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Ahura Mazda is the supreme god of Iran's most ancient religion: Zoroastrianism. While today this faith is a minority religion crushed between the often oppressive pressures of the Muslim or Hindu powers of their native countries, Zoroastrianism was once the beating heart that kept the ancient Iranian empires united. The origins of this faith are a bit obscure, however, at least in terms of archaeology. The oldest possible mention of the god Ahura Mazda comes from an 7th century BCE inscription listing the names of gods recognized under the reign of the Assyrian king Ashurbarnipal. Here a deity's name is rendered as "as-sa-ra ma-za-aš", which certainly sounds like a good match, but I should note that not everyone is convinced it's referring to the same god necessarily. The specific etymology behind the name is pretty clear: "Ahura" means "lord", cognate with the Vedic "Asura", while "Mazda" means "wisdom", ergo together "the Lord of Wisdom". As for cognates with the god himself, there are two related yet distinct commonly cited theories: one identifies him as an Iranian reflex on the Hindu god Varuna, the lord of the skies who rules over cosmic order. The other instead identifies Ahura Mazda with the unnamed Asura of Medhira which embodied the cosmic order Varuna reigned over itself in the Rigveda. To me, it seems most likely that this Asura Medhira became a more developed individual in Iranian cosmology and assumed the attributes fulfilled more by Varuna in Hinduism, but that's just my unprofessional opinion. Both deities are heavily tied with a god whose cognate in Avestan is "Mithra" and in Vedic is "Mitra". Both are portrayed as a sort of divine judge who balances out the actual deliverance of raw divine order on the cosmos. In Zoroastrianism, Mithra is demoted to a sort of archangel, though he enjoyed a small if not extremely altered worship in the Roman mystery cult of Mithras, but that's a story for another day.

Still, Ahura Mazda worship itself does not equate with Zoroastrianism. Ahura Mazda was once chief among many gods, often cognate with their Hindu counterparts. The earliest direct praises we have to Ahura Mazda, such as the Behistun Inscription made in the reign of Darius I (522 - 486 BCE), make no mention of the religion's titular prophet: Zarathustra (or Zoroaster, as the Greeks rendered it). As such, there is heavy debate as to whether or not the Achaemenid shahs were true Zoroastrians or not. Iranian tradition and poetry places Zarathustra's life right on the verge of the rise of Cyrus the Great in the 7th or 6th centuries BCE (specific dates vary depending on the source and translation). The narrative in the Avestas, the most sacred texts in Zoroastrianism, relates that Zarathustra found woe in the corrupt and blood-hungry clergy caste of the old ways. Then one day, a spirit embodying Ahura Mazda told him to spread the news that this old way is to be abolished, in favor of giving to the poor and living by the way of Ahura Mazda. It should be noted that in these earliest texts, Zarathustra does not expressly state the goal is monotheism, simply that Ahura Mazda, being the lord of all things good and sunshine, is therefore the only god worth giving any attention to. However, monotheism is very much the stance that modern Zoroastrians hold to. The first major convert to Zarathustra's new hippie faith was a king in the eastern chunk of Iran named Vishtaspa, usually identified as being the same Vishtaspa (or Hystaspes, as the Greeks spelled it), who was the father of Darius I, and who in actual history was a governor in that region under Cyrus. This is why I personally am willing to say that Cyrus and his kin weren't necessarily Zoroastrians, but Darius and his kin were, though again, that is simply my unprofessional opinion.

With the meta narrative out of the way, let's discuss the central mythology believed by practitioners of Zoroastrianism. The simplified version of the story goes as such: Ahura Mazda has existed for all eternity, and is the divine, benevolent opposite to an equally primordial but evil counterpart: Angra Mainyu. A branch of Zoroastrianism that emerged in the 3rd century came to believe that instead, these two gods were actually twin brothers of the primordial entity Zurvan (literally "time"), but this has since been decried as heresy by all extant branches of the faith. Either way, it came to pass that the moment these two cosmic opposites met each other face to face in the primordial void, the evil Angra Mainyu attacked Ahura Mazda, and the battle has been raging ever since. Ahura Mazda created the physical world as a trap to imprison Angra Mainyu, and it is up to us humans to make the choice which side we wish to be on when the prophesied final battle arrives. Obviously in a Zoroastrian view, Ahura Mazda is the ideal choice, as he will emerge victorious at the end of time and bring about an eternal Paradise for all the Earth. If that sounds familiar to you, you're not alone. Many scholars have pointed out that this cosmology likely directly influenced the emergence of the apocalyptic genre in ancient Jewish literature. Afterall, when Cyrus defeated Babylon in 539 BCE and allowed the Jews to return to their homeland as a vassal under Persia, the Jewish people began to have extended contact with the Iranian citizens of the Achaemenid Empire, and ample opportunities to exchange notes on philosophy and theology.

Design notes, sadly there is not a lot of ancient Zoroastrian art left, at least not that is widely cataloged online. This is likely the result of centuries of different Islamic dynasties cracking down on Iran's use of icons and "false gods". There is much more in the way of contemporary artwork, but I try my best to make sure I'm drawing reference from public domain images. Obviously, the basic silhouette I used for this design is taken from the faravahar motif common in Iranian iconography. Though I should point out, the faravahar is not necessarily a representation of Ahura Mazda specifically, and is instead a symbol with broad spiritual meanings, usually referring to the concept of what we may call a person's "soul" or "spirit". Still, there are times when Ahura Mazda is depicted situated in a winged solar disk like this, and you can't deny it just looks really damn cool. The specific bird I referenced for the wings and tail is the Eastern Imperial Eagle, a beautiful and proud specimen of a bird native to the region. His robes are admittedly a little simple, but I think it's balanced out by the wings, which are supposed to be the big eye catcher of the composition. I took their design directly from Sassanid era reliefs, so it may be a little inaccurate for the oldest periods of the faith's history, but on the other hand they're simple enough I think to circumvent that. I'm quite happy with the design overall, and hopefully any Zoroastrian viewing this would be pleased as well.

Description
Ahura Mazda is the supreme god of Iran's most ancient religion: Zoroastrianism. While today this faith is a minority religion crushed between the often oppressive pressures of the Muslim or Hindu powers of their native countries, Zoroastrianism was once the beating heart that kept the ancient Iranian empires united. The origins of this faith are a bit obscure, however, at least in terms of archaeology. The oldest possible mention of the god Ahura Mazda comes from an 7th century BCE inscription listing the names of gods recognized under the reign of the Assyrian king Ashurbarnipal. Here a deity's name is rendered as "as-sa-ra ma-za-aš", which certainly sounds like a good match, but I should note that not everyone is convinced it's referring to the same god necessarily. The specific etymology behind the name is pretty clear: "Ahura" means "lord", cognate with the Vedic "Asura", while "Mazda" means "wisdom", ergo together "the Lord of Wisdom". As for cognates with the god himself, there are two related yet distinct commonly cited theories: one identifies him as an Iranian reflex on the Hindu god Varuna, the lord of the skies who rules over cosmic order. The other instead identifies Ahura Mazda with the unnamed Asura of Medhira which embodied the cosmic order Varuna reigned over itself in the Rigveda. To me, it seems most likely that this Asura Medhira became a more developed individual in Iranian cosmology and assumed the attributes fulfilled more by Varuna in Hinduism, but that's just my unprofessional opinion. Both deities are heavily tied with a god whose cognate in Avestan is "Mithra" and in Vedic is "Mitra". Both are portrayed as a sort of divine judge who balances out the actual deliverance of raw divine order on the cosmos. In Zoroastrianism, Mithra is demoted to a sort of archangel, though he enjoyed a small if not extremely altered worship in the Roman mystery cult of Mithras, but that's a story for another day.

Still, Ahura Mazda worship itself does not equate with Zoroastrianism. Ahura Mazda was once chief among many gods, often cognate with their Hindu counterparts. The earliest direct praises we have to Ahura Mazda, such as the Behistun Inscription made in the reign of Darius I (522 - 486 BCE), make no mention of the religion's titular prophet: Zarathustra (or Zoroaster, as the Greeks rendered it). As such, there is heavy debate as to whether or not the Achaemenid shahs were true Zoroastrians or not. Iranian tradition and poetry places Zarathustra's life right on the verge of the rise of Cyrus the Great in the 7th or 6th centuries BCE (specific dates vary depending on the source and translation). The narrative in the Avestas, the most sacred texts in Zoroastrianism, relates that Zarathustra found woe in the corrupt and blood-hungry clergy caste of the old ways. Then one day, a spirit embodying Ahura Mazda told him to spread the news that this old way is to be abolished, in favor of giving to the poor and living by the way of Ahura Mazda. It should be noted that in these earliest texts, Zarathustra does not expressly state the goal is monotheism, simply that Ahura Mazda, being the lord of all things good and sunshine, is therefore the only god worth giving any attention to. However, monotheism is very much the stance that modern Zoroastrians hold to. The first major convert to Zarathustra's new hippie faith was a king in the eastern chunk of Iran named Vishtaspa, usually identified as being the same Vishtaspa (or Hystaspes, as the Greeks spelled it), who was the father of Darius I, and who in actual history was a governor in that region under Cyrus. This is why I personally am willing to say that Cyrus and his kin weren't necessarily Zoroastrians, but Darius and his kin were, though again, that is simply my unprofessional opinion.

With the meta narrative out of the way, let's discuss the central mythology believed by practitioners of Zoroastrianism. The simplified version of the story goes as such: Ahura Mazda has existed for all eternity, and is the divine, benevolent opposite to an equally primordial but evil counterpart: Angra Mainyu. A branch of Zoroastrianism that emerged in the 3rd century came to believe that instead, these two gods were actually twin brothers of the primordial entity Zurvan (literally "time"), but this has since been decried as heresy by all extant branches of the faith. Either way, it came to pass that the moment these two cosmic opposites met each other face to face in the primordial void, the evil Angra Mainyu attacked Ahura Mazda, and the battle has been raging ever since. Ahura Mazda created the physical world as a trap to imprison Angra Mainyu, and it is up to us humans to make the choice which side we wish to be on when the prophesied final battle arrives. Obviously in a Zoroastrian view, Ahura Mazda is the ideal choice, as he will emerge victorious at the end of time and bring about an eternal Paradise for all the Earth. If that sounds familiar to you, you're not alone. Many scholars have pointed out that this cosmology likely directly influenced the emergence of the apocalyptic genre in ancient Jewish literature. Afterall, when Cyrus defeated Babylon in 539 BCE and allowed the Jews to return to their homeland as a vassal under Persia, the Jewish people began to have extended contact with the Iranian citizens of the Achaemenid Empire, and ample opportunities to exchange notes on philosophy and theology.

Design notes, sadly there is not a lot of ancient Zoroastrian art left, at least not that is widely cataloged online. This is likely the result of centuries of different Islamic dynasties cracking down on Iran's use of icons and "false gods". There is much more in the way of contemporary artwork, but I try my best to make sure I'm drawing reference from public domain images. Obviously, the basic silhouette I used for this design is taken from the faravahar motif common in Iranian iconography. Though I should point out, the faravahar is not necessarily a representation of Ahura Mazda specifically, and is instead a symbol with broad spiritual meanings, usually referring to the concept of what we may call a person's "soul" or "spirit". Still, there are times when Ahura Mazda is depicted situated in a winged solar disk like this, and you can't deny it just looks really damn cool. The specific bird I referenced for the wings and tail is the Eastern Imperial Eagle, a beautiful and proud specimen of a bird native to the region. His robes are admittedly a little simple, but I think it's balanced out by the wings, which are supposed to be the big eye catcher of the composition. I took their design directly from Sassanid era reliefs, so it may be a little inaccurate for the oldest periods of the faith's history, but on the other hand they're simple enough I think to circumvent that. I'm quite happy with the design overall, and hopefully any Zoroastrian viewing this would be pleased as well.