The Avesta — an early written historical source of our ancestors
The Avesta is the holy book of Zoroastrianism; the religion is named after its founder, Zardusht (Zoroaster). Scholars disagree about when and where Zoroastrianism arose; Uzbek historians believe it appeared in ancient Khorezm in the 9th–8th centuries BCE, as the textbook says. The word “Avesta” means “firmly established laws and rules”. According to legend, a full copy was written in gold letters on 12,000 cattle hides in the treasury of the Persian kings, and much of it was lost during Alexander the Great’s invasion. The book teaches that the world is a struggle between good and evil: Ahuramazda protects light, life and justice, Ahriman sends evil, and in the end goodness wins. The main idea of the religion is good thought, good word, good deed. Fire, earth, water and air were holy as sources of life, and ploughing land to grow grain and herding were honoured. By a UNESCO decision the 2700th anniversary of the Avesta was celebrated in 2001.
“Chain of goodness”: each pupil writes one good thought, word or deed on a card; the cards are linked into a chain in the classroom.