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Zoroastrianism is the first monotheistic religion of the world (preaching the concept of one God). No other religion before it had preached that concept. Every other major religion since, has preached the concept of one God.

Zoroastrianism was the first to talk about a cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil. It first preached the concept of free will where everyone had to decide for himself/herself which "side" they wanted to be on.

Zoroastrianism was the first to introduce the concepts of heaven and hell, of sacred time and the eventual resurrection of souls. It even preaches an end of time - when all souls will be judged and the new beginning of a period of "frashokereti" shall commence - when evil will have been vanquished and everything will exist in unity with God (Ahura Mazda).

Zoroastrianism was the first to talk about the appearance of various "saviors" throughout the period of history to save religion and mankind from the clutches of evil. These saviors are called "saoshyants" in the Zoroastrian creed. Shah Varzavand, Hoshedar Mah, Hoshedar Bami are some of the names most famous in the religion in this regard.

Zoroastrian rituals of initiation into the faith (navjote), etc have been the root from which other religions like Christianity have ceremonies like "Holy Communion".

Zoroastrianism was perhaps the first religion that preached harmony with nature as a means of good life. Ahura Mazda (the God of Zoroastrianism) wanted humans to take the utmost care of Earth along with the elements created by Ahura Mazda (air, water, fire, soil, etc). If any of these elements were disrespected, it would create discord and disharmony in earthlings' lives. Indeed, many of these elements have prayers composed in their name for devotees to recite on a daily basis to pay their respect to that element - such was the stringent respect accorded to the elements in the religion. It is ironic that thousands of years after the preaching of this doctrine, mankind is beginning to realize the wisdom of these words. The "Green Revolution" that is now a central focus of governments around the world was the central theme of the Zoroastrian religion thousands of years back! Man is beginning to realize that his very survival depends upon saving nature. 

The dokhme-ne-shini (Tower of Silence) method of disposal of the dead practiced in Zoroastrianism was considered the most environmental friendly practice of returning the body back to nature. It looks like our society is just beginning to realize the same now. See this article on "human composting"

By all accounts, Zarathustra was perhaps the first known prophet of mankind. 

As you can see, many of the concepts mentioned above have been borrowed heavily upon by other major religions like Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

It is said that the "three wise men" who went to pay their respects to the holy child when Jesus Christ was born were also the Magi - a term loosely used to refer to Zoroastrian priests. The Magi were so advanced in astronomy and science for their times that people were awed by their knowledge. The term "magic" comes from the work "Magi".

Festivals and celebrations like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentines Day and cultural symbols like the Statue of Liberty seem to have their origins in either Zoroastrian festivals or an earlier form of Zoroastrianism (called Mithraism). See this video for more.

Cyrus the Great is hailed as the "anointed of the lord" in the bible for his act of freeing the Jews from Babylon and allowing them (and even helping) in the rebuilding of their temple in Jerusalem in 538 BC.

The Zoroastrian Achaemenid empire at its greatest extent was the largest ancient empire in recorded history at 8 million square kms. This was in 480 BC.

Zoroastrian Kings have been renowed for their contributions to this world:

• Cyrus the Great provided the world with the first human rights charter. The charter (see here) amongst other things spoke of dignity of human life and tolerance for all faiths. Cyrus did away with slavery and proclaimed every body had a right to choose their own religion. 

• Darius the Great introduced the world's first courier postal system to carry post along the Royal Road (see here) from Susa to Sardis. The Royal Road was known as the highway of the ancient world. The distance of 1500 miles was purportedly covered in 6 days by mounted couriers riding day and night. Herodotus's words praising this courier system have been immortalized by the US postal system and can be seen inscribed on the facade of the General Post Office in New York. It begins - "“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”(see here).

• 3000 years ago, the Persian Empire discovered a method of digging underground aqueducts that brought mountain ground water to the arid plains of Iran. Still extant and functional, this system of irrigation provides 75% of water used in Iran today! (Scientific American, April 1968)

• The Great Wall of China (1400 miles long) may have been an inspiration from another Great Wall built by a Zoroastrian King many years earlier. Both the Fravardin Yasht and the Zamyad Yasht refer to King Vistasp defending the Zoroastrian faith from the Huns (hunuivyo). He built a wall 720 miles long - almost half the length of the Great Wall of China, from Beiday in Persia to Samarkand.

• The precursor to the Suez Canal today was a canal constructed by King Darius linking the Red Sea and the Nile. The Canal was 150 feet wide and boats could pass through the canal via the Red Sea and the Nile in four days to reach the Mediterranean port of Alexandria. You can read about it here.