Avesta
The Avesta is the text corpus of religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. It represents the largest literature of the Old Iranian period and contains the oldest texts in any Iranian language.
The individual texts of the Avesta were originally oral compositions. They were composed over a long period of several centuries during the Avestan period (possibly ranging from the 15th century BCE to the 4th century BCE). The written transmission began much later during the Sasanian era (224 to 651 CE), with the creation of the Avestan alphabet. The resulting texts were then compiled into the multi-volume edition of the Sasanian Avesta. This edition was lost after the Islamic conquest of Iran, and only a small portion of it has survived, scattered across a number of individual manuscript traditions. The oldest surviving fragment of such a manuscript dates to 1323 CE.
Unlike the Sasanian Avesta, which was organized thematically, the surviving Avestan manuscripts correspond to the different ceremonies in which they are used. It is assumed that it was their regular use which ensured their survival to this day. The principal text is the Yasna, which takes its name from the corresponding ceremony, in which it is recited. Extensions to the Yasna ceremony include the Vendidad and the Visperad. In addition to these High Liturgies, the Avestan corpus comprises shorter liturgical texts compiled in the Khordeh Avesta or "Little Avesta". Aside from the Yashts, these other lesser texts include the Nyayeshs, the Gāhs, the Sih-rozag and the Afrinagans.
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