Page:Avesta, the Bible of Zoroaster.djvu/4

 came bearing gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the babe at Bethlehem (Matt. 2:1–2). And it was perhaps in symbolic acknowledgment of the dawn of a new and blessed era, that those worshippers of light itself bowed before the glorious majesty of the new born light of the world.

This faith of Zoroaster, founded centuries before our Saviour's time, became the creed of the great Achæmenian kings, Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes. Under the power of these mighty monarchs, the belief in Ormazd might have spread into Europe, who knows how far, had it not been for the battle of Marathon. The victorious Alexander, moreover, in his invasion of Persia, dealt the Zoroastrian religion an almost fatal blow, from which, however, it was destined to recover. Its sacred books he destroyed, but the faith struggled on for five hundred years; and in the second century of our era it arose again under the patronage of Sassanian dynasts. Zoroastrianism was once more restored to its ancient glory; church and state became one, and commands were given for collecting all that could be found of the ancient scriptures. The religion then flourished for four hundred years; but early in the seventh century came the Mohammedan invasion. The fanatic followers of the new prophet of Islam bore in one hand the sword, and in the other the Koran. A final destructive blow was now dealt to Zoroastrianism. Its old adherents, in order to avoid persecution, were forced to adopt the religion of Islam. Some, however, preferred exile and found among the Hindus a place of safety, of peace, and of freedom to worship Ormazd. Their descendants are the modern Parsis of India, who form a thrifty, prosperous community, far better, in fact, than their persecuted brethren, the Guebers who remained in Persia. It is these two scanty peoples, numbering less than 100,000 souls, that have preserved for us the fragmentary remnants of the ancient Avesta.

What has survived to-day of the Avesta, might possibly equal in extent one-tenth of our Bible, and may be regarded as divided into the following books: