Avesta word for "praise-song" (Bartholomae: "Lobgesang"); that word is not actually attested in any text. The surviving texts of the Avesta, as they exist today, derive from a single master copy produced by Sasanian Empire-era (224–651 CE) collation and recension. That master copy, now lost, is known as the 'Sassanian archetype'. The oldest surviving manuscript ("K1") of an Avestan language text is dated 1323 CE. Summaries of the various Avesta texts found in the 9th/10th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition suggest that a significant portion of the literature in the Avestan language has been lost. Only about one-quarter of the Avestan
Mehrdad Avesta and history of arts at the University of Tehran. He married two times in 1954 and 1966 and he had one son and three daughters. Avesta died in his office at Vahdat Hall of Tehran while he was editing a poem work. Mehrdad Avesta was born in 1929, in Borujerd. Born to a family of artistic history, he was also greatly interested in art, so he started writing poems from early ages, which were also published. He got his degree in Theology, and then studied philosophy. Along his formal education, he started working as a teacher. Besides, he served in