Ahura Mazda

==In other religions==
Some scholars (Kuiper. IIJ I, 1957; Zimmer. Münchner Studien 1984:187–215) believe that Ahura Mazda originates from *vouruna-miθra, or [[Vedic mythology|Vedic]] [[Varuna]] (and [[Mitra (Vedic)|Mitra]]).{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} According to William W. Malandra both Varuna (in Vedic period) and Ahura Mazda (in old Iranian religion) represented same Indo-Iranian concept of a supreme "wise, all-knowing lord".<ref>William W. Malandra. An Introduction to Ancient Iranian Religion. 1983. p. 46</ref>

[[File:Huvihska with Ahuramazda.jpg|thumb|[[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] coinage of [[Huvishka]] with Ahuramazda on the reverse (Greek legend ωΡΟΜ, ''Orom[zdo]''). 150–180 AD<ref name="AHH327">{{cite book |last1=Dani |first1=Ahmad Hasan |last2=Harmatta |first2=János |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |year=1999 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=978-81-208-1408-0 |pages=327–328 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DguGWP0vGY8C&pg=PA327 |language=en}}</ref>]]

In [[Manichaeism]], the name ''Ohrmazd Bay'' ("god Ahura Mazda") was used for the primal figure Nāšā Qaḏmāyā, the "original man" and emanation of the [[Father of Greatness]] (in Manicheism called [[Zurvanism|Zurvan]]) through whom after he sacrificed himself to defend the world of light was consumed by the forces of darkness. Although Ormuzd is freed from the world of darkness his "sons", often called his garments or weapons, remain. After a series of events, his sons, later known as the [[Anima mundi|World Soul]], will, for the most part, escape from matter and return to the world of light where they came from. Manicheans often identified many of Mani's cosmological figures with Zoroastrian ones. This may partly be because Mani was born in the greatly Zoroastrian Parthian Empire.

In [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]] [[Buddhism]], ''Xwrmztʼ'' (Sogdian was written without a consistent representation of vowels) was the name used in place of Ahura Mazda.{{sfn|Unknown|1999|p=429}}{{sfn|Frye|1996|p=247}} Via contacts with [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] peoples like the [[Uyghurs]], this Sogdian name came to the [[Mongols]], who still name this deity ''[[Qormusta Tengri]]'' (also ''Qormusta'' or ''Qormusda'') is now a popular enough deity to appear in many contexts that are not explicitly Buddhist.{{sfn|Sims-Williams|1992|p=44}}

The pre-Christian [[Armenians]] held [[Aramazd]] as an important deity in their pantheon of gods. He is thought to be a [[Religious syncretism|syncretic]] deity, a combination of the autochthonous Armenian figures [[Armenian mythology|Aram]] and his son [[Ara the Handsome|Ara]] and the Iranian Ahura Mazda. In modern-day [[Armenia]], Aramazd is a male first name.