Stanley Siebersma, Weber State University
Zoroastrianism is severely under-studied in the realm of world religions, even though it was the dominant religion of a powerful empire and had a significant impact on Judaism and later Christianity. As Islam spread throughout the Middle East, fanatics persecuted the faithful and destroyed their literature, limiting the resources available to a few extant documents and oral traditions. The limited nature of reliable resources on the Zoroastrian faith is the reason that most world history surveys gloss over Zoroastrianism. Study and understanding of this ancient faith is a critical tool for students of world history who want to understand the way of life of the Persian Empire and the rest of the ancient near east.This commentary aims to create an easily accessible and understandable way to encounter the Zoroastrian religion and grasp the foundational principles thereof, including mythology, morality, religious laws, spells, rituals, and customs. The Vendidad is a book from the Zend-Avesta, the religious texts of the Zoroastrian religion. There are very few commentaries on the writings of the Prophet Zarathustra, and there is a need for resources in this area. This commentary uses the 1880 English translation of the Vendidad by James Darmester with commentary by F. Max Muller. Other sources include M.L West’s 2010 The Hymns of Zoroaster, and A. V. Williams Jackson’s Zoroaster: The Prophet of Ancient Iran., which is still generally accepted as the most comprehensive biography of the Prophet. This commentary gives understanding and insight into the life and times of the inception of the religion using the best information available to students of Zoroastrian theology and outlines them in an easy to understand format.