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Zoroastrianism / Mazdaism Ahura Mazda Zarathustra (Zoroaster) aša (asha) / arta

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Overview of the Angels Amesha Spentas · Yazatas Ahuras · Daevas Angra Mainyu

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Avesta · Gathas Vendidad The Ahuna Vairya Invocation Fire Temples

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Dēnkard · Bundahišn Book of Arda Viraf Book of Jamasp Story of Sanjan

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Zurvanism Calendar · Festivals Marriage Eschatology

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Zoroastrians in Iran Parsis · Iranis • • • Persecution of Zoroastrians

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The Zoroastrian calendar is a religious calendar used by members of the Zoroastrian faith, and it is an approximation of the (tropical) solar calendar. This article is about the Vietnamese holiday For the 1968 military operation that began on that holiday see Tết Offensive. By the traditional Xhosa calendar, the year began in June and ended in May when Canopus, a large star visible in the Southern Hemisphere, signalled the The Runic calendar is a Perpetual calendar based on the 19 year long Metonic cycle of the Moon Mesoamerican calendars are the calendrical systems devised and used by the Pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica. In the Mesoamerican calendars, Calendar Round dates are composed by interlacing the dates of a 260-day period ( Tzolk'in in the Maya Calendar, Tonalpohualli The Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC and came into force in 45 BC (709 Ab urbe condita The Calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a Liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more Saints The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when The Darian Calendar is a proposed system of time-keeping designed to serve the needs of any possible future human settlers on the planet Mars. The Discordian or Erisian calendar is an alternative Calendar used by some adherents of Discordianism. A perpetual calendar is a Calendar which is good for a span of many years such as the Runic calendar. A wall calendar is a Calendar intended for placement on a wall Economic calendar is a type of Calendar that is intended to inform financiers and traders about the scheduled major economic numbers (like CPI, The word Calendar consist of two words 1 Cal ( in Pashto means Year in Hindi and Persian is Sal- also means Year Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings A solar calendar is a Calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the Sun (or equivalently the apparent position of the sun moving To this day, Zoroastrians, irrespective of geographic location, adhere to (variations of) this calendar for religious purposes. Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings

History

Prior to the calendar reform of Sassanid emperor Ardashir I (226-241 CE), the calendar in common use since at least the mid-5th century BCE had a 360-day year, and was based systemically on the Babylonian calendar. The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire Ardashir I, founder of the Sassanid dynasty, was ruler of Istakhr (206-241 subsequently Persia Events By Place Asia Cao Rui becomes emperor of the Kingdom of Wei of China. Events By place Asia Shapur I of Persia succeeds Ardashir I as king of Persia. The Babylonian calendar was a Lunisolar calendar with years consisting of 12 Lunar months each beginning when a new crescent moon was first sighted low Under that system, the Kabiseh (== deficit) that accumulated over time was leveled out by the periodic intercalation of a thirteenth month, as determined by observation. Intercalation is the insertion of a leap day week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases The tradition of naming the days and months after divinities was based on a similar Egyptian custom, and had been previously instituted at some point between 458 BCE and 330 BCE, very probably during the reign of Artaxerxes II (404-358 BCE). Artaxerxes II Mnemon ( Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 Artaxšaçrā, Ἀρταξέρξης (ca Events By place Greece The Athenian leader Cleophon continues to urge resistance against the Peloponnesians but the situation Events By place Persian Empire Artaxerxes III ("Ochus" succeeds Artaxerxes II as King of Persia and restores

The calendar introduced by Ardashir I had a 365-day year based even more closely on the Egyptian calendar. Ardashir I, founder of the Sassanid dynasty, was ruler of Istakhr (206-241 subsequently Persia The ancient civil Egyptian calendar had a year that was 365 days long and was divided into 12 months of 30 days each plus 5 extra days (epagomenes Greek ἐπαγόμεναι It still had 12 months of 30 days each, and the months and days of the month that had been named in Achaemenid times remained as they were. The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of However, the 12th month was followed by five additional Gatha or Gah days, after the ancient Avesta hymns of the same name. The word "Gātha" means a "hymn of praise" in the earliest Indo-Iranian poetry The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. In addition, all forms of intercalation were discarded, and the first day of the religious year was shifted from the 1st day of the 1st month to the 1st day of the 9th month.

The new system created confusion and was met with resistance, and many Zoroastrian feasts and celebrations had two dates, a tradition that is maintained by some Zoroastrians to this day. Many rites were practiced over many days instead of one day and duplication of observances was continued to make sure no holy days were missed.

The situation got so complicated that another calendar reform was implemented by Ardashir's grandson Hormizd I (272-273 CE). A calendar reform is any significant revision of a Calendar system Hormizd I was the third Sassanid King of Persia from 272 to 273 Events By Topic Roman Empire Emperor Aurelian reconquers the kingdom of Palmyra, composed of Syria, Egypt Events By Place Roman Empire Under the command of Emperor Aurelian, the Roman Army sacks the city of Palmyra. The new and old holy days were linked together to form continual six-day feasts. Norouz (or Navroz), the first day of spring, was an exception - the first and the sixth day of the month were celebrated as different occasions and the sixth day became more significant as Zoroasters’ birthday rather than as a continuation of the spring festival celebrations. Nowrūz ( /noruz/ ↔, (English New Day various local pronunciations and spellings) is the traditional Iranian New year Holiday celebrated

Since the reforms of Ardashir I also did away with all forms of intercalation, the calendar and seasons had diverged by four months by the time Yazdegerd III (632–651 CE) ascended the throne. Yazdgerd III (also spelled Yazdegerd or Yazdiger, Persian: یزدگرد سوم "made by God") was the twenty-ninth and last king of Events By Place Europe Khan Kubrat starts to rule in Great Bulgaria. Events Europe Clovis II, king of Neustria and Burgundy, marries the future Saint Bathilde. This resulted in the Gahambars (the seasonal festivals) being celebrated at the wrong times of the year. Yazdegerd III had another reform prepared, but it was not implemented when the Arabs overthrew the dynasty.

Yazdegerdi (Y. Z. ) Era

Following Alexander's conquest of Persia in 330 BCE, the Seleucids (312-248 BCE) instituted the Hellenic practice of dating by era, as opposed to dating by the reign of individual kings, and began the era of Alexander (now referred to as the Seleucid era). Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' Events By place Macedonian Empire January 20 — Alexander the Great defeats the Persians, led by satrap Ariobarzanes The Seleucid Empire /sə'lusɪd/ ( 312 - 63 BC) was a Hellenistic empire i Events By place Seleucid Empire Ptolemy and Seleucus, the Satrap of Babylonia, invade the satrapy of Events Births Deaths The Seleucid era was a system of numbering Years in use by the Seleucid Empire and other countries among the ancient Hellenistic civilizations The era This practice was not considered acceptable to the Zoroastrian priests, who consequently founded a new era, the era of Zoroaster - which incidentally led to the first serious attempt to establish a historical date for the prophet. Zoroaster ( Latinized from Greek variants) or Zarathushtra (from Avestan Zaraθuštra) also referred to as Zartosht (زرتشت Zoroaster ( Latinized from Greek variants) or Zarathushtra (from Avestan Zaraθuštra) also referred to as Zartosht (زرتشت The Parthians (150 BCE-224 CE), who succeeded the Seleucids, continued the Seleucid/Hellenic tradition, and it was not until the calendar reform of Ardashir I that dating by regnal year was reinstituted. Parthia ( Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran Events By Place Asia Ardashir I defeats the Arsacid King Artabanus IV at Hormizdegan, destroying the A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign. From Latin regnum meaning kingdom rule

The Zoroastrian calendar uses the Y. Z. suffix for its calendar era (year numbering system), indicating the number of years since the coronation in 632 CE of Yezdegerd III, the last monarch of the Sassanian dynasty. A calendar era is the year numbering system used by a Calendar. Events By Place Europe Khan Kubrat starts to rule in Great Bulgaria. Yazdgerd III (also spelled Yazdegerd or Yazdiger, Persian: یزدگرد سوم "made by God") was the twenty-ninth and last king of The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire

Variations

As a result of the lack of intercalation embodied in the calendar reforms of Ardashir I, the calendar and the seasons were, over time, no long synchronized. Already in the 9th century, the Zoroastrian theologian Zadspram had noted that the state of affairs was less than optimal and estimated that at the time of Final Judgement the two systems would be out of sync by four years.

In 1006, the roaming New Year's day once again coincided with the day of the vernal equinox, and (according to legend) it was resolved that the Zoroastrian calendar henceforth intercalate an additional month every 120 years as prescribed in Denkard III. An equinox is the event of the Sun passing over the Earth's equator in its annual cycle The Dēnkard or Dēnkart ( Middle Persian: "Acts of Religion" is a 10th century compendium of the Mazdaen Zoroastrian beliefs and customs 419 (it must however be noted that the Denkard is itself a 9th century work). At some point between 1125 and 1250, the Parsi-Zoroastrians of the Indian subcontinent inserted such an embolismic month, named Aspandarmad vahizak (the month of Aspandarmad but with a vahizak suffix). Intercalation is the insertion of a leap day week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases That month would also be the last month intercalated - subsequent generations of Parsis neglected to insert a thirteenth month.

At the time of the decision to intercalate every 120 years, the calendar was called the Shahenshahi (== imperial) calendar. The Parsis, not aware that they were not intercalating correctly, continued to call their calendar Shahenshahi. This practice has survived to this day, and adherents of other variants of the Zoroastrian calendar denigrate the Shahenshahi as "royalist".

Meanwhile, the Zoroastrians who remained in Iran never once intercalated a thirteenth month. Around 1720, an Irani-Zoroastrian priest named Jamasp Peshotan Velati travelled from Iran to India. Year 1720 ( MDCCXX) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Upon his arrival, he discovered that there was a difference of a month between the Parsi calendar and his own calendar. Velati brought this discrepancy to the attention of the priests of Surat, but no consensus as to which calendar was correct was reached. Around 1740, some influential priests argued that since their visitor had been from the ancient 'homeland', his version of the calendar must be correct, and their own must be wrong. Year 1740 ( MDCCXL) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap On June 6, 1745, a number of Parsis in and around Surat adjusted their calendars according to the recommendation of their priests. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Year 1745 ( MDCCXLV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a This calendar became known as the Kadimi calendar in both India and Iran, which in due course became contracted to Kadmi or Quadmi.

In 1906, Khurshedji Cama, a Bombay Parsi, founded the "Zarthosti Fasili Sal Mandal", or Zoroastrian Seasonal-Year Society. Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The Fasili or Fasli calendar, as it became known, was based on an older model, introduced in 1079 during the reign of the Seljuk Malik Shah and which had been well received in agrarian communities. The Great Seljuq Empire was a Medieval Sunni Muslim empire established by the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks that once controlled Jalāl al-Dawlah Mālikshāh or simply Malik Shah ( Persian: fa ملكشاه Turkish: Melikşah) (died 1092 was the This calendar had two salient points: 1) It was in harmony with the seasons and New Year's day coincided with vernal equinox. An equinox is the event of the Sun passing over the Earth's equator in its annual cycle 2) It followed the Egyption-Zoroastrian model (12 months of 30 days each plus 5 extra days), but also had an auto-regulatory leap day every four years - the leap day, called Avardad-sal-Gah, followed the five existing Gah days at the end of the year. The Fasli society also claimed that their calendar was an accurate religious calendar, as opposed to the other two calendars, which they asserted were only political.

The new calendar received little support from the Indian Zoroastrian community since it was considered to contradict the injunctions expressed in the Denkard (III. The Dēnkard or Dēnkart ( Middle Persian: "Acts of Religion" is a 10th century compendium of the Mazdaen Zoroastrian beliefs and customs 419). In Iran, however, the Fasli calendar gained momentum following a campaign in 1930 to persuade the Iranian Zoroastrians to adopt the new calendar of the seasons, which they called the Bastani calendar. In 1925, the Iranian Parliament had introduced a new Iranian calendar, which (independent of the Fasli movement) incorporated both points proposed by the Fasili Society, and since the Iranian national calendar had also retained the Zoroastrian names of the months, it was not a big step to integrate the two. The Iranian calendar or Solar Hejri (تقویم هجری شمسی؛ سالنمای هجری خورشیدی Taqwim Hejri Shamsi Salanmay Hejri Khurshidi) is an astronomical The Bastani calendar was duly accepted by the majority of the Zoroastrians. In Yazd, however, the Zoroastrian community resisted, and to this day follow the Kadmi calendar.

In 1992, all three calendars happened to have the first day of a month on the same day, and although many Zoroastrians suggested a consolidation of the calendars, no consensus could be reached. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Some priests also objected on the grounds that the religious implements would require re-consecration, at not insignificant expense.

Month and day names

The months and the days of the month in the Zoroastrian calendar are dedicated to, and named after, a divinity or divine concept. The religious importance of the calendar dedications is very significant. Not only does it establish the hierarchy of the major divinities, it ensures the frequent invocation of their names since the divinities of both day and month are mentioned at every Zoroastrian act of worship.

The oldest (though undateable) testimony for the existence of the day dedications comes from Yasna 16, a section of the Yasna liturgy that is - for the most part - a veneration to the 30 divinities with day-name dedications. Yasna ( Avestan: 'oblation' or 'worship' is the name of the primary liturgical collection of texts of the Avesta as well as the name of the In those Avestan language verses, the names appear in the following sequence:

The quarternary dedication to Ahura Mazda was perhaps a compromise between orthodox and heterodox factions, with the 8th, 15th and 23rd day of the calendar perhaps originally having been dedicated to Apam Napat, Haoma and Dahmān Afrīn respectively. Ahura Mazda ( ae Ahura Mazdā) is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator Burz is the Middle Persian name for the Indo-Iranian divinity of waters Haoma is the Avestan language name of a plant and its divinity both of which play a role in Zoroastrian doctrine and in later Persian culture and mythology Dahman or Dahman Afrin is the Avestan language name of a Zoroastrian concept later considered to be the embodiment of prayer and ultimately (also as The dedication to the Ahuric Apam Napat would almost certainly have been an issue for devotees of Aredvi Sura Anahita, whose shrine cult was enormously popular between the 4th c. For the fictional character in the Marvel Universe series see Ahura (comics; for the river see Akhurian River. BCE and the 3rd c. CE and who is (accretions included) a functional equal of Apam Napat. To this day these three divinities are considered 'extra-calenary' divinites inasfar as they invoked together with the other 27, so making a list of 30 discrete entities.

Faravahar, believed to be a depiction of a Fravashi (guardian spirit), to which the month and day of Farvardin is dedicated

The 2nd through 7th days are dedicated to the Amesha Spentas, the six 'divine sparks' through whom all subsequent creation was accomplished, and who - in present-day Zoroastrianism - are the archangels. The faravahar or farohar (transliteration varies is one of the best-known symbols of Zoroastrianism. In Zoroastrian doctrine a fravashi ( Avestan fravaši; Middle Persian fraward, frawahr, frohar, frawash ae Amesha Spenta ( ae Aməša Spənta) is an Avestan language term for a class of divinity/divine concepts in Zoroastrianism, and literally means "Bounteous

Days 9 through 13 are dedications to Yazatas of the five Nyashes of the Khordeh Avesta: Fire, Water, Sun, Moon, the star Tištrya that here perhaps represents the firmament in its entirety. Yazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. Atar ( ātar, Avestan) is the Zoroastrian concept for "burning and unburning fire" and "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza 1987389 Apas ( ae-Latn āpas) is the Avestan language term for "the waters" which&mdashin its innumerable Hvarekhshaeta ( ae Hvarəxšaēta, ae Huuarəxšaēta) is the Avestan language name of the Zoroastrian divinity of the "Radiant Sun ae Mah or ae Maonghah is the Avestan language word for both the moon and for the Zoroastrian divinity that presides over and is the hypostasis Tishtrya (Tištrya is the Avestan language name of an Zoroastrian benevolent divinity associated with life-bringing rainfall and fertility Day 14 is dedicated to the soul of the Ox, linked with and representing all animal creation.

Day 16, leading the second half of the days of the month, is dedicated to the divinity of oath, Great Mithra (like Apam Napat of the Ahuric triad). This article is about the Zoroastrian Yazata Mithra (Miθra For other divinities with related names see the general article Mitra. For the fictional character in the Marvel Universe series see Ahura (comics; for the river see Akhurian River. He is followed by those closest to him, Sraoša and Rašnu, likewise judges of the soul, the representatives of which - the Fravashi(s) - come next. Sraosha is the Avestan language name of the Zoroastrian divinity of "Obedience" or "Observance" which In Zoroastrian doctrine a fravashi ( Avestan fravaši; Middle Persian fraward, frawahr, frohar, frawash Verethragna, Rāman, Vāta are respectively the hypostases of victory, the breath of life, and the (other) divinity of the wind and 'space'.

The last group represent the more 'abstract' divinities: Religion, Recompense, and Justice; Heaven and Earth; Sacred Invocation and Endless Light. Zam (Zām is the Avestan language term for the Zoroastrian concept of "earth" in both the sense of land and soil and in the sense of the world

In present-day use, the day and month names are the middle Persian equivalents of the divine names or the concepts, but in some cases reflect Semitic influences (for instance Tištrya appears as Tir, which Boyce (1982:31-33) asserts is derived from Nabu-*Tiri). Middle Persian is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times (224-654 CE became a Prestige dialect Moreover, the names of the 8th, 15th and 23rd day of the month - reflecting Babylonian practice of dividing the month into four periods - can today be distinguished from one another: These three days are respectively named Dae-pa Adar, Dae-pa Mehr and Dae-pa Din, middle Persian expressions meaning 'Creator of' Atar, Mithra and Daena respectively. Middle Persian is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times (224-654 CE became a Prestige dialect

The divinities to which month-names are dedicated are twelve of the thirty to whom days of the month dedicated, but the month-name dedications additionally establish which of the twelve divinities were/are considered to rank higher than the others. The list of month-names does not occur anywhere in the texts of the Avesta, but are known from commentaries and translations of those texts, from various regional Zoroastrian calendars of the Sassanid era and from living usage. The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. In addition to Dae (middle Persian for Avestan Daena) and thus a dedication to Ahura Mazda and six dedications to the Amesha Spentas, the remaining five are considered to be the most significant of the Yazatas: Farvadin (Avestan: Fravashi), Tir (Tishtrya), Mehr (Mithra), Aban (Apo), and Adar (Atar). Middle Persian is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times (224-654 CE became a Prestige dialect Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta. In Zoroastrian doctrine a fravashi ( Avestan fravaši; Middle Persian fraward, frawahr, frohar, frawash Tishtrya (Tištrya is the Avestan language name of an Zoroastrian benevolent divinity associated with life-bringing rainfall and fertility This article is about the Zoroastrian Yazata Mithra (Miθra For other divinities with related names see the general article Mitra. Apas ( ae-Latn āpas) is the Avestan language term for "the waters" which&mdashin its innumerable Atar ( ātar, Avestan) is the Zoroastrian concept for "burning and unburning fire" and "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza 1987389

There is some evidence that suggests that in ancient practice Dae, and not Fravardin, was the first month of the year. In a 9th century text, Zoroaster's age at the time of his death is stated to have been 77 years and 40 days (Zadspram 23. 9), but this age cannot be verified unless Dae was the first month of the year. It is also worth noting that Pateti - the day of introspection - is on the first day of the month of Fravardin - which, as New Year's day, is a day of celebration.

See also

• The Calendar(s) of the Parsis
• Zoroastrian festivals
• Iranian calendar
• Armenian calendar
• Zoroastrianism

External links

• RozCalc - Zoroastrian Calender Calculator

References

• Bundahishn 25: "The religious calendar"
• Denkard 3. India, being a multicultural and multireligious society celebrates holidays and festivals of various religions The Iranian calendar or Solar Hejri (تقویم هجری شمسی؛ سالنمای هجری خورشیدی Taqwim Hejri Shamsi Salanmay Hejri Khurshidi) is an astronomical The Armenian calendar is the traditional calendar of Armenia. Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings 419: "... on the important ceremonies of the faith"
• Zadspram 23. 9: on Zoroaster's age
• Siroza 1: day-name dedications
• Conversion between Zoroastrian and Common Era calendars
• History of the Zoroastrian Calendar
• Overview of the Zoroastrian Religious Calendar