Free short online course – Zoroastrianism: History, Religion and Belief

Zoroastrianism has had a profound influence on major world religions. Its history tells the story of imperial culture, persecution, and migration.

Using a rich visual repository of artifacts, paintings, and texts, this four-week course will take you through the story of Zoroastrian religion, history, and culture.

The three first weeks draw inspiration from an exhibition titled ‘The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination’. The fourth and last week provides an exploration of the Avestan language, in which most of the Zoroastrian ritual texts are written.

Week 1 - Who was Zarathushtra and what did he teach?

• Welcome to the course (1.1 – 1.5)
• Introducing Zarathushtra (1.6 – 1.7)
• Teachings, the Gathas (1.8 – 1.9)
• Teachings: Creation and the doctrine of the Amesha Spentas (1.10 – 1.12)

Week 2 - Historical Perspectives: Iran

• The central act of priestly worship: Yasna (2.1)
• The Ancient World and the Achaemenid Empire (2.2 – 2.5)
• The Parthian and Sasanian Empires (2.6 – 2.9)
• After the Arab conquest of Iran (2.10 – 2.13)

Week 3 - Historical Perspectives: India

• Influence of Zoroastrian religious thought on world religions (3.1)
• Journey from Iran and early settlement in India (3.2 – 3.4)
• Devotional life and rites of passage (3.5 – 3.7)
• Challenges facing Zoroastrians today (3.8 – 3.10)

Week 4 - Avestan

• Introduction (4.1 – 4.2)
• Let’s start with letters (4.3 – 4.6)
• An Avestan text: the victory of Zaraϑuštra over the demons (4.7 – 4.12)
• Review (4.13 – 4.15)
• An Avestan stanza explained (4.16 – 4.18)