Avesta

The Avesta is the corpus of religious texts of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. It represents the largest literature of the Old Iranian period and contains the oldest texts in any Iranian language. The individual texts of the Avesta were originally oral compositions. They were composed over a long period of several centuries during the Avestan period (possibly ranging from the 15th century BCE to the 4th century BCE). The written transmission began much later during the Sasanian era (224 to 651 CE), with the creation of the Avestan alphabet. The resulting texts were then compiled into the multi-volume edition of the Sasanian Avesta. This edition was lost after the Islamic conquest of Iran, and only a small portion of it has survived, scattered across a number of individual manuscript traditions. The oldest surviving fragment of such a manuscript dates to 1323 CE. These surviving manuscripts no longer contain the whole Avestan corpus but specific ritual or devotional texts. Important ritual texts are the Yasna, Visperad and Vendidad which are recited by priests in the eponymous Yasna, Visperad and Vendidad ceremonies. In contrast, devotional texts are used by both priests and lay people and compiled in the Khordeh Avesta or "Little Avesta" manuscripts. Aside from the Yashts, these manuscripts include the Nyayeshs, the Gāhs, the Sih-rozag and the Afrinagans.