Roman Treatment of Zoroastrian Subjects

Awhile back I came to the realization that the later Roman Empire never had that much experience ruling over entrenched and organized religions.
That thought brought me to question how the Empire would deal with the peoples of Babylon if the province somehow managed to hold out against against any Persian reclamation?
 
Awhile back I came to the realization that the later Roman Empire never had that much experience ruling over entrenched and organized religions.
That thought brought me to question how the Empire would deal with the peoples of Babylon if the province somehow managed to hold out against against any Persian reclamation?

There were very few Zoroastrians in Babylon, but general Roman policy against fire temples except after specific clauses in treaties between them and the Sassanids stopped it was to desecrate fire temples. Heraclius did it in Azerbaijan.
 
There were very few Zoroastrians in Babylon, but general Roman policy against fire temples except after specific clauses in treaties between them and the Sassanids stopped it was to desecrate fire temples. Heraclius did it in Azerbaijan.

Actually, Mary Boyce pointed out that there were Zoroastrian communities in the Levant, Anatolia and throughout the eastern Mediterranean (not Mithraic). Pre-Christian Rome's treatment on them depended on the current relationship with Persia. Christian Rome pretty much persecuted them.
 
So basically the Zoroastrians continue to be persecuted as a minority regardless of territorial gain?
 

Redhand

Banned
Well, they did have some experience over organized religions besides Christianity, with the Jews, and did not handle it well at all. But as for Zoroastrians, the isolated communities in the Levant and Anatolia really didn't have much issues as long as they paid their taxes and all, until the empire became tied to Christianity, in which case the religion was not tolerated.

But as for areas with large populations of Zoroastrians, the Romans never really had enough state power in those areas to carry out a persecution, and with borders as tenuous as they were, they tried to appease the locals as much as possible.
 
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