IOverview
Iran's Zoroastrians call themselves Zartoshti, followers of Zarathustra. They are the believers who stayed in the religion's homeland as the country gradually turned to Islam, and they form the second largest Zoroastrian community in the world after the Parsis of India.
For centuries they lived concentrated in two regions on the edge of the central desert, Yazd and Kerman. From the late 19th century, and especially in the 20th, most moved to Tehran. Unlike the Parsis, Iranian Zoroastrians speak Persian, and in Yazd and Kerman some keep a dialect of their own called Dari or Behdini.
IIHistory
After the fall of the Sasanian dynasty in the mid 7th century, Iran's population converted to Islam gradually over several centuries. Priests who remained compiled the great Pahlavi books to preserve the teaching. By the Safavid period the remaining believers were concentrated in Yazd and Kerman, living in hard conditions and paying a special tax levied on non-Muslims. In 1854 Manekji Limji Hataria was sent by a Parsi fund in Bombay to help the community open schools, repair temples and campaign against the tax. It was abolished in 1882.
The 1906 constitution opened the way to Zoroastrian representation in parliament. According to the Encyclopaedia Iranica, the Tehran community council was re-established in 1907 with Kaykhosrow Shahrokh as president, and between 1918 and 1936 the community built several well-regarded schools. The 1979 constitution of the Islamic Republic recognises Zoroastrians as a religious minority and reserves them one seat in parliament.
- 7th to 10th c.Iran gradually becomes MuslimRemaining believers withdraw to the desert fringe.
- 1854Manekji Limji Hataria arrivesBombay Parsis begin to aid the Iranian community.
- 1882Special tax abolishedThe levy on non-Muslims is lifted.
- 1906 and 1907Constitution and Tehran councilA parliamentary seat, and the Tehran community council re-established.
- 1934Yazd Atash Behram buildingHome of the only highest-grade fire in Iran.
- 1979New constitutionRecognition as a religious minority with one parliamentary seat.
IIIReligious Life and Distinctive Features
Iranian Zoroastrians share their teaching with the Parsis. The differences lie in custom, and this community has often changed faster. On the calendar, after a campaign in the 1930s many adopted the Fasli calendar, called Bastani in Iran, so their New Year falls on the spring equinox together with the national Nowruz. The Sharifabadis of Yazd keep the Qadimi calendar. On funerals, Iranica notes that Tehran has had a modern cemetery since 1926, and the towers of silence gradually fell out of use. On purity customs, from the 1940s and 1950s many Tehran families dropped older restrictions.
Misconception: no one in Iran follows the religion any more. In fact: the community continues, with fire temples, schools, councils, cemeteries and a seat in parliament. The 2016 census counted 23,109 people.
IVRitual and Festivals
In Iran the initiation rite is called Sedreh-pushi, the putting on of the sedreh. The largest fire temple is the Atash Behram of Yazd, whose fire community tradition says has burned continuously since around 470, and unlike in India visitors may view it through a glass wall. Each year believers make pilgrimages to mountain shrines around Yazd called pirs, the best known being Chak Chak. Winter brings Sadeh, with great outdoor bonfires, and the year closes with days of remembrance for the ancestors before Nowruz.
The Council of Mobeds in Tehran began discussing roles for women as priestly assistants in 2009. Middle East Eye reported in 2015 that several women in Tehran had been initiated as mobedyar, assistant priests, a step most Parsi communities have not taken.
VOrganisation and Distribution
The community has councils in Tehran, Yazd, Kerman and some other cities, and a Council of Mobeds in Tehran handles priestly matters. One Zoroastrian is elected to parliament through the reserved seat. According to Iranica, Tehran's Zoroastrian population rose from about 450 in 1877 to 4,992 in 1956 and 9,353 in 1966, showing the move to the capital.
For the country as a whole, the 2011 census recorded 25,271 and the 2016 census 23,109. The FEZANA survey of 2012 gives two figures, 15,000 and 25,271. An online survey in 2020 produced a much higher rate of self-identification, but researchers note that it reflects identification tied to national identity rather than membership of the community. After 1979 many families emigrated to North America, Europe and Australia.
VIIn Vietnam
No community of Iranian Zoroastrians is recorded in Vietnam. Vietnamese people encounter the religion in Iran mainly as tourists, visiting the fire temple of Yazd and the disused towers of silence on the hills outside the city.
VIISymbol of the Branch
No distinct symbol
VIIIOther Branches of Zoroastrianism
Parsisપારસી ParsiDescendants of Zoroastrians who left Iran for Gujarat over a thousand years ago.Iranian Zoroastriansزرتشتیان ZartoshtiyanZoroastrians who remained in Iran, centred in Yazd, Kerman and Tehran, with a Council of Mobeds in Tehran.
Iranis (India)IraniZoroastrians who came from Qajar Iran to British India in the 19th and early 20th centuries, still speaking Zoroastrian Dari.Uses the common symbol of the pathShahenshahi calendar groupShahanshahi, ShenshaiFollowers of the traditional Indian Parsi calendar, the majority among Parsis.Uses the common symbol of the pathKadmi (Qadimi) calendar groupQadimi, KadmiA section of Parsis adopted the Qadimi calendar in 1745.Uses the common symbol of the pathFasli calendar groupFasli, called Bastani in IranA seasonal calendar with a leap day, proposed in 1906 and widely adopted in Iran after 1930 and in the West.Uses the common symbol of the pathReformist ZoroastriansReformistA tendency since the mid-19th century that takes the Gathas as the core and treats much ritual law as later accretion.Uses the common symbol of the pathIlm-e-KhshnoomIlm-e KhshnoomAn esoteric school started by Behramshah Shroff in India after 1875, teaching reincarnation and vegetarianism and keeping strict ritual observance.Uses the common symbol of the pathZoroastrian revival in Iraqi KurdistanZardeshti (Kurdish)A Kurdish revival movement officially recognised by the Kurdistan Regional Government in August 2015, with a fire temple in Sulaymaniyah.Uses the common symbol of the pathZurvanismZurvanA Sasanian-era tendency that made Infinite Time the source of both Ohrmazd and Ahriman.Uses the common symbol of the pathIXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
Are there still Zoroastrians in Iran?
Yes. The 2016 census counted 23,109, mainly in Tehran, Yazd and Kerman. The community has fire temples, councils, schools and a reserved seat in parliament.
How do Iranian Zoroastrians differ from the Parsis?
Same faith, scriptures and temples. The differences are language, calendar and custom: many in Iran follow the Fasli calendar, so their New Year falls on the spring equinox, and they no longer use towers of silence.
Does the Iranian state recognise the religion?
Yes. The 1979 constitution recognises Zoroastrians as a religious minority and reserves them one parliamentary seat, continuing representation that began with the 1906 constitution.