Excavation ‘very likely’ to redefine the Zoroastrianism’s origin

[Ars Moriendi]

There were shared Zoroastrian and Hindu temples in Tajikistan, so while it's not in Persia, it's still in the Indo-Iranian realm.

Yes, most evidence shows that Medians and Persians adopted Zoroastrianism, they didn't invent it. Zoroaster is normally assumed to have lived in Southern Afghanistan, but if this discovery can be complemented in the future with more exploration around the Pamir Plateau, while there are similar initiatives being undertaken in Balochistan and the Pashtun lands (it's necessary to confirm if remains there are more recent than those in Pamir), I think we could confirm if he was actually someone living around Tajik lands rather than in Eastern Persia/Southwestern Khorasan.

[Svipdag]

But, was the religion of the culture of the Pamir Plateau actually Zoroastrianism or was it a pre-Zarathustra solar/fire worship which Zarathustra merely codified ? The Avesta seems to represent a body of customs and beliefs which had existed long before they were unified into a single religion. Did Zarathustra receive the Avesta directly from Ahura-Mazda, or did he invent it, or did he collate a disorganised body of beliefs into a formal religion ?

[Eileanach]

Would this mean that Zoroaster wasn't a Bactrian, then?

[Ars Moriendi]

But, was the religion of the culture of the Pamir Plateau actually Zoroastrianism or was it a pre-Zarathustra solar/fire worship which Zarathustra merely codified ? The Avesta seems to represent a body of customs and beliefs which had existed long before they were unified into a single religion. Did Zarathustra receive the Avesta directly from Ahura-Mazda, or did he invent it, or did he collate a disorganised body of beliefs into a formal religion ?

There is a pre-Zoroaster system that he greatly used to develop his own teachings indeed.

Mazdaism (veneration of Ahura Mazda) predates Zoroaster, and it was the first one to state the sun-god as the representation of the Creator, the idea of an end of the days (when the Sun wouldn't rise anymore), and maybe the first hint of a Messiah-figure (don't quote me on the last part).
I'm not sure about the precise origin of the Avesta, I must confess, so it could indeed be how you suggest.

What I can tell you though, is that Zoroastrianism, as codified by Zoroaster himself (mainly in the Gathas), was a religion that did codify the prayers, the way temples should be held, the duality of fire and water as sources of knowledge and transmission of knowledge respectively, and the greater philosophy that complemented Mazdaism to include new concepts like the power of individual free will or the concepts of a "Heaven" (sound state of mind) and "Hell" (Trouble state of mind).

Since then, Mazdaism became simply the orthodox version of Zoroastrianism. It contrasted with Zurvanism, that added the ancient god Zurvan (infinite time and space) as androgynous progenitor of both Ahura Mazda (Ohrmazd) and Ahriman/Angra Mainyu.


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This tomb is probably Zoroastrian, not early Mazdaian, since not only the article refers to it that way, but also because of the way the funeral items were found, which entails a knowledge of Zoroastrian ritualism like the burnt stones you can see.

[Ars Moriendi]

Would this mean that Zoroaster wasn't a Bactrian, then?

Perhaps, but it's hard to know for sure how the demographics of that area were back then. We have to consider the possibility that other East Iranid peoples (potential speakers of Avestan) might have inhabited the area.

[Eileanach]

Perhaps, but it's hard to know for sure how the demographics of that area were back then. We have to consider the possibility that other East Iranid peoples (potential speakers of Avestan) might have inhabited the area.

He could have been a Scythian. The Saka tribe lived in close proximity to the Bactrians, maybe he had a hemp experience in the steppe and decided to tell the Pamiris about it? How's that theory?

[Ars Moriendi]

He could have been a Scythian. The Saka tribe lived in close proximity to the Bactrians, maybe he had a hemp experience in the steppe and decided to tell the Pamiris about it? How's that theory?

Zoroastrianism isn't shamanistic, meaning it's not a habit to use hallucinogenics to induce visions or see supernatural creatures, compared to Abrahamic religions, it's actually less mystical, since there is no belief akin to bread and wine into the flesh and blood of the Saviour. So, I doubt it.