Zoroaster

Zarathushtra Spitama spoke Old Avestan somewhere in the eastern reaches of Greater Iran - possibly Bactra, in what's now Afghanistan - and trained as a priest from childhood. Around age 30, a divine revelation introduced him to Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, and a dualism of truth versus deception that would anchor his reform of the ancient Iranian religion. He gained the backing of King Vishtaspa, married three times, fathered six children, and composed the Gathas and the Yasna Haptanghaiti, hymns that became the core of Zoroastrian belief. His philosophy centered on free will and ethical responsibility - aligning with asha through good thoughts, words, and deeds. Zoroastrianism rose to become Greater Iran's dominant faith by the 6th century BC, enjoyed official sanction under the Sassanid Empire, and held until the Arab-Muslim conquest of the 7th century AD began its long decline. Almost nothing about his life survives outside the hymns, and scholars place him anywhere from the 7th century BC to a thousand years earlier, his dates and biography blurred by centuries of legend.