This is the first ever comprehensive English-language survey of Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest living religions
Evenly divided into five thematic sections beginning with an introduction to Zoroaster/Zarathustra and concluding with the intersections of Zoroastrianism and other religions
Reflects the global nature of Zoroastrian studies with contributions from 34 international authorities from 10 countries
Presents Zoroastrianism as a cluster of dynamic historical and contextualized phenomena, reflecting the current trend to move away from textual essentialism in the study of religion
Review copy sent on 20.5.15 to Reference ReviewsReview copy sent on 20.4.15 to Digital Archive of Brief notes & Iran Review
Notes on Contributors ix
Acknowledgments xi
Aims and Scope xiii
A Note on Transcriptions xix
Abbreviations xxiii
Introduction: Scholarship on Zoroastrianism 1 Michael Stausberg and Yuhan Sohrab Dinshaw Vevaina
Part I Zarathustra Revisited 19
1 Zarathustra s Time and Homeland: Geographical Perspectives 21 Frantz Grenet
2 Zarathustra s Time and Homeland: Linguistic Perspectives 31 Almut Hintze
3 Interpretations of Zarathustra and the Gat ha s 39 a The Gat has 39 Helmut Humbach
b The Ga tha s, Said to Be of Zarathustra 44 Jean Kellens
c Dimensions of the Ga tha s as Poetry 51 Martin Schwartz
d The Ga tha s as Myth and Ritual 59 Prods Oktor Skjærvø
4 Zarathustra: Post–Gathic Trajectories 69 Michael Stausberg
Part II Periods, Regions, and Contexts 83
5 Religion and Politics in Pre Islamic Iran 85 Albert de Jong
6 Zoroastrianism under Islamic Rule 103 Touraj Daryaee
7 Armenian and Georgian Zoroastrianism 119 Albert de Jong
8 Zoroastrianism in Central Asia 129 Frantz Grenet
9 Zoroastrianism in the Far East 147 Takeshi Aoki
10 The Parsis 157 John R. Hinnells
11 Zoroastrians in Modern Iran 173 Michael Stausberg
12 The Zoroastrian Diaspora 191 John R. Hinnells
Part III Structures, Discourses, and Dimensions 209
13 Theologies and Hermeneutics 211 Yuhan Sohrab Dinshaw Vevaina
14 Cosmologies and Astrology 235 Antonio Panaino
15 Myths, Legends, Eschatologies 259 Carlo G. Cereti
16 Gender 273 Jenny Rose
17 Law in Pre Modern Zoroastrianism 289 Maria Macuch
18 Law and Modern Zoroastrians 299 Mitra Sharafi
Part IV Practices and Sites 313
19 Ethics 315 Alberto Cantera
20 Prayer 333 Firoze M. Kotwal and Philip G. Kreyenbroek
21 Purity and Pollution / The Body 345 Alan V. Williams
22 Rituals 363 Michael Stausberg and Ramiyar P. Karanjia
23 Festivals and the Calendar 379 Jenny Rose
24 Religious Sites and Physical Structures 393 Jamsheed K. Choksy
Part V Intersections 407
25 Early India and Iran 409 Prods Oktor Skjærvø
26 Judaism 423 Yaakov Elman and Shai Secunda
27 The Classical World 437 Martin L. West
28 From Mi ra to Roman Mithras 451 Richard L. Gordon
29 Christianity 457 Marco Frenschkowski
30 Manichaeism in Iran 477 Manfred Hutter
31 Islam 491 Shaul Shaked
32 The Yezidi and Yarsan Traditions 499 Philip G. Kreyenbroek
33 The Baha Faith 505 Moojan Momen
Part VI Primary Sources 517
34 Primary Sources: Avestan and Pahlavi 519 Miguel Ángel Andrés Toledo
35 Primary Sources: New Persian 529 Daniel J. Sheffield
36 Primary Sources: Gujarati 543 Daniel J. Sheffield
Bibliography 555
Index of People, Places, and Topics 629
Index Locorum 655
Michael Stausberg is Professor of Religion at the University of Bergen and a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. His books in English include
Religion and Tourism: Crossroads, Destinations, and Encounters (2011),
Zarathustra and Zoroastrianism (2008), and as editor or co–editor
Defining Magic (2013),
The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religions (2011),
Contemporary Theories of Religion (2009) and
Theorizing Rituals (2 vols., 2006/2007). Dr. Stausberg has published widely on Zarathustra and Zoroastrianism in German; he is co–editor, with Steven Engler, of the journal
Religion.
Yuhan Sohrab–Dinshaw Vevaina is a Lecturer in Religious Studies at Stanford University. After completing his Ph.D. in 2007 at Harvard University, he served as Postdoctoral Fellow in the Undergraduate Core Curriculum and as the Lecturer on Old Iranian in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Dr. Vevaina is the author of several articles in peer–reviewed journals and edited volumes and in 2010 he received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, U.S.A. He is currently working on a book project on Zoroastrian hermeneutics in Late Antiquity.
Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest living religions. It is widely considered by scholars to have had a profound impact on the religious history of the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and the development of the field of comparative religions.
This book represents the first comprehensive English–language survey of Zoroastrianism ever published. With contributions from 33 international scholars from 10 countries, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism is evenly divided into six thematic sections, containing discussion of Zoroaster/Zarathustra, historical and regional surveys, topical and thematic discussions, analyses of the intersection of Zoroastrianism and nine other religions and cultures, and concluding with a survey of primary sources.
Reflecting the current trend in the study of religion to move away from purely textualist and essentialist views of religious traditions, the Companion presents Zoroastrianism as a cluster of dynamic historical and contextualized phenomena. This accessible and interdisciplinary handbook of Zoroastrian studies will be essential reading for anyone interested in better understanding one of the world s oldest and most influential religions. Michael Stausberg is a Professor of Religion at the University of Bergen and a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. His books in English include Religion and Tourism: Crossroads, Destinations, and Encounters (2011) and Zarathustra and Zoroastrianism (2008), and he is the editor or co–editor of Defining Magic (2013), The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religions (2011), Contemporary Theories of Religion (2009), and Theorizing Rituals (2 vols., 2006 2007). Dr. Stausberg has also published widely on Zarathustra and Zoroastrianism in German; he is co–editor of the international journal Religion.
Yuhan Sohrab–Dinshaw Vevaina is a Lecturer in Religious Studies at Stanford University. After completing his PhD in 2007 at Harvard University, he served as Postdoctoral Fellow in the Undergraduate Core Curriculum and as the Lecturer on Old Iranian in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Dr. Vevaina is the author of several articles in peer–reviewed journals and edited volumes, and in 2010 he received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, USA. He is currently completing a book project on Zoroastrian hermeneutics in Late Antiquity.