Zoroaster was born in 628 BCE in Ray. A Persian prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism, Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra, taught that the wise god Ahura Mazda created the world and that human beings must choose between truth and falsehood. He is credited with the Gathas, the oldest hymns of the Avesta, the sacred text of the faith. His teachings on the struggle between good and evil, judgment after death and individual moral choice may have influenced later religions. Zoroastrian tradition places him in the sixth century BCE, but many modern scholars date him much earlier, possibly to the second millennium BCE, in eastern Iran or Central Asia, and little is firmly known of his life.
Before and after
- from 664 BCE to 525 BCETwenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt
- c. 660 BCEImperial House of Japan (traditional date)
- c. 657 BCEFounding of Byzantium (Istanbul)
- 642 BCEBirth of Nebuchadnezzar II
- 628 BCEBirth of Zoroaster
- from 626 BCE to 539 BCENeo-Babylonian Empire
- 625 BCEBirth of Thales
- 620 BCEBirth of Aesop
- 7th century BCEIntroduction of tetradrachm
More in Art, literature & culture
- from c. 776 BCE to 500 CEAncient Olympic Games
- c. 520 BCECarving of the Behistun inscription
- c. 430s BCEHerodotus writes the Histories
- 2nd century BCEVenus de Milo
- c. 4 BCENativity of Jesus
- June 313 CEEdict of Milan
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 7th century BCE.