Zend-Avesta
Persian holy texts
The Zend-Avesta is the sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism, the ancient Persian religion.
The name combines the Avesta—the original religious texts—with Zend, meaning commentary or interpretation.
The collection includes hymns, prayers, and liturgical texts attributed to the prophet Zoroaster.
Though the term was once standard, scholars now prefer simply Avesta.
Ancient Persian religious founder
- liturgyFormal worship structure
- hymnsReligious songs of worship
- versesLines of poetry
- chaptersMain divisions of text
Amesha Spentas · Bundahishn · recitation · oral tradition · exegesis
Ancient Persian religious founder
Formal event marking occasions
- liturgyFormal worship structure
- purificationRemoval of contaminants
- ablutionRitualized washing of body
- priesthoodOrdained religious office
recitation · offerings · prayers · chanting · consecration · sacred fire · purity laws · devotion
Of ancient Iranian empire
- PersiaIran's former name
- CyrusPersian royal name
- DariusPersian royal name
- PersepolisAchaemenid Empire's grand capital
Median · antiquity · cuneiform · manuscript · transmission · preservation · redaction · compilation
Classical Iranian language stage
- SanskritAncient Indo-Aryan language
- Indo-IranianLanguage family spanning Iran eastward
- philologyStudy of historical texts
- translationConverting between languages
commentary · exegesis · grammar · vocabulary · dialect · etymology
Zarathustra
Ancient Persian religious founder
Amesha Spentas · Bundahishn · chapters · recitation · oral tradition · exegesis
Zarathustra
Ancient Persian religious founder
ceremony
Formal event marking occasions
- liturgyFormal worship structure
- purificationRemoval of contaminants
- ablutionRitualized washing of body
priesthood · recitation · offerings · prayers · chanting · consecration · sacred fire · purity laws · devotion
Parthian
Of ancient Iranian empire
Persepolis · Median · antiquity · cuneiform · manuscript · transmission · preservation · redaction · compilation · oral tradition
Middle Persian
Classical Iranian language stage
- SanskritAncient Indo-Aryan language
- Indo-IranianLanguage family spanning Iran eastward
- philologyStudy of historical texts
translation · commentary · exegesis · grammar · vocabulary · dialect · etymology
Zend-AvestaVedas
Hindu canonical texts
Upanishads · Bible · Quran · Torah · Tao Te Ching