In Zoroastrianism, one of the world’s oldest religions from ancient Persia, there are some beings similar to the djinn found in Islamic culture. Zoroastrians believed in good and evil forces in the world. The good forces were led by Ahura Mazda, the wise god, while the evil ones were controlled by Angra Mainyu, also known as Ahriman.
In this religion, there were spiritual beings called *daevas*, who were followers of Ahriman. These *daevas* were seen as harmful spirits that could trick people and cause trouble, much like the djinn in later stories. They were known to create chaos and lead humans away from the path of truth. Although *daevas* are not the same as djinn, they share similarities in their mysterious and sometimes dangerous nature.
While djinn in Islamic culture could sometimes be good or bad, the *daevas* in Zoroastrianism were mostly seen as evil beings. Both types of spirits were believed to have powers beyond human understanding and could influence people’s lives in strange ways.
In summary, while there are no exact djinn in Zoroastrianism, the idea of tricky and dangerous spirits, like the *daevas*, shows that ancient Persian beliefs did have parallels to the djinn found in later Middle Eastern religions.
