The end of times in Zoroastrian tradition

This paper deals with the definition of ‘eschatology’ and ‘apocalyptic literature’ in the Iranian context, with a special focus on the Middle Persian literature of the Zoroastrians. Building on earlier studies on the subject, I will try to show that eschatology is part of Mazdean religious thought from at least Younger Avestan times. However, it was only in the Middle Persian Zand, which was conceived and compiled under various Sasanian kings, that Iranian eschatological thought developed to reach the tri-millennial narration focusing on the actions of the three future saviours Ušēdar, Ušēdarmāh and Sōšāns.