The philosophy of Zoroastrianism is based on the cosmic struggle between asa (truth) and druj (lie).
it is interesting to note that the two kinds of spirits are named ahuras and daevas, similar to the asuras and devas of Hindu mythology.
The resulting conflict of truth vs faslehood involves the entire universe, including humanity, which has an active role to play in the conflict.
Active participation in life through good thoughts, good words and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep the chaos at bay.
Zoroastrianism is of great antiquity. In some form, it served as the nation of a significant portion of the Iranian peoples for many centuries before it was gradually marginalized by Islam from the 7th century onwards. The political power of the pre-Islamic Iranian dynasties lent Zoroastrianism immense prestige in ancient times, and some of its leading doctrines were adopted by other religious systems.
Although older (roughly early first millennium BCE), Zoroastrianism only enters recorded history in the mid-5th century BCE. Herodotus' The Histories (completed c. 440 BCE) includes a description of Greater Iran society with what may be recognizably Zoroastrian features. The Histories is a primary source of information on the early period of the Achaemenid eran(648–330 BCE), in particular with respect to the role of the Magi. According to Herodotus i.101, the Magi (followers of Zoroaster who had the ability to read the stars, and manipulate the fate that the stars foretold. This pejorative meaning survives in the words "magic" and "magician") were the sixth tribe of the Medians (until the unification of the Persian empire under Cyrus the Great.
Whether Cyrus II was a Zoroastrian is subject to debate. It did however influence him to the extent that it became the non-imposing religion of his empire, and its beliefs would later allow Cyrus to free the Jews from captivity and allow them to return to Judea in 539 BCE.
Many sacred Zoroastrian texts were lost when Alexander the Great's troops invaded Persepolis and destroyed the royal library there.
Two decrees in particular encouraged the transition to a preponderantly Islamic society. The first edict, adapted from a Arsacid and Sassanid one (but in those to the advantage of Zoroastrians), was that only a Muslim could own Muslim slaves or indentured servants. Thus, a bonded individual owned by a Zoroastrian could automatically become a freeman by converting to Islam. The other edict was that if one male member of a Zoroastrian family were to convert to Islam, he would instantly inherit all its property.
Under Abbasid rule, Muslim Iranians (who by then were in the majority) increasingly found ways to taunt Zoroastrians, and distressing them became a popular sport. For example, in the 9th century, a deeply sacred venerated cypress tree in Khorasan (which Parthian-era legend supposed had been planted by Zoroaster himself) was felled for the construction of a palace in Baghdad, 2000 miles away. In the 10th century, on the day that a tower of silence had been completed at much trouble and expense, a Muslim official contrived to get up onto it, and to call the adhan (the Muslim call to prayer) from its walls. This was made a pretext to annex the building. Another popular means to distress Zoroastrians was to maltreat dogs, these animals being sacred in Zoroastrianism. Such baiting, which was to continue down the centuries, was indulged in by all; not only by high officials, but by the general uneducated population as well.
Despite these economic and social incentives to convert, Zoroastrianism remained strong in some regions, particularly in those furthest away from the Caliphate capital at Baghdad. In Bukhara (present-day Uzbekistan), resistance to Islam required the 9th century Arab commander Qutaiba to convert his province four times. The first three times the citizens reverted to their old religion. Finally, the governor made their religion "difficult for them in every way", turned the local fire temple into a mosque, and encouraged the local population to attend Friday prayers by paying each attendee two dirhams. The cities where Arab governors resided were particularly vulnerable to such pressures, and in these cases the Zoroastrians were left with no choice but to either conform or to migrate to regions that had a more amicable administration. Among these migrations were those to cities in (or on the margins of) the great salt deserts, in particular to Yazd and Kerman, which remain centers of Zoroastrianism to this day.
