Календарные системы зороастризма

Religious date system

Adherents of Zoroastrianism use three distinct versions of traditional calendars for liturgical purposes, all derived from medieval Iranian calendars and ultimately based on the Babylonian calendar as used in the Achaemenid empire. Qadimi ("ancient") is a traditional reckoning introduced in 1006. Shahanshahi ("imperial") is a calendar reconstructed from the 10th century text Denkard. Fasli is a term for a 1906 adaptation of the 11th century Jalali calendar following a proposal by Kharshedji Rustomji Cama made in the 1860s. A number of Calendar eras are in use:
A tradition of counting years from the birth of Zoroaster was reported from India in the 19th century. There was a dispute between factions variously preferring an era of 389 BCE, 538 BCE, or 637 BCE. The "Yazdegerdi era" (also Yazdegirdi or Yazdgerdi) counts from the accession of the last Sassanid ruler, Yazdegerd III (16 June 632 CE). This convention was proposed by Cama in the 1860s but has since also been used in conjunctions with Qadimi or Shahanshahi reckoning. An alternative "Magian era" (era Magorum or Tarikh al majus) was set at the date of Yazdegerd's death in 652. "Z. E. R." or "Zarathushtrian Religious Era" is a convention introduced in 1990 by the Zarathushtrian Assembly of California set at the vernal equinox (Nowruz) of 1738 BCE (−1737 in the astronomical year numbering).

The Babylonian calendar was used in the Achaemenid Empire by the 4th century BCE for civil purposes. The earliest Zoroastrian calendar (also misleadingly called "Avestan calendar") follows the Babylonian in relating the seventh and other days of the month to Ahura Mazda. Like all ancient calendars, the Babylonian calendar was lunisolar. It used an intercalary month roughly once every six years. In the civil calendar, intercalations did not always follow a regular pattern, but during the reign of Artaxerxes II (circa 380 BCE) astronomers utilised a 19 year cycle which required the addition of a month called Addaru II in years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14 and 19, and the month Ululu II in year 17 of the cycle. The first month of the year was called Frawardin, and the first day of Frawardin was the 'New Year's Day' or Nawruz, from which all other religious observances were reckoned – this day being, in theory, the day of the northern vernal equinox. A 365 day calendar, with months largely identical to the Egyptian calendar, was introduced shortly after the conquest of Egypt by the Achaemenid ruler Cambyses (c. 525 BCE). Scholars are divided on whether this 365 day calendar was in fact preceded by a 360 day calendar of Zoroastrian observances.

Following Alexander's invasion of Persia in 330 BCE, the Seleucid (312–248 BCE) instituted the Hellenic practice of counting years from the start of a fixed era, as opposed using regnal years. The regnal era of Alexander is now referred to as the Seleucid era. The Parthians (150–224 CE), who succeeded the Seleucids, continued the Seleucid/Hellenic tradition.

In 224 CE, when the Babylonian calendar was replaced by the Zoroastrian, 1 Frawardin and the New Year celebration of Nawruz had drifted to 1 October. The older custom of counting regnal years from the monarch's coronation was reinstated. Mary Boyce has argued that sometime between 399 CE and 518 CE the six day festivals were compressed to five days. The major feasts, or gahambars, of contemporary Zoroastrian practice, are still kept as five day observances today.

The Zoroastrian year, in Qadimi and Shahanshahi observance, concludes with ten days in memory of departed souls: five Mukhtad days on the last 5 days of the 12th month, and five more Mukhtad days, which are also the five day festival of Hamaspathmaidyem, on the five Gatha days. The penultimate day of the twelfth month is Mareshpand Jashan.

The civil calendar in Iran since 31 March 1925 CE has been the Solar Hejri calendar. This is strictly tied to the actual northward equinox, rather than a mathematical approximation to it. An Iranian day is reckoned to begin at midnight. Iranian time is 3.5 hours ahead of GMT. New Year's Day is defined to be the day, as reckoned by Iranian time, when the northward equinox (the precise moment in time when northern and southern hemispheres of the Earth pass through the point of the Earth's orbit when they are equally illuminated by the Sun) occurs on or before noon of that day, or during the 12 hours following the noon of the preceding day. This means that the pattern of leap years in the Iranian calendar is complex – usually following a 33 year cycle where the leap day is inserted every fourth year, but in year 33 instead of year 32, but with occasional 29 year cycles. From 1960 to 1995, the northward equinox always fell at such a time that New Year's Day in Iran occurred on the day called 21 March in the Western calendar. But this equivalence was not always true before March 1960, and the exact correspondence broke down again in 1996. In 1959, and at four year intervals back to 1927, Iranian New Year's Day fell on 22 March in the Gregorian calendar. In 1996, and subsequent Gregorian leap years, Iranian New Year's Day falls on 20 March. The pattern will shift back to a matching set of leap years in 2096 CE. The sources cited above state that the Fasli calendar both follows the Gregorian and was such that New Year's Day coincided with vernal equinox. These two statements are incompatible. The Fasli calendar cannot track both the Gregorian leap years and strictly start on the vernal equinox; further, any calendar strictly tied to the 'day of the equinox' must define when the day starts and ends, which depends on longitude
It seems a reasonable surmise that Nawruz, the holiest of them all, with deep doctrinal significance, was founded by Zoroaster himself.

The Fasli calendar has become very popular outside India, especially in the West, but many Parsis believe that adding a leap day is against the rules, and they mostly continue to use the Shahanshahi calendar. There is a proposal to correct matters by restoring the leap month, but unless this happens, the Shahanshahi and Qadimi years will continue to start earlier and earlier the unrevised Qadimi calendar would eventually coincide with the Fasli calendar in Gregorian year 2508, the Shahanshahi New Year will next fall on 21 March in 2632. It has also been proposed that the Shahanshahi calendar could be brought back into harmony through the intercalation of whole months.

Zoroastrian practice divides time into years (sal or sol), months (mah), weeks, days (ruz, roz, or roj) and watches (gah or geh). "The last evidence for the use with Old Persian month names comes from 458 BCE, after which the Elamite tablets cease." No dated West Iranian documents from this period survive, but the fact that the Zoroastrian calendar was created at this time can be inferred from its use in a number of far flung lands which had formerly been parts of the Achaemenid Empire. The oldest (though not dateable) testimony for the existence of the day dedications comes from Yasna 16, a section of the Yasna liturgy that is – for the most part – a veneration to the 30 divinities with day name dedications. The Siroza – a two part Avesta text with individual dedications to the 30 calendar divinities – has the same sequence. 1. Dadvah Ahura Mazdā, 2. Vohu Manah, 3. Aša Vahišta, 4. Khšathra Vairya, 5. Spenta Ārmaiti, 6. Haurvatāt, 7. Ameretāt 8. Dadvah Ahura Mazdā, 9. Ātar, 10. Āpō, 11. Hvar, 12. Māh, 13. Tištrya, 14. Geuš Urvan 15. Dadvah Ahura Mazdā, 16. Mithra, 17. Sraoša, 18. Rašnu, 19. Fravašayō, 20. Verethragna, 21. Rāman, 22. Vāta 23. Dadvah Ahura Mazdā, 24. Daēna, 25. Aši, 26. Arštāt, 27. Asmān, 28. Zam, 29. Manthra Spenta, 30. Anaghra Raočā. The quaternary dedication to Ahura Mazda was perhaps a compromise between orthodox and heterodox factions, with the 8th, 15th and 23rd day of the calendar perhaps originally having been dedicated to Apam Napat, Haoma, and Dahmān Afrīn. The dedication to the Ahuric Apam Napat would almost certainly have been an issue for devotees of Aredvi Sura Anahita, whose shrine cult was enormously popular between the 4th century BCE and the 3rd century CE and who is (accretions included) a functional equal of Apam Napat. To this day these three divinities are considered 'extra calendary' divinities inasfar as they are invoked together with the other 27, so making a list of 30 discrete entities. The 2nd through 7th days are dedicated to the Amesha Spentas, the six 'divine sparks' through whom all subsequent creation was accomplished, and who – in present day Zoroastrianism are the archangels. Days 9 through 13 are dedications to five yazatas of the litanies (Niyayeshes): Fire (Atar), Water (Apo), Sun (Hvar), Moon (Mah), the star Sirius (Tištrya) that here perhaps represents the firmament in its entirety. Day 14 is dedicated to the soul of the Ox (Geush Urvan), linked with and representing all animal creation. Day 16, leading the second half of the days of the month, is dedicated to the divinity of oath, Mithra (like Apam Napat of the Ahuric triad). He is followed by those closest to him, Sraoša and Rašnu, likewise judges of the soul; the representatives of which, the Fravashi(s), come next. Verethragna, Rāman, Vāta are respectively the hypostases of victory, the breath of life, and the (other) divinity of the wind and 'space'. The last group represent the more 'abstract' emanations: Religion (Daena), Recompense (Ashi), and Justice (Arshtat); Sky (Asman) and Earth (Zam); Sacred Invocation (Manthra Spenta) and Endless Light (Anaghra Raocha). In present day use, the day and month names are the Middle Persian equivalents of the divine names or the concepts, but in some cases reflect Semitic influences (for instance Tištrya appears as Tir, which Boyce (1982:31–33) asserts is derived from Nabu *Tiri). The names of the 8th, 15th, and 23rd day of the month – reflecting Babylonian practice of dividing the month into four periods – can today be distinguished from one another: These three days are named Dae pa Adar, Dae pa Mehr, and Dae pa Din, Middle Persian expressions meaning 'Creator of' (respectively) Atar, Mithra, and Daena. What might loosely be called weeks are the divisions of days 1–7, 8–14, 15–22, and 23–30 of each month – two weeks of seven days followed by two weeks of eight. The Gatha days at the end of the year do not belong to any such week.