Chapter 7 Yezidi and Zoroastrianism

Gobkeli Tepe

An archaeological site in Eastern Turkey, with evidence that human
civilization was underway about 10,000 BCE.

Ziggurat

A religious tower structure, found in Mesopotamia, consisting of a brick or
stone-covered mound, topped with a house, representing a home for the
deity.

Cuneiform

An ancient style of writing, accomplished by pressing a pointed stylus into
clay

Code of Hammurabi

An ancient legal code, consisting of 282 “if... then” ethical instructions

Yazidi

A religious faith, practiced in Kurdish regions of Iraq and Turkey, by
approximately a half-million people

Melek Taus

The “peacock angel” that helps humans worship Xwede.

Zarathustra (Zoroaster)

A religious leader of the 7th Century, BCE, who successfully converted one
person in 10 years of preaching

Ahura Mazda

The name of God in Zoroastrian belief

Angra Mainu

The “anti-God” opponent in Zoroastrian belief

Chinvat Bridge

The Zoroastrian “bridge of judgment” that a soul must walk over after
death.

Magi

“Wise men” of Zoroastrian faith, who were skilled in the practice of
astrology and wizardry

Tower of Silence

A “burial chamber” in Zoroastrian practice, where bodies are exposed to
the elements

Theism

Belief in the existence of at least one god

Polytheism

A term used to designate belief in a multiplicity of gods or deities

Monotheism

Belief in a single, all-powerful god or deity