The religion of Zoroastrianism is still active as a minority in many countries and places, like the parts of Lalish near Kurdistan. This religion was founded by an apostate man who betrayed one of the Prophets of Allah. Contrary to popular speculation, Zoroaster was not a Prophet of Islam, much rather, he was a former disciple of Prophet Aramaya, peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him.
The people of Bani Israil were severely weakened by the attacks from King Bukhtanasar. After Bukhtanasar had passed away peacefully in his sleep, they regained control of Al-Quds and began rebuilding their city. However, many years later, the Romans arrived, and these Romans had converted to Christianity. The Romans hated them, and then persecuted them. The Israilites were forced to move themselves to a separate continent, Balkh, which is now located in modern-day Afghanistan. There, the Israilites then assimilated with the Balkhi population, and the ruler of the Balkhis was the King named Kay Lohrasp, the successor of Kay Khosrow. Kay Lohrasp was loved by his people. He was known to be a just king, and a diplomatic ruler with polite manners. No one rebelled against him, as his rule was very satisfactory. But eventually, as Kay Lohrasp grew older, he became ill and too weak to rule. So he assigned his son, Vishtaspa, as the new ruler to lead the people.
Zoroaster was from this new generation of Balkhi Israilites. He was of both Israilite and Balkhi descent, as the Israilites married with the local Balkhi population. He was also a good friend of Prophet Aramaya, peace and blessings be upon him. Zoroaster was one of Prophet Aramaya's closest companions, and he was very loyal to him. But Zoroaster involved himself in criminal activities behind the back of Prophet Aramaya. Zoroaster often acted very friendly and innocently in front of his friend, to conceal his dark side which is friend never knew of; that is, his evil actions which he performed in secret.
One day, Zoroaster obtained money from his employer via illegal methods. His employer was so angry, and the employer contacted Prophet Aramaya and complained to him about Zoroaster. Prophet Aramaya confronted Zoroaster, who kept denying his actions and was not willing to admit and claim responsibility. Hence, Prophet Aramaya then cursed Zoroaster. This curse resulted in Zoroaster suffering from a disease which affected parts of his skin, said to have been leprosy. Over time, Zoroaster grew bitter, and he even started writing the groundwork for his own interpretation of God, which paved the way for the creation of his own religion.
Once his new religion was complete, Zoroaster travelled to the center of Balkh to meet King Vishtaspa. He told Vishtaspa about the new religion he founded, and encouraged Vishtaspa to join it. Vishtaspa was willing to convert to it, and both of them became the greatest of friends. He ordered everyone in his kingdom to convert to the religion of Zoroastrianism. But the people, who were believers in Allah, refused to do so. Vishtaspa carried out mass killings of his people, and forced them to accept Zoroastrianism. Soon, Balkh was a completely Zoroastrian land, filled with fire temples.
After Vishtaspa died, his son Beshotan (also a Zoroastrian) ruled over the kingdom. Then, Beshotan died, and then his brother, Esfandiyar, became the ruler. Esfandiyar was known for being influential in spreading the religion of Zoroastrianism, and he was one of Zoroaster's earliest companions. Zoroaster even said some blessings towards him, and gave him a special, customized and personalized set of chainmail armor. Finally, Kay Bahman took the throne after they all died.
Many, many years later, these kings became known in the Persian history as great kings. The Sassanians, a Zoroastrian empire, honoured them greatly and some of their rulers even claimed descent from these kings. The last Zoroastrian ruler was Yazdegerd the Third, who fled from Persia and stayed in a farmhouse after the Companions of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ conquered the land of Persia and eradicated Zoroastrianism from it. He was killed by the farmhouse owner and looted. Persia then became a land where Islam became widespread.
The religion of Zoroastrianism still exists today, mostly in India and Kurdistan, but it is not the original one that was spread through Zoroaster's teachings. It is just a religion formed from the interpretation of whatever texts that were attributed to Zoroaster were found. Many Zoroastrians have left their religion to join another, mostly they have reverted to Islam. The pagan practices of Zoroastrianism are present in the religion of the Rafidhah, and Zoroastrian figures like Piruz Nahavandi are deified in this religion.
Source:
Qassas al-Anbiya by Ibn Kathir, at the portion on Prophet Aramaya/Jeremiah
Al-Bidayah wan Nihayah by Imam Ibn Kathir
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