Zoroastrianism
Topic: India, a Home to Many: Diasporas and Refuge · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 5 "India, a Home to Many"
Meaning
Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest religions. It was founded by the prophet Zarathushtra in Central Asia. Its followers worship one God, Ahura Mazda, and believe the most important thing is to choose good over evil. Fire is its sacred symbol. It was the state religion of the Sassanid Empire of Persia (3rd–7th centuries). After Arab Muslim armies conquered Persia in the mid-7th century, Zoroastrians faced forced conversion, a religious tax called jizya, and the destruction of their fire temples.
Example
Groups of Zoroastrians fled across the Arabian Sea and reached coastal Gujarat between the 8th and 10th centuries. They became the Parsis. Today India has the world's largest Zoroastrian population.
Don't confuse with
- Baha'i Faith: it also began in Persia, but much later, in the mid-1800s. Baha'is reached India in the late 19th century.