During the session of "The history of Avesta's books and ancient texts", Iranian researcher of culture and Iran's ancient history Pedram Sorosh-pour said:" Avesta studies has divided Europeans into two periods; first the era of noted Anquetil-Duperron and second the period of Burnouf. Europeans got to know Avesta in 1630AD .

IBNA: The special session of "The history of Avesta's books and ancient texts" was held Sunday evening, Dec. 25, in which Pedram Sorosh-pour delivered a speech.

Sorosh-pour said:" In 1630AD, Henry Lord wrote a book about the Zoroastrians. In 1671AD another author named Gabriel de Chinon offered more information about them saying that the ancient religion of Iranians is still alive and its followers have a holy book which is been written is a specific language."

He added:" In 1700AD great English orientalist Thomas Hyde presented a theory saying that in order to learn about a religion we should refer to its inner sources and original writings. The words caused a new movement among European scholars to recognize Avesta more."

The researcher added:" Then in 1723 a Surat merchant named George Boucher donated the book of "Vandidad" to the University of Oxford. The book was kept at the university's library but nobody was able to read it which indeed doubled the motives to recognize Avesta. A few years later a British citizen purchased 2 manuscripts of Avesta which were taken to England but again no one could read them."

The process continued so till Anquetil-Duperron traveled to India in 1757AD, when he was only 20 years old and Parsi priests taught him Persian. A few years later he returned back to Oxford and then left for France.

1771 he published his Zend Avesta (3 vols.), containing collections from the sacred writings of the Zoroastrians, a life of Zarathustra (Zoroaster), and fragments of works ascribed to Zoroaster; but since a cultural competition existed among the British and French people, the Brits specially William Jones opposed him. However he had some pros as well including German Johann Friedrich Kleuker who translated Avesta into German."

He went on to say that in 1793AD, Silvestre de Sacy worked on the Pahlavi inscriptions of the Sassanid kings through which he learned that the language of Avesta totally differs from Sassanid's Pahlavi language. But Eugène Burnouf bestowed a great development in the studies of Avesta. He researched Duperron's translations a lot and found two major mistakes.

First the priests who taught the Avestan language to Duperron weren’t too fluent in the language themselves and then that Duperron should have learned the language through Sanskrit.

The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years.

The various texts are thought to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they found written form in the 3rd century. According to legend preserved in the Book of Arda Viraf, a 3rd or 4th century work, a written version of the religious texts had existed in the palace library of the Achaemenid kings (559–330 BC), but which was then supposedly lost in a fire caused by the troops of Alexander.

He added:" During the Sassanid era, Ardeshir Babakan ordered to collect Avesta again."

Id : 125611