Between Preservation and Re-adaptation: The Heritage of the Zoroastrian Diaspora in India

The present text is the transcript of the first of two lectures delivered on 17 and 20 February 2026, which share the title Between Preservation and Re-adaptation, and are both dedicated to Zoroastrian culture. Both lectures, in turn, are integral parts of the internship Communities, Diversity, and Enhancement of Cultural Heritage, organised by Prof. Terribili as part of the activities of the Department of Antiquities at Sapienza University of Rome (see the related programme).
This first lecture, entitled The Heritage of the Zoroastrian Diaspora in India, aims to trace the key events in the history of the Indian Zoroastrian community, the Parsis, that have most shaped their cultural identity across its cultural, social, and economic dimensions. The lecture primarily addresses three pivotal moments in their history: (1) the migration from Iran and subsequent settlement in their new homeland; (2) the Mughal period; and (3) the transformation of the community in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Bombay.