Zoroastrianism Viraf Namag. All Middle Persian texts written on Zoroastrianism during this time period are considered secondary works on the religion, and not scripture. Nonetheless, these texts have a strong influence on the religion. Zoroastrianism was founded by Zoroaster (or Zarathustra), later deemed a prophet, in ancient Iran. The precise date of the founding of Zoroastrianism is uncertain. Zoroaster was born in either Northeast Iran or Southwest Afghanistan. He was born into a culture with a polytheistic religion, which included animal sacrifice and the ritual use of intoxicants, quite similar to early forms of Hinduism in India. Zoroaster's birth and early
Zoroaster died when he was 77 years and 40 days old. The later Pahlavi sources like Shahnameh, instead claim that an obscure conflict with Tuiryas people led to his death, murdered by a "karapan" (a priest of the old religion) named Brādrēs. In the Gathas, Zoroaster sees the human condition as the mental struggle between "aša" (truth) and "druj" (lie). The cardinal concept of "aša"—which is highly nuanced and only vaguely translatable—is at the foundation of all Zoroastrian doctrine, including that of Ahura Mazda (who is "aša"), creation (that is "aša"), existence (that is "aša") and as the condition for free