Beate Dignas & Engelbert Winter - Kaveh Farrokh

Glossary 281
Vassal kings
In Iran these were individual local princes who tried to retain their independence
from the central power, the King of kings. In the Parthian Empire the
claim for power of the vassal kings led to the disintegration of the empire
and contributed significantly to the fall of Arsacid rule.
Zarathustra/Zoroaster – Zarathustrianism/Zoroastrianism
Zoroaster is the Greek form of the old Iranian male name Zarathustra. The
Iranian religion of Zarathustrianism/Zoroastrianism was named after this
religious founder or prophet. His date is as controversial as his origins. The
prevalent view is that he lived around 1000 bc in central Asia/Eastern Iran.
However, both a much earlier date (c. 1200 bc) and a much later lifetime
in the seventh or sixth century bc, which would correspond to the ancient
tradition, have been suggested.