Zoroastrianism in Azerbaijan of the world`s oldest religions Zoroastrianism was also practiced in the territory of Azerbaijan in ancient times. Zoroastrianism, sharing its name with its founder Iranian prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra), was the first monotheistic belief in the world and the official religion in Persia from 600 BCE to 650 CE. Zoroastrians believed that a god called Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord) created the universe. Sacred book of Zoroastrianism Avesta consists of two main sections: the oldest section contains the Gathas including seventeen hymns and the younger Avesta containing commentaries to the older one. It also includes myths, stories and details
Zoroastrianism progress towards perfection". Its basic maxims include: The name "Zoroaster" is a Greek rendering of the name "Zarathustra". He is known as "Zartosht" and "Zardosht" in Persian and "Zaratosht" in Gujarati. The Zoroastrian name of the religion is "Mazdayasna", which combines "Mazda-" with the Avestan language word "yasna", meaning "worship, devotion". In English, an adherent of the faith is commonly called a Zoroastrian or a Zarathustrian. An older expression still used today is "Behdin", meaning "The best Religion | Beh < Middle Persian Weh (good) + Din < Middle Persian dēn < Avestan Daēnā". In Zoroastrian liturgy the term is