Deity Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Zoroastrianism==== [[File:Taq-e Bostan - High-relief of Ardeshir II investiture.jpg|right|thumb|Investiture of Sassanid emperor [[Shapur II]] (center) with [[Mithra]] (left) and Ahura Mazda (right) at [[Taq-e Bostan]], [[Iran]]]] {{Main|Ahura Mazda}} [[Ahura Mazda]] ({{IPAc-en|Ι|Λ|h|Κ|r|Ι|Λ|m|Γ¦|z|d|Ι}});<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ahura%20mazda |title=Ahura Mazda |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=11 June 2017 |archive-date=7 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707153613/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ahura%20Mazda |url-status=live }}</ref> is the [[Avestan language|Avestan]] name for the creator and sole God of [[Zoroastrianism]].<ref name="Boyce">{{citation|last=Boyce|first=Mary|chapter=Ahura MazdΔ|title=Encyclopaedia Iranica|location=New York|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|year=1983|volume=1|pages=684β687}}</ref> The literal meaning of the word ''[[Wikt:Ahura|Ahura]]'' is "mighty" or "lord" and '' [[Wikt:Mazda|Mazda]]'' is ''[[wisdom]]''.<ref name="Boyce"/> [[Zoroaster]], the founder of Zoroastrianism, taught that Ahura Mazda is the most powerful being in all of the existence<ref name="Andrea">{{citation|last=Andrea|first=Alfred|author2=James H. Overfield|title=The Human Record: Sources of Global History : To 1700|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=2000|edition=Illustrated|volume=4|page=86|isbn=978-0-618-04245-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tiz6jbjgSjEC&q=ahura+mazda&pg=PA87|access-date=16 October 2020|archive-date=31 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831002212/https://books.google.com/books?id=tiz6jbjgSjEC&q=ahura+mazda&pg=PA87|url-status=live}}</ref> and the only deity who is worthy of the highest veneration.<ref name="Andrea"/> Nonetheless, Ahura Mazda is omnipotent because his [[evil twin]] brother [[Angra Mainyu]] is powerless<ref name="Andrea"/> Zoroaster taught that the ''[[daeva]]s'' were evil spirits created by Angra Mainyu to sow evil in the world<ref name="Andrea"/> and that all people must choose between the goodness of Ahura Mazda and the evil of Angra Mainyu.<ref name="Andrea"/> According to Zoroaster, Ahura Mazda will eventually defeat Angra Mainyu and good will triumph over evil once and for all.<ref name="Andrea"/> Ahura Mazda was the most important deity in the ancient [[Achaemenid Empire]].<ref>{{citation|last=Bromiley|first=Geoffrey|title=The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Q-Z|year=1995|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-3784-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6OJvO2jMCr8C|access-date=16 October 2020|archive-date=30 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830091414/https://books.google.com/books?id=6OJvO2jMCr8C|url-status=live}}</ref> He was originally represented anthropomorphically,<ref name="Boyce"/> but, by the end of the [[Sasanian Empire]], Zoroastrianism had become fully aniconic.<ref name="Boyce"/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page