Dilgam ismailov

religion. Fire was considered to be holy in the Zoroastrianism; 
that’s why the religion was also called fire-worshipping. This 
religion was connected with the name of Zoroaster. It is 
assumed that he lived in the second half of the VII - the 
beginning of the VI centuries B.C. This religion was 

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worshipped in Iran and Central Asia too. The holy book of the 
Zoroastrian religion is "Avesta". 
According to the legend, the initial version of "Avesta" 
was destroyed over the arson of the Achaemenids palace in 
Persopole by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C. The surviving 
parts of the book had been restored during the reign of the 
Sassanid’s dynasty in Iran (III-VII centuries A.D). The French 
scientist Anquetil Deuperron was the first to acquaint Europe 
with this book. He published it in French in 1771. According to 
Zoroastrianism, two forces in the world - the good (Hormuz-
Ahuramazda) and the evil (Ahriman) were constantly fighting 
with each other. The good always won in that fight. People 
kindled the fire in Zoroastrian temples and didn't let it be 
extinguished. According to the canons of this religion, the fire, 
soil and water were considered sacred.
One of the main temples of Zoroastrianism was located in 
Qazaka, the capital city of Atropatena. This temple retained its 
importance until the dissemination of Islam. The coronation 
ceremony of the Sassanid rulers was held in this temple on the 
day of Novruz. Zoroastrianism was supplanted by monotheistic 
religions, especially by Islam. Nowadays, the number of 
believers of this religion reaches 130 thousand. Their largest 
communities are in India (Pars) and Iran (Gabres). 
Compared to the southern regions of Azerbaijan the state 
body was established late in the North of Azerbaijan. The 
ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who lived in the V century 
B.C., gave information about the Albanian tribes. The 
unification of the Albanian tribes under a single name 
happened during the reign of the Achaemenids (550-330 
B.C.). The Albanians consisted of tribes, the members of 

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which spoke 26 languages. The Albanians were the largest 
tribes. One of the oldest names of the Caspian Sea was 
Albanian ones. The tribes of the legs, kadousies, amards, uties 
and gargars lived there. Nowadays, the descendants of those 
tribes - utis, khynalygs and budughis live in the territory of 
Azerbaijan. According to the sources, the Albanians were 
described as tall, white-faced and handsome. The Albanians 
struggled against Alexander the Great with the army of Darius 
III in the famous battle of Gaugamela in 331 B.C. Albania 
was the first slave-holding state in the North of Azerbaijan.