Tuesday, December 27, 2005 – ©2005 IranMania.com
LONDON, December 27 (IranMania) – Zoroastrian Association in Tehran held a ceremony in commemoration of Prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster) in Tehran on 26th of December which is the anniversary of his death, said CHN.
Zarathushtra or Zarathustra (628 BC) is the ancient Persian prophet and founder of Zoroastrianism or Parsism, as it is known in India.
Zoroaster is generally accepted as a historical figure, but the definite date of his appearance is not known exactly. According to some scholars? estimates, Zoroaster came around 1000 BC. Others, however, give earlier estimates, making him a candidate as the founder of the earliest religion based on revealed scripture, while still others place him in the 6th century BC which would make him contemporary to the rise of the Achaemenid dynasty.
Zoroaster has attracted much attention in the history of the religions of the world for two main reasons. On the one hand, he was a legendary figure believed to be connected with the occult knowledge and magical practices in the Near Eastern and Mediterranean world during the Hellenistic Age (300 BC – 300 AD). On the other hand, his monotheistic concept of God has attracted the attention of modern historians of religion, who have speculated on the connections between his teachings with Judaism and Christianity.