Mary Boyce – författare

"Boyce is a, perhaps the, world authority on Zoroastrianism. . . . Prefaced by a 27-page introduction, this anthology contains selections which offer a complete picture of Zoroastrian belief, worship and practice. There are historical texts from the sixth century B.C. onwards, and extracts from modern Zoroastrian writings representing traditionalism, occultism and reformist opinion. Anyone wishing to know more about this 'least well known of the world religions' should sample these selections."—The Methodist Church"Wide-ranging. . . . An indispensable one-volume collection of primary materials."—William R. Darrow, Religious Studies Review

This book traces the continuous history of the faith from the time it was preached by Zoroaster down to the present day - a span of about 3,500 years. First taught among nomads on the Asian steppes, Zoroastrianism became the state religion of the three great Iranian empires and had a remarkable influence on other world faiths: to the east on northern Buddhism, to the west on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. With the conquest of Iran by the Muslim Arabs, Zoroastrianism lost its secular power, but continued to survive as a minority faith. Despite its antiquity, it remains a living religion.

This book traces the continuous history of the faith from the time it was preached by Zoroaster down to the present day - a span of about 3,500 years. First taught among nomads on the Asian steppes, Zoroastrianism became the state religion of the three great Iranian empires and had a remarkable influence on other world faiths: to the east on northern Buddhism, to the west on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. With the conquest of Iran by the Muslim Arabs, Zoroastrianism lost its secular power, but continued to survive as a minority faith. Despite its antiquity, it remains a living religion.

Published originally in 1977 by Oxford University Press, this book contains the fruits of a year spent by the author in the Zoroastrian village of Sharifibad in Iran. What is recorded sheds new light on many Zoroastrian customs and ceremonies, and these in their turn illumine the beliefs of Zoroastrianism, which is not only the oldest but also the most influential of the revealed religions of the world, having contributed greatly to later Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Contents: The Village of the Two "Cathedral Fires"; The Worship of Ohrmazd and the Creations; Some Individual Rites of Piety and Charity; Sacred Fires and Empty Shrines; The Laws and Rites of Purity; Death and the Mysteries of the Dog; The Spring New Year and the Hundredth-Day Feast; Some Rites of Expiation and Comfort for the Living and the Dead; The Festivals of All Souls and the Religious New Year. Co-published with the Persian Heritage Foundation.

No detailed description available for "A Catalogue of the Iranian Manuscripts in Manichean Script in the German Turfan Collection".

This volume traces the history of Zoroastrianism at times and places where its existence has previously been largely ignored, or treated only episodically. Literary, archaeological and numismatic evidence has been drawn on (some of it only recently brought to light), and local developments are distinguished.In Iran itself some 200 years of Macedonian rule had little effect on the national religion. To the east, Zoroastrianism survived in the Greco-Bactrian kingdoms and under Mauryan suzereinty, where it came into contact with Buddhism. In Eastern Mediterranean lands it was maintained by Iranian expatriates well down into Roman imperial times. They adopted Greek for their written tongue, and Zoroastrian doctrines thus became known in the Greco-Roman world.Study is made accordingly of Zoroastrian contributions to Hellenistic thought, and to Judaism, Christianity and Mithraism; and an excursus provides a thorough reassessment of the Zoroastrian pseudepigrapha.