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In Search of Zarathustra: Across Iran and Central Asia to Find the World's First Prophet
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Average Rating:  out of 9 Reviews
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Price: $15.00
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Sale: $8.88
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Manufacturer: Vintage
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EAN (European Article Number): 9781400031429
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Paperback
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Author: Paul Kriwaczek
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Publisher: Vintage
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Dewey Decimal Number: 295
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Publication Date: 2004-03-09
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Reading Level: 288
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Description: Long before the first Hebrew temple, before the birth of Christ or the mission of Muhammad, there lived in Persia a prophet to whom we owe the ideas of a single god, the cosmic struggle between good and evil, and the Apocalypse. His name was Zarathustra, and his teachings eventually held sway from the Indus to the Nile and spread as far as Britain.
Following Zarathustra’s elusive trail back through time and across the Islamic, Christian, and Jewish worlds, Paul Kriwaczek uncovers his legacy at a wedding ceremony in present-day Central Asia, in the Cathar heresy of medieval France, and among the mystery cults of the Roman empire. He explores pre-Muslim Iran and Central Asia, ultimately bringing us face to face with the prophet himself, a teacher whose radical humility shocked and challenged his age, and whose teachings have had an enduring effect on Western thought. The result is a tour de force of travel and historical inquiry by an adventurer in the classic tradition.
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: A Forgotten Spiritual Ancestor |
Date: 2007-02-06 |
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Details: With the eyes of the news media focused on Iran and its undeniable influence in the Middle East, few have questioned the essential differences between Shiah and Sunni Islam and the history that has led the Shiites to consider Iraq holy ground and Iran the center of a new Islamic civilization. When questions are finally asked, one answer rings clearly: Mesopotamia and Persia are the very cradles of western dynastic civilization, Islamic or otherwise. Few human memories or legends are as old as these places. One tradition in particular echoes throughout the works of scribes and cantors: the faith of Zarathustra, the first messenger of the dominion of one Eternal God.
The downfall of the Shah of Iran and rise of fundamentalist Islam was America's first national experience of Middle Eastern theocratic extremism. The taking of American hostages in 1979 not only placed Shiah Islam in the center of world attention, but also affected American internal politics as it doomed the Carter administration to electoral failure.
Many in the West received a crash course on divisions within Islam as journalists, policy makers, and academics struggled to make sense of this new wrinkle in the rich and varied history of Iran. The many cultures, peoples, languages, and belief systems that have crossed the landscape of ancient Persia and modern Iran have come under intensive scrutiny and careful study in the last quarter century. While travel has been restricted across Iran at various times and for various reasons, scholars, tourists, and pilgrims have had opportunities to explore the rich undercurrents of history and faith that lie beneath the thin, but firm veneer of fundamentalist Shiah Islam.
Paul Kriwaczek is one such explorer who has carefully and honestly nurtured a pointed curiosity about an aspect of our global religious heritage of which many are only periferally aware. In Search of Zarathustra: Across Iran and Central Asia to Find the World's First Prophet is Kriwaczek's candid and personal examination of the far-reaching influence of Zoroastrianism, the national and indigenous religion of Ancient Persia.
Kriwaczek, a dentist by trade who provided care in Afghanistan and Africa, has become an award-winning journalist, documentary film producer and director, and a recognized authority on Persian languages. As a naturalized British subject and member of the Royal Society of Arts, Kriwaczek explores many aspects of world culture, exploring faith, politics, and, of course, ancient and modern languages.
In this examination of Zoroastrianism and its global influence, Kriwaczek begins in France with the tragic history of the Cathars, a Christian heresy which declared, with many of its Gnostic predecessors, that all physical material is evil and that God is the only good. Kriwaczek sees links between this stark medieval "spirit-good/flesh-evil" belief system and the dualistic faith of Zarathustra.
The narrative continues through Zoroastrianism's homeland, the ruins of Sassanid Persia, and its imprint on Roman religion, reaching all the way onto the British frontier. The cult of Mithra, an agricultural deity with origins in Zoroastrianism, leaves only the barest artifacts of its popularity after Christianity nearly wipes it off the face of Europe. Kriwaczek digs even deeper than this into annual observances kept by Iranian Shiite Muslims. These rituals are far older than Islam, but the revolutionary government of the Ayatollahs deems their antiquity worthy of a tolerant attitude, or at least a blind eye. What are the endearing and enduring qualities of this faith that is more ancient than Jerusalem and yet nearly extinct except for pockets of adherents in Iran, India, Afghanistan, and the West?
As Kriwaczek cautiously seeks out the true believers in Iran's mountains, he finds the most ancient fire altars, perhaps the most ancient of all altars, as the setting for a serene and happy private wedding. In the footsteps of the world's first prophet, the author finds a dwindling, yet contented collection of the faithful. His compassionate narrative and thorough research breathe new life into a tradition that has fed so many creeds over so many centuries and brings the image of a forgotten spiritual ancestor into clear, bright relief.
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Review Summary: From Nietzsche to Zarathustra |
Date: 2006-11-03 |
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Details: The ancient Persian prophet Zoroaster taught that the world was caught in a struggle between good and evil. He believed in one God, called Ahura Mazda, in a struggle with the forces of darkness. He was a theological monist and an ethical dualist. Human beings had the responsibility of working to bring about the good and eliminate the evil. The good would triumph in the end. Zoroaster was one of the first religious teachers to preach the afterlife. He founded a religion called Zoroastrianism which remains one of the fundamental religions of man and, although it has relatively few adherents, it survives today.
Paul Kriwaczek has written a fine book which is travelog, political commentary, history, and study of Zoroastrianism all rolled into one. Mr. Kriwaczek was trained as a dentist but subsequently joined BBC as a specialist in Central and South Asian affairs. It is good to see a nonspecialist who can write on Zoroaster with enthusiasm and knowledge and convey something of both to his readers.
The book is written in the form of a reverse chronology beginning with the present-day and progressing through successive chapters to the hazy early days (perhaps 1800 B.C.) of Zarathustra himself. We see many interesting figures along the way, and Kriwaczek is full of entertaining stories and digressions. This mostly makes the book a pleasure to read, but there are moments when the organization becomes confusing and the story gets a bit off track.
Kriwaczek spends a great deal of time on Frederich Nietzsche and his famous work "Thus Spake Zarathustra." He explains well the sources of Nietzsche's fascination with the ancient Persian prophet and he discusses the advances in scholarship contemporary with Nietzsche that helped make Zoroaster accessible.
The book continues with a mixture of travel, history, and philosophy through a discussion of the Albegensians, the religion of Mani, Mithraism, Cyrus the Great, and the Jews during the period of the Babylonian Exile and the Second Temple.
There are outstanding color photograhps illustrating the places and sites discussed in the book. Kriwazeck's treatments make no pretense of being scholarly or complete. But they are, on the whole, eloquent and thought-provoking. I enjoyed particularly the discussion of Mani, a reformer of Zorastrianism who gave his name to Manicheanism. Kriwazeck's account is based in part upon a recent novel, "The Gardens of Light" by the Lebanese author, Amin Maalouf.
Kriwazeck concludes that Zoroaster continues to have a great deal to teach. He sees Zoroaster has a predecessor of the "American religion" or "universal religion" (pp. 227-228) which emphasizes ecumenisism and toleration in a large society composed of individuals from diverse backrounds. Kriwazeck writes (p.228) that the Universal religion:
"comprises a belief in good and evil, angels, the devil, heaven and hell, the coming of a Messiah, and an eventual end of the world. These are beliefs with which Jews, Christians and Muslims can all agree-- as well as that majority who do not claim to believe in any particular religion. Every one of these ideas first appeared in Zarathustra's teaching long before the start of recorded history, a message as influential today as it ever was."
Kriwaczek has written a fine popular study of Zoroaster. It may awake interest in the fundamentals of Zoroaster's teaching and move the mind and heart of the reader.
Robin Friedman
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Review Summary: Lot of information, but a little all over the place |
Date: 2005-06-12 |
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Details: This book will probably make more sense to somebody who is already a student of history, particularly Central Asian, & therefore somebody who can, because of her already existent knowledge on the subject, decipher more meaning from the helter skelter approach that Kriwaczek seems to take.
This book is not a travelogue; it isn't all history, it is not about Zarathustra & his teaching. It primarily is about how the teachings of the prophet have influenced other religions, perspectives & philosophies; how it has been absorbed in different cultures & how it has been changed after such assimilation. However, this kind of approach itself, given that there is lot of speculation & connecting the dots kind of thing, somehow blurs the ultimate direction & subject of the book.
It might be Kriwaczek's own personal discovery of Zoroastrian history; but, by no means, is this a book of discovery. I am no student of history, but I think that though this book tells a few interesting stories, it compromises the interested reader looking for more chronological, structured documentation of Zoroastrian people, history and religion.
S!
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Review Summary: A Good Intro? |
Date: 2005-05-15 |
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Details: Maybe. I've shied away from the subject cause I feared getting mired in academic prose, which is not an issue with this book. Trouble is I am sometimes uneasy with this guy's historical conclusions.
In this book the author goes galumphing back through time to try and find the prophet Zarathustra, so in a way it is travelogue of history as well as the areas where historical events occurred. Iran, Afganistan, the former Soviet Republics above them, Provence, and the Balkans are some of the places we visit, and Kriwaczek tries to link them all together. Unfortunately, he presents some of his what ifs or perhapses as fact with a lil caveat thrown in to cover his ass. So instead of relaxing and learning and enjoying as I read, I was always keeping my eyes peeled for dubious dates or conlusions we were leaping to. Ugh.
That being said there are things I did like about this book:
A nice lil introduction to Nietzsche.
How Austrian kids would buy old Mercedes in Germany and drive em to Delhi to sell for a profit back in the day. Talk about a groovy road trip.
My knowledge of Iranin history was formerly a hopeless jumble. All I knew was what Gibbon told me -- the Romans could never thoroughly beat em. Now I have a semblance of understanding of what was going on in that part of the world, and I can tell a Parthian from a Persian.
His charactarization of the Steppes as a Highway of grass helped me to better understand why the hordes would periodically be sweeping down it throughout history.
The discussion of the Jews in Babylon and how they prolly picked up Zarathustrian ideas there.
The brief outline of Isreali history between the Jewish return from exile to the Roman occupation was nice.
I liked these things. Unfortunately I did not much like the author and I liked his prose even less. I also wish he would have listed books for further reading in a bibliography instead of in the text of the book. |
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Review Summary: I love this book |
Date: 2005-02-09 |
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Details: Lots of good reasons to read, including the fact that it's well-written and highly entertaining and very informative. I guarantee you'll learn a lot of things you didn't know and you'll be glad you did. |
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