Ancient Zoroastrians forbade begging but encouraged people to help the poor

TEHRAN –- Although some lived in poverty in ancient Iran, beggars were looked down upon because people helped the poor and needy voluntarily due to their religious beliefs.

A law that prohibited begging was established in ancient times in Iran, but that does not mean that there was no sign of poverty in those years. In ancient times, those who lacked the daily necessities were usually supported by a close relative, since Zoroaster said that helping the poor was a good deed.

The poor lived in houses made of low-quality mud bricks which were much smaller compared to the homes of the rich. The houses had less pillars, and decorative facades were the exclusive domain of wealthy families. An ancient book of Zoroastrian traditions says, “Those who refuse to give food and clothes to the poor will suffer from thirst and hunger, cold and hot weather, and harmful animals and insects will bite their bodies.”

Iranian mythologist Jaber Anasori believes that since the time people became interested in gathering money and properties, poverty began to rise and this is still evident. Ahura Mazda also mentioned once that there would be poverty whenever there was drought and lying in a country, he added.

The funeral ceremony was also different for the poor and the rich in ancient Iran. When a member of a wealthy family died, the body was placed in a personal custom-made coffin. The shape of the luxurious coffins was circular at the top and triangular at the bottom. But funerals were quite different for the poor, who were wrapped in a winding sheet and buried.

In addition to the dissimilarity of the funeral ceremonies, the lives of the poor and the rich were quite different as well. Workers and the poor were obliged to work on a small piece of land and grow vegetables and fruits to feed their families. While other Iranian families were eating kebab and meat every day, the poor could probably afford such a meal only once a year.

According to Greek historians, there was a law during the Median era, according to which a poor man was considered to be like a slave of the wealthy man who provided food for him, but the difference was that the poor man could leave his master anytime he was not satisfied with his food. According to mythologist Katayun Mazdapur, there is not enough information about poverty and the poor in ancient times. She said, “Ancient times belongs to the history of kings and people had the least social role. There were poor families, but the reason why there is no evidence of this is because the least attention was paid to them.”

Due to instability on the borders and lack of any law to prevent begging for 1400 years in Iran, this phenomenon gradually expanded and has its own techniques now. Dariush Rahmanian, a professor of history at Tabriz University, says, “To look poor and homeless is still one of the tricks used by beggars.” He narrates one of the old stories about begging: “An old wife and husband were begging in Neyshabur (Khorasan Province). The woman owned precious gold and jewelry but pretended to be very poor. Once, in a crowded passageway, the old woman began to shout for help. She claimed that all her money was stolen. People gathered around her and asked her some questions. She lied, saying that she was from Hamedan and got married in Merv and was now traveling through Neyshabur, where all her money was stolen. At that time, her husband, who was busy begging on the other side of the passageway, shouted, ‘I am a poor man who has nothing, but the cries of this old woman have seriously moved me and I am ready to give whatever I have to her.’ The people were extremely embarrassed by the words of the old man and gave all their money to the old woman.”

Mithra is one of the major Gods in the Zoroastrian faith.
It would have been remiss to list only what I remembered from my course on History of Major World Religions. In order to provide the most complete information on the Zoroastrian faith and it's influence on our Judeo-Christian beliefs.
We must remember Abram, father of the Hebrews, was Chaldean, an Aryan group. Daniel's lion's den, Babylon. December 25, Ahura-Mazda's birthday. Well, read on. Only the theologically ignorant could deny the influences. Surprisingly, many so-called Christian concepts actually were derived from Zoroastrian Aryan ideas which thrived in Iran for thousands of years until the Arab invasion of Iran around 1300 years ago. Concepts such as heaven and hell, God and the evil adversary ahriman, the coming of the Saviour or Saoshyant born of a virgin, the end-time purge of the world by Fire followed by the resurrection of the dead (Ristakhiz), the making fresh of the world (Frashogard) and the final battle between good and evil leading to the final defeat of evil. These beliefs filtered down to Judaism during the reign of King Khushru (Cyrus) of Iran. Although proud to be Aryans, Zoroastrians also believe that all races in the world are created by God and are equal - a true sign of the real ancient Aryan's nobility and tolerance. Cyrus, King of Iran who was an Aryan rebuilt the temple of the Jews after freeing the Jews from Babylon - for this, he is still remembered by the Jews and called the "Anointed of the Lord" in the Bible. The Jews still celebrate that act of the true Aryans in a festival. Many Jews then stayed in Iran under Cyrus and his successors such as Darayus, as equal subjects under the King. Books of the Bible written after this stay have taken all these Zoroastrian concepts, from there they came to Christianity and other religions. There are scholars who consider Zoroastrianism as such to be the mother religion of the present day world's faiths. In fact the edict of Cyrus proclaiming equality for all his subjects is enshrined in the United Nations today. The original Aryans were realy multicultural and tolerant of all races! So, it is probable that the Jews were influenced by the Zoroastrian faith of Iran in those days - and took on the concepts of heaven/hell, God's evil adversary, the resurrection and the final purification of the world - the virgin birth, the Saviour etc., all these concepts being Zoroastrian. There are other similarities too - certain purificatory observances such as the impurity of menstruation etc. are found in both faiths. Indeed, the very idea of the Messiah, and the very concept of Jesus could be Zoroastrian in origin. Zarathushtra's religion was the prominent one in Iran until the conquest by the Arabs, around 1300 years ago, who converted Iran to Islam. To preserve the Zoroastrian faith, this most ancient of faiths, indeed the "mother" faith of all mankind, a band of the Zarathushtrians sailed by boat to India about 1300 years ago, and settled in India where they were called the Parsees (from "Pars" ie. Iran). I am a descendant of these migrants. Rare as diamonds are, we number 100,000 or so in the world today.

I think that serious students of religion do find it worth reading about.

No doubt about it, but most people are not serious students of religion. Most Christians have not heard of this religion, never mind realize that much of their religious traditions and doctrine are derived from it. There is much to respect in Zoroastrianism.

Had Sobieski not charged 140,000 Turks with 20,000 men and saved Vienna, Christianity might very well have suffered the fate of Zoroastrianism, falling before the tide of militant Islam. It is interesting that the high-water mark of Islam for world domination was September 11th -- the symbolism is not lost on some. Sobieski, now there was a guy with conviction, honor, and balls of steel. It is no wonder that ranks among Poland's greatest heros.

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