The life of Zarathustra

The mystery surrounding the time of Zarathustra’s birth holds in itself the mystery that has surrounded for centuries the date of the foundation of Zoroastrianism itself. By Pahlavi tradition, Zarathustra is said to be born “258 years before Alexander” and therefore in 628B.C., as Alexander the Great conquered the Persepolis, the capital of the Achaemenids, in 330B.C, ending the rule of the Achaemenid dynasty that had ruled since 559B.C. Most historians and theologians, however, disagree due to the argument that Zoroastrianism is thought to have been around for longer, partly due to its influence on religions founded earlier, such as Judaism, but mainly through a study of the ancient scriptures and the language used in these writings, written after the time of Zarathustra, which imply that Zoroastrianism was founded earlier, possibly as early as 1700 B.C. Zoroastrianism was almost certainly around in 800B.C., long before the Pahlavi date of 628B.C. This earlier theor...