The 'Traditional Date of Zoroaster' Explained

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

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

References

Al-Biruni (1879), The Chronology of Ancient pations, tr. E. Sachau, London.
Al-Mas’ūdī (1894), Kitāb al-tanbīh, ed. De Goeje, Leyden.
Bal’ami, Tārīk (1877-74), ed. H. Zotenberg, Paris.
Boyce, M. (1975), A History of Zoroastrianism, I (Handbuch der 2, Ht. 2A), Leiden.
Burkitt, F. C. (1904-15), Early Eastern Christianity, London.
Burrow, T. (1973), “The Proto-Indoaryans”, in RAS.
Gardīzī, Zayn-al akhbār (1374/1968), ed. `Abd-al Hay Habībī Tehran.
Hamza, Kitāb (1923), al-tārīkh-i sini mulūk al ard wa’Lanbiyā, Berlin.
Homäi, J. (1975/1353), Al-Tafhīm Li-awai Lsinata L-tanjim the book of in struction in the elements of theart of astrology, Tehran.
Jackson, A. V. W. (1988), Zoroaster the Prophet of ancient Iran, NewYork.
King, L. W. and Thomson R. C. (1907), The Sculptures and inscription of Darius the Great on the rock of Behistun in Persia, London.
Livshits (1968), “The Khwarazmian Calendar and eras of ancient Chorasmia” Acta Antiqua Acad, Scient Hungarica, XVI.
Nőldeke, T. (1890), Beitrőge Zur Geschichte des Alexander romans, Wien.
Olmstead, A. T. (1948), History of the Persian Empire, Chicaqo.
Pavry, J. D. C. (1933), “The Traditional date of Zoroaster”, Oriental Studies in honour of C. E. Pavry, London.
Taqizadeh, S. H. (1947), “The Era of Zoroaster”, Jras, 1947, 1-2.
 

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 04 February 2013
  • Revise Date: 06 March 2013
  • Accept Date: 04 April 2012

Share

How to cite

Statistics