War

War is destructive of the Good Creation, so is seen as undesirable, although may be necessary to ensure a peaceful existence. With this in mind, a number of Zoroastrians have held important positions in the army, navy and air force of their home country.

As Zoroastrians in India and in the Iranian homeland have for over a thousand years been a minority, war has never been a realistic option. However, when Muslims invaded the Gujarat in the 13th century Parsis fought alongside the Hindus to repel the invader.

In the days of the ancient Zoroastrian Persian Empire (6th century BCE to the 7th century CE) the kings went to battle and took priests (magi) with them to lead prayers before going into battle. Rock reliefs dating from the Sasanian era (3rd to 7th centuries) show the king triumphantly trampling his enemies underfoot just as Ohrmazd will one day trample Ahriman. It appears that the Iranian monarchs saw themselves as expanding order (Asha) throughout the world to overthrow the evil chaos wrought by enemies, such as when Cyrus the Great conquered the Babylonians and set the Jews free from their exile.