What race are Zoroastrians?

They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conquests) in order to preserve their Zoroastrian identity.


What nationality is Zoroastrianism?

Zoroastrianism was founded in Persia (now Iran), but Zoroastrians have been the subject of persecution under Islamic regimes. Zoroastrianism flourishes more freely in India, where a number of Persian followers immigrated in the 10th century. They are known as Parsis.

Are Zoroastrians Aryans?

The Indo-Iranian group whose members composed the Zoroastrian scriptures, the Avesta, and the Hindu scriptures such as the Vedas, called themselves Aryans (Airya/Airyan in the Avesta and Arya/Aryan in the Vedas). The Zoroastrian and Hindu scriptures are the only known ancient texts that contain references to Aryans.


Are Zoroastrians and Muslims same?

Second, Islam preached brotherhood and, at least in its early period, disapproved of social discrimination, whereas Zoroastrianism, particularly during the Sassanid period, differentiated its community into four groups (very much like the four varnas or castes in Hinduism).

Are Parsis Persian?

The Parsis, whose name means “Persians,” are descended from Persian Zoroastrians who emigrated to India to avoid religious persecution by Muslims. They live chiefly in Mumbai and in a few towns and villages mostly to the north of Mumbai, but also at Karachi (Pakistan) and Bengaluru (Karnataka, India).


What Is Zoroastrianism?



Are Parsis and Iranis the same?

Distinction from Parsis

The Parsis and Iranis are considered legally distinct. A 1909 obiter dictum relating to the Indian Zoroastrians observed that Iranis (of the now defunct Bombay Presidency) were not obliged to uphold the decisions of the then regulatory Parsi Panchayat.

Why did Zoroastrianism decline?

Gradually, an increasing number of laws were passed by the Rashidun Caliphate which regulated Zoroastrian behaviour and limited their ability to participate in society. Over time, the persecution of Zoroastrians by Muslims became increasingly common and widespread, and the religion consequently began to decline.

What do Zoroastrians call God?

According to Zoroastrian tradition, Zoroaster had a divine vision of a supreme being while partaking in a pagan purification rite at age 30. Zoroaster began teaching followers to worship a single god called Ahura Mazda.


Does Zoroastrianism allow polygamy?

Parsi Personal Laws only address marriage between two Parsis of the opposite sex. The main purpose of the Personal Laws are to outlaw child marriage, incest, and polygamy.

What do Zoroastrians call themselves?

The Zoroastrian name of the religion is Mazdayasna, which combines Mazda- with the Avestan word yasna, meaning "worship, devotion". In English, an adherent of the faith is commonly called a Zoroastrian or a Zarathustrian.

Where did Aryans come from?

Aryan, name originally given to a people who were said to speak an archaic Indo-European language and who were thought to have settled in prehistoric times in ancient Iran and the northern Indian subcontinent.


What religion came from Aryans?

The ancient Aryans were a group of people who spread into northern India, bringing with them India's caste system of hierarchical classes and the Vedic religion that shaped modern Hinduism.

Is Zoroaster a prophet of Allah?

Zoroaster is not mentioned in the Qurʾan, but the Qurʾan affirms that each nation has been sent a prophet of its own (16:36) in its own language (14:4). This provided a model through which Zoroaster could be seen as a prophet.

What are modern Zoroastrians called?

It became the dominant religion of Persia for more than a millennium, until the advent of Islam in the seventh century. Some Zoroastrians who refused to convert fled, and ended up in Gujarat in western India, where they became known as Parsis after their Persian origins.


What language did Zoroastrians speak?

Zoroastrian Dari (Persian: دری زرتشتی or گویش بهدینان literally Behdīnān dialect) is a Persian dialect and a Northwestern Iranian ethnolect.

Does Zoroastrianism allow pork?

English, Farsi, Gujarati, Persian There is no religious restriction about diet, although some Zoroastrians avoid pork & beef. Restrictions on meat eating occur on certain days in the month and year.

Do Zoroastrians marry their cousins?

Zoroastrians - Marriage and Family. Marriage. The preferred system of marriage is next-of-kin or cousin marriage.


What religion doesn't allow you to marry?

Buddhism. Buddhism has no religious concept of marriage (see Buddhist view of marriage).

Do Zoroastrians believe in afterlife?

Zoroastrians believe that after life on Earth, the immortal human soul is judged by God as to whether it did more good deeds than evil during its lifetime.

What is world's oldest religion?

The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma (Sanskrit: सनातन धर्म, lit.


Does Zoroastrianism have a Bible?

Avesta, also called Zend-avesta, sacred book of Zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet Zarathushtra (Zoroaster). The extant Avesta is all that remains of a much larger body of scripture, apparently Zarathushtra's transformation of a very ancient tradition.

Why do Zoroastrians not bury?

The Parsi corpse is exposed to the rays of the sun, and the corpse is consumed or devoured by birds of prey — vultures, kites and crows," Mistree says. For Zoroastrians, burying or cremating the dead is seen as polluting nature.

What happens to Zoroastrians after death?

Zoroastrians believe that human beings are comprised of a mortal body and an immortal soul. After a person has died, the soul leaves the body and remains within the material world for three days and three nights.


Are Zoroastrians vegetarian?

Zoroastrianism. Mazdakism, a sect of Zoroastrianism, explicitly promoted vegetarianism. One of the main precepts in Zoroastrianism is respect and kindness towards all living things and condemnation of cruelty against animals.