Adil J. Govadia

History generally is defined as the ‘collective memories of a society’. The history of Parsi-Zoroastrians India is often debated. The narrative of the preservation of their religious identity as also the courageous voyage from Iran to India, is recognized and recorded… like the historical footprints of India’s early Parsi-Zoroastrian settlers, those little insignificant drifting acorns that came to settle in India and grew into massive oaks, with their foliage providing copious strength, not only to the country’s freedom struggle but also enormously contributing to its progress in every sphere of development, be it industrial, commercial, social, civil, defense, sports, science, political, cultural, educational, health care or philanthropy. Their scale of influence before, during and after the freedom struggle in rebuilding modern India, is not only exemplary but disproportionately outstanding, despite the miniscule numbers!

The West-influenced historians erroneously pin-down the entire Zoroastrian history to 1500 BCE, brushing aside scriptural and other canonical evidences as myth and folklore, relying more on ‘solid concrete archaeological discoveries,’ thereby flailing the ancient history of Iran to a mere 2500 years! The homeland of Mazdayasni Aryans was originally situated somewhere close to the Arctic Circle, also identified as Airya, Airyana or as Airyana Vaejah, which later got corrupted as Eraanvej, homeland of great Pardhats (law-givers) like Gayomard, Hoshang, Tehmurasp and Shah Jamshid of Peshdanian Dynasty. The word Pardhat also got polluted to read as Peshdat or Peshdad, after which the first Peshdadian Dynasty was first founded by Pardhat Hoshang, a wise and judicious trailblazer. Avestan texts show references to terms Airya, Airyana and Airyana Vaejah, which later got corrupted as ‘eraan or iraan’, meaning ‘land of Iranian people’. Thus, came about the modern name ‘Iran’!

Lokmanya Tilak’s irrefutable arguments based on Vedic, Avestic and astronomical evidences also concluded that the ancient homeland of the Aryans was situated close to the Arctic Circle, which was destroyed in 10,000 and 8000 BCE by glaciation and the resultant freezing polar temperatures overland. Later, from 8000 to 5000 BCE, the Aryan survivors wandered to the northern plains of Europe and Asia in search of fertile lands.

The conclusions of Dastur Dr H.K. Mirza and Lokmanya Tilak are creditably supported by modern science and radio-carbon dating which confirms that glaciation occurred in northern latitudes of Europe and America about 11,000 years ago (Ref. Encyclopedia Britannica Vol 18). Indeed, the great Pardhats (Law-givers) like Gayomard, Hoshang, Tehmurasp and Shah Jamshid did live in the Arctic Circle, much before the glaciation period of 9000 BCE!

Renowned scholar, Hormusji Spencer, penned several wide-ranging books explaining Zoroastrian history, including ‘Are The Gathas Pre-Vedic?’ – a veritable goldmine of instructive information succinctly covered in a critique titled, ‘Genesis Of The Mazdayasni Aryans Before The Advent Of Prophet Zarathushtra’ by yours truly. The narration of Zoroastrian Persia, from pre-historic age is thus divided into five major periods or Dynasties, covering millenniums of glorious Zoroastrian civilization, replete with pomp, power, might and splendor:

Peshdanian Dynasty: (Prehistoric period, 21,500 BCE – 9700 BCE). Pardhats including Gayomard (Gaya Maretan), Hoshang, Faridun, Minocher and Jamshid reigned Iran.

Kayanian Dynasty: (Approx 9700 BCE onwards). Pardhats including Kaikobad, Kaikaus, Kaikhushru, Kai Lohrasp, Kai Vishtasp, ruled during this dynasty. Prophet Zarathushtra was born in Kai Vishtasp’s period.

Achaemenian Dynasty (558 BCE to 330 BCE) – Ruled by Emperors including Cyrus the Great, Darius and Xerxes.

Parthian Dynasty (250 BCE to 225 ACE) – Ruled by kings including Arsaces (Arshak), Valkhash and Ardavan.

Sassanian Dynasty (226 ACE to 651 ACE) – The dynasty of Ardeshir, Shahpur, Khusro I (Nosharvan-e-Adil) and Yazdegard, the last Persian Emperor.

Prophet Zarathushtra’s period of birth is also a subject of debate, as modern European historians’ peg the Prophet’s birth as late as 660 to 583 BCE, thereby farcically suggesting him to be a contemporary of Lord Gautama Buddha and Plato! Greek and Roman classical writers however advocate that Prophet Zarathushtra lived around 6400 BC. According to Diogenes Laertes, Zarathushtra existed around 6480 BCE, while Hermodorus claimed Zarathushtra walked the earth in 6180 BCE.

Radio-carbon dating tests of articles recovered in a recent excavation at Jarmo village (Kurdish hills of northern Iran) prove that the ruins were about 9000 years old. Dr. Robert Braidwood, who carried out the excavations, later stated, “If it is thus established that the people lived in settled villages and led an agricultural life in such a distant past, we shall have to revise our ideas about the age of the Avesta and the time when Zarathushtra propagated his religion in Iran.”

Roni Khan, in ‘Insights Into Zarathushtrian Religion’ effectively enumerates several sources of sequential evidence, including numerology, astronomical calculations, linguistic analysis of the Gathas and Rig Veda that peg the Prophet’s birth around 6300 BCE. Therefore, the era of Zarathushtra’s birth is not a matter of speculation any more as various confirmatory evidences provided by the celestial map of the period match with the raw data available in the Yashts and other Zoroastrian scriptures.

It was at the court of great Kayanian King Kai Vishtasp that Prophet Zarathushtra fought to convince him of the power of Ahura Mazda, by condemning sorcerers and black magicians. He stressed the importance of truth and laid the foundation for 21 Nasks (Volumes) including the Gathas, which demonstrated the magnificent reach of Prophet Zarathushtra’s mind. The belief in one God, one Supreme Being Ahura Mazda, was followed by pre-historic Mazdiyasni and continues since.

The Persian Empire, during the Achaemenid Dynasty, dominated the world, as the succeeding Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) were strongly influenced by the Zoroastrianism. The Achaemenid period witnessed some of the greatest rulers, like Cyrus the Great, Darius and Xerxes, establishing the Persian monarchy, further fortifying the good religion of Prophet Zarathushtra. During the reign of Cyrus the Great, the term ‘Parsas’ or ‘Parsis’ was first applied to followers of Zoroastrian religion in Iran. Originally an ethnic term literally meaning ‘resident of Pars’, it was later used as a name for the entire country – Persia. Achaemenid emperor Darius I, taking pride in his Parsi ancestry and Iranian lineage, even mentioned ‘Parsa’ and ‘Mada’ in the inscriptions on the rock of Bahistan and at Naqsh-i-Rustam. It was only after the Arabs conquered Iran did the ancient terms ‘Pars’ become Fars and ‘Parsi’ become Farsi.

Even today, Cyrus the Great is remembered in the Holy Bible (Ezra 6.3-4 and 14/15) for his magnanimity in helping the Jews rebuild the Temple of Solomon, which was destroyed by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar (604-562 BC). He is reverently remembered for his bravery in fiercely opposing Nebuchadnezzar and freeing thousands of imprisoned Jews from his captivity, allowing them to return to their native country. Cyrus the Great was also the first person in the world to have promulgated the freedom to practice one’s religion, similar to the modern-day Charter Of Human Rights and liberty of free expression and self-determination. In fact, British archaeologists discovered a cylinder of baked clay in Babylon that bears the inscription by Cyrus propagating fair practice of human rights, now housed in the British Museum, contents of which are also displayed at the headquarters of UNO in New York. Such was the greatness of the Zoroastrian Kings and followers of Zoroastrian religion!