The Avesta (incl. the Gathas)
← all texts · Zoroastrian · Gathas c. 1200 BCE; later texts to ~600 CE
What this is
The scriptures of Zoroastrianism — the Yasna (with Zarathustra🎨's own Gathas), the Yashts to the divinities, and the Vendidad. The oldest sustained dualist theology: Ahura Mazda🎨 against Angra Mainyu🎨, Truth🎨 against the Lie.
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Companion reading path
What to read alongside it, and why.
The Rig Veda
Hindu
Indo-Iranian cousins: the Avestan and Vedic gods and meters share a common ancestor.
The Qurʾān
Islamic
Zoroastrian dualism and eschatology shaped the religious world Islam inherited in Persia.