VendidadLe Vendidad ou Videvdat est un recueil de textes ( s. av. J.-C. ? s. ?) faisant partie de l’Avesta. Son nom vient de la contraction de Vî-Daêvô-Dāta, signifiant en avestique « donné contre les démons ». Ainsi que le suggère ce nom, le Vendidad est une énumération des différentes manifestations des esprits démoniaques, et des manières de les écarter. Abraham Hyacinthe Anquetil du Perron, Vedidad-Sadé dans Zend-Avesta, ouvrage de Zoroastre, t. I, §2, 1771. Charles de Harlez, Avesta. Livre sacré du zoroastrisme.
Kayanian dynastyThe Kayanians (Persian: دودمان کیانیان; also Kays, Kayanids, Kaianids, Kayani, or Kiani) are a legendary dynasty of Persian/Iranian tradition and folklore which supposedly ruled after the Pishdadians. Considered collectively, the Kayanian kings are the heroes of the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, and of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Greater Iran. As an epithet of kings and the reason the dynasty is so called, Middle 𐭪𐭣 and New Persian kay(an) originates from Avestan 𐬐𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬌 kavi (or kauui) "king" and also "poet-sacrificer" or "poet-priest".
VisperadVisperad or Visprad is either a particular Zoroastrian religious ceremony or the name given to a passage collection within the greater Avesta compendium of texts. The Visperad ceremony "consists of the rituals of the Yasna, virtually unchanged, but with a liturgy extended by twenty-three supplementary sections." These supplementary sections (kardag) are then – from a philological perspective – the passages that make up the Visperad collection. The standard abbreviation for Visperad chapter-verse pointers is Vr.
Middle Persian literatureMiddle Persian literature is the corpus of written works composed in Middle Persian, that is, the Middle Iranian dialect of Persia proper, the region in the south-western corner of the Iranian plateau. Middle Persian was the prestige dialect during the era of Sassanid dynasty. The rulers of the Sassanid Empire (224–654 CE) were natives of that south-western region, and through their political and cultural influence, Middle Persian became a prestige dialect and thus also came to be used by non-Persian Iranians.
ZendZend or Zand (𐭦𐭭𐭣) is a Zoroastrian technical term for exegetical glosses, paraphrases, commentaries and translations of the Avesta's texts. The term zand is a contraction of the Avestan language word (, meaning "interpretation", or "as understood"). Zand glosses and commentaries exist in several languages, including in the Avestan language itself. These Avestan language exegeses sometimes accompany the original text being commented upon, but are more often elsewhere in the canon.
Faravaharvignette|Le Faravahar. Le Faravahar (ou Fravahar) souvent simplifié Farr(ah) (persan : فروهر) aussi connu comme Forouhar (فُروهَر) ou Farr-e Kiyâni (فَرِّ کیانی) est un des symboles du zoroastrisme. Il trouve son origine dans le soleil ailé. Le panneau informatif du temple du feu zoroastrien de Yazd en Iran le définit ainsi : 230px|vignette|Faravahar à Persépolis. Le Faravahar est sur tous les frontons des temples zoroastriens et sur certains monuments, comme le tombeau du grand poète persan Ferdowsi dans l'ancienne ville de Tous.
Sasanian dynastyThe Sasanian dynasty (also known as the Sassanids or the House of Sasan) was the house that founded the Sasanian Empire of Iran, ruling this empire from 224 to 651 AD. It began with Ardashir I, who named the dynasty in honour of his predecessor, Sasan. The Shahanshah was the sole regent, head of state and head of government of the empire. At times, power shifted de facto to other officials, namely the spahbed.
MahMångha () is the Avestan for "Moon, month", equivalent to Persian Māh (ماه; Old Persian 𐎶𐎠𐏃 ). It is the name of the lunar deity in Zoroastrianism. The Iranian word is masculine. Although Mah is not a prominent deity in the Avestan scripture, his crescent was an important symbol of royalty throughout the Parthian and Sassanid periods. The Iranian word is cognate with the English moon, from PIE *mēns Although there are two Avestan hymns dedicated to the Moon, he is not a prominent divinity.
KushtiThe kushti (ˈkuːʃtiː) also known as kosti, kusti and kustig is the sacred girdle worn by invested Zoroastrians around their waists. Along with the sedreh, the kushti is part of the ritual dress of the Zoroastrians. The Avestan term for the sacred thread is aiwyaongana. Kustig is the later Middle Persian term. The use of the kushti may have existed among the prophet Zarathushtra's earliest followers due to their prior familiarity with practices of the proto-Indo-Iranian-speaking peoples, and its Vedic analogue, the yajñopavita.
Avestan alphabetThe Avestan alphabet (Middle Persian: transliteration: dyn' dpywryh, transcription: dēn dēbīrē, دین دبیره) is a writing system developed during Iran's Sasanian era (226–651 CE) to render the Avestan language. As a side effect of its development, the script was also used for Pazend, a method of writing Middle Persian that was used primarily for Zend commentaries on the texts of the Avesta. In the texts of Zoroastrian tradition, the alphabet is referred to as "the religion's script" (dēn dibīrih in Middle Persian and din dabireh in New Persian).
