Avestan

Glossaries

Term	Definition
Avestan	Avestan is the ancient language used to compose the Avesta, the sacred text of Zoroastrianism, spoken mainly between the 1st millennium BCE and the early Common Era in eastern Iran. Avestan is an ancient Iranian language belonging to the eastern branch of the Indo-Iranian family, itself part of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily known from the Avesta, the religious corpus of Zoroastrianism, and is divided into two main forms: Old (or Gathic) Avestan, the language of hymns attributed to the prophet Zarathustra, and Younger Avestan, used for later parts of the canon. The Avestan texts were transmitted orally for centuries before being written down, likely during the Sassanian period, using a specific script derived from Aramaic. Linguistic features include a complex verbal and nominal system, closely related to Old Persian yet marked by distinct phonetic and grammatical traits. Although it ceased to be a spoken vernacular, Avestan retained a liturgical and scholarly role within Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrian priests still learn and recite it in rituals, though full comprehension is now mostly the domain of specialists. Its study is crucial for comparative linguistics and the history of Indo-Iranian religions.

Term

Definition

Avestan is the ancient language used to compose the Avesta, the sacred text of Zoroastrianism, spoken mainly between the 1st millennium BCE and the early Common Era in eastern Iran.

Avestan is an ancient Iranian language belonging to the eastern branch of the Indo-Iranian family, itself part of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily known from the Avesta, the religious corpus of Zoroastrianism, and is divided into two main forms: Old (or Gathic) Avestan, the language of hymns attributed to the prophet Zarathustra, and Younger Avestan, used for later parts of the canon.

The Avestan texts were transmitted orally for centuries before being written down, likely during the Sassanian period, using a specific script derived from Aramaic. Linguistic features include a complex verbal and nominal system, closely related to Old Persian yet marked by distinct phonetic and grammatical traits.

Although it ceased to be a spoken vernacular, Avestan retained a liturgical and scholarly role within Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrian priests still learn and recite it in rituals, though full comprehension is now mostly the domain of specialists. Its study is crucial for comparative linguistics and the history of Indo-Iranian religions.