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 Mehrdad Avesta Mehrdad Avesta (; 8 August 1930 – 6 May 1991) was an Iranian contemporary poet. Mohammad Reza Rahmani, publicly known as Mehrdad Avesta, was born in Borujerd into a literature and art-oriented family. When he was young, he changed his first name from Mohammad Reza to Mehrdad and his family name from Rahmani to Avesta in order to show his passion for ancient Persian culture. Avesta entered the University of Tehran in 1948 and finished his academic studies in same university with a M.A. degree in Philosophy. When he was 25 years old, he started teaching literature, philosophy