The simple Zoroastrian belief and worship, overlaid by Magism in the now luxurious Media, found a refuge in the rugged Persian uplands, among the hardy shepherds and cultivators of that unattractive region, was professed by the early Achaemenian princes, and generally acquiesced in by the people.
The main feature of the religion daring this first period was the acknowledgment and the worship of a single supreme God--"the Lord God of Heaven"-- "the giver (i.e.maker) of heaven and earth"-- the disposer of thrones, the dispenser of happiness.

The foremost place in inscriptions and decrees was assigned, almost universally, to the "great god, Ormazd." Every king, of whom we have an inscription more than two lines in length, speaks of Ormazd as his upholder; and the early monarchs mention by name no other god.

All rule "by the grace of Ormazd." From Ormazd come victory, conquest, safety, prosperity, blessings of every kind.

The "law of Ormazd" is the rule of life.

The protection of Ormazd is the one priceless blessing for which prayer is perpetually offered.
While, however, Ormazd holds this exalted and unapproachable position, there is still an acknowledgment made, in a general way, of "other gods." Ormazd is "the greatest of the gods" (_mathista baganam_).