The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Religion Book 68)

This is the first ever comprehensive English-language survey of Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest living religions Evenly divided into five thematic sections beginning with an introduction to Zoroaster/Zarathustra and concluding with the intersections of Zoroastrianism and other religions Reflects the global nature of Zoroastrian studies with contributions from 34 international authorities from 10 countries Presents Zoroastrianism as a cluster of dynamic historical and contextualized phenomena, reflecting the current trend to move away from textual essentialism in the study of religion Title Page 5 Copyright Page 6 Contents 7 Notes on Contributors 11 Acknowledgments 13 Aims and Scope 15 A Note on Transcriptions 21 Abbreviations 25 Introduction: Scholarship on Zoroastrianism 31 A Disintegrated Academic Landscape 32 Attempts at Mapping Main Approaches 34 Some Main Figures in the History of Zoroastrian Studies 36 Contributions of Zoroastrian and Iranian Scholars 43 The Impact of the Study of Zoroastrianism on Modern Zoroastrianism 45 Emerging Trends in Recent Scholarship 47 Part I Zarathustra Revisited 49 Chapter 1 Zarathustra’s Time and Homeland: Geographical Perspectives 51 Zarathustra’s Time and Homeland: Approximations and Dead Ends 51 The Location of the Legendary Zarathustra 52 The Geographical Horizon of the Young Avesta 54 Further Reading 59 Chapter 2 Zarathustra’s Time and Homeland: Linguistic Perspectives 61 External Evidence for the Avesta 62 Linguistic and Literary Relationship between the Older and Younger Avesta 64 The Provenance of the Avesta 66 Conclusion 68 Further Reading 68 Chapter 3 Interpretations of Zarathustra and the Gāthās 69 Chapter 3aThe Gāthās 69 Chapter 3b The Gāthās, Said to Be of Zarathustra 74 The Gāthās within the Avesta 75 The “Edition” of the Old Avesta 75 The Young Avestan Exegesis of the Old Avesta 76 Zarathustra 77 Unity and Homogeneity of the Gāthās 78 The Doctrine of the Gāthās 79 The Sole Source of Zoroastrianism? 80 Concluding Remark 80 Chapter 3c Dimensions of the Gāthās as Poetry 81 Further Reading 87 Chapter 3d The Gāthās as Myth and Ritual 89 Summary 89 Background 89 The Historical Zarathustra in Western Scholarship 90 My Approach 91 The Gāthās as the Story of Zarathustra 93 The Gathic Ritual Myth 94 Chapter 4 Zarathustra: Post-Gathic Trajectories 99 Zarathustra as Author and Source 99 Zarathustra as Hero, Recipient of Revelation, and Prophet 103 Narratives and Identifications 106 Visual Representations 107 Conclusion 110 Further Reading 111 Part II Periods, Regions, and Contexts 113 Chapter 5 Religion and Politics in Pre-Islamic Iran 115 Zoroastrianism before the Iranian Empires 117 The Achaemenid Empire 119 The Origin of Achaemenid Court Rituals 120 The Zoroastrian Calendar 121 The Judgment of the Soul 122 The Zoroastrian Story of Creation and the End of Time 123 Alexander and the Seleucids 123 The Parthian (Arsacid) Empire 124 The Rise of the Sasanians 126 Further Reading 131 Chapter 6 Zoroastrianism under Islamic Rule 133 Historical Periodization 134 Conquest and Settlement of the Arab Muslim Conquerors (7th CE) 135 The Age of Conversion and “Heterodox” Movements 137 The Zoroastrian Dark Ages (11th–16th Centuries CE) 142 Zoroastrians under a Shı̄’ı̄ Gunpowder Empire (16th–18th Centuries CE) 145 Further Reading 148 Chapter 7 Armenian and Georgian Zoroastrianism 149 Armenia and Georgia: Geography and History 150 Languages and Sources 152 The Religion of Pre-Christian Armenia 153 The Religion of Pre-Christian Georgia 155 The Parthian Commonwealth 156 Further Reading 157 Chapter 8 Zoroastrianism in Central Asia 159 Sources 159 Calendars 160 The Kushan Pantheon 161 The Sogdian Pantheon 163 Temples 169 The Clergy and Its Literary Productions 171 Marriage Customs 172 Funerary Practices 172 After the Muslim Conquest 174 Conclusion: Central Asian Zoroastrianism in Perspective 175 Further Reading 176 Chapter 9 Zoroastrianism in the Far East 177 The History of Zoroastrian Studies in the Far East 177 Main Periods 178 The Advance of Zoroastrianism into the Far East (the 4th–9th Centuries) 179 The Formation of “Sinicized” Zoroastrianism (the 10th–20th Centuries) 182 The Parsis in the Far East (the 18th–21st Centuries) 183 Conclusion: Studies on Zoroastrianism in the Far East 185 Acknowledgments 185 Appendix: Chronological Table of Zoroastrianism in the Far East 185 Further Reading 186 Chapter 10 The Parsis 187 The Early Days 187 Colonial India 190 Parsis in Independent India 200 Final Remarks 202 Further Reading 202 Chapter 11 Zoroastrians in Modern Iran 203 The Amelioration Society, the Struggle against Discrimination and New Agencies 204 Constitutional Changes 206 Under the Pahlavı̄s 207 Nationalism: Ideological Reappraisal and Civic Zoroastrianism 209 Religious Boundaries and Modernization 212 The Islamic Republic 214 Some Conclusions and Prospects 219 Further Reading 220 Chapter 12 The Zoroastrian Diaspora 221 Zoroastrians in China 221 Zoroastrians in East Africa 223 Parsis in Pakistan 225 Zoroastrians in Britain 227 Zoroastrians in North America 230 Zoroastrians in Australia 233 Final Remarks 235 Further Reading 235 Appendix: Chronological table 236 Part III Structures, Discourses, and Dimensions 239 Chapter 13 Theologies and Hermeneutics 241 “Religion” and the “Sacred Word” 243 Good and Evil, Truth and Falsehood 244 The Nature, Will, and Desire of God 246 The Nature of the Evil Spirit and the Demons 248 The Divine Plan, Predestination, and Time 250 Human Behavior, Religious Wisdom, and Life Practices 252 “The Problem of Evil” and Defenses of Dualism 254 Textual Taxonomies: The Ahunwar, the Twenty-One Nasks, and the Dēn 256 Sacred Wisdom, Priestly Authority, and the Teaching of Religious Knowledge 258 Religion and Polemics: Disciplining Selves and Critiquing Others 261 Conclusions 263 Acknowledgment 264 Further Reading 264 Chapter 14 Cosmologies and Astrology 265 The Cosmic Fight and the Double Dimension of Existence and of Creation 266 Unlimited and Limited Time 268 The Organization of the World and the Place of the Iranians in the Mazdean Cosmography 271 Early Iranian Astral Cosmology and Mythology 275 The Avestan Heaven and the Astral Bodies 276 The Myth of Tištriia and the Astral Battle against the Falling Stars 277 Later Mazdean Cosmology and Astrology 279 The Planets, Their Names, and Their Demonization 283 Other Doctrines 285 Final Remarks 286 Further Reading 287 Chapter 15 Myths, Legends, Eschatologies 289 The Beginnings 291 Zoroaster’s Life 294 The End 299 Conclusion 301 Further Reading 302 Chapter 16 Gender 303 A Gendered Concept of the Divine? 303 “Priesthood of Believers” 307 Purity, Pollution, and Sexuality 310 Religio-Social Experience 312 Final Remarks 316 Further Reading 317 Chapter 17 Law in Pre-Modern Zoroastrianism 319 Reconstructing Zoroastrian Law 319 Law and Religion 320 Law of Persons and Animals 321 Family Law, Marriage, and Succession 322 Law of Property and Obligations 323 Criminal Law 325 Legal Proceedings 326 Zoroastrian Law after the Muslim Conquest 326 Final Remarks 327 Further Reading 327 Chapter 18 Law and Modern Zoroastrians 329 Reinventing Zoroastrian Law 329 Inheritance 329 Marriage 331 Religious Trusts 333 Beyond India 335 Final Remarks 337 Abbreviations 338 Further Reading 338 Cases 338 Statutes, Constitutions, and Related Papers 341 Part IV Practices and Sites 343 Chapter 19 Ethics 345 The Ritual or “Narrow” Morality 346 Morality in a General Sense 351 Final Remarks 360 Further Reading 362 Chapter 20 Prayer 363 Introduction 363 Prayer Texts in Avestan 365 Prayers in Languages Other than Avestan 370 Prayer in Modern Zoroastrianism 372 Conclusion 373 Further Reading 374 Chapter 21 Purity and Pollution / The Body 375 The Source of Impurity and the Effects of Pollution 379 Analysis 383 The Removal of Pollution 385 Conclusion 390 Further Reading 391 Chapter 22 Rituals 393 Terminology 393 Reform and Change 394 Animal Sacrifice 395 The Art of Words 396 Priesthood and Laity 396 The Ritualization of Daily Life 399 Priestly Liturgies 401 Initiations and Weddings 403 Initiation into the Priesthood 404 Funerals and Post-Funerary Services 405 Further Reading 407 Chapter 23 Festivals and the Calendar 409 The Earliest Zoroastrian Festivals 409 Zoroastrian Festivals in Sasanian and Early Islamic Iran 411 Festivals in the Modern Period 415 Final Remarks 420 Further Reading 421 Chapter 24 Religious Sites and Physical Structures 423 Ancient Holy Structures 423 Institutions of Late Antiquity 426 Medieval and Pre-Modern Places of Piety 429 Modern Communities and Their Religious Sites 431 Further Reading 436 Part V Intersections 437 Chapter 25 Early India and Iran 439 The Indo-European and Indo-Iranian Heritage of Avestan 439 Linguistic Similarities between Avestan and Old Indic 439 The Old Indic and Avestan Literature 440 Time and Place of the Indo-Iranians 441 The Old Indic and Avestan Poets and Their Poetry 441 Shared Myths: Cosmology 442 Dragon-Killers and Other Myths 443 Mythical Geography 443 Poetic Formulas 444 Gods and Demons 445 Ahura Mazdā 446 Mitra/Miθra 447 Vāyu/Vaiiu 447 Apām Napāt/Apąm Napāt̰ 447 Bhága/Baga (Baγa) 448 Aryamán/Airiiaman 448 Evil Deities 448 Ritual 449 Soma/Haoma 450 Conclusion 450 Further Reading 451 Chapter 26 Judaism 453 Early Encounters: The Achaemenid Conquest of the Near East 453 Intersections with Zoroastrianism in Second Temple Times 455 Intersections during Late Antiquity: The Talmud and Zoroastrianism 456 After the Conquest: Medieval Intersections between Jews and Zoroastrians 464 Conclusion 465 Further Reading 465 Chapter 27 The Classical World 467 Early Greek Cosmologists: 540–450 BCE 467 Greek Historians of the East: 450–370 BCE 470 Plato and the Academy: 370–300 BCE 472 The Hellenistic Period: 300–30 BCE 474 The Roman and Early Byzantine Periods: 30 bce–600 CE 476 Final Remarks 479 Further Reading 480 Chapter 28 From Miθra to Roman Mithras 481 Chapter 29 Christianity 487 The Wise Men from the East 487 Zoroastrian Elements in Early Christianity 488 Zoroaster and Iranian Religion in the Church Fathers and Gnostic Literature 490 Christians in Arsacid and Sasanian Iran 494 Persecutions of Christians in Sasanian Iran 499 Zoroastrian Polemics against Christianity 502 Early Islamic Times 504 Further Reading 505 Chapter 30 Manichaeism in Iran 507 Manichaeans in Sasanian Iran 507 Zoroastrian Topics and Elements in Manichaeism 510 The Manichaean “Worldview” in Zoroastrianism and in Later Iranian Traditions 514 Pahlavi Texts against Manichaeans and Anti-Zoroastrica Written by Manichaeans 515 Conclusion 518 Further Reading 519 Chapter 31 Islam 521 The Attitudes toward Zoroastrianism in Early Islam 521 Descriptions of Zoroastrianism in Muslim Literature 522 Iranian Influence in Early Arabic Literature 523 The Iranian Festivals: Nowrūz and Mehragān 524 Zoroastrian Polemics against Islam 525 Secular Themes in Islam Derived from Iran 526 Middle Persian Books Translated into Arabic 528 Further Reading 528 Chapter 32 The Yezidi and Yarsan Traditions 529 Further Reading 534 Chapter 33 The Bahā’ı̄ Faith 535 Early Interactions with Zoroastrian Leaders 536 The Zoroastrian Conversions 536 Factors in the Conversion of Zoroastrians 537 Separation, Integration, and Intermarriage 540 The Zoroastrian Converts in Later Years 543 Conclusion 544 Further Reading 544 Part VI Primary Sources 547 Chapter 34 Primary Sources: Avestan and Pahlavi 549 Avestan 549 Middle Persian 553 Scholarly Resources 558 Chapter 35 Primary Sources: New Persian 559 The Zoroastrian Dialects of Yazd and Kermān 560 Texts Written in Middle Persian Language in Persian Script (Pārsı̄) 560 Narratives of the Lives of Religious Figures 560 The Ṣaddars 562 Religious Miscellanies 563 The Persian Revāyats 563 Scientific and Astrological Texts 564 Zoroastrian–Muslim Apologetic Texts 565 Stories of Migration to India 566 Didactic and Ethical Works 567 Devotional Works 568 Āẕar Kayvān 568 The 18th and 19th Centuries 570 Persian Printing in the 19th Century 571 20th-Century Zoroastrian Persian Texts 571 Community Magazines 572 Chapter 36 Primary Sources: Gujarati 573 Old Parsi Gujarati Translation Texts 574 The Archive of the Navsari Bhagarsath Anjuman 575 The Classical Compositions of Ervad Rustam Peśotan Hamjiār 575 The 18th- and Early 19th-Century Compositions 575 The Calendar Controversy and the Beginning of Print Literacy 576 The Missionary Controversy 577 Zoroastrian Reform and Iranian Philology 578 Theosophy and Ilm-e Kṣnum (Khshnoom) 579 Travelogues 580 Sources on Zoroastrian Ritual 580 Parsi History and Genealogy 581 Translations of Avestan and Pahlavi Texts 581 Novels, Poetry, Songs, and Drama 582 Library Abbreviation 584 Bibliography 585 Index of People, Places, and Topics 659 Index Locorum 685 EULA 699 Notes on Contributors ix Acknowledgments xi Aims and Scope xiii A Note on Transcriptions xix Abbreviations xxiii Introduction: Scholarship on Zoroastrianism 1 Michael Stausberg and Yuhan Sohrab Dinshaw Vevaina Part I Zarathustra Revisited 19 1 Zarathustra s Time and Homeland: Geographical Perspectives 21 Frantz Grenet 2 Zarathustra s Time and Homeland: Linguistic Perspectives 31 Almut Hintze 3 Interpretations of Zarathustra and the Gat ha s 39 a The Gat has 39 Helmut Humbach b The Ga tha s, Said to Be of Zarathustra 44 Jean Kellens c Dimensions of the Ga tha s as Poetry 51 Martin Schwartz d The Ga tha s as Myth and Ritual 59 Prods Oktor Skjaervo 4 Zarathustra: Post-Gathic Trajectories 69 Michael Stausberg Part II Periods, Regions, and Contexts 83 5 Religion and Politics in Pre Islamic Iran 85 Albert de Jong 6 Zoroastrianism under Islamic Rule 103 Touraj Daryaee 7 Armenian and Georgian Zoroastrianism 119 Albert de Jong 8 Zoroastrianism in Central Asia 129 Frantz Grenet 9 Zoroastrianism in the Far East 147 Takeshi Aoki 10 The Parsis 157 John R. Hinnells 11 Zoroastrians in Modern Iran 173 Michael Stausberg 12 The Zoroastrian Diaspora 191 John R. Hinnells Part III Structures, Discourses, and Dimensions 209 13 Theologies and Hermeneutics 211 Yuhan Sohrab Dinshaw Vevaina 14 Cosmologies and Astrology 235 Antonio Panaino 15 Myths, Legends, Eschatologies 259 Carlo G. Cereti 16 Gender 273 Jenny Rose 17 Law in Pre Modern Zoroastrianism 289 Maria Macuch 18 Law and Modern Zoroastrians 299 Mitra Sharafi Part IV Practices and Sites 313 19 Ethics 315 Alberto Cantera 20 Prayer 333 Firoze M. Kotwal and Philip G. Kreyenbroek 21 Purity and Pollution / The Body 345 Alan V. Williams 22 Rituals 363 Michael Stausberg and Ramiyar P. Karanjia 23 Festivals and the Calendar 379 Jenny Rose 24 Religious Sites and Physical Structures 393 Jamsheed K. Choksy Part V Intersections 407 25 Early India and Iran 409 Prods Oktor Skjaervo 26 Judaism 423 Yaakov Elman and Shai Secunda 27 The Classical World 437 Martin L. West 28 From Mi ra to Roman Mithras 451 Richard L. Gordon 29 Christianity 457 Marco Frenschkowski 30 Manichaeism in Iran 477 Manfred Hutter 31 Islam 491 Shaul Shaked 32 The Yezidi and Yarsan Traditions 499 Philip G. Kreyenbroek 33 The Baha Faith 505 Moojan Momen Part VI Primary Sources 517 34 Primary Sources: Avestan and Pahlavi 519 Miguel Angel Andres Toledo 35 Primary Sources: New Persian 529 Daniel J. Sheffield 36 Primary Sources: Gujarati 543 Daniel J. Sheffield Bibliography 555 Index of People, Places, and Topics 629 Index Locorum 655 Presents the comprehensive English-language survey of Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest living religions. This book presents Zoroastrianism as a cluster of dynamic historical and contextualized phenomena, reflecting the current trend to move away from textual essentialism in the study of religion. This is the first ever comprehensive English-language survey of Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest living religions. Evenly divided into five thematic sections beginning with an introduction to Zoroaster/Zarathustra and concluding with the intersections of Zoroastrianism and other religions The book reflects the global nature of Zoroastrian studies with contributions from 34 international authorities from 10 countries and presents Zoroastrianism as a cluster of dynamic historical and contextualized phenomena, reflecting the current trend to move away from textual essentialism in the study of religion