In Search of Zarathustra: Across Iran and Central Asia to Find the World's First Prophet
Dec 2007 · Vintage
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About this ebook
Long before the first Hebrew temple, before the birth of Christ or the mission of Muhammad, there lived in Persia a prophet to whom we owe the ideas of a single god, the cosmic struggle between good and evil, and the Apocalypse. His name was Zarathustra, and his teachings eventually held sway from the Indus to the Nile and spread as far as Britain.
Following Zarathustra’s elusive trail back through time and across the Islamic, Christian, and Jewish worlds, Paul Kriwaczek uncovers his legacy at a wedding ceremony in present-day Central Asia, in the Cathar heresy of medieval France, and among the mystery cults of the Roman empire. He explores pre-Muslim Iran and Central Asia, ultimately bringing us face to face with the prophet himself, a teacher whose radical humility shocked and challenged his age, and whose teachings have had an enduring effect on Western thought. The result is a tour de force of travel and historical inquiry by an adventurer in the classic tradition.
Following Zarathustra’s elusive trail back through time and across the Islamic, Christian, and Jewish worlds, Paul Kriwaczek uncovers his legacy at a wedding ceremony in present-day Central Asia, in the Cathar heresy of medieval France, and among the mystery cults of the Roman empire. He explores pre-Muslim Iran and Central Asia, ultimately bringing us face to face with the prophet himself, a teacher whose radical humility shocked and challenged his age, and whose teachings have had an enduring effect on Western thought. The result is a tour de force of travel and historical inquiry by an adventurer in the classic tradition.
Ratings and reviews
4.7
3 reviews
A Google user
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January 1, 2010
Zarathustra (Zoroaster) (12th, maybe 17th century BC) declared that there is one God, the Wise Lord, transforming polytheism into monotheism. He imagined two basic substances, the one of spirit and good and the one of decay and evil. Man fulfills a crucial role in the eternal battle between good and evil. Each individual has a free choice between good and evil. Following the path of righteousness will lead to salvation. Immortal soul is not just reserved for priests and aristocrats. Come to personal terms with God. Good words, good thoughts, good deeds.
Dawn of soulspace, capability to make a decision, influenced by society and visions about future life.
A Google user
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June 12, 2012
For the first time someone is telling the truth, the real truth, not the distorted history written by the West, especially Greece.
I think all Iranians should read it to learn their history and to be proud of it...Thanks Mr Kriwaczek for your efforts in letting the truth known...
Politicians need to read it to learn that forcing their ideas on the peaple will cause the down fall of their power, but permitting democracy will improve and increase their influence...Pitty, So simple yet so difficult to understand by the powerful.....
About the author
Paul Kriwaczek was born in Vienna in 1937. At the age of two he fled Vienna and the Nazi threat with his parents, eventually arriving in England. After qualifying as a dental surgeon in 1962 and traveling extensively in Asia and Africa–including a two-year stint as the only European dentist in Kabul–he joined the BBC as a specialist in Central and South Asian affairs, and then BBC Television as a producer. He took up writing full-time in the 1990s. He lives in London.
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