Zand-i Vohuman Yasn
Also known as: Zand-i Wahman Yasn, Bahman Yasht, Bahman Yast, Zand-i Vohūman Yasn, Zand-i Vohuman Yasht, Apocalypse of Zoroaster
A Middle Persian apocalyptic dialogue between Ohrmazd and Zoroaster that forecasts successive ages of decline, foreign dominion, and the eventual renewal of the world under the Saoshyant.
Description
The Zand-i Vohuman Yasn is a Pahlavi prophetic treatise presenting a dialogue in which Ohrmazd reveals to Zoroaster a vision of cosmic history. Drawing on a lost Avestan source, it outlines the sequence of millennial ages, the waning of the Good Religion, political upheavals, and the rise of hostile powers before the final renovation (Frashokereti). Its imagery includes trials of molten metal, the Chinvat Bridge, and the restoration of creation. Though framed as ancient revelation, the text reflects the concerns of the early Islamic period in Iran, recasting contemporary anxieties within Zoroastrian eschatology. It became a touchstone for later Zoroastrian apocalyptic and historical speculation.
Historiography
Surviving only in Middle Persian and Pazand manuscripts of relatively late date, the work is generally considered a redaction of material once attributed to a lost Avestan Bahman Yasht. Editors note multiple recensions and inconsistencies typical of Pahlavi transmission, with glosses and explanatory zand interwoven. Its historical allusions suggest composition or compilation after the Arab conquest, while preserving earlier motifs. The treatise influenced later Zoroastrian apocalyptic texts and was cited in early modern scholarship via translations and summaries.
Date Notes
Middle Persian redaction drawing on a lost Avestan Bahman Yasht; extant manuscripts are late, with Pazand recensions.
Archetypes
Symbols
Major Characters
- Ahura Mazda
- Zoroaster
- Angra Mainyu
- Saoshyant
Myths
- Zoroaster’s Vision of the Tree of Metals
- Prophecy of the Ages of the World
- The Coming of the Saoshyants and Final Renovation
Facts
- The work is a Middle Persian apocalyptic treatise framed as a revelation from Ohrmazd to Zoroaster.
- It depends on a lost Avestan source known as the Bahman Yasht, preserved only indirectly.
- Extant versions include Pahlavi and Pazand recensions with zand-style explanations embedded.
- Its historical allusions indicate compilation after the Arab conquest of Iran.
- The narrative divides sacred history into millennial periods culminating in Frashokereti.
- Key eschatological motifs include the molten metal ordeal and judgment at the Chinvat Bridge.
- The text anticipates the coming of the Saoshyant and the resurrection of the dead.
- Figures from Iranian myth-history (e.g., Kay Khosrow, Peshotan) are woven into the prophecy.
- It influenced later Zoroastrian apocalyptic literature and historical speculation.
- Manuscript transmission shows variation, suggesting multiple redactional layers.