Zoroastrianism, arguably the world’s first religion to worship just one god, still exists today – mainly in India. But it barely survived an ancient blow. Specifically, the conquests of Alexander the Great.
When he took Persia in the 320s BCE, large portions of the compiled works of Zarathustra were lost. Some say it had once been over 12,000 pages. Called the Avesta, what remained was re-collected after Alexander’s death and standardized into a five-part text which is still used by believers today. The main section, named the Gathas, is a collection of hymns believed to have been written by Zarathustra during his lifetime. Other sections contain prayers, rituals, accounts of how the world was created, and Zoroastrian law.
