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Mazdaism (Armenian Մազդէականութիւն)[1] is a religion that arose inwestern Iran, Afghanistan, andCentral Asia beginning in the early centuries of the first millennium.[2] UnlikeZoroastrianism, in MazdaismAhura Mazda is one of the gods, equal toMithra.[3]
The worship ofAhura Mazda, as some Zoroastrian historians believe, was not originated by Zoroaster, but existed before the prophet's message, According to Robert Zahner, pre-Zoroastrian Ahura was undoubtedly also associated with the concept of truth or the idea of some kind of "universal order," as well as with water, light, or the sun.[4]
Emile Benveniste points out that Ahura Mazda is a very ancient deity and that the Zoroastrians used this name to refer to the Zoroastrian god. Even the central role assigned to this god in Mazdaism is not a Zoroastrian innovation, the title Mazdaism (worshipper of Mazda) found in Aramaic papyri from the Achaemenid period cannot be evidence that the Achaemenids were Zoroastrian, and the mention of the name Ahura Mazda in stone inscriptions is not evidence of this either, in the Achaemenid inscriptions, not only is Zoroastrianism not mentioned, but nothing else is mentioned that could give these inscriptions a Zoroastrian signal.[5]
Long beforeZoroaster, the Iranians had specific religious beliefs and worshippedAhura Mazda as a great god.[6] In theBehistun Inscription, Darius only mentions Ahura Mazda as "the greatest of the gods." Ahura Mazda's name appears 69 times in Behistun, and Darius claims to be under Ahura Mazda's protection 34 times. Darius did not claim that Ahura Mazda was the only existing god. Darius also did not mention Ahura Mazda's great rival Angremenu.[7]
Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin wrote: “It seems easier to believe that the Achaemenids had never heard of Zoroaster, nor of his religious reforms".[7]Abdolhossein Zarrinkoob wrote: "In the Achaemenid era, theMagis did not have a Zoroastrian religion, nor did they have a royal family, considering the role that the Mongols played in performing Persian religious ceremonies, and considering that the Achaemenid and dynastic religion could not conflict with the beliefs of the common classes of the Persian clans. It is clear that the Zoroastrian religion had not yet had an influence among the Persians during these periods".[8]
The northern branch of Mazdaism is known in modern historical studies asTuranism.[9] Turanism is an ethnic name for a group mentioned in theAvesta and named after the region ofTuran but the Turanians are not mentioned in historical records of the first millennium BC.[10]Achaemenid sources consistently use the term "Saka" to refer to the nomads of the northern steppes, while Greek authors often refer to them as "Scythians." However, scholars likeMary Boyce agree that the Turanians were Iranian steppe nomads living in theEurasian steppes north of the ancient Iranians.[11][12][13]
Some researchers[who?] believe that it seems likely[weasel words] that the people of Media practiced a Mazdaism-type religion in the two centuries preceding the Achaemenid period,[14] The practice of a Mazdaism religion in Media during the Achaemenid,Hellenistic, andParthian periods is, however, attested by Greek accounts. Thus, a temple dedicated to the great Iranian goddessAnahita atEcbatana, mentioned byPolybius, who reports its construction by the Achaemenid kingArtaxerxes II, is still mentioned in the Parthian period by Polybius and Isidore of Carax. The latter mentions another great temple to this goddess (whom he likens to the Greek Artemis) in Media, atKangavar, the ruins of which have been excavated .[15]
Strabo, aRoman historian of the 1st century BC, referring to the ancient Greek historian of the 5th century BC, Herodotus, mentions ritual prostitution and tells us that the Medes, who served in the temples of Anahita:[16]
They all practice debauchery. At the same time, they treat their lovers with such kindness that they not only show them hospitality and exchange gifts, but often give them more than they receive, for they come from wealthy families who provide them with the means to do so. However, they do not accept as lovers the first foreigners they meet, but mostly those of their own social standing.
The culture and ideas of the ancient Sumerians, through the Babylonians and Assyrians, had an unexpected influence on the Medes.[17] Besides worshipping Ahura Mazda, the Medes had a polytheistic based on polytheism and tribal deities (devas). Different tribes worshipped benevolent divine spirits. The serpent was worshipped by the Medes.[18]
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