The ''Dēnkard'' or ''Dēnkart'' (

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

: 𐭣𐭩𐭭𐭪𐭠𐭫𐭲 "Acts of Religion") is a 10th-century compendium of

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

beliefs and customs during the time. The ''Denkard'' has been called an "Encyclopedia of Mazdaism" and is a valuable source of

Zoroastrian literature Zoroastrian literature is the corpus of literary texts produced within the religious tradition of Zoroastrianism. These texts span the languages of Avestan, named after the famous Zoroastrian work known as the Avesta, and Middle Persian (Pahlavi), ...

especially during its

iteration. The ''Denkard'' is not considered a

sacred text Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

by a majority of Zoroastrians, but is still considered worthy of study.

Name

The name traditionally given to the compendium reflects a phrase from the colophons, which speaks of the /, from

Avestan Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...

meaning "acts" (also in the sense of "chapters"), and , from Avestan , literally "insight" or "revelation", but more commonly translated as "religion." Accordingly, means "religious acts" or "acts of religion." The ambiguity of or in the title reflects the orthography of Pahlavi writing, in which the letter may sometimes denote /d/.

Date and authorship

The individual chapters vary in age, style and authorship. Authorship of the first three books is attributed by the colophons to 9th-century priest Adurfarnbag-i Farrokhzadan, as identified in the last chapter of book 3. Of these three books, only a larger portion of the third has survived. The historian

Jean de Menasce Jean de Menasce (1902–1973) was a French Catholicism, French Catholic priest, of the Dominican Order, as well as an author and academic. He came from Jewish Egyptian and French parentage. Over his lifetime he mastered fifteen languages, inc ...

proposes that this survival was the result of transmission through other persons. The first three books were edited and in fact partially reconstructed, circa 1020, by a certain Ādurbād Ēmēdān of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, who is also the author of the remaining six books. The manuscript 'B' (ms. 'B 55', B for Bombay) that is the basis for most surviving copies and translations is dated 1659. Only fragments survive of any other copies. The ''Denkard'' is roughly contemporary with the main texts of the

Bundahishn The ''Bundahishn'' (Middle Persian: , "Primal Creation") is an encyclopedic collection of beliefs about Zoroastrian cosmology written in the Book Pahlavi script. The original name of the work is not known. It is one of the most important extant ...

Structure and content

The ''Denkard'' originally contained nine books or volumes, called ''nasks'', and the first two and part of the third have not survived. However, the ''Denkard'' itself contains summaries of ''nasks'' from other compilations, such as

Chihrdad The Čihrdād nask or Kitradād nask is one of the lost ''nask''s (volumes) of the Sasanian Avesta and survives only as summaries preserved in later Zoroastrian writings. The text is said to have been a history of mankind from the beginning down t ...

from the

Avesta The Avesta (, Book Pahlavi: (), Persian language, Persian: ()) is the text corpus of Zoroastrian literature, religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. Mod ...

, which are otherwise lost. The natural divisions of the books are as follows: Books 3-5 are devoted to rational

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their f ...

, book 4 to moral wisdom, and books 7–9 to exegetical

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Book 3

Book 3, with 420 chapters, represents almost half of the surviving texts.

observes that there must have been several different authors at work, as the style and language of the collection is not uniform. The authors are however united in their polemic against the "bad religions", which they do not fail to identify by name (the prudent avoidance of any mention of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

being an exception). The majority of the chapters in book 3 are short, of two or three pages apiece. The topics covered in detail, though rare, frequently also identify issues for which the Zoroastrians of the period were severely criticized, such as marriage to next-of-kin (chapter 80). Although on first sight there appears to be no systematic organization of the texts in book 3, the chapter that deals with the principles of Zoroastrian

cosmogony Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe. Overview Scientific theories In astronomy, cosmogony is the study of the origin of particular astrophysical objects or systems, and is most commonly used in ref ...

(Ch. 123) is the central theme around which the other chapters are topically arranged. The last chapter of book 3 mentions two legends: one in which

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

destroys a copy of the

, and another in which the

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

translate the Avesta into their own language.

Book 4

Book 4, the shortest (and most haphazardly organized) volume in the collection, deals primarily with the arts and sciences. Texts on those topics are interspersed by chapters explaining philosophical and theological concepts such as that of the

Amesha Spenta In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta (—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering") are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persian variations of the ter ...

s, while other chapters deal with history and the religious contributions of

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

and

Sassanid The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

monarchs. Book 4 also contains an enumeration of works from

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and "reveals foreign influence from the 3rd century onward." The last chapter of Book 4 ends with a chapter explaining the necessity for practicing good thoughts, words and deeds, and the influences these have on one's afterlife.

Book 5

Book 5 deals specifically with queries from adherents of other faiths. The first half of Book 5, titled the "Book of Daylamite", is addressed to a Muslim, Yaqub bin Khaled, who apparently requested information on Zoroastrianism. A large part of this section is summary of the history (from the Zoroastrian point of view) of the world up to the advent of

Zoroaster Zarathushtra Spitama, more commonly known as Zoroaster or Zarathustra, was an Iranian peoples, Iranian religious reformer who challenged the tenets of the contemporary Ancient Iranian religion, becoming the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism ...

and the impact of his revelations. The history is then followed by a summary of the tenets of the faith. According to Philippe Gignoux, the section "clearly

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

and Persian in orientation, expressing the hope of a Mazdean restoration in the face of Islam and its Arab supporters." The second half of Book 5 is a series of 33 responses to questions posed by a certain Bōxt-Mārā, a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Thirteen responses address objections raised by Boxt-Mara on issues of

ritual purity Ritual purification is a ritual prescribed by a religion through which a person is considered to be freed of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification ...

. The bulk of the remaining material deals with

free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...

and the efficacy of good thoughts, words and deeds as a means to battle evil.

Book 6

Book 6 is a compilation of '' andarz'' (a literary genre, lit: "advice", "counsel"), anecdotes and aphorisms that embody a general truth or astute observation. Most of the compositions in book 6 are short

didactic Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasises instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is a conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to explain. ...

sentences that deal with morality and personal ethics. Structurally, the book is divided into sections that are distinguished from one another by their introductory formulae. In the thematic divisions identified by Shaul Shaked, the first part is devoted to religious subjects, with a stress on devotion and piety. The second and third are related to ethical principles, with the third possibly revealing Aristotelian values. The fourth part may be roughly divided into sections with each addressing a particular human quality or activity. The fifth part includes a summary of twenty-five functions or conditions of human life, organized in five categories: destiny, action, custom, substance and inheritance. The fifth part also includes an enumeration of the names of authors that may have once been the last part of the book. In its extant form the book has a sixth part that, like the first part, addresses religious subjects.

Book 7

Book 7 deals the "legend of Zoroaster", but which extends beyond the life of the prophet. The legend of Zoroaster as it appears in the Denkard is differs slightly from similar legends (such as those presented in the contemporaneous '' Selections of Zadspram'' and the later '' Zardosht-nama'') in that it presents the story of the prophet as an analogy of the ''

Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
''

are as follows: # The span of human history beginning with Kayomars, in Zoroastrian tradition identified as the first king and the first man, and ending with the Kayanid dynasty. This section of book 7 is essentially the same as that summarized in the first part of book 5, but additionally presents Zoroaster as the manifest representation of ''khwarrah'' (Avestan: '' kavaēm kharēno'', " ivine oyalglory") that has accumulated during that time. # Zoroaster's parents and his conception. # Zoroaster's infancy and the vain attempts to kill him, through to Zoroaster's first communication with Ohrmuzd and the meeting with Good Thought, the

Bahman (Avestan: ''Vohu Manah''). # Zoroaster's revelation as received during his seven conversations with Ohrmuzd; the subsequent miracles against the

daeva A daeva (Avestan: 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 ''daēuua'') is a Zoroastrian supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon, the ''daeva''s are " gods that are (to be) rejected". T ...

s; the revival of the horse of Vishtasp (Avestan: ''Vistaspa'') and the king's subsequent conversion; the vision of Zoroaster. # The life of Zoroaster from Vistasp's conversion up to Zoroaster's death, including his revelations on science and medicine. # The miracles that followed Zoroaster's death # The history of Persia until the Islamic conquest, with an emphasis on several historical or legendary figures. # Prophecies and predictions up to the end of the

millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

of Zoroaster (that ends one thousand years after his birth), including the coming of the first savior and his son Ushetar. # The miracles of the thousand years of Ushetar until the coming of Ushetarmah. # The miracles of the thousand years of Ushetarmah until the coming of the

Saoshyant Saoshyant ( ) is an Avestan-language term that literally means "one who brings benefit", and which is used in several different ways in Zoroastrian scripture and tradition. In particular, the expression is the proper name of ''the'' Saoshyant, an ...

. # The miracles of the fifty-seven years of the Saoshyant until the ''frashgird'', the final renovation of the world.

Book 8

Book 8 is a commentary on the various texts of the

, or rather, on the Sassanid archetype of the Avesta. Book 8 is of particular interest to scholars of Zoroastrianism because portions of the canon have been lost and the Denkard at least makes it possible to determine which portions are missing and what those portions might have contained. The Denkard also includes an enumeration of the divisions of the Avesta, and which once served as the basis for a speculation that only one quarter of the texts had survived. In the 20th century it was determined that the Denkard's divisions also took Sassanid-era translations and commentaries into account; these were however not considered to be a part of the Avesta.

Book 9

Book 9 is a commentary on the Gathic prayers of ''

Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
''

ahuna vairya Ahuna Vairya (Avestan: 𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬥𐬀⸱𐬬𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀) is the first of Zoroastrianism's four Gathic Avestan formulas. The text, which appears in ''Yasna'' 27.13, is also known after its opening words yatha ahu vairyo. In Zoro ...

'' (Y 27.13), the ''

Ashem Vohu The Ashem Vohu (, Avestan: 𐬀𐬴𐬆𐬨⸱𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬏 aṣ̌əm vohū) is the second most important manthra, and one of the most important prayers in Zoroastrianism. It is dedicated to Asha, a Zoroastrian concept denoting truth, order o ...

'' (Y 27.14), the ''

yenghe hatam The Yenghe hatam (Avestan: 𐬫𐬈𐬣𐬵𐬉⸱𐬵𐬁𐬙𐬅𐬨) is one of the four major Mantra (Zoroastrianism), manthras, and one of the most important Zoroastrian prayer, prayers in Zoroastrianism. It is interpreted as a call to pray spe ...

'' (Y 27.15) and the ''

airyaman ishya The airyaman ishya (; ''airyaman išya'', ''airyə̄mā išyō'') is Zoroastrianism's fourth of the four Gathic Avestan manthras, and one of the most important prayers in Zoroastrianism. It is assumed to be a call toward the community or its h ...

'' (Y 54.1).