From Power to Powerlessness

Zoroastrianism in Iranian History

Bibliographic Data

ID20083485
AuthorsMichael Stausberg (0000-0002-2011-6997, corresponding author)
Year2012
Pages171-193
Publication date2012-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueReligious Minorities in the Middle East (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/9789004216846_009
OpenAlexW2337649426
ISBN9789004216846
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited7

The present chapter discusses a relevant, but generally neglected case of a religious minority in what is generally referred to as the ‘Middle East’, namely the case of Zoroastrianism. This is one of the oldest religious traditions of the world, with roots in the second millennium BCE and primordial ties to Iranian history and the country of Iran, where Zoroastrians until well after the Arabic-Islamic conquest in the mid-seventh century CE constituted the majority religious group. 1 While focusing on more recent developments, 2 the present chapter will put the minority question in a more long-term perspective. It starts with some reflections on terminology, before giving the argument a historical twist and looking at the historical origin of the majority/minority confijiguration, which is shown to have preIslamic antecedents. The conclusion will briefly wind up the argument by pointing to some dimensions of the core issue of this volume: power and powerlessness

Physics · Theology · Thermodynamics · Zoroastrianism · Byzantine Studies and History · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Islamic Studies and History · Philosophy

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