Zurvanism - Citizendia

Zurvanism is a now-extinct branch of Zoroastrianism that had the divinity Zurvan as its First Principle (primordial creator deity). Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings Ahura Mazda ( ae Ahura Mazdā) is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator Zoroaster ( Latinized from Greek variants) or Zarathushtra (from Avestan Zaraθuštra) also referred to as Zartosht (زرتشت Asha ( aša) or arta is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine Yazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept ae Amesha Spenta ( ae Aməša Spənta) is an Avestan language term for a class of divinity/divine concepts in Zoroastrianism, and literally means "Bounteous Yazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept For the fictional character in the Marvel Universe series see Ahura (comics; for the river see Akhurian River. Daeva ( daēuua, daāua, daēva) is the Avestan language term for a particular sort of supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics "Ahriman" redirects here For other uses see Ahriman (disambiguation. The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. The word "Gātha" means a "hymn of praise" in the earliest Indo-Iranian poetry The Vendidad or Videvdat is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta. Ahuna Vairya is the Avestan language name of the most sacred of the Gathic hymns of the Avesta, the revered texts of Zoroastrianism. A Zoroastrian Fire Temple is a place of worship for Zoroastrians. The Dēnkard or Dēnkart ( Middle Persian: "Acts of Religion" is a 10th century compendium of the Mazdaen Zoroastrian beliefs and customs The Bundahishn, meaning "Primal Creation" is an account of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology and reflects ancient Zoroastrian and even pre-Zoroastrian beliefs The Book of Arda Viraf is a Zoroastrian religious text that describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian (the 'Viraf' of the story through the next world The Jamasp Nameh (var Jāmāsp Nāmag, Jāmāsp Nāmeh, "Story of Jamasp" is a Middle Persian book of revelations The Story of Sanjan (also Qissa-i Sanjan or Kisse-i Sanjan) is an account of the early years of Zoroastrian settlers on the Indian subcontinent The Zoroastrian calendar is a religious Calendar used by members of the Zoroastrian faith and it is an approximation of the (tropical Solar calendar. Zoroastrianism has numerous festivals and holy days all of which are bound to the Zoroastrian calendar. In the Zoroastrian faith marriage is encouraged an institution greatly favoured by the religious texts. Zoroastrianism eschatology is the oldest Eschatology in recorded history Zoroastrians in Iran have had a long history being the oldest religious community of that nation to survive to the present-day The Iranis are an ethno-religious community of the Indian subcontinent; descendants of Zoroastrians who emigrated from Greater Iran (in the main from Zoroastrians have faced much religious discrimination including forced conversions harassments as well as being identified as Najis "ritually impure" Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings Zurvanism is also known as Zurvanite Zoroastrianism.

In Zurvanism, Zurvan is the hypostasis of Time (and Space). In Linguistics, a hypostasis, from the Greek word ὑπόστασιςmeaning foundation, base or that which stands behind is The name, as it appears in Middle Persian, derives from Avestan zruvan-, 'time', with the same range of meaning as in the English language. 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. The name "Zurvan", like 'time', also appears in other belief systems, but in those religions are only nominally related to the Zurvan of Zurvanism.

1 Introduction
2 Evidence of the cult
3 History and development
- 3.1 Ascent and acceptance
- 3.2 Decline and disappearance
4 The "twin brother" doctrine
5 Types of Zurvanism
6 The legacy of Zurvanism
7 Bibliography
8 Further reading

Introduction

Unlike Mazdean Zoroastrianism, Zurvanism considered Ahura Mazda not the transcendental Creator, but one of two equal-but-opposite divinities under the supremacy of Zurvan. Ahura Mazda ( ae Ahura Mazdā) is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator The central Zurvanite belief made Ahura Mazda (Middle Persian: Ohrmuzd) and Angra Mainyu (Ahriman) twin brothers that had co-existed for all time. "Ahriman" redirects here For other uses see Ahriman (disambiguation.

Although the details of the origin and development of Zurvanism remain murky (for a summary of the three opposing opinions, see Ascent and acceptance below), it is generally accepted that Zurvanism was a branch of greater Zoroastrianism (Boyce 1957:157-304); that the doctrine of Zurvan was a sacerdotal response to resolve a perceived inconsistency in the sacred texts (Zaehner, 1955, intro; See development of the "twin brother" doctrine below); and that this doctrine was probably introduced during the second half of the Achaemenid era (Henning, 1951; loc. Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of Cit. Boyce 1957:157-304).

Zurvanism enjoyed royal sanction during the Sassanid era (226-651 CE) but no traces of it remain beyond the 10th century. The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire Events By Place Asia Cao Rui becomes emperor of the Kingdom of Wei of China. Events Europe Clovis II, king of Neustria and Burgundy, marries the future Saint Bathilde. Although Sassanid era Zurvanism was certainly influenced by Hellenic philosophy, whether Zoroastrian Zurvan was an adaptation of an antecedent or alien divinity of Time has not been conclusively established.

Non-Zoroastrian accounts of typically Zurvanite beliefs were the first traces of Zoroastrianism to reach the west, which misled European scholars to conclude that Zoroastrianism was a monist faith. Monism is the metaphysical and Theological view that all is one that all reality is subsumed under the most fundamental category of being or existence

Evidence of the cult

The earliest evidence of the cult of Zurvan is found in the History of Theology, attributed to Eudemus of Rhodes (c. Eudemus is also the name of a general of Alexander the Great (died 316 BC 370-300 BCE). As cited in Damascius's Difficulties and Solutions of First Principles (6th c. Damascius (grc Δαμάσκιος born in Damascus ca AD 458 died after AD 538 known as "the last of the Neoplatonists," was the last scholarch of the CE), Eudemus describes a sect of the Persians that considered Space/Time to be the primordial "father" of the rivals Oromasdes of Light and Arimanius of Darkness (Dhalla, 1932:331-332). The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia

Most of what is known of Zurvanism during the Sassanid period is from contemporaneous Christian Armenian and Syriac sources. The Armenian language (hy հայերեն լեզու hajɛɹɛn lɛzu —, conventional short form) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian See Syriac (disambiguation for other uses Syriac (syr ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ leššānā Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language The Kartir inscription at Ka'ba-i Zartosht and the edict of Mihr-Narse are the only contemporaneous native sources that reveal anything about Zurvanism, the latter being the only native evidence from that period that is frankly Zurvanite. Kartir Hangirpe (alternatively Karder or Kirdir) was a highly influential Zoroastrian high-priest of the late 3rd century CE and served as advisor to at The Ka'ba-ye Zartosht (alt Kaba-ye Zardusht, Kaba-ye Zardosht) meaning the "Cube of Zoroaster " is a 5th century BCE Achaemenid-era The few other Persian language commentaries on the religion of the Sassanid period were all composed after the fall of the empire.

While the Armenian and Syriac sources depict the religion of the Sassanids as having been distinctly Zurvanite, the later native commentaries are primarily Mazdean and with only one exception (10th c. Denkard 9. 30) do not mention Zurvan at all. Of the remaining so-called Pahlavi texts only two, the Mēnōg-i Khrad and the "Selections of Zatspram" (both 9th c. ) reveal a Zurvanite tendency. The latter is considered to be the latest Zoroastrian text that provides any evidence of the cult of Zurvan. The foreign accounts of the Zurvanite father-of-twins doctrine is substantiated by only a single Persian language source, the Ulema-i Islam ("Doctors of Islam", 13th c. ), that, notwithstanding the title, is evidently by a Zoroastrian.

There is no hint of any worship of Zurvan in any of the texts of the Avesta, even though the texts (as they exist today) are the result of a Sassanid era redaction. The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. Zaehner proposes that this is because the individual Sassanid monarchs were not always Zurvanite and that Mazdean Zoroastrianism just happened to have the upper hand during the crucial period that the canon was finally written down (Zaehner, 1955:48; Duchesne-Guillemin, 1956:108). In the texts composed prior to the Sassanid period, Zurvan appears twice, as both an abstract concept and as a minor divinity, but there is no evidence of a cult. In Yasna 72. 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 10 Zurvan is invoked in the company of Space and Air (Vata-Vayu) and in Yasht 13. Vayu-Vata (or Vata-Vayu) is the Avestan language name of a dual-natured Zoroastrian divinity of the wind (Vayu and of the atmosphere (Vata 56, the plants grow in the manner Time has ordained according to the will of Ahura Mazda and the Amesha Spentas. Ahura Mazda ( ae Ahura Mazdā) is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator ae Amesha Spenta ( ae Aməša Spənta) is an Avestan language term for a class of divinity/divine concepts in Zoroastrianism, and literally means "Bounteous Two other references to Zurvan are also present in the Vendidad, but although these are late additions to the canon, they again do not establish any evidence of a cult. Zurvan does not appear in any listing of the Yazatas (Dhalla, 1932). Yazata is the Avestan language word for a Zoroastrian concept

History and development

Ascent and acceptance

The origins of the cult of Zurvan remain debated. One view (Zaehner, 1939; Duchesne-Guillemin, 1956; Zaehner 1955, intro) considers Zurvanism to have developed out of Zoroastrianism as a reaction to the liberalization of the late Achaemenid era form of the faith. Another opinion (Nyberg, 1931; Zaehner 1955, conclusion) proposes that Zurvan existed as a pre-Zoroastrian divinity that was incorporated into Zoroastrianism. The third view (Cumont and Schaeder; reiterated by Henning, 1951; Boyce 1957) is that Zurvanism is the product of the contact between Zoroastrianism and Babylonian/Byzantine religions (for a summary of opposing views see Boyce, 1957:304).

Certain however is that by the Sassanid era (226–651 CE), the divinity "Infinite Time" was well established and enjoyed royal patronage. The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire Events By Place Asia Cao Rui becomes emperor of the Kingdom of Wei of China. Events Europe Clovis II, king of Neustria and Burgundy, marries the future Saint Bathilde. It was during the reign of Sassanid Emperor Shapur I (241-272) that Zurvanism appears to have developed as a cult and it was presumably in this period that Greek and Indic concepts were introduced to Zurvanite Zoroastrianism. Shapur I was the second Sassanid King of the Second Persian Empire. Events By place Asia Shapur I of Persia succeeds Ardashir I as king of Persia. Events By Topic Roman Empire Emperor Aurelian reconquers the kingdom of Palmyra, composed of Syria, Egypt

It is however not known whether Sassanid era Zurvanism and Mazdaism were separate sects, each with their own organization and priesthood, or simply two tendencies within the same body. That Mazdaism and Zurvanism competed for attention can been inferred from the works of Christian and Manichean polemicists, but the doctrinal incompatibilities were not so extreme "that they could not be reconciled under the broad aegis of an imperial church" (Boyce, 1957:308). A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Manichaeism (in Modern Persian fa-Arab آیین مانی Āyin e Māni; Chinese zh 摩尼教 was one of the major Gnostic Religions originating

Decline and disappearance

The Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent. (ca. 610 CE)

The Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent. The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire (ca. 610 CE)

Following the fall of the Sassanid Empire in the 7th century, Zoroastrianism was gradually supplanted by Islam. The former continued to exist but in an increasingly decimated state and the remaining Zoroastrians appear to have gradually returned to the Mazdean doctrine prescribed by Zoroaster in the Gathas (see also legacy, below). The word "Gātha" means a "hymn of praise" in the earliest Indo-Iranian poetry By the 10th century, Zurvanism had ceased to exist, leaving Mazdaism the sole remaining form of Zoroastrianism.

Why the cult of Zurvan vanished (while Mazdaism did not) remains again an issue of scholarly debate. Arthur Christensen, one of the first proponents of the theory that Zurvanism was the state religion of the Sassanids, suggested that the rejection of Zurvanism in the post-conquest epoch was a response and reaction to the new authority of Islamic monotheism that brought about a deliberate reform of Zoroastrianism that aimed to establish a stronger orthodoxy (Boyce, 1957:305). Zaehner is of the opinion that the Zurvanite priesthood had a "strict orthodoxy which few could tolerate. Moreover, they interpreted the Prophet's message so dualistically that their God was made to appear very much less than all-powerful and all-wise. Reasonable as so absolute a dualism might appear from a purely intellectual point of view, it had neither the appeal of a real monotheism nor had it any mystical element with which to nourish its inner life. " (Zaehner, 1961)

Another possible explanation postulated by Boyce (1957:308-309) is that Mazdaism and Zurvanism were divided regionally, that is, with Mazdaism being the predominant tendency in the regions to the north and east (Bactria, Margiana, and other satrapies closest to Zoroaster's homeland), while Zurvanism was prominent in regions to the south and west (closer to Babylonian and Greek influence). "Bactrian" redirects here For the camel see Bactrian camel. Margu (Greek Margiana) was a Satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire mentioned in the Behistun inscriptions of ca See also the related deity Satrapes. Satrap (Persian ساتراپ was the name given to the governors of the Provinces of ancient This is supported by Manichean evidence that indicates that 3rd century Mazdean Zoroastrianism had its stronghold in Parthia, to the northeast. Manichaeism (in Modern Persian fa-Arab آیین مانی Āyin e Māni; Chinese zh 摩尼教 was one of the major Gnostic Religions originating Parthia ( Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran Following the fall of the Persian Empire, the south and west were relatively quickly assimilated under the banner of Islam, while the north and east remained independent for some time before these regions too were absorbed. (Boyce, 1957:308-309). This could also explain why Armenian/Syriac observations reveal a distinctly Zurvanite Zoroastrianism, and inversely, could explain the strong Greek and Babylonian influence on Zurvanism (see types of Zurvanism, below). Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq

The "twin brother" doctrine

"Classical Zurvanism" is the term coined by Zaehner (1955, intro) to denote the movement to explain the inconsistency of Zoroaster's description of the 'twin spirits' as they appear in Yasna 30. 3-5 of the Avesta. According to Zaehner, this "Zurvanism proper" was "genuinely Iranian and Zoroastrian in that it sought to clarify the enigma of the twin spirits that Zoroaster left unsolved. " (Zaehner, 1961)

As the priesthood sought to explain it, if the Malevolent Spirit (lit: Angra Mainyu) and the Benevolent Spirit (Spenta Mainyu, identified with Ahura Mazda) were twins, then they must have had a "father", who must have existed before them. "Ahriman" redirects here For other uses see Ahriman (disambiguation. Ahura Mazda ( ae Ahura Mazdā) is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator The priesthood settled on Zurvan - the hypostasis of (Infinite) Time - as being "the only possible 'Absolute' from whom the twins could proceed" and which was the source of good in the one and the source of evil in the other (Zaehner, 1961).

The Zurvanite "twin brother" doctrine is also evident in Zurvanism's cosmogonical creation myth, that in its "classic" form, does not contradict the Mazdean model of the origin and evolution of the universe, which begins where the Zurvanite model ends. A creation myth is a supernatural mytho-[[religion religious]] story or explanation that describes the beginnings of humanity, Earth, life, and It may well be (as proposed by Cumont and Schaeder) that the Zurvanite cosmogony was an adaptation of an antecedent Hellenic Chronos cosmogony that portrayed Infinite Time as the "father" of Zeus (who the Greeks equated with Oromasdes, i. This article discusses scientific theories of creation (cosmogony In Greek mythology, Chronos ( Ancient Greek:) in pre-Socratic philosophical works is said to be the personification of Time. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology e. Ohrmuzd/Ahura Mazda).

The "classic" Zurvanite model of creation, preserved only by non-Zoroastrian sources, proceeds as follows: In the beginning, the great God Zurvan existed alone. Desiring offspring that would create 'heaven and hell and everything in between,' Zurvan sacrificed for a thousand years. Towards the end of this period, androgyne Zurvan began to doubt the efficacy of sacrifice and in the moment of this doubt Ohrmuzd and Ahriman were conceived: Ohrmuzd for the sacrifice and Ahriman for the doubt. Upon realizing that twins were to be born, Zurvan resolved to grant the first-born sovereignty over creation. Ohrmuzd perceived Zurvan's decision, which He then communicated to His brother. Ahriman then preempted Ohrmuzd by ripping open the womb to emerge first. Reminded of the resolution to grant Ahriman sovereignty, Zurvan conceded, but limited kingship to a period of 9000 years, after which Ohrmuzd would rule for all eternity (Zaehner, 1955:419-428).

Christian and Manichean missionaries considered this doctrine to be exemplary of the Zoroastrian faith and it was these and similar texts that first reached the west. Corroborated by Anquetil-Duperron's "erroneous rendering" of Vendidad 19. Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil Du Perron ( 7 December 1731 &ndash 17 January 1805) French Orientalist, brother of 9, these led to the late 18th century conclusion that Infinite Time was the first Principle of Zoroastrianism and Ohrmuzd was therefore only "the derivative and secondary character. " Ironically, the fact that no Zoroastrian texts contained any hint of the born-of-Zurvan doctrine was considered to be evidence of a latter-day corruption of the original principles. The opinion that Zoroastrianism was so severely dualistic that it was, in fact, ditheistic or even tritheistic would be widely held until the late 1800s (Dhalla, 1932:490-492; cf. Boyce, 2002:687).

Types of Zurvanism

According to Zaehner, the doctrine of the cult of Zurvan appears to have three schools of thought, each to a different degree influenced by alien philosophies: "materialist" Zurvanism, "aesthetic" Zurvanism and "fatalistic" Zurvanism. All three have "classical" Zurvanism as their foundation.

Aesthetic Zurvanism

Aesthetic Zurvanism, which was apparently not as popular as the materialistic kind, viewed Zurvan as undifferentiated Time, which, under the influence of desire, divided into reason (a male principle) and concupiscence (a female principle).

According to Duchesne-Guillemin, this division is "redolent of Gnosticism or – still better – of Indian cosmology. " The parallels between Zurvan and Prajapati of Rig Veda 10. The Rigveda ( Sanskrit sa ऋग्वेद ṛgveda, a compound of ṛc "praise verse" and veda "knowledge" 129 had been taken by Widengren to be evidence of a proto-Indo-Iranian Zurvan, but these arguments have since been dismissed (Duchesne-Guillemin, 1956). Nonetheless, there is a semblance of Zurvanite elements in Vedic texts, and as Zaehner puts it "Time, for the Indians, is the raw material, the material prima of all contingent being. "

Materialist Zurvanism

Materialist Zurvanism was influenced by the Aristotelian and Empedoclean view of "matter", and took "some very queer forms" (Zaehner, 1961). Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Empedocles ( Greek:, ca 490–430 BC was a Greek Pre-Socratic Philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek colony in

While Zoroaster's Ormuzd created the universe with his thought, materialist Zurvanism challenged the concept that anything could be made out of nothing. This was a patently alien idea, discarding core Zoroastrian tenets in favor of the position that the spiritual world (including heaven and hell, reward and punishment) did not exist.

While the fundamental division of the material and spiritual was not altogether foreign to the Avesta (Geti and Mainyu, middle Persian: menog, are terms in Mazdaist tradition, where Ahura Mazda is said to have created all first in its spiritual, then later in its material form), the material Zurvanites redefined menog to suit Aristotelian principles to mean that which did not (yet) have matter, or alternatively, that which was still the unformed primal matter. The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. Even this is not necessarily a violation of orthodox Zoroastrian tradition since the divinity Vayu is present in the middle space between Ormuzd and Ahriman, the void separating the kingdoms of light and darkness.

Fatalistic Zurvanism

The doctrine of limited time (as allotted to Ahriman by Zurvan) implied that nothing could change this preordained course of the material universe, and the path of the astral bodies of the 'heavenly sphere' was representative of this preordained course. It followed that human destiny must then be decided by the constellations, stars and planets, who were divided between the good (the signs of the Zodiac) and the evil (the planets). "Ohrmazd allotted happiness to man, but if man did not receive it, it was owing to the extortion of these planets" (Menog-i Khirad 38. 4-5). Fatalistic Zurvanism was evidently influenced by Chaldean astrology and perhaps also by Aristotle's theory of chance and fortune. The fact that Armenian and Syriac commentators translated "Zurvan" as "Fate" is highly suggestive.

The legacy of Zurvanism

No evidence of typically Zurvanite rituals or practices have been discovered and followers of the cult are widely believed to have had the same rituals and practices as Mazdean Zoroastrians did. This would have been acceptable to both factions since the fundamental Zurvanite doctrine of the twins did not preclude the worship of Ohrmuzd as the Creator (of all but Zurvan and Ahriman). Inversely, no obviously Zurvanite elements appear to have survived in modern Zoroastrianism.

From the point of view of modern Zoroastrianism (which is today synonymous with Mazdaism), the cult of Zurvan is a dilemma that many would wish didn't exist. While the cult of Zurvan has no legacy that could not have reached modern Zoroastrianism by other means, the sheer force of Zurvanism's overt dualism still finds an echo in western scholarship. The incompatibility of Zurvanite dualism with the strongly monotheistic modern Zoroastrianism has left present-day Zoroastrians with the option of either ignoring that Zurvanism ever existed or that its precepts were downright heretical.

One such sacrilege is considered to be the Zurvanite interpretation of Yasna 30. 3-5, which gives Zurvanism its "twin brother" (born of Zurvan) doctrine. It revokes Zoroaster's own characterization of Ahura Mazda as the one uncreated God (Yasna 45. Ahura Mazda ( ae Ahura Mazdā) is the Avestan language name for a divinity exalted by Zoroaster as the one uncreated Creator 2) and the omniscient Creator of all (Yasna 44. 7). Zoroaster's doctrine of an uncreated God is also evident in Yasna 30. 3, in the same passage that is the exogenesis of the "twin brother" principle.

The pessimism evident in Zurvanite fatalism is a stark contradiction of essentially optimistic Mazdaism and is a direct violation of what is perhaps Zoroaster's greatest contribution to religious philosophy: the concept of a free will. The question of free will In Yasna 45. 9, Ahura Mazda "has left to men's wills" to choose between doing good and doing evil. By leaving destiny in the hands of fate, the cult of Zurvan distanced itself from the most sacred of Zoroastrian tenets: that of the efficacy of good thoughts, good words and good deeds.

That the Zurvanite view of creation was an apostasy even for medieval Zoroastrians is apparent from the 10th century Denkard, which in a commentary on Yasna 30. The Dēnkard or Dēnkart ( Middle Persian: "Acts of Religion" is a 10th century compendium of the Mazdaen Zoroastrian beliefs and customs 3-5 turns what the Zurvanites considered the words of the prophet into Zoroaster recalling "a proclamation of the Demon of Envy to mankind that Ohrmuzd and Ahriman were two in one womb. " (Denkard 9. 30. 4). Zaehner considers this passage of the Denkard to be an ingenious misinterpretation of Yasna 30.

That Zurvanism is altogether considered the heresy is however remarkable since the strict dualism that was implicit to the cult was more in line with the dualism alluded to in Zoroaster's own Gathas than with the polytheistic rationalizations of natural phenomena that Zoroastrianism had almost become by the end of the Achaemenid period. The word "Gātha" means a "hymn of praise" in the earliest Indo-Iranian poetry The fundamental goal of "classical Zurvanism" to bring the doctrine of the "twin spirits" in accord with what was otherwise understood of Zoroaster's teaching may have been excessive, but (according to Zaehner) it was not altogether misguided. In noting the emergence of an overtly dualistic doctrine during the Sassanid period, Zaehner (1961) asserted that

[there must] have been a party within the Zoroastrian community which regarded the strict dualism between Truth and the Lie, the Holy Spirit and the Destructive Spirit, as being the essence of the Prophet's message. Otherwise the re-emergence of this strictly dualist form of Zoroastrianism some six centuries after the collapse of the Achaemenian Empire could not be readily explained. There must have been a zealous minority that busied itself with defining what they considered the Prophet's true message to be; there must have been an 'orthodox' party within the 'Church'. This minority, concerned now with theology no less than with ritual, would be found among the Magi, and it is, in fact, to the Magi that Aristotle and other early Greek writers attribute the fully dualist doctrine of two independent principles - Oromasdes and Areimanios. Further, the founder of the Magian order was now said to be Zoroaster himself. The fall of the Achaemenian Empire, however, must have been disastrous for the Zoroastrian religion, and the fact that the Magi were able to retain as much as they did and restore it in a form that was not too strikingly different from the Prophet's original message after the lapse of some 600 years proves their devotion to his memory. It is, indeed, true to say that the Zoroastrian orthodoxy of the Sassanian period is nearer to the spirit of Zoroaster than is the thinly disguised polytheism of the Yashts.

Thus, - according to Zaehner - while the direction that the Sassanids took was not altogether at odds with the spirit of the Gathas, the extreme dualism that accompanied a divinity that was remote and inaccessible made the faith less than attractive. Zurvanism was then truly heretical only in the sense that it weakened the appeal of Zoroastrianism.

Nonetheless, that Zurvanism was the predominant brand of Zoroastrianism during the cataclysmic years just prior to the fall of the empire, is, according to Duchesne-Guillemin, evident in the degree of influence that Zurvanism (but not Mazdaism) would have on the Iranian brand of Shi'a Islam. Writing in the historical present, he notes that "under Chosrau II (r. Khosrau II or Khosrow II ( Chosroes II or Xosrov II in classical sources sometimes called 590-628) and his successors, all kinds of superstitions tend to overwhelm the Mazdean religion, which gradually disintegrates, thus preparing the triumph of Islam. Events By Place Byzantine Empire Summer - Maurice agrees to Khosrau's entreaties and agrees to restart the war with Persia Events By Place Europe Pippin of Landen becomes Mayor of the Palace in Austrasia. " Thus, "what will survive in popular conscience under the Muslim varnish is not Mazdeism: it is Zervanite fatalism, well attested in Persian literature" (Duchesne-Guillemin, 1956:109). This is also a thought expressed by Zaehner, who observes that Ferdowsi, in his Shahnameh, "expounds views which seem to be an epitome of popular Zervanite doctrine" (Zaehner, 1955:241). Hakīm Abū l-Qāsim Firdawsī Tūsī ( more commonly transliterated as Ferdowsi, (935&ndash1020 was a highly revered Persian Poet. Shāhnāmé, or Shāhnāma ((alternative spellings are Shahnama Shahnameh Shahname Shah-Nama, etc Thus, according to Zaehner and Duchesne-Guillemin, Zurvanism's pessimistic fatalism was a formative influence on the Iranian psyche, paving the way (as it were) for the rapid adoption of Shi'a philosophy during the Safavid era. The Safavids ( صفوی) were an Iranian ref>Helen Chapin Metz

According to Zaehner and Shaki, in Middle Persian texts of the 9th century, Dahri (from Ar. -Persian dahr, time, eternity) is the appellative term for adherents of the Zurvanite doctrine that the universe derived from Infinite Time. The later Persian and Arabic literature, the term would come to be a derogatory term for 'atheist' or 'materialist'. The term also appears - in conjunction with other terms for skeptics – in Denkard 3. 225 and in the Skand-gumanig wizar where "one who says god is not, who are called dahari, and consider themselves to be delivered from religious discipline and the toil of performing meritorious deeds" (Shaki, 2002:587-588).

Bibliography

Boyce, Mary (1957). "Some reflections on Zurvanism". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 19/2: 304-316. London: SOAS.
Duchesne-Guillemin, Jacques (1956). "Notes on Zurvanism". Journal of Near Eastern Studies 15/2: 108-112. Chicago: UCP.
Frye, Richard (1959). "Zurvanism Again". The Harvard Theological Review 52/2: 63-73. London: Cambridge.
Shaki, Mansour (2002). "Dahri". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Encyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language Encyclopedia about the history culture and New York: Mazda Pub. 35-44.
Zaehner, Richard Charles (1940). "A Zervanite Apocalypse". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 10/2: 377-398. London: SOAS.
Zaehner, Richard Charles (1955). Zurvan, a Zoroastrian dilemma. Oxford: Clarendon. ISBN 0-8196-0280-9 (1972 Biblo-Moser ed).
Zaehner, Richard Charles (1961). The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism. New York: Putnam. ISBN 1-84212-165-0 (2003 Phoenix ed). A section of the book is available online. Several other websites have duplicated this text, but include an "Introduction" that is very obviously not by Zaehner.
Zaehner, Richard Charles (1975). Teachings of the Magi: Compendium of Zoroastrian Beliefs. New York: Sheldon. ISBN 0-85969-041-5.

Contents