Question and answer on religion
1)Where and when was Zarathushtra born?

Amordad:  From now on, on Sundays and Tuesdays, every week, parts of the question and answer book of Dr Ardeshir Khorshidian will be opened for our readers, hoping that this will help in increasing knowledge and awareness.
Question:  When was Zarathushtra born and in which era did he live?
Before answering this question, I should say that we, Zoroastrians, call our prophet Ashu Zarathushtra because the message that he has brought for all human beings is a pure (ashu) message and this word is repeated several times in Gathas and Avesta.
Ashu means pure – in soul and body – righteous and honest, and full of divine love.
Answer:  Based on religious documents of Zoroastrians, Ashu Zarathushtra was born in a place by the name of Ragha (present day Rey), which was close to the Chichest Lake.  His father was Poroushasb and his mother was Doghdu, from the Spitaman family.  Iranians and many scientists believe that by Chichest the Urumieh Lake is meant, which is situated in Azarbaijan State and next to the present day Urumieh City.  But, many believe Chichest Lake to be the Hamun or Amudarya Lake.  Lohrasb was one of the kings from the Kianian dynasty.  Based on belief of Zoroastrians of the world and researchers in religions and the recent research of Zabiollah Behrooz, 1738 BC is calculated to be the year when Zarathushtra became prophet, which is the base of the religious history of Zoroastrians.
Since Ashu Zarathushtra became prophet at the age of 30, it is calculated that Ashu Zarathushtra was born in 1768 BC.
According to historic and religious documents Ashu Zarathushtra was the only infant that was laughing on birth.  This fact is written in verses 93-95 of Farvardin Yasht and 19th chapter of Vandidad, and the Greek historians have also reflected this event.