THE SEARCH FOR A JUST SOCIETY
JOHN HUDDLESTON
GEORGE RONALD 1989
PART III
Chapter 3: Zoroastrianism and the Persian Empire
For over a thousand years one of the world’s most influential religions was Zoroastrianism, the second of the monotheistic and ethical faiths. When exactly Zoroaster lived is a matter of dispute: some argue for the 7th century BC and some for a much earlier date around 1500 BC. Zoroastrians themselves claim the earlier of the two dates, which would make their faith slightly older than the religion of Moses, though later than that of Abraham. But even if the latter claim is true, Zoroastrianism does not seem to have had a significant impact in the world until nearly half a millennium after David and Solomon.
Zoroaster’s teachings are recorded in the Gathas, the oldest section of the Avesta, the holy book of Zoroastrianism. They revolve around the concepts of one God and a spiritual life after death. His main concern was the establishment of peace, order and justice. Life is a struggle between the force of good and evil. All men are responsible for their own actions throughout their lives and deathbed conversions will not change the record when accounting to God. No distinction is made between the souls of men and women, and consequently in the Zoroastrian Faith women have been treated more equitably than in most other cultures. He puts great emphasis on truthfulness (in the language of Zoroaster, the same word is used for a lie and for evil); honesty and reliability are essential in a just society; and greed and anger are equally deplored. Cleanliness is also given a high priority; the teachings including the particular injunction to keep the home free of dirt and decayed matter, which represent the evil force of death (disease) against the good force of life. He advocated moderation in all things, and condemned both asceticism and selfish concern for the material things of life. Great emphasis is placed on educational work.
- It is incumbent on all men to be concerned with the well-being of others and to be generous in their actions.
- These teachings can be summarized as three broad principles: good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.
- The new faith first became of significance in world history when the Persians under Cyrus the Great and the Seleucid dynasty established their empire after defeating all the great states of the region.
- The new empire was by far the largest ever established up to that time in any part of the world, and included modern-day Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey as well as ancient Thrace, Palestine and lower Egypt.
- The Persian monarchs indeed had justification for claiming the title ‘King of Kings’, ruler of a world state.
- With its capital in Persepolis, the Persian Empire was divided into 20 provinces, each with its own governor.
- It was united by a network of roads which made for rapid communication and central control.
- The Empire was noted for its tolerance of the cultures of its component nations, a policy which has been described as being without parallel in the Near East.
- The civilization of the Persian Empire has been admired for its beauty and gentleness: the love of flowers, gardens and poetry – a tradition which continues in Persian culture to the present day despite the onslaught of narrow-minded fanatics.
- The empire brought peace for a period of some 200 years to a huge region which at the time was in many ways the most advanced part of the world.
- Following the victories of Alexander the Great in the last third of the 4th century BC the Persians and cousin nations were temporarily eclipsed.
- They re-emerged less than 100 years later with the establishment of Parthia, a new and powerful state which was to become the strongest opponent of the Roman Empire.
- During this period Zoroastrianism had a significant influence on both the Greeks and the Jews, and it is credited with having more adherents at the time of Jesus than any other religion in the Middle East.
- The religion was also linked with Christianity through the legend of the three wise men, the Magi, who were of the Zoroastrian Faith.
- Parthia was subsumed into a revived Persian Empire from AD 225 to 651, continuing the tradition of tolerance towards other religions: Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism. Zoroastrianism became the formal state religion of Persia.
- The decline in the spiritual power of Zoroastrianism was greatly augmented by the Arab followers of Muhammad and the conversion of most Persians to the new religion.
- There are today only 250,000 or so Zoroastrians left. Most are in Bombay where they are known as Parsis, descendants of those who fled persecution in Iran; this is also a smaller group in central Iran and communities scattered across North America.
- They are known for their higher than normal standards of education, their honesty, cleanliness, the absence of begging, high sexual morality and their charity and care of the poor.
- The spiritual qualities of the present-day community are an example to the rest of the world, a reminder of the religion’s once-great spiritual power and its contributions to the advancement of civilization.
- Perhaps the most important aspect of its teachings today is the expectation of the coming of a new Prophet (the Shah Bahram) who will found a true universal religion which will unite all mankind.