From the very beginning of Iranian disciplinary studies, the material concerning Zarathustra’s biography has been analysed in depth, firstly to identify the homeland of the Prophet and then to discuss the historical reality of this authoritative figure. Despite the divergences of opinion, emphasis has always been placed on the reconstruction of the figure of Zarathustra and much less on the socio-cultural context in which the image of the Prophet was cultivated. The present paper represents the first part of a larger work that aims to reverse this perspective and emphasise those data, which link up narrative variations and extensions with local identities. In fact, variations in geographical setting reveal processes of acculturation through which social groups reinvented the influential image of the Prophet within a familiar horizon. In this respect, the Sasanian period proved pivotal in the formation of both Zoroastrian and Iranian communal identities, while this first work will analyses aspects connected to East Iran and the Khorāsān tradition.

从伊朗纪律研究的最开始，就对Zarathustra传记进行了详尽的分析，首先是确定先知的故乡，然后再讨论这位权威人物的历史现实。尽管意见分歧，但始终把重点放在Zarathustra形象的重建上，而不是放在培养先知形象的社会文化背景上。本论文代表了旨在扭转这种观点并着重强调那些将叙事变化和延伸与当地身份联系起来的数据的较大工作的第一部分。实际上，地理环境的变化揭示了文化适应的过程，社会群体通过这种过程在熟悉的视野内重塑了先知的有影响力的形象。