This is the first ever comprehensive English-language survey of Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest living religions
- Evenly divided into five thematic sections beginning with an introduction to Zoroaster/Zarathustra and concluding with the intersections of Zoroastrianism and other religions
- Reflects the global nature of Zoroastrian studies with contributions from 34 international authorities from 10 countries.
- Presents Zoroastrianism as a cluster of dynamic historical and contextualized phenomena, reflecting the current trend to move away from textual essentialism in the study of religion.
The eBook version of the companion can be purchased here.
Table of Contents
- Michael Stausberg and Yuhan Sohrab‐Dinshaw Vevaina: “Introduction: Scholarship on Zoroastrianism”
Part I Zarathustra Revisited
- Frantz Grenet: “Zarathustra’s Time and Homeland: Geographical Perspectives”
- Almut Hintze: “Zarathustra’s Time and Homeland: Linguistic Perspectives”
Interpretations of Zarathustra and the Gāthās
- Helmut Humbach: “The Gāthās”
- Jean Kellens: “The Gāthās, Said to Be of Zarathustra”
- Martin Schwartz: “Dimensions of the Gāthās as Poetry”
- Prods Oktor Skjærvø: “The Gāthās as Myth and Ritual”
- Michael Stausberg: “Zarathustra: Post-Gathic Trajectories”
Part II Periods, Regions, and Contexts 83
- Albert de Jong: “Religion and Politics in Pre‐Islamic Iran”
- Touraj Daryaee: “Zoroastrianism under Islamic Rule”
- Albert de Jong: “Armenian and Georgian Zoroastrianism”
- Frantz Grenet: “Zoroastrianism in Central Asia”
- Takeshi Aoki: “Zoroastrianism in the Far East”
- John R. Hinnells: “The Parsis”
- Michael Stausberg: “Zoroastrians in Modern Iran”
- John R. Hinnells “The Zoroastrian Diaspora”
Part III Structures, Discourses, and Dimensions 209
- Yuhan Sohrab‐Dinshaw Vevaina: “Theologies and Hermeneutics”
- Antonio Panaino: “Cosmologies and Astrology”
- Carlo G. Cereti: “Myths, Legends, Eschatologies”
- Jenny Rose: “Gender”
- Maria Macuch: “Law in Pre‐Modern Zoroastrianism”
- Mitra Sharafi: “Law and Modern Zoroastrians”
Part IV Practices and Sites 313
- Alberto Cantera: “Ethics”
- Firoze M. Kotwal and Philip G. Kreyenbroek: “Prayer”
- Alan V. Williams: “Purity and Pollution / The Body”
- Michael Stausberg and Ramiyar P. Karanjia: “Rituals”
- Jenny Rose: “Festivals and the Calendar”
- Jamsheed K. Choksy: “Religious Sites and Physical Structures”
Part V Intersections 407
- Prods Oktor Skjærvø: “Early India and Iran”
- Yaakov Elman and Shai Secunda: “Judaism”
- Martin L. West: “The Classical World”
- Richard L. Gordon: “From Miθra to Roman Mithras”
- Marco Frenschkowski: “Christianity”
- Manfred Hutter: “Manichaeism in Iran”
- Shaul Shaked: “Islam”
- Philip G. Kreyenbroek: “The Yezidi and Yarsan Traditions”
- Moojan Momen: “The Bahā’ı ̄ Faith”
Part VI Primary Sources 517
- Miguel Ángel Andrés‐Toledo: “Primary Sources: Avestan and Pahlavi”
- Daniel J. Sheffield: “Primary Sources: New Persian”
- Daniel J. Sheffield: “Primary Sources: Gujarati”
About the Editors:
Michael Stausberg is Professor of Religion at the University of Bergen and a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. He is co-editor, with Steven Engler, of the journal Religion.
Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina (Ph.D. 2007) is a Lecturer in Religious Studies at Stanford University.