During the period of early history, some Proto-Indo-Iranian tribes living on the southern steppes of Asia, migrated South westwards to the Iranian plateau in c.1500-1200 BCE and became known as the Iranians. Around the same time, some migrating tribes moved South eastwards, into the Indus valley, settling on the Indo-Gangetic plains, and were called Indians. They both once shared a common ancestry and possibly shared the same language and worshipped similar divine beings, such as Mitra and Mithra, God of Covenant, Light and friendship, Vayu, the God of Wind and Breath and they used Soma and Haoma the sacred plant and drink in their sacred rituals.

The Iranian tribes who settled on the Iranian plateau were the inheritors of the Zoroastrian faith. The recorded history of the Zoroastrian people emerged around 550 BCE when Cyrus the Great (550-530 BCE), ruler of Anshan rose to power in the province of Persis, modern day Fars, and founded the Achaemenian empire (550-331 BCE).Over the next twelve centuries, three major Iranian Zoroastrian dynasties the Achaemenians, Parthians and Sasanians ruled over territory that extended from the Straits of Dardanelles and the River Nile in the West to the borders of China, extending eastwards to the shores of the River Indus, from 550 BCE to 651 CE. Zoroastrian rule in Iran ended after the conquest of Iran by the Bedouin Arab tribes in the 7th Century.

In the deserts surrounding the province of Yazd in Iran soaring Cypress trees are a tell-tale sign of the presence of Zoroastrian shrines. The six great Zoroastrian Mountain shrines many hidden deep in the heart of the mountains surrounding Yazd are dedicated to the family members of the last Sasanian King, Yazdegird Shahriyar III. These much-loved mountain shrines are a place of pilgrimage and hope for the Zoroastrians and a permanent remembrance of the family members of the last Zoroastrian Sasanian King Yazdegird III. In a way the shrines keep alive the memory of this young king as well as of the Sasanian Empire.

According to legend, the Arab forces, pursuing the family of Yazdegird III, chased them into the mountains surrounding Yazd. In despair they prayed to the mountains for protection; tradition states that in answer to their fervent pleas for help the mountains miraculously opened and the royal family vanished into the sacred rock forever, saved from being captured by the Arabs armies.

In the desert mountains of Iran’s Yazd province, towering cypress trees some said to be more than 2000 years old, signal the presence of sacred Zoroastrian shrines. Nestled high on rocky cliffs, the six great mountain shrines (Pirs) are dedicated to the wife and children of Yazdegird III.

The famous clay cylinder of Cyrus the Great (r. 550-530 BCE) was discovered by the Assyrian-Iraqi archaeologist Hormuzd Rassam and his team, in 1879. It was buried as a foundation deposit in the city of Babylon in 539 BCE,

It is among the most celebrated discoveries of the ancient world. It records in cuneiform script the capture of Babylon and marks his liberality towards people of other faiths. The cylinder records his act of restoring the temples of the Babylonians and the king returning the statues of their gods. It records his subject’s right to worship their gods, to own property and to lead a life free from fear, under his rule.

Ahura Mazda /Ohrmazd /Hormuz –the Lord of Wisdom

Until the Strait of Hormuz gained recent notoriety and sparked discussions about its etymological and historical origins, the Parsi Zoroastrians worldwide always had immediate recognition and ownership of the strait. After all, it was named after their Supreme God Ahura Mazda who is the ‘Lord of Wisdom’. The name, originating from its Avestan form, transforms into Ohrmazd in Pahlavi and ultimately becomes Hormuz in Persian.

The Name the Place and its History
The Strait of Hormuz is the infamous 24-mile waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. The Strait of Hormuz, was the ‘jewel in the golden ring’ of the world’s most critical trade route and is a region of immense historical and geographical significance.

The Strait and its surrounding region evolved from an ancient salt and spice route into a heavily fortified, Portuguese controlled trading hub. Later the British regulated the area to facilitate their own spice trade. Today it has become a critical energy corridor under the sovereignty of the Iranian Government.

The Greek historian Arrian of Nicomedia, in his account of his expedition with Nearchus, Alexander’s Greek naval commander, docked at a place called Harmozia. The toponym Hormozon/Harmozia was given to the red and yellow-hued outcrop at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, suggesting that the settlement must have existed in the late Achaemenid period. Goods from Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley traversed through these straits. Classical astronomers and geographers, such as Ptolemy, referred to it as ‘Mare Persicum’ (Persian Sea) or ‘Sinus Persicus’ (Persian Gulf), while the coastal settlements were known as Ormus (Hormuz). In the imperial period the strait was known as Tang-i Hormoz situated in the province of Hormozagan Iran. These early references indicate that it was a familiar Iranian port of call in the ancient maritime trading system.