Zoroastrianism is the religion traditionally associated with the prophet Zoroaster and ancient Persia.
Its sacred tradition centers on Ahura Mazda, the wise lord, and on the moral choice between truth and falsehood. The Avesta is the religion’s principal collection of sacred texts, although it was preserved in written form long after the earliest period associated with Zoroaster.
Achaemenid royal inscriptions invoke Ahura Mazda, especially under Darius I and Xerxes I. These inscriptions show that the deity was central to royal ideology, but they do not prove that the Achaemenid state practiced the later, fully developed form of Zoroastrianism in every detail. The religion changed across centuries.
Fire is important in Zoroastrian worship as a symbol of purity, but Zoroastrians do not simply worship fire. Communities traditionally maintain consecrated fires and emphasize ethical conduct, ritual purity, and care for creation.