Editing Zoroaster (section)

=== Cypress of Kashmar ===
{{Main|Cypress of Kashmar}}

The Cypress of Kashmar is a mythical cypress tree of legendary beauty and gargantuan dimensions. It is said to have sprung from a branch brought by Zoroaster from Paradise and to have stood in today's [[Kashmar]] in northeastern Iran and to have been planted by Zoroaster in honor of the conversion of [[Vishtaspa|King Vishtaspa]] to Zoroastrianism. According to the Iranian physicist and historian [[Zakariya al-Qazwini]], King Vishtaspa had been a patron of Zoroaster who planted the tree himself. In his {{transliteration|ar|[[ʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt wa gharā'ib al-mawjūdāt]]}} ('The Wonders of Creatures and the Marvels of Creation'), he further describes how the [[Al-Mutawakkil]] in 247 AH ([[861|861 AD]]) caused the mighty cypress to be felled, and then transported it across Iran, to be used for beams in his new palace at [[Samarra]]. Before, he wanted the tree to be reconstructed before his eyes. This was done in spite of protests by the Iranians, who offered a very great sum of money to save the tree. Al-Mutawakkil never saw the cypress, because he was murdered by a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] soldier (possibly in the employ of his son) on the night when it arrived on the banks of the Tigris.<ref name="cypress of kashmar">{{cite web|url=http://www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Library/The%20Cypress%20of%20Kashmar%20and%20Zoroaster.htm|title=The Cypress of Kashmar and Zoroaster|publisher=www.zoroastrian.org.uk|access-date=6 February 2020}}</ref>