Zoroaster

Iranian religious reformer and spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism.

Zoroaster was an Iranian religious reformer who founded Zoroastrianism, challenging the tenets of the contemporary ancient Iranian religion.^[1] Little is known about Zoroaster's life, and by modern standards of historiography no evidence can place him into a fixed period.^[2]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Birthplace

Possibly Bactra (Balkh, modern-day Afghanistan)

Spouse

Two unnamed wives, Hvōvi

Children

Isat Vâstra
Urvatat Nara
Hvare Chithra
Freni
Thriti
Pouruchista

Parents

Pourushaspa, Dugdōw

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

The Greek adaptation Zōroastrēs, used by Xanthus and Plato, dates from the 5th century BC.^[3] His father was Pourushaspa of the Spitama family, and his mother was Dugdōw.^[4] According to tradition, Zoroaster began training for priesthood around age seven and became a priest around age 15.^[4] At age 30, he experienced a revelation during a spring festival, seeing a shining being named Vohu Manah who taught him about Ahura Mazda.^[4]

Around age 42, Zoroaster received the patronage of queen Hutaosa and ruler Vishtaspa.^[3] In Avestan, which was his native language, Zoroaster's name was likely Zaraθuštra.^[3]

What the cited sources add

Al-Mutawakkil caused the cypress to be felled in 861 AD, despite protests and a great sum offered by Iranians to save it.^[5] Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla described the Gayomarthians sect as an effort to reduce Zoroastrian dualism.^[6][7]

References

Wikipedia, "Zoroaster" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: .; .; Boyce 1996, p. 3, 189–191 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Zoroaster" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: .; Stausberg Vevaina Tessmann 2015, p. 61 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Zoroaster" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Zoroaster" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: .; . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Zoroaster" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Cypress of Kashmar and Zoroaster", www.zoroastrian.org.uk (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
"M.N. Dhalla: History of Zoroastrianism (1938), part 6, CHAPTER XLVI, DOWNFALL OF THE SASANIANS, AND THE AFTERMATH", www.avesta.org. facts only, no text reused. avesta.org
Wikipedia, "Zoroaster" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "M.N. Dhalla: History of Zoroastrianism (1938), part 6, CHAPTER XLVI, DOWNFALL OF THE SASANIANS, AND THE AFTERMATH", www.avesta.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Zoroaster (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.