Development of Zoroastrianism without Muslim conquest

[Balaur]

No. Why would it? Xwedodah certainly existed, but it wasn't as if it was a universally practiced custom or a custom which prevented the Sassanians from having healthy children as products of non-incestuous unions.

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Cousin marriage certainly wasn't universal in early modern Europe either, but it still led to some very screwed up family trees

 

[Isfendil]

I went to college with a Jewish guy whose family was originally from Iran. There are a lot of them in Southern California, apparently, and he said that in reality, things were not good at all and his family was lucky to have gotten out.

Milage may vary. Also things at the moment are not good for anyone in Iran right now, including even the government.

 

[Isfendil]

What scenario were you thinking of?

It isn't that impressive, it relies on random circumstance making the Plague break earlier for the Sassanians, allowing them to recover and hold up faster.

 

[CountPeter]

They would probably just replace eternal flames with electric lights in the modern era, as has been done with the Jewish and Christian sanctuary lamp or altar lamp.

Why would they if they didn't do this OTL? To the extent of my knowledge, the Parsis don't do that to this day despite the option being readily available to them.

 

[Thesaurus Rex]

Why would they if they didn't do this OTL? To the extent of my knowledge, the Parsis don't do that to this day despite the option being readily available to them.

The Parsees are also just a drop in the bucket among the population of India. A small population uses a small amount of fire fuel and doesn't really demand a lot of resources.

Since we're considering a TL where there's a lot more Zoroastrians than OTL, things might have to be a little different.

 

[CountPeter]

The Parsees are also just a drop in the bucket among the population of India. A small population uses a small amount of fire fuel and doesn't really demand a lot of resources.

Since we're considering a TL where there's a lot more Zoroastrians than OTL, things might have to be a little different.

Still... unless they develop some kind of Victorian love of science, I feel a lightbulb would be far less moving than a roaring fire. It's also hard to proclaim it as eternal if (unlike a fire) the bulb will have to be replaced.

 

[Thesaurus Rex]

Still... unless they develop some kind of Victorian love of science, I feel a lightbulb would be far less moving than a roaring fire. It's also hard to proclaim it as eternal if (unlike a fire) the bulb will have to be replaced.

How many Zoroastrian priests does it take to unscrew an eternal lightbulb?

Right, which is why I think it's more likely there would only be 'eternal' fires in major temples, which could be used to light fires in more local satellite temples.

 

[Deleted member 97083]

Still... unless they develop some kind of Victorian love of science, I feel a lightbulb would be far less moving than a roaring fire. It's also hard to proclaim it as eternal if (unlike a fire) the bulb will have to be replaced.

If you lived in the 19th century the electric lightbulb would have been mind-blowing.

 

[CountPeter]

How many Zoroastrian priests does it take to unscrew an eternal lightbulb?

Right, which is why I think it's more likely there would only be 'eternal' fires in major temples, which could be used to light fires in more local satellite temples.

Ah gotcha.
As someone big on eastern religions, I would find it endlessly dissapointing though to go into an Iranian temple and find a lightbulb on display

 

[CountPeter]

If you lived in the 19th century the electric lightbulb would have been mind-blowing.

Literally if it exploded whilst you got too close.

 

[Timaeus]

Why would any of the eternal flames of the Zoroastrian fire temples be substantially bigger than the eternal flames in every well-maintained memorial center in the West?