Editing Zoroastrianism (section)

=== Classical antiquity ===
{{See also|Zoroaster#Western references to Zoroaster and Zoroastrianism|Religion in the Achaemenid Empire|l1=Western references to Zoroaster and Zoroastrianism}}
[[File:Head of Bactrian ruler (Satrap), Temple of the Oxus, Takht-i-Sangin, 3rd-2nd century BC.jpg|thumb|Painted clay and [[alabaster]] head of a Zoroastrian priest wearing a distinctive [[Bactria]]n-style headdress, [[Takhti-Sangin]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Greco-Bactrian kingdom]], 3rd–2nd century BCE.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Litvinskij |first1=B. A. |last2=Pichikian |first2=I. R. |year=1994 |title=The Hellenistic Architecture and Art of the Temple of the Oxus |journal=Bulletin of the Asia Institute |publisher=[[Asia Institute]] |volume=8 |pages=47–66 |jstor=24048765 |issn=0890-4464}}</ref>]]
[[File:Pasargad_Tomb_Cyrus3.jpg|thumb|The [[Tomb of Cyrus|Tomb of Cyrus the Great]] at [[Pasargadae]], [[Iran]].]]

Zoroastrianism enters recorded history in the mid-5th century BCE. [[Herodotus]]' ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|The Histories]]'' (completed {{c.|440&nbsp;BCE}}) includes a description of [[Greater Iran]]ian society with what may be recognizably Zoroastrian features, including exposure of the dead.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D140|title=Herodotus, The Histories, Book 1, chapter 140|website=Perseus Digital Library|access-date=21 March 2021|archive-date=30 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230102010/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=1:chapter=140|url-status=live}}</ref>

''The Histories'' is a primary source of information on the early period of the [[Achaemenid era]] (648–330&nbsp;BCE), in particular with respect to the role of the [[Magi]]. According to Herodotus, the Magi were the sixth tribe of the [[Medes]] (until the unification of the Persian empire under [[Cyrus the Great]], all Iranians were referred to as "Mede" or "Mada" by the peoples of the Ancient World) and wielded considerable influence at the courts of the Median emperors.<ref name="Perseus Digital Library">{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=3:chapter=67:section=3|title=Herodotus, The Histories, Book 3, chapter 67, section 3|website=Perseus Digital Library|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-date=3 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803033900/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0126:book=3:chapter=67:section=3|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the unification of the Median and Persian empires in 550 BCE, Cyrus the Great and later his son [[Cambyses II]] curtailed the powers of the Magi after they had attempted to sow dissent following their loss of influence. In 522 BCE, the Magi revolted and set up a rival claimant to the throne. The usurper, pretending to be Cyrus' younger son [[Smerdis]], took power shortly thereafter.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dHIlhU4Gd5AC&q=cambises+and+smerdis+&pg=PA1|title=Resumen de la Historia Universal: escrito con su conocimiento, y aprobado ... – Joan Cortada i Sala|via=Google Libros|access-date=7 November 2012|year=1867|last1=Sala|first1=Joan Cortada I.}}</ref> Owing to the [[despotism|despotic rule]] of Cambyses and his long absence in Egypt, {{qi|the whole people, Persians, Medes and all the other nations}} acknowledged the usurper, especially as he granted a remission of taxes for three years.<ref name="Perseus Digital Library"/>

Darius I and later [[Achaemenid dynasty|Achaemenid emperors]] acknowledged their devotion to Ahura Mazda in inscriptions, as attested to several times in the [[Behistun]] inscription and appear to have continued the model of coexistence with other religions. Whether Darius was a follower of the teachings of Zoroaster has not been conclusively established as there is no indication of note that worship of Ahura Mazda was exclusively a Zoroastrian practice.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bisotun-iii|title=BISOTUN iii. Darius's Inscriptions|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-date=21 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921152507/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/bisotun-iii|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to later Zoroastrian legend (''[[Denkard]]'' and the ''[[Book of Arda Viraf]]''), many sacred texts were lost when [[Alexander the Great]]'s troops invaded [[Persepolis]] and subsequently destroyed the royal library there. [[Diodorus Siculus]]'s ''Bibliotheca historica'', which was completed {{c.|60&nbsp;BCE}}, appears to substantiate this Zoroastrian legend.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Bibliotheca Historica|last=Siculus|first=Diodorus|pages=17.72.2–6}}</ref> According to one archaeological examination, the ruins of the palace of [[Xerxes I]] bear traces of having been burned.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Persepolis|volume=21|page=186}}</ref> Whether a vast collection of (semi-)religious texts {{qi|written on parchment in gold ink}}, as suggested by the ''Denkard'', actually existed remains a matter of speculation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alexander-the-great-ii|title=ALEXANDER THE GREAT ii. In Zoroastrianism – Encyclopaedia Iranica|website=Encyclopædia Iranica|access-date=3 August 2019|archive-date=18 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518132829/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/alexander-the-great-ii|url-status=live}}</ref>

Alexander's conquests largely displaced Zoroastrianism with [[Hellenistic religion|Hellenistic beliefs]],<ref name="Atlas"/> though the religion continued to be practiced many centuries following the demise of the Achaemenids in mainland Persia and the core regions of the former Achaemenid Empire, most notably [[Anatolia]], [[Mesopotamia]], and the [[Caucasus]]. In the [[Kingdom of Cappadocia|Cappadocian kingdom]], whose territory was formerly an Achaemenid possession, Persian colonists, cut off from their co-religionists in Iran proper, continued to practice the faith [Zoroastrianism] of their forefathers; and there [[Strabo]], observing in the first century BCE, records (XV.3.15) that these "fire kindlers" possessed many {{qi|holy places of the Persian Gods}}, as well as fire temples.{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=85}} Strabo further states that these were {{qi|noteworthy enclosures; and in their midst there is an altar, on which there is a large quantity of ashes and where the magi keep the [[fire ever burning]].}}{{sfn|Boyce|2001|p=85}} It was not until the end of the [[Parthian Empire]] (247 BCE{{snd}}224 CE) that Zoroastrianism would receive renewed interest.<ref name="Atlas"/>