Two of the three major monotheistic religions today are Judaism and Christianity. Upon taking a closer look at these western religions one can't help but notice a common thread running through all three. The ideas of "one omniscient God" (hence monotheism) and "final judgment", resulting in spending an eternity in heaven or hell, are ever present. How do these largely practiced belief systems have so much in common? Who is responsible for creating the basic ideology of millions of believers today? The answer to these questions may lie in a man who lived nearly twenty-six hundred to possibly three and a half thousand years ago. Zoroastrians are the followers of the Achaemenian prophet or priest Zarathustra (or Zoroaster as the Greeks called him). (For clarification, I will use present day Iran in place of the Achaemenian Empire). Due to invasions of Iran and the destruction of their libraries, there are no sources to pinpoint the time frame of Zoroaster's life. According to documents that survived the eradications, Zoroaster ".flourished 258 before Alexander." Alexander the Great sacked the Iranian capitol in 330 BC, dating the prophet's birth circa 628 BC, while some scholars estimate his life around 1400 BC. Where Zoroaster was born and lived is almost as uncertain as when he lived. Arab scripts state that ".Zaratusht arose from Ragh." which researchers have concluded as Rhages, or present day Tehran Iran. The area in which he lived had an economy based on "animal husbandry". Nomads who frequently raided those people were viewed by Zoroaster as of order and called them "followers of the lie". So begins the basis of Zoroaster's theology. To understand the overwhelming effect Zoroastrianism had on the people of the ancient Middle East, one must take a look at their belief system. Iran, as well as the entire Middle East, was a land where many pagan gods and goddesses were being "born". During the time of Zoroaster, Mithra was one prominent religion practiced by the Iranians.
