Journal of Seven Heavens

Journal of Seven Heavens

The 'Traditional Date of Zoroaster' Explained

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
AliReza Shapour SHahbazi
Saeed Reza Montazeri
Faculty Member, University of Religions and Denominations
Abstract
The date of Zoroaster has always been one of the controversial issues, which have attracted the attention of the great scholars and orientalists. Some orientalists hold that Zoroaster lived around 600 B. C. Some others reject this view and maintain that he lived much earlier. Dr. Alireza Shapur Shahbazi has written this article based on historical facts. Having rejected Herzfeld, Taqizadeh, and Henning as regards this date, in this article he puts forward his view based on the Zoroastrian traditional calendar, holding that Zoroaster lived around 1000 B.C. This writing has attracted the attention of the Italian great expert in Iranian studies, Gherardo Gnoli; and, his invaluable book entitled Zoroaster’s Time and Homeland is concerned with a critical examination of Shahbazi's views.
          
Keywords
Zoroaster
traditional calender
Seleucid age
the age of Babylonian astronomers
Bundahishn
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  • Receive Date 04 February 2013
  • Revise Date 06 March 2013
  • Accept Date 04 April 2012