Where Was Zoroaster's Native Place?

Author(s): A. V. Williams Jackson

Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 15 (1893), pp. 221-232
Published by: American Oriental Society
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ARTICLE

VII.

NATIVE
WHEREWAS ZOROASTER'S
PLACE?
A. V. W1LLIAMS JACKSON,
BY PROFESSOR
OF COLUlEBIA COLLEGE,

NEW YOR1l CITY.

Presented to the Society May 15th, 1891.

regardto the nativeplaceof the foundersof threeof

WITH
Mothe great Orientalr eligions Buddhism,Confucianistrl,
hamlnedaniszllthe authoritiesaremostlyin agreement;with
however,the case is far di:fferent.
referenceto Zoroastrianism,
Amongthe ancientGreeksandRomanswe aretold thatseven
cities claimedto be the birth-placeof the poet EIomer;if we
take into accountthe variousopinionson the questionof the
the samemayalsobe
nativecountryof the prophetZoroaster,
holneis one
saidof him. The questionin regardto Zoroaster's
of illterest,for with it is connectedthe questionwherewe are
religion. The subjecthas
to placethe cradleof the Wfazdean
given riseto the liveliestdispute.
Argumentshaveheenbroughtforwardby someto showthat
we onustplace the holne of Zoroasterin the east of Iran,in
Bactria;he is accordinglyoften styled "the Bactriansage."
By othersit is claimedthathe camefromthe west of Irail,or
ratherfroTnMedia,some say from Persia. In spite of these
views,the difflcultymay be overcome,it is becontradictory
lieved,andtile probletnmaybe solved,if the subjectbelooked
at in its rightlight. Both sides-are in partwrong,both sides
in partright. The fallacy,it may at the outsetbe stated,lies
iil assumingthat the scene of the prophet'sreal activity and
of his rnissionmust likewisehavebeenhis native place. It is
with this wordof cautionin mindthat all the statementsand
theorieson the subjectwill herebe examined,andthe endeavor
will be madeto clearawaythe difficulty.
The authoritiesof antiquityto whom we may look for informationon the subjectandwhosestatementsformthe source
frolnwhichOUr viewsarededuced,are- -

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222

A. E. W. Ja(3kson,

a. C:lassical
t. Oriental.
The principal passages have alreadybeen collected by Windiscllmann,Zoeoawf>?,sche
St?hdiyen,
p. 270 ff.; but somepoints in
the later traditionhave b-eenoverlooked. As importantdeductions may be drawnfroln these latter it is useful to add them,
and to arrangeanew all the nlaterial that bears as evidence on
the subject. The allusionsto the countryof Zoroasterwe may
therefore take up in detail, presenting,first, statements referring to Bactria,or the east of Iran; second, allusiorlsto Zoroaster as belonging in the west, in lKediaor Persia.
A. CLASSICAL
ANDNON-IRANIAN.
1. Bactria

Eastern Iran.

The following allusions in the classic writers of Greece and

Rome show that Zoroaster was thought of as a Bactrian, or at
least as exercisirlg his activity in the east of Iran.
The authority of the historian Ktesias (E;. C. 400) is quoted
by Diodorus Siculus (lst century A.D.) ii. 6, for the statement
that Winus, with a large army, invaded Bactria, and with the aid
of Semiramis gained a victory over Eing Oxyartes. See Fraym.
of the Persika of Xt<sitxs, ed. Gilmore, p. 29. Instead of the
name 'OtvaptrRs, the manuscript variants show also 'Exaopv?7s,
XaoptrRs, ZaoptrRs.
Attempts have been made to identify the
name, or rather its variants with Zoroaster, inasmuch as later
writers Eephalion, Justin, Eusebius, Arnobius drawing on
Ktesias, make Zoroaster the opponent of Ninus. Their statements are next cited.
Fragments of Kephalion (A.D. 120), preserved in Eusebius,
Chron. i. 43, ed. Aucher, describe the rebellion of Zoroaster the
Magian, the king of the Bactrians, against Senliramis: d<Zoroastri Magi BactrsanorurB regis debelAttsonea rsemzramidKe.See
Spiegel, Eranssche AlterthamskaRbde,
i. 676. In agreement with
this is also cited Eusebius (A.D. 300), Chron. iv. 3a, ed. Aucher,
Yoroastres Mayus qez Bactrsanorum. Add to this. Eusebius,
Pr) aratio Evang. x. 9, accolding to wllich statement also Zoroaster the Magian ruled over the Bactrians, Zzpoarpr)s o Mdeyov
BalcTp^'zv
,Sa')vev^e.
Similarly Theon (A.D. 130 ?), Progymnctsrngata9 (Pers Syngrsseos, ed. Spengel, Rha?t. Grec., p. 115), in connection wlth Senliramis, speaks of " Zoroaster the Bactrian,' Zzpoarpov rov
Ba/ctprov. See also Windischmann, Zoroxtstrssche Studien, p.
290.
Justin (A.D. 120), moreover, in his lMist. Phzlzppic. i. 1, distinctly makes Zoroaster the opponent of finus, and says that he
was king of Bactria: Postremu? ilAi bello cgm Zoroastre reye
Baf trianorum /iGit, q?i rimus dicitur artes magicas inveni.sse

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wc6sZoroaster'sWNve Place 2
Tfthere

22g

diligenti,ssimespectasse.
et qnthndiprincipia sidertbqnqtzeqnotmbs
See Gilmore, Xtesias' Peqsika,p. 29.

In like manner Arnobius (A.D. 297), Advers?s Gentes i. 5, mentions a battle between the Assyrians and the Bactrians, under the
leadership respectively of Ninus and Zoroaster, inter Assyrios et
Bactrianos, Xino quo?zdam Zoroastreqmed?ctoribus. See Gilmore, Ktessas, p. 36. A parallel statement, Zoroastres . . . Bactrsa?zus in Adv. Gent. i. 52, confirms the view that Arnobius
regarded Zoroaster as a Bactrian.
Two later but independent classical authors rightly place Zoroaster under a King Htrstaspes (i. e. Vishtaspa, Gushtasp), and one
of these distinctly calls him a Bactrian. These are Ammianus
Marcellinus (5th century A. D.), and Agathias (Bth century A.D.).
sczentiaqnsecuAmmianus, xxiii. 6. 32, p. 294, ed. Ernest, says: C?hi
tis priscis qnutta ex ChGlldoeorumarcanis Bactrianus addidit
Zorovstres; deir2de Xystaspes rex prudentissim?ss l9ssrSi jpater.
rov 'Op,ma8ezs. . . ouros
Agathias, ii. 24, writes: Z@poarpov

(88Ttr}eyape7r'avTsov e7rzzov,^a),
ro Zapa87Rs
E;eo ZGopoaE;os
st?ero,orfc
vrRvapXXv fcabrovs vo',movs
,L4evrRfc,L4ae
o7rr)vtfca
'Tra8aryrzva.[[epal8eavrovo
evez<rafcos
vvv

e7rs

cosazo a,++ryzsoel0al
a7rs fa eyeryoveva
eTefcabaos
7rarrRp
Aapetov
7rorepov
orfcetva,ua0e6v,
fcab

C7reZ

ovTZ

88

'Tzff7rXs fc.z.X. See Gilmores Ktesis6s, p. 29.

orros v7rNp%ev
Both these writers therefore recognize Zoroaster, not as a king,
Ambut as the founder of a religion under a king Eystaspes.
mianus does indeed identify Hystaspes (Vishtaspa) Gushtasp)
with the father of Darius; but Agathias properly observes that
the Persians do not make it clear whether by the name Hystaspes
we are to understand the father of Darius, or another HystaspUs.
This concludes the list of classical authors that refer to Zoroaster
as a Bactrian, or to that region as the scene of his prophetic activity.
Let it be observed that the majority of the statements speak of
him as a king; this doubtless is due to confusion with King
Vishtaspa (Hystaspes), under whom he flourished. Doubts may
be expressed as to whether all the allusions really refer to the
founder of the Mazdean faith; there can be little question, howearer,that the allusions are intended for him, mThatevermay be
the time at which they may suppose him to have lived
Having thus considered the views pointing to Bactria, we may
turn to those suggesting the west of Iran, Media or Persia, as
the home of the prophet.
2. Media or Persia-Western

Iran.

The following allusions in the classics unanimously mention

Zoroaster in connection with the west of Iran
Clemens Alexandrinus ( A. D. 200 ) sometimes speaks of Zoroaster as a Mede, but sometimes as a Persian. The latter allusion
we find in his Stromatft i. 357, where he makes Pythagoras one
VOL.

XV.

29

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224

A. V. W. Jackson,

of his followers: Zzpoavtprr8e vor Maq:or

vorHeprro
UvfWafyotpas
err)tffev. The accuracy of the statementin regard to Pythagoras is of course extremely que,stionable.See
Windischmann,
Zoroastrtche
Studien,p. 263. Onanotheroccasion
Clemens identifies Zoroasterwith Er, the son of Armenius, a
Pamphylian. This would place Zoroasterin Asia Minor. See
Windischmann,Zor. St?sd.,p. 273 note, referring to Stromata
v. 711, o 8' avtos(El)tavv)er vco8czav vrRs
qroBlvelas
'Hpos

vov'Ap,uelotov,
vo eyeros[la,ufv)tov,ueHlox7val, ZopoavtprRs
(sic) avToseyovp
o ZopoavTprRs
eypa+el
Ta8ev^efypaSrer
ZopoavtprRs
o 'Ap,uelotov
voeyeros
Ha,ufv)tos
K.7".\.
Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79), in his Ziss.ffiat.xxx.1,2, makes
Zoroastel'snative land even fulther west, in Proconessus,the
islandin the Propontus. See VVindischmann,
Zor. Stud.,p. 299.
o's

evTl

Hermodorus,
the discipleof Plato, quotedhy DiogenesLaertes,
Proem.2 ad init., speaksof Zoroasteras a Persian: ZzpoavTprr

vor

HepSv^.

Suilas in his Lexicon (s. v. Z@poavtprRs)

terms Zoroaster a
" Perso-Median
" (Elepo,ur8os
vofos). This point also is worth
noticing.

The ArmenianMosesof Chorene(A.D. 431), i. 16, makes Zoroastera contemporaryof Semiramis,and calls him "a Magian,
the sovereignof the Medes." F;eeGilmore,Xtesias'Perszka,p. 30
ote, and Spiegel,EranischeAlterth?smsk?bnde
i. 682.
Argumentshave furthermorebeen blought forward to show
that in the fragmentsthat have been preservedof Berosus of
Babv]on(B.C. 250) mentionis madeof the name Zoroasteras a
Mediall; but whetherthe founderof the religionis to be understoodby this remainsuncertain.
'rhe classicalreferencesabove,if viewed alone, appearon the
surface extremely contradictory;and fromthem it would seem
as if little could with certaintybe deduced. Laying aside these
authorities,however,recoursemay now be had to the moredirect
Iraniantradition. To this may be added one or two quite explicit statementsfromother Oriental,thoughnon-lraniansources.
If these be carefullvexamined,we shall be surplisedto find that
there reallyis an agreementin referenceson the one handtothe
field of Zoroaster'spreaching,and on the other to his probable
home. This will give us a new light in which to criticise the
classical statements.
B. IRANIANTHETRADITION.
1. Bactria-Scene of Prophetic Career.

A study of the Avesta showsthat most of the scenesdescribed

in that book areto be locatedin easternIran; in the later Persian
epic, the Shah-Namah,also, it is in the east that Zoroaster'smission is carriedon. Traditionalso has it that the prophet ended
his life in Balkh. These points all become significant when

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XGstttePtace 2
ZoroGbster's
Where?wGbS

225

viewed in their right light. Before proceedingto draw conclusions,however,we must examine in detail what is said in the
Avesta and other Zoroastrianworks with regard to the first
appearanceof the prophet. This point is of importance.
2. Media, Atropatene-Scene of the Prophet's Appearance.

Turning to the Zoroastrianbooks themselves,we find statementswhich plainlylead us to infer that the prophet really {irst
appearedin the west of Iran, either in Atropateneor in Media
proper.
The Bundahishplacesthe homeof Zoroasterin Iran Vej (Airby the river Darja and adds the fact that his
yana Tzaejah),
father'shouse stood on a mountainby that river. For instance:
Bd. xx. 32: I)araja rud pavan Atran Vej, mmnast
Por?staspabs.dar-tZaratustpavan bar yehevund
man-?>
' The Daraja river is in Airan Vej, on a hill (bar) by which was
the house of Porushasp,the father of Zaratusht.' See also West,
v. 82. Again,
Pahlavi Teztstransl.,S.B.EM.
Bd. xxiv. 15: I)araja r?d rudbaranrad, mamanast
pavan baMb;Zaratusvttamman
Zaratusvt
enan-zabtdar-?>
zad
' The Darajariver is the chief of exalted rivers,for the dwelling
of Zaratushtwas uponits banks; and Zoroasterwas bornthere.'
Therecan be little doubt that these unequivocalstatementsof
the Bundahishrest upon good old tradition. The statements
carryout in detail the lines found in the Avesta itself. In Vd.
xix. 4, 11,we a]soleain that the temptationof Zoroasterby Ahriman on the orle hand,and the prophet'scommuningswith Ormazdon the other,took place on a mountainby the river I)arja,
wherewas the house of his father Pourushaspa.
Vd. xix. 4: darejyapaiti zbarahinmanahePourusaspahe
'by the Darja, upon a mountain,at the home (loc. gen.) of
Pourushaspa.'
Vd. xix. 11: peresatZarathustroAhuremMazdawb. . .
[darejya paiti zbarahi Ahurai vanhave vohumaidhe
aonhano,Asai Vahistai,XhstathraiVaiqvyai,S7ventayai
Arr)eatee]
'ZoroasterquestionedAhura Mazda . . . upon the hill by the
Darja, praying to Ahura Mazda, the good, who is endowed
with good, to Asha Vahishta, KhshathraVairya, and Spenta
Armaiti.'
The referenceto the 'hill,' Av. zbarah (Skt. hearas, Phl. bar
Bd. xx. 32), is quite in accordwith the tradition that Zoroaster
avi
retiredto a mountainfor meditation: cf. Vd. xxii. 19: gairszrn
sbVispento-frasnao' towardthe mountain
spento-frasnao,varesterrz

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226

A. V. W. Jaokson,

of the holy communion, toward the forest of the holv communion.'

Sitnilar]y elsewhere (see below) reference is made to Zoroaster's
communings upon a mountain. Such prophetic meditations are
thoroughly Oriental.
This river Darja we may perhaps localize; it may be identical
with the river Darya, which flows from Mount Savellan (Sebllan)
in Adarbljan (Atropatene) into the Aras or Araxes. So also Darmesteter, Zend-Avestatransl., S.B.E. iv., Introd. p. xlix. For
the Aras (Araxes) see de Harlez, Avesta traduit, p. viii, tnap, and
Phillip and Son's (London) map of Persia. If this identification
be correct, the ancient Darja was in Media Atropatene.
lKnotherexplicit, although late and non-Iranian, tradltion connecting Zoroaster with the region of Atropatene is found in Kazwini. In this Arabic writer, Zoroaster is associated with Shlz,
the capital of Atropatene. Consult Darmesteter, Zend-Avesta
trallsl., oS.B.X. iv., lntrod. p. xlix, where Kawlinson's identification of Shlz with Takht-i Suleiman is noted. The passage from
Kazwini (quoted from Rawvlinson)reads: "In Shiz is the firetemple of Azerekhsh, the most celebrated of the Pyrsa of the Magi;
in the days of the fire-worship,the kings always came on foot,
upon pilgrimagre. The temple of Azerekhsh is ascribed to Zeratusht, the founder of the Magian religion, who went, it is said
from Shiz to the mountain of Sebllan and, after remaining there
some time in retirement, returned with the Zend-Avesta, which,
although written in the old Persiall language, could not be understood without a commentary. After this he declared himself to
be a prophet." Thus far Kazwini.
The account here given, we observe, tallies accurately with the
statements and suggestions made immediately above. In the
Avesta, as above quoted, it was on a hill by the river Darja that
Zoroaster communed with God. The hill (zbarah)or mountain
(gatri) thus referred to by the Avesta would answer to Kazwini's
Mount Sebllan; the proposed identification of the Avestan Dalja
with the modern river Darya would be confirmed, as this latter
river flows from Mt. Sebllan into the Aras.
For the region of Atropatene speaks also the authority of
Alterth?mskunde,
i. 684), who, like
Yaqut (see Spiegel, Edran?>sche
Abulfeda, points to the town of Urumia as the native place of
Zoroaster. See also foot-note below, p. 231.
At this point we must furthelmore take up the tradition which
directly connects the opening of Zoroaster's prophetic career
with Airyana Vaejah or Iran Vej. This latld is often regarded
as mythical; it may originally have been so, but there is good
reason for believing that the fact of the later localization of this
region in the west of Iran points to the common belief that Zoroaster originally came from that direction. The 33undahish xxix.
12 connects Iran Vej directly with Atropatene: Ajran Vejpavan
kost-?>
Ataro-patakan. The river Darja, Ilear which stood the
house of Zoroastel's father, is especially stated in Bd. xx. 32 to
have been in Iran Vej. In the Avesta, moreover, Zoroaster is

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Xatz?nePtace
WhereqwasZ0t0C6steq's

227

familiarlycalled "the renownedin AiryanaVaejah": Ys. ix. 14,

sruto atryenevaejahe. The prophetis there also representedas
offering sacrificein Air.yanaVaejahby the river Daitya: Yt. v.
]04; ix. 25; xvii. 45, airyene vaejahi vanhuya,oda,ityaycz,o.In
the later Persian Zartusht-Namah see Wilson, Parsi Religion,
p. 491-it is the watersof the Daitl that Zoroastercrosses in a
miraculousmannerafter he has had the visionof the conflictwith
the demonsand of the final conversionof Medyo-mah. After
passingD>iitl,he receives the visions of God (with which compareYs. xliii. 3-15), and thence he proceedsto King Vishtaspa.
The Daitya was perhapsa borderstream; it is to be remembered
that it was on the other side of it (cf. pasne, Yt. xvii. 49) that
Vishtaspasacrificed. The Bundahishlikewise alludes to Zoroaster'sfirst offering worshipin Iran Vej, and receivingMedyo-mah
as his first disciple:
frat?sm
Bd. xxxii. 3: Zara,tusk,amatas dtn cZa,ttvand,
Vej fraj yask parsmad; Me.dyok-nxahM^n
#,en Atrctaw
mtnas mekadZund
' Zoroaster,when he broughtthe relition, frst celebratedworship
receivedthe religion from him.'
in Airan Vej, and Medyok-mblh
Cf. Justi, Bundahtsh, p. 79, and West, Pahlavi Texts trans].,
S.B.E. v. 14]. This Medyok-mahis the Maidhyo-mahof the
Avesta, Yt. xiii. 95; Ys. li. 19, the cousinof Zoroaster; and he
seemsto havebeen a manof influence. That he was the prophet's
first discipleis distinctlyrecognizedalso by the Avesta, Yt. xiii.
mathrenzeagmskasasnaoscv.
95: yo paoiryo Zarathusvtr(>i
All thesetraditionalOrientalallusionsare unanimousin placing
Zoroasterin Adarbljanor MediaAtropatene. Thereis yet another
passage drawn from the Avesta that connects his name with
Ragha (Rai) in the same region, or more particularlyin Media,
properlyso called. This allusionis in the Pahlavi versionof Vd.
i. 16. The Avesta text reads:
vahiskemfrathdvadasemasanhamca svoithrarwamca
weresereazem ?f ahuro mazd,o, Ragham thrizant?i>m
[vaedhanhonoit uzois (dfahakaz)].
'As the twelfth, I createdRaghaof the threeraces.' The Pahlavi
commentaryadds 'triple-racedRak, of Ataro-patakan(Atropatene); some say it is Ral; . . . some say Zaratustbelongedthere.'
This connectionof the nameof Zoroasterwith Ragha is also
given elsewherein the Avesta. In Ys. xix. 18, mention is made
of the five lords, " the lord of the house,the village,the province,
and the country,and the Zarathushtraas the fifth." By Zaraa high-priestor Iranian popeis apparentlyinthuRropgkAdRho,
tended. This orderof lordsholds good for all countries" except
the ZarathushtrianRagha." "The ZarathushtrianRagha has
four masters,the masterof the house, the village, the province,
and the Zarathushtraas the fourth";

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Rey orta est Mater,

228

c2zjtes

nonaenfuit vt Doyhd?i,. Here

A.V. W. Jackson,

yao anyao Rajoit Zarath?4sh>troit.

aonhamazaAyunam
ratXaya ainhG6o
Zardcthushtris<.
Raghnz
Cathru-ratusv
vtsyasca, zanturnasca,ZarathusBro
avo? lWqnctnyasca,
tuiryo.
above quoted,at
Thisreference,in addition to the Pahlavi just
been the chief
have
must
leastshows plainly that Ragha (Raji)
like manner,
In
see.
papal
the
government,
seatof the religious
iv. p.
S.w.g.,
transl.,
Zend-Avesta
Yaqut,cited by Oarmesteter,
which
Rai,
of
province
the
in
fortress
celebrated
a
describes
xlviii,
If Ragha was
wasthe strongholdof the Zoroastrianhigh-priest.
such religious
indeed the "ZoroastrianRagha," and enjoyed
it must have been becauseof Zoroaster'sconnection
prominence,
connection?
withit in some way or other. What was thisconnects
The directIraniantradition,we have seen, west ofZoroaster's
Iran; but
birth and the openingof his career with the
first with
how shall we account for his name being associated
of the
solution
The
?
Rai
Median
the
with
then
and
Atropatene
from
cited
allusion
interesting
An
difficultymay be found.
have
to
seems
298,
p.
Pers.,
vet.
Relig.
Ilist.
Hyde,
by
Shahristani
problem.
the
to
key
the
contains
apparently
it
been overlooked;
Shahristani,
Hyde,in referringto the Magi,quotesa passagefromAsseclae
vov
fuerutwt
Shahristani)
(inquit
hi
renderingit thlls:
tempore
SapientistWi Purshasp,qui azpparuit
Zers{eGsht
fgit Pater ej?s,et ew urbe
Xystasp. EMzregione Aderbctyaqjan
to the question
we have a new clew, and appal-entlythe answer
both pla'ces.
why Zoroaster'sname should be connected with
from Rai;
was
preserved,
has
tradition
the
as
mother,
%oroaster's
the latter
In
(Adarbljan).
Atropatene
his father was a native of
spent
have
to
seems
he
and
born,
was
probably
Zoroaster
refgion
It
Darja.
river
the
by
probably
life,
his
of
therethe first part
his
for
accounts
That
was therehis religiousmeditationsbegan.
Urumiah, Shlz,
name being associatedwith all this territory,
furthermore
may
Ragha
with
-MountSebllan. His connection
be plausiblyexplained.
most likely,
Thereis great reasonto believe that if, as seems
the imtoward
drawn
was
he
Zoroasterwas bornin Atropatene,
Jeruto
went
Christ
as
perhaps
somewhat
Ragha,
of
city
portant
Shahristani's
remember
we
if
natural
be
salem. This would
familywith Ragha.
statement,just above,connectinghis mother's
allusions,whereser
its
bring
and
tradition
the
consult
Let us again
muchis purely
while
Zartusht-Namah,
possible,to honor. In the
on good founclation.
legendary,there is also much that is based
Pahlaviworks. In
The book itself claimsto be founded on old
was thirty
Zoroaster
that
told
are
the narrativetheregiven we
apparentlyleaves
years of age when he beganhis ministry. He
Atropateneif the above views be
hisnative land, presumably
Pcersi
correct,for "his heart was directedto Iran." See Wilson,

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TEhere
was Zoroaster'sXg?e Place ?

229

Rets,qion,p. 490. He sets out, as described in the narrative, with

a company of followers crosses a seaSjourneys during the month
of Spendarmat (February) and on the last day of the month he
finds himself upon the confines of Iran. It is there that he has
the vision that Medyo-mah will receive his religion, and he dreams
of the army of demons from the east. It is with this point we
may connect Zoroaster's first attempt at preaching ill Ragha.
If the view here adopted be correct, the vision of the army of
demons may have been a forecast of Zoroaster's ill success at first
in Ragha and elsewhere misfortune, however, that was destined
ultimately to turn out successfully and in victory. There is good
reason for believing that Zoroaster's teaching did not at first meet
with success. The statement of Zad-sparam(see West, Pahtavi
Y'ezts,transl., S.B.E:. v. 187) would carry out this view. It is there
noted that during the {irst ten years Zoroaster obtained one disciple, Medyok-mah. This might apply well to Ragha.
A polemical allusion to Ragha, as shrewdly suggested by Geldner, KZ. xxviii. o()2-2()3, is perhaps to be found in the Gathas,
Ys. liii. 9. Unfortunately the passage is not quite clear, and the
reading of the text is somsewhatuncertain. Manuscript authority,
however gives the following text (Ys. liii. 9):
dqxzearenc6ist
vaestorast?>toi narepzstrajts
aestasa dejt-aretc6peso-tanvo
ku asvavaahura, yo ?>e
jyate?s hEmithyut vase-itoisecb
ku ma$rdatavc6hcheathremyct erezejyotdahb drigaove vahyo .9
This may provisionally be rendered (cf. Geldner, loc. cit.): 'To
the evil-believers hell (lit. poison, i. e. of hell) belongs. Those
man-banishing(?) Raghians, . . . theunrighteons (dejet-aretcs)are
accursed (peso-tanvo) ! \Vhere is the righteous one; O Ahllra
who will deprive them of their life and freedom ? Where is that
kingdom of thine, O Ahura, by which thou wilt give to the
right-living man, though pOOl', the best reward ? The text and
the passage, as stated, are obscure; but there certainly seems to
be contained in it the reminiscence of an imprecation against
the Raghians, the generation of vipers that shall not escape damation. This Capernaum, though now exalted, shall be thrust
down to hell. Cf. St. Luke x. 1a, St. Matthew xi. 30ff.
Zoroaster, cast out from Ragha in Media, may have tllrned to
Bactria, where at last lle was received by King Vishtaspa. According to the Zartusht-Namah, Zoroaster seems to have jourlleyed for a month or so, after his first vision of the army of
fiends, and then to have crossed the Daitl, whichn according to
the sllggestion above (p. 227) appears to have been a border river.
There he receives the visions of God and the archangels, before
proceeding to Balkh. The book of Zad-sparam (cf. West, Pahtav?>7Newts,
transl., v. 187) allows two years to have elapsed from
the time of Medyo-mah's conversion to the time that Zoroaster
won Vishtaspa over to the faith. The latter event, it assumes,

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230

A. F. W. Jackson,

took place twelve years after Zoroasterhad entered upon his

ministry. All this is consistent with the idea of wanderingand
meditation,when we take into accountalso the thousandor more
miles that separatedBalkhfrom Atropateneand Ragha.
Assumingthe suppositionto be true that Zoroasteroriginated
in Atropateneand was then drawn toward Ragha but thence
rejected, how are we to reconcile with this curse against the
Raghians (Ys. liii. 9) the fact that the same city became the
acknowledgedheadof the Zoroastrianfaith ? A solutionmay be
ofered. It is not at all impossiblethat, after successwas won in
in the east, in Bactria, a religious crusadewas begun toward
the west, especially against Ragha. Hystaspes himself may
have Joinedin the movement; his name is sometimesmentioned
in connectionwith Media;* and, accordingto the Shah-Namah
his son Isfendiyarpromulgatedthe faith of Zoroasterin severai
countries. Ragha, we can imagine,mayhavebeen amongthese;
and we may supposethat this Jerusalem-if we may with all
reverenceadoptthe phraseof our own Scriptures the city which
had stoned the prophet, at last received and blessed him that
came in the nameof Ormazd. Ragha was at last glad to claim
Zoreaster(Ys. xix. 18) as its head.
The assutnptionof the reminiscenceof a severestruggleagainst
unbelief,andof a changeof heart in the people?wouldmakeclear
why heresyaghenea x4paro-utmanohemas the counter-creation
of
Ahriman,should be so markedlyassociatedwith Ragha, Vd. i.
16; and it would explain why the scholiast in the Pahlavi version of the passageshouldadd the saving clause,vaedhanho noit
uzois, Ragha belongs no longer to heresy,but to the faith. It
has becomethe "ZarathushtrianRagha."
Resllmse.-If the above views be correct,Zoroasterindeedarose
in the west, most probablfT
somewherein Atropatene. He then
presumablywent to Ragha, but, finding this an unfruitful field,
turned at last to Bactria, where the prophet was destined no
longerto be without honor. He met with a powerful patron in
the king; churchand state becameone. From Bactria,the now
organizedstate-religionspreadbacktowardsMedia; thencedown
to Persia.
It can hardly be said that thus to reconcile the conflicting
statementsis begging the question; authoritycan be given for
* In the Yatkar-i Zarlran, ed. W. Geiger, Sitz. bayer. Akad., 1890,p. 50,
there also lurks, perhaps, in the words Hutos-i Rajur, an allusion to
:Ragha; and fronl them it rnight possibly be suggested that Vishtaspa's
interest in Media was partly through his marriage, as well as on political grounds. If there i# such an allusion to Hutaosa's having come
from Ragha, we might perhaps conjecture that the new prophet Zoroaster was originally .attracted from Ragha to Balkh through the queen's
alliance. Let us then recall Augustine in connection with Emma and
wiEthelbert. But the passage requires further study bef-oremere fanciful
conjectures are made, especially in the light of some apparently contradictory passages in the Avesta and the Zartusht-Namah.

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WherezwasZoroaster'sLatee lDlace?

231

every point that has been made. All the difficultiesdisa;ppear.

The referencesto Bactria in the Avesta and in the classics are
quite correct; there was the sceneof the great teacher'sa(3tivity.
'lthe referencesto Mediain the classics and in the tradition are
equally colrect; Media in its broadest sense was the original
homeof the prophet; thence camethe priests,for there,as Marcellinusxxiii. 6 latertells us, were "the fertile fields of the Magi."
The hint, moreover,that Zoroasterafter the conversionof Vishtaspavisitedhis own nativelandagain,but wasat last murderedat
Balkh in Bactria,is furthermoregiven accordingto traditionalso
by Anquetil du Perron, Zend-Avestcs, i. 2, p. 52; ii. p. 807-808,
Index. The latter fact about Zoroaster'sdeath may not have
been untrue.
The conclusionarrived at is that, though Zoroasteroriginally
came from the west, he taught and elaboratedhis religion in
Bactria; its blossomslater bore fruit in the west. The upholders of each side of the much-mootedquestionare in part right,
and yet in part wrong; the horns of the dilemma are at last
united, the question is at last solved. Honor to the tradition
wherehonoris due.*

APPENDIX.
Av. vaedAconhorzoituzois Vd. i. 16.

In the Avestan accountof the creationand counter-creation

by
Ormazdand Ahriman,the text at Vd. i. 16 reads:
dvadasem asanhG6msoithrarzamca vahistem f'rathweresens azem yo ahuro 1Saazda0ragham thrizantqzm[vaedhanho noit uzois ]; aat ahe pttycirem frakerentat anro
mainytespouru-mahrko aghemca uparo-v?>rnanohtn.

'As the twelfth, the best of regions and of jvlaces,I Ahura

Mazda,createdtriple-racedRagha liof ....
]- Thellas a counter-creationthe baneful Angra Malnyu created also the evil of
excessive

skepticism.'

The words vaedAc6nhonoit uzois are apparentlya gloss; the

Pahlavi versiondoes not renderthem. They haveexcellentmanuscriptanthority,however,and there mllst have been somegood
reasonfor addingthem. As yet they seem llOtto have been satisfactorilyexplained. A suggestionmay perhapstentatively be
put forward.
* Mr. A. Yohannan writes me that at a place about a mile from his
hotne in Oroomiah there is a pile of ashes from the fire-worshipers, and
that the p]ace is generally admitted by the people to have been the
abode of Zeradusht.
VOL. IV.

30

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232

A. V. W. Jackson.

In codex K2the word dahakas is added after z4zois. This addition is of no value,however,as dahakcii is evidentlydue only
to a mistake occasionedby the resemblancein sound between
uzois and azois. The manuscriptin fact itself has the word
afterwardsstricken out. See notes on the variantsin Spiegel's
editionof the texts, ad loc. We may therefore dismiss dahakai
withoutconsideration. There remain vaedhanho and uzois still
to be interpreted.
The genitive vaedhanho comesevidelltlyfrom a stem vasdhah.
An identificationwith Skt. vedhas adj. subst.,from Skt. >/vidh
' worship,serve,piouslyhonor,'at once suggests itself. On the
usage of the root, see the Pstersburg Lexicon,s. v. The word
Av. vaedRhahis probablybest taken as a neuter substantive. Its
aneaningwouldbe ' worship,service,piety.' To the sameradical,
Skt. vidh, belongs also the familiar form Av. nseaedhwayemsin
the invocation of the Yasna sacrifice. Perhaps also here the
form Av. vaethahu. The root requires further investigation,
however.
For the unexplaineduzois I would also suggest a connection
with the secondaryroot in Skt. ujh ' forsake,abandon,'cf. Whitney, Skt. Geam,. Verb Supplenzerbt
s. v. The significationof uzz
wouldbe ' apostasy,heresy,backsliding.' For the religioussense
comparealso Skt. bahmoShata.
The gloss vaedhanho noit uzois, as an added attribute of ragharn thrtzalti6}n, becomesftlll of meaning. Viewed in the light
of the above (p. 230), we may well believe that Ragha, which
had cast out Zoroaster,-may have been a hot-bed of heresy,
uparo-vtmanohtm, the creationof Ahriman,in oppositionto its
being the chosen spot (vahtstem) of God. In the ultimate triumph of the faith, it becamethe chief seat of the %oreastrian
religion. The scholiast, therefore,in adding vaedhanho noit
vzozs, is anxiousto assureus of the triumph; the city is not alone
' triple-racedRagha,'but also Ragha ' of the faith, not of herestT.'
The attribute, moreover,emphasizesthe distinctionfrom Ahriman'suy?aro-vtmanohtm,. It carriesout more perfectlythe dualistic system. The passagethus is interestingfrom the historical
point of view as well as from that of text-criticism.

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