Muslim conquest of Persia

The Islamic conquest of Iran led to the collapse of the Sassanid Empire , the eventual decline of Zoroastrian religion in Iran , and the birth of Islamic civilization.

The Muslim conquest of Persia led to the end of the Sassanid Empire in 644, the fall of Sassanid dynasty in 651 and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia . Arabs first entered Sassanid territory in 633, when general Khalid ibn Walid invaded what is now Iraq . Following the transfer of Khalid to the Roman front in the Levant , the Muslims eventually lost their holdings to Persian counterattacks. The second invasion began in 636 under Saad ibn Abi Waqqas , when a key victory at the Battle of Qadisiyyah led to the permanent end of Sassanid control west of Persia. The Zagros mountains then became a natural barrier and border between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Sassanid Empire. Owing to continuous raids by Persians into the area, Caliph Umar ordered a full invasion of the Sassanid Persian empire in 642, which was completed with the complete conquest of the Sassanids by mid 644. The quick conquest of Persia in a series of well coordinated multi-pronged attacks, directed by Caliph Umar from Medina several thousand miles from the battlefields in Persia, became his greatest triumph, contributing to his reputation as a great military and political strategist. Some historians have propounded the idea that Persia, on the verge of the Arab invasion, was a society in decline and decay and that it consequently embraced the invading Arab armies with open arms. This is understandable since constant warfare against the Byzantines had bankrupted and torn the land apart. However, some other authors have, for example, used exclusively Arab sources to illustrate that "contrary to the claims of some historians, Iranians, in fact, fought long and hard against the invading Arabs," thereby indicating Persian disdain for Arab culture and influence. This view furthermore holds that, once politically conquered, the Persians began to resist the Arabs culturally and maintained Persian, as opposed to Arab, culture. Regardless, Islam was embraced by many and became the dominant religion. Dū qarn-i sukūt : sarguz̲asht-i ḥavādis̲ va awz̤āʻ-i tārīkhī dar dū qarn-i avval-i Islām (Two Centuries of Silence) .

The Muslim conquest of Persia , also known as the Arab conquest of Iran led to the end of the Sasanian Empire in 651 and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Iran . Arabs first attacked the Sassanid territory in 633, when general Khalid ibn Walid invaded Mesopotamia (what is now Iraq ), which was the political and economic center of the Sassanid state. Following the transfer of Khalid to the Byzantine front in the Levant , the Muslims eventually lost their holdings to Iranian counterattacks. The second invasion began in 636 under Saad ibn Abi Waqqas , when a key victory at the Battle of Qadisiyyah led to the permanent end of Sasanian control west of Iran. The Zagros mountains then became a natural barrier and border between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Sassanid Empire. Owing to continuous raids by Persians into the area, Caliph Umar ordered a full invasion of the Sasanian Iranian empire in 642, which was completed with the complete conquest of the Sasanians around 651. The quick conquest of Iran in a series of well coordinated multi-pronged attacks, directed by Caliph Umar from Medina several thousand miles from the battlefields in Iran, became his greatest triumph, contributing to his reputation as a great military and political strategist. Iranian historians have sought to defend their forebears by using Arab sources to illustrate that "contrary to the claims of some historians, Iranians, in fact, fought long and hard against the invading Arabs." By 651, most of the urban centers in Iranian lands, with the notable exception of the Caspian provinces and Transoxiana, had come under the domination of the Arab armies. Many localities in Iran staged a defense against the invaders, but in the end none was able to repulse the invasion. Even after the Arabs had subdued the country, many cities rose in rebellion, killing the Arab governor or attacking their garrisons, but reinforcements from the caliphs succeeded in putting down all these rebellions and imposing the rule of Islam. The violent subjugation of Bukhara after many uprisings is a case in point. Conversion to Islam was, however, only gradual. In the process, many acts of violence took place, Zoroastrian scriptures were burnt and many priests executed. Once conquered politically, the Persians began to reassert themselves by maintaining Persian language and culture . Regardless, Islam was adopted by many, for political, socio-cultural or spiritual reasons, or simply by persuasion, and became the dominant religion. Dū qarn-i sukūt : sarguz̲asht-i ḥavādis̲ va awz̤āʻ-i tārīkhī dar dū qarn-i avval-i Islām (Two Centuries of Silence) .

The Muslim conquest of Persia , also known as the Arab invasion of Iran , led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire of Iran ( Persia ) in 651 and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion. The rise of Muslims coincided with an unprecedented political, social, economic, and military weakness in Persia. Once a major world power, the Sasanian Empire had exhausted its human and material resources after decades of warfare against the Byzantine Empire . The internal political situation quickly deteriorated after the execution of King Khosrow II in 628 AD. Subsequently, ten new claimants were enthroned within the next four years. With civil war erupting between different factions, the empire was no longer centralized. Arab Muslims first attacked the Sassanid territory in 633, when general Khalid ibn Walid invaded Mesopotamia (Sassanid province of Asōristān ; what is now Iraq ), which was the political and economic center of the Sassanid state. Following the transfer of Khalid to the Byzantine front in the Levant , the Muslims eventually lost their holdings to Sasanian counterattacks. The second invasion began in 636 under Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas , when a key victory at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah led to the permanent end of Sasanian control west of Iran. The Zagros mountains , a natural barrier, marked the border between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Sassanid Empire. Caliph Umar ordered a full invasion of the Sasanian empire in 642, which led to the complete conquest of the Sasanians around 651. Directing from Medina , a few thousand kilometres away, Caliph Umar's quick conquest of Iran in a series of well-coordinated, multi-pronged attacks became his greatest triumph, contributing to his reputation as a great military and political strategist. Some Iranian historians have defended their forebears using Arab sources to illustrate that "contrary to the claims of some historians, Iranians, in fact, fought long and hard against the invading Arabs." By 651, most of the urban centers in Iranian lands, with the notable exception of the Caspian provinces ( Tabaristan ) and Transoxiana , had come under the domination of the Arab armies. Many localities fought against the invaders; ultimately, none were successful. In fact, although Arabs had established hegemony over most of the country, many cities rose in rebellion by killing the Arab governor or attacking their garrisons. Eventually, military reinforcements quashed the insurgency and imposed Islamic control. Conversion to Islam was gradual and incentivized over a period of centuries with some never converting still to this day; however, there were cases of Zoroastrian scriptures being burnt and some priests being executed, particularly in areas that experienced violent resistance. However, the Persians began to reassert themselves by maintaining Persian language and culture . Islam would become the dominant religion late in the Middle Ages . Between Memory and Desire . Dū qarn-i sukūt : sarguz̲asht-i ḥavādis̲ va awz̤āʻ-i tārīkhī dar dū qarn-i avval-i Islām (Two Centuries of Silence) .

This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism , which had been the official religion of Persia (or Iran) since the time of the Achaemenid Empire (circa 550 BC). The persecution of Zoroastrians by the early Muslims during and after this conflict prompted many of them to flee eastward to India , where they were granted refuge by various kings . While Arabia was experiencing the rise of Islam in the 7th century, Persia was struggling with unprecedented levels of political, social, economic, and military weakness; the Sasanian army had greatly exhausted itself in the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 . Following the execution of Sasanian shah Khosrow II in 628, Persia's internal political stability began deteriorating at a rapid pace. Subsequently, ten new royal claimants were enthroned within the next four years. Shortly afterwards, Persia was further devastated by the Sasanian Interregnum , a large-scale civil war that began in 628 and resulted in the government's decentralization by 632. Amidst Persia's turmoil, the first Rashidun invasion of Sasanian territory took place in 633, when the Rashidun army conquered parts of Asoristan , which was the Sasanians' political and economic centre in Mesopotamia . Later, the regional Rashidun army commander Khalid ibn al-Walid was transferred to oversee the Muslim conquest of the Levant , and as the Rashidun army became increasingly focused on the Byzantine Empire , the newly conquered Mesopotamian territories were retaken by the Sasanian army. The second Rashidun invasion began in 636, under Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas , when a key victory at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah permanently ended all Sasanian control to the west of modern-day Iran . In 642, Umar ibn al-Khattab , eight years into his reign as Islam's second caliph , ordered a full-scale invasion of the rest of the Sasanian Empire . Directing the war from the city of Medina in Arabia, Umar's quick conquest of Persia in a series of coordinated and multi-pronged attacks became his greatest triumph, contributing to his reputation as a great military and political strategist. In 644, however, he was assassinated by the Persian craftsman Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz , who had been captured by Rashidun troops and brought to Arabia as a slave. Some Iranian historians have defended their forebears by using Arab sources to illustrate that "contrary to the claims of some historians, Iranians, in fact, fought long and hard against the invading Arabs." By 651, most of the urban centres in Iranian lands, with the notable exception of the provinces along the Caspian Sea (i.e., in Tabaristan and Transoxiana ), had come under Muslim domination. Many localities fought against the invaders; although the Rashidun army had established hegemony over most of the country, many cities rose in rebellion by killing their Arab governors or attacking their garrisons. Eventually, military reinforcements quashed the Iranian insurgencies and imposed complete control. The Islamization of Iran was gradual and incentivized in various ways over a period of centuries, though some Iranians never converted and there is widespread evidence of Zoroastrian scriptures and all other pre-Islamic being systematically burnt and Zoroastrian priests being executed, particularly in areas that were centers of resistance. Islam had become Iran's predominant religion by the Late Middle Ages ; the majority of Iranians were Sunni Muslims until the Safavids forcefully converted Iran to Shia Islam in the 16th century. This was the first time since the collapse of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 BC with the Battle of Opis , that Mesopotamia was ruled again by Semitic -speaking people, after centuries of Persian ( Achaemenid , Parthian and Sasanian empires), and Roman-Greek ( Macedonian , Seleucid , and Roman empires) ruling periods. Fra Rashidun kalifat til abbasid kalifat (in Danish). Between Memory and Desire . Dū qarn-i sukūt : sarguz̲asht-i ḥavādis̲ va awz̤āʻ-i tārīkhī dar dū qarn-i avval-i Islām (Two Centuries of Silence) .