Ahriman

Ahriman, known in Avestan as Angra Mainyu, is the supreme evil spirit and destructive principle who stands in eternal opposition to Ahura Mazda, the wise lord and supreme creator in Zoroastrian theology. He is responsible for introducing evil, death, and corruption into the world and commands an army of demons called daevas to spread chaos and falsehood.

In Zoroastrian dualism, Ahriman and Ahura Mazda are presented as twin spirits who chose fundamentally opposing paths—one toward destruction and the other toward creation and truth. According to Zoroastrian eschatology, Ahriman will ultimately be defeated during the Frashokereti, the final renovation of the universe when good permanently triumphs over evil.

Ahriman is not the same as Satan, though scholars have noted conceptual parallels and suggest Zoroastrian dualism may have influenced later Jewish and Christian ideas about a personified evil figure. Unlike Satan, who is typically depicted as a fallen angel subordinate to God in Abrahamic traditions, Ahriman is a co-eternal cosmic principle of evil that exists independently from Ahura Mazda.

Ahriman appears prominently in Zoroastrian scriptures and commentaries including the Bundahishn and the Vendidad, where his acts of cosmic sabotage against Ahura Mazda's creations are described in detail. He also features in later Persian literary traditions, where related evil figures carry forward elements of Ahriman's destructive archetype.