Elman BAI 19.pdf

2005

Since Zoroastrianism became known in European scholarship, it has drawn special attention because of its apparently moral character as opposed to pre‐moral attitudes arguably prevalent in other ancient Indo‐European cultures. Early Zoroastrianism has been understood for a long time as the reflection of a single powerful mind (Zarathustra) that sought to reverse the established order of gods and demons, of rites and morality, in order to found a new ethical order based on refined abstractions concerning transcendence. With an increased understanding of the pre‐historic conditions and the historical evolution of ancient Iranian culture and history this prevailing view is being re‐examined. This chapter will try to illustrate the advances in our understanding of the historical evolution of a religion which began as a strictly ritual understanding of the relations between facts on earth and universal destiny, exactly like its Vedic counterpart, and which slowly moved from a morality uniquely concerned with ritual purity and ritual efficacy to more abstract representations, yielding the cosmic and ethical dualism it became famous for.

Journal of the American Oriental Society , 2024

This article explores a specific case of premodern social thought, the Middle Persian Zoroastrian system of estates, MP pēšagān, sg. pēšag, which originated in Sasanian Iran, and its link to the social position of priests in the empire. It is argued that Zoroastrian religious experts tried to impose a totalizing system of social organization and heuristic possibility in a situation characterized by competition for resources in a tributary society. Against a widely held belief, it will be shown that this system was only loosely based on an Avestan predecessor-an observation that should caution against broader attempts to project Middle Persian concepts onto the Avesta and vice versa. The findings also contribute to our understanding of the relationship between the Sasanians and the Zoroastrian tradition .

Introduction, pp. 9-19

This essay discusses the impact of xwēdōdah or consanguine marriages, sanctioned by the Zoroastrian tradition on the population during a time of religious dialogue, and proselytizing in Ērānšahr (600-800 CE). I believe that advocacy for such a type of marriage was intensified in particular periods in Iranian history, namely the third century, when the Manichaeans challenged Zoroastrianism; and more importantly in the 6th century when Christianity became a major threat; and finally in the eighth and the ninth centuries when state support for Zoroastrianism had collapsed and the Muslims were gaining numbers and becoming the new elite. It is asserted here that xwēdōdah had a practical purpose, which was to keep wealth within the family and the community at a time when conversion threatened the survival of Zoroastrianism.