In the Path of the Prophet
Subtitle: Medieval and Early Modern Narratives of the Life of Zarathustra in Islamic Iran and Western India
Contributors: Skjærvø, Prods Oktor; Thackston, Wheeler M.; Sharma, Sunil
Published: 2012
Language: eng
Description: In the Path of the Prophet: Medieval and Early Modern Narratives of the Life of Zarathustra in Islamic Iran and Western India is a historical study of the discursive practices by which Zoroastrians struggled to define their communal identity through constructions of the central figure of their religion. I argue that Zoroastrians adopted cosmopolitan religious vocabularies from the Islamicate and Sanskritic literary traditions for a world in which they were no longer a dominant political force. Contrary to much scholarship, which characterizes medieval Zoroastrian thought as stagnant, I contend that literary production in this period reveals extraordinary intellectual engagement among Zoroastrians endeavoring to make meaning of their ancient religious traditions in a rapidly changing world.
Notes: Keywords: Cosmopolitanism and Vernarcularization, Gujarati Literature, Iranian Studies, Parsi History, Persian Literature, Zoroastrianism.

Thesis Ph.D. Harvard University 2012