Editing Zoroastrianism (section)

== Scripture ==
{{See also|Zoroastrian literature}}

=== ''Avesta'' ===
{{Main|Avesta|Avestan}}
The ''Avesta'' is a collection of the central religious texts of Zoroastrianism written in the old Iranian dialect of [[Avestan]]. The history of the Avesta is speculated upon in many [[Pahlavi scripts|Pahlavi texts]] with varying degrees of authority, with the current version of the Avesta dating at oldest from the times of the Sasanian Empire.<ref name="AVESTA i">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/avesta-holy-book|title=AVESTA i. Survey of the history and contents of the book|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|last=Kellens|first=Jeana|volume=3|location=New York|publisher=Routledge and Kegan Paul |pages=35–44 |access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722141334/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/avesta-holy-book|url-status=live}}</ref> The Avesta was {{qi|composed at different times, providing a series of snapshots of the religion that allow historians to see how it changed over time}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burger |first1=Michael |title=The Shaping of Western Civilization: From Antiquity to the Present |date=January 2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=9781442601901 |pages=20}}</ref> According to Middle Persian tradition, Ahura Mazda created the twenty-one Nasks of the original Avesta which Zoroaster brought to [[Vishtaspa]]. Here, two copies were created, one which was put in the house of archives and the other put in the Imperial treasury. During Alexander's conquest of Persia, the Avesta (written on 1200 ox-hides) was burned, and the scientific sections that the Greeks could use were dispersed among themselves. However, there is no strong historical evidence for this and they remain contested despite affirmations from the Zoroastrian tradition, whether it be the ''[[Denkard|Denkart]]'', ''Tansar-nāma'', ''[[Book of Arda Viraf|Ardāy Wirāz Nāmag]]'', ''[[Bundahishn|Bundahsin]]'', ''[[Zand-i Wahman yasn]]'' or the transmitted oral tradition.<ref name="AVESTA i"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=ALEXANDER THE GREAT ii. In Zoroastrianism – Encyclopaedia Iranica|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/alexander-the-great-ii|access-date=30 January 2021|website=iranicaonline.org|archive-date=18 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118141455/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/alexander-the-great-ii|url-status=live}}</ref>

As tradition continues, under the reign of King Valax (identified with a [[Vologases I of Parthia|Vologases]] of the [[Arsacid dynasty]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Curtis|first=Vesta Sarkhosh|year=2016|chapter=Ancient Iranian Motifs and Zoroastrian Iconography|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/23810856|title=The ZoroastrianFlame. Exploring Religion, History and Tradition|editor1=Alan Williams|editor2=Sarah Stewart|editor3=Almut Hintze|publisher=I.B. Tauris|language=en|access-date=30 January 2021|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201140/https://www.academia.edu/23810856|url-status=live}}</ref>), an attempt was made to restore what was considered the Avesta. During the [[Sassanid Empire]], Ardeshir ordered Tansar, [[Dastur|his high priest]], to finish the work that King Valax had started. [[Shapur I]] sent priests to locate the scientific text portions of the Avesta that were in the possession of the Greeks.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Greece iii. Persian Influence on Greek Thought |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/greece-iii |access-date=14 July 2019 |archive-date=19 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230519013822/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/greece-iii |url-status=live }}</ref> Under [[Shapur II]], Arderbad Mahrespandand revised the canon to ensure its orthodox character, while under [[Khosrow I]], the Avesta was translated into Pahlavi.

The compilation of the Avesta can be authoritatively traced, however, to the Sasanian Empire, of which only fraction survive today if the [[Middle Persian literature]] is correct.<ref name="AVESTA i"/> The later manuscripts all date from after the fall of the Sasanian Empire, the latest being from 1288, 590 years after the fall of the Sasanian Empire. The texts that remain today are the [[Gathas]], [[Yasna]], [[Visperad]] and the [[Vendidad]], of which the latter's inclusion is disputed within the faith.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Article/Is%20The%20Vandidad%20a%20%20Zarathushtrian%20Scripture.htm|title=Is The Vandidad a Zarathushtrian Scripture?|website=English Zoroastrian|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-date=7 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807004043/http://www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Article/Is%20The%20Vandidad%20a%20%20Zarathushtrian%20Scripture.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Along with these texts is the individual, communal, and ceremonial prayer book called the [[Khordeh Avesta]], which contains the [[Yasht]]s and other important hymns, prayers, and rituals. The rest of the materials from the Avesta are called "Avestan fragments" in that they are written in Avestan, incomplete, and generally of unknown provenance.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bromiley |first1=Geoffrey W. |title=International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume III: K-P |date=1979 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-3783-7 |page=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zkla5Gl_66oC |access-date=6 November 2022 |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331132949/https://books.google.com/books?id=Zkla5Gl_66oC |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Middle Persian (Pahlavi) ===
Middle Persian and Pahlavi works created in the 9th and 10th century contain many religious Zoroastrian books, as most of the writers and copyists were part of the Zoroastrian clergy. The most significant and important books of this era include the [[Denkard]], [[Bundahishn]], [[Menog-i Khrad]], [[Wizidagiha-i Zadspram|Selections of Zadspram]], [[Jamasp Namag]], Epistles of Manucher, [[Rivayat]]s, Dadestan-i-Denig, and [[Arda Viraf Namag]]. All Middle Persian texts written on Zoroastrianism during this time period are considered secondary works on the religion, and not [[scripture]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}