What is Zoroastrianism?
One of the oldest monotheistic creeds explained. With Rajan Datar, Dr. Sarah Stewart, Malcolm Deboo and Prof. Yuhan Vevaina.
It is a religion that has lasted three millennia, claims to be the world's first monotheistic creed and to have influenced major faiths such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam, inspired artists from Voltaire to Freddie Mercury but Zoroastrianism may be heading for extinction: in some communities only children of male Zoroastrians are admitted to the faith and there are probably fewer than 200 thousand left now.
Rajan Datar talks about the history of Zoroastrianism with Dr. Sarah Stewart, Shapoorji Pallonji Lecturer in Zoroastrianism at SOAS, University of London,
Malcolm Deboo, President of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe, the oldest Zoroastrian organisation on the continent,
and Yuhan Vevaina, professor of Sasanian Studies at Oxford University.
Photo: Faravahar - relief of winged sun symbol of Zoroastrianism in Persepolis city, Iran. (Getty Images)
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Clip
-
Sacred flames that burn for hundreds of years
Duration: 02:16
Broadcasts
- Sat 14 Apr 2018 19:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except Australasia, East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Tue 17 Apr 2018 08:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except News Internet
- Tue 17 Apr 2018 17:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Australasia
- Tue 17 Apr 2018 23:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except News Internet
Featured in...
Civilisations and wonders—The Forum
The people, stories and rituals that ruled the ancient world
Podcast
-
The Forum
The programme that explains the present by exploring the past