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
Zoroaster and myths. Zoroaster's name in his native language, Avestan, was probably "Zaraϑuštra". His English name, "Zoroaster", derives from a later (5th century BCE) Greek transcription, "Zōroastrēs" (), as used in Xanthus's "Lydiaca" (Fragment 32) and in Plato's "First Alcibiades" (122a1). This form appears subsequently in the Latin "" and, in later Greek orthographies, as Ζωροάστρις "Zōroastris". The Greek form of the name appears to be based on a phonetic transliteration or semantic substitution of Avestan "zaraϑ-" with the Greek ζωρός "zōros" (literally "undiluted") and the Avestan "-uštra" with ἄστρον "astron" ("star"). In Avestan, "Zaraϑuštra" is generally accepted to derive from