battle of Qadisiyyah. The Zagros mountains then served as a natural boundary.
Iranian historians have used Arab sources to show that, “contrary to the assertions of some historians, Persians, in fact, battled long and hard against the invading Arabs,” in an effort to defend their forefathers.
By 651, the Arab troops had taken control of the majority of Iranian cities, with the significant exception of Transoxiana and the Caspian regions. Although many Iranian towns and cities put up defenses to fend off the invaders, none were ultimately successful. Many cities rose up in rebellion even after the Arabs had conquered the nation, killing the Arab governor or attacking their garrisons, but reinforcements from the caliphs were able to put an end to all of these uprisings and impose Islam as the dominant religion. the brutal oppression
The Zoroastrians lost their vibrant community under the Shiite Safavid monarchy. Officially, the Safavids wanted everyone to convert to the Shia branch of Islam, and when they refused, they slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Zoroastrians and other minorities.
Zoroastrian Diaspora: The Journey of Zoroastrians to India
Throughout the Islamic era, successive waves of Zoroastrians immigrated to India. The initial exodus after the conquest was described as a result of Muslim invaders’ religious persecution.
According to the story, when the Zoroastrians suffered at their hands, they fled, first to northern Iran, then to the island of Hormuz, and lastly to India, in order to defend themselves and preserve their religion. This widely recognized account of migration places an emphasis on the persecution of Muslims and labels Parsis as religious refugees. Recently, academics have questioned this origin story’s claim of Iranian descent. There aren’t many sources available that discuss the migration. Only two sources—Qissa-i Sanjan, written in 1599 by a Parsi priest, and Qissah-ye Zartushtian-e Hindustan, published more than 200 years later—can be used by historians.
Given that Zoroastrians were already present in India during the Sasanian era, this situation is complicated. According to mythology, a small band of Zoroastrians concluded that Iran was no longer a secure place for them and their faith at the beginning of the 10th century while residing near Nyshapour and Fort of Sanjan in the province of (larger) Khorasan. Sanjan (Gujarat), which is supposed to have been named after the city of their origin, was established by the refugees after they accepted the terms.
Before the periods estimated for the entrance of Parsis according to Qissa-i Sanjan, it is known that Iranian Zoroastrians traded with India for centuries. When discussing the archaeological evidence for “The Landing of Zoroastrians at Sanjan,” Ruksana Nanji and Homi Dhalla come to the conclusion that the early- to mid-eighth century is the most likely time for migration.
The tale of how Zoroastrians got permission to land on Gujarat’s coasts is nevertheless crucial to the group’s sense of self, despite being historically unsupported. The story goes that the Rajah of Sanjan called them and questioned them about how they wouldn’t burden or endanger the local indigenous inhabitants. When they asked to practice their faith and work the land, he responded by showing them a jug full of milk and pronouncing Sanjan as though it were full. In one instance, a Dastur placed a coin to the milk, claiming that although no one could see the coin, it would still enrich the milk.
With the exception of two instances of conflict in the Qissa, Parsi lore depicts a seamless absorption of their first Hindu and subsequently their second Muslim neighbors into local culture. The highest concentration of Zoroastrians in the world is today found in western India, where the community still thrives. “Parsi traditions about the migration of their forefathers to India portray a beleaguered band of religious refugees fleeing the oppressive authority of fanatical conquerors in order to maintain their old faith.” The early years of Zoroastrian settlers on the Indian subcontinent are described in the epic poem Qissa-i-Sanjan (Story of Sanjan). The depth of the oppression that the Parsis’ ancestors in Iran had to face has only just come to light.
A sizable Zoroastrian population, known as Parsis today and descended from Iranian immigrants, is thought to reside in India. The Parsi population in India was counted at 69,601 in the year 2001, or roughly 0.006% of the country’s overall population, with a concentration in and around Mumbai.
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