"Zoroastrianism is one of the world's great ancient religions. In present-day Iran significant communities of Zoroastrians (who take their name from the founder of the faith, the remarkable religious reformer Zoroaster, or--in the old Avestan language--Zarathustra) still practise the rituals and teach the moral precepts that once undergirded the officially state-sanctioned faith of the mighty Sasanian empire. Beyond Iran, the Zoroastrian diaspora...

Discusses the mythology of ancient Persia and of religions which have flourished there, notably Zoroastrianism.

A fleet of boats dock at the port of Sanjan in Gujarat in 720 CE. They carry eighteen thousand frightened souls fleeing the cruelty of Iran's Umayyad Caliphate. Chanting Sanskrit-like prayers, the high priest consecrates a sacred fire to thank their god, Ahura Mazda, leading them to a new home and hope. He uses a mysterious substance to spark the flame, but few know of its miraculous properties or provenance. Centuries later, Parsi scientist Jim Dastoor...

The definitive history of Iran, from the ancient Persian empires to today Iran is a land of contradictions. It is an Islamic republic, but one in which only 1.4 percent of the population attend Friday prayers. Iran's religious culture encompasses the most censorious and dogmatic Shi'a Muslim clerics in the world, yet its poetry insistently dwells on the joys of life: wine, beauty, sex. Iranian women are subject to one of the most restrictive dress...

From disagreement over an Islamic Center in New York to clashes between Christians and Muslims in Egypt, tension between the three Abrahamic faiths often runs high. Yet for all their differences, these three traditions-Judaism, Islam, and Christianity-share much in common. Three Testaments brings together for the first time the text of the Torah, the New Testament, and the Quran, so that readers can explore for themselves the connections, as well...

"Introducing an extraordinary female lawyer-sleuth in a new historical series set in 1920s Bombay! Bombay, 1921: Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father's law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with a law degree from Oxford, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes her especially devoted to championing and protecting women's legal rights. Mistry Law has been...

The Silk Road is as iconic in world history as the Colossus of Rhodes or the Suez Canal. But what was it, exactly? It conjures up a hazy image of a caravan of camels laden with silk on a dusty desert track, reaching from China to Rome. The reality was different-and far more interesting-as revealed in this new history. In The Silk Road, Valerie Hansen describes the remarkable archeological finds that revolutionize our understanding of these trade routes....

Known today as Iran, Persia is known for one of the oldest and greatest cuisines of the world. It is refined, sophisticated, subtle yet distinctive, elegant and varied. Fruits, nuts, herbs, and spices are combined with rice, fish, and meat in combinations whose ancient influence can be found in the cooking of the Middle East, Spain and India. Persian cuisine is perfectly suited to today's style of eating-many of the dishes are vegetarian, and the...

Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty set out to discover how other cultures care for the dead. In rural Indonesia, she watches a man clean and dress his grandfather's mummified body, which has resided in the family home for two years. In La Paz, she meets Bolivian natitas (cigarette-smoking, wish-granting human skulls), and in Tokyo she encounters the Japanese kotsuage ceremony, in which relatives use chopsticks...