Egyptian and Mesopotamian religion lasted more than 3,000 years by the dates in the cited sources; the Aztec and Inca state religions under 200
Source. “Ancient Egyptian religion”; “Mesopotamian religion: stages of religious development”; “Homer”; “Mithraism”; “Sasanian dynasty”; “Manichaeism”; “Xi’an monument”; “Tenochtitlán”; “Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui”; BMCR 2009.06.43 (review of Dijkstra); Digital Corpus of Cuneiform Mathematical Texts; “The End of Paganism”; “Chaldean Catholic Church”; “Battle of Tenochtitlán”; “Vilcabamba”
Method and data
Method. Bars run from the earliest date the cited source gives to the last dated practice; a dashed start marks an approximate date. The Mithras bar spans the centuries in which Britannica says the cult flourished; the Zoroastrian bar covers only its time as Iran’s state religion; the Church of the East survives west of Iran.
| Tradition | Start as stated | End as stated | Bar note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egyptian religion | 4th millennium BCE | 535–537 CE | to 535–537 CE |
| Mesopotamian religion | 4th millennium BCE and even earlier | 75 CE | to 75 CE |
| Greek and Roman religion | 9th or 8th century BCE | 392 CE | to 392 CE |
| Mithras cult | 2nd and 3rd centuries CE | 2nd and 3rd centuries CE | flourished 2nd–3rd centuries CE |
| Zoroastrianism as Iran’s state religion | 224–651 CE | 637–651 | to 651; Zoroastrians remain |
| Manichaeism | about 240 CE | 843; continued at least until the 14th century | in China to at least the 14th century |
| Church of the East east of Iraq (the church survives) | 781 | latter 14th century | to the late 14th century |
| Aztec state religion | c. 1325 | August 13, 1521 | to 1521 |
| Inca state religion | 1438–71 (reign of Pachacuti) | until 1572 | to 1572 (Vilcabamba) |
