"Zoroastrianism has always commanded interest way beyond the circles of its actual adherents. Its unbroken history and distinctive beliefs span three millennia, making it one of the world's most venerable faiths - and also a tradition whose ideas have found favour elsewhere. The Three Magi of the New Testament most probably were Zoroastrian priests from the Iranian world; while the enigmatic figure of Zarathushtra (or Zoroaster) himself has exerted continual fascination in the West, influencing the thought of creative artists as diverse as Voltaire, Nietzsche, Yeats and Mozart (whose opera The Magic Flute re-imagines Zoroaster as Sarastro). For many centuries, from the birth of the religion late in the second millennium BC to its later adoption in the third century AD as the state religion of the Sasanian empire, Zoroastrianism - enjoying imperial patronage - profoundly shaped the culture not just of Persia but the whole antique world. For much of its history since the Islamic conquest it has endured as a minority religion, representing a direct link back to the powerful Achaemenids and the ruling Persian dynasties that followed them. The remarkable Zoroastrian story began another chapter in India when, after partial exodus from Iran, the émigré community since the early ninth century has enjoyed religious freedom and in the modern period great economic success. Like many religious communities, Zoroastrians now have a diaspora spread all over the globe."--Front jacket flap.