Download Islam spread into the Sassanid Empire and Byzantine

Islam spread into the Sassanid Empire and Byzantine territories to form
one of the largest unified states in history by 750 CE.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES [ edit ]
Identify how the caliphs maintained authority over conquered territories
Discuss the spread of Islam
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
As the Rashidun Caliphate gained power, Abu Bakr and his successors invaded the exhausted
Byzantine and Sassanian Empires.
When Islam united the Arab tribes, the Caliphates attacked and conquered the territories
previously held by the two empires.
In the battered territories previously under Sassanid Persian or Byzantine rule,
the Caliphs lowered taxes, provided greater local autonomy, greater religious freedom, and
brought peace and stability.
Ali's tumultuous rule lasted only five years; he faced two major rebellions and was ultimately
assassinated after a period of Islamic civil war.
Muawiyah, a relative of Uthman, claimed the caliphate after Ali's death, founded the Umayyad
dynasty, and expanded Islamic rule westward across North Africa and eastward through Persia.
The Islamic Umayyad Caliphate became one of the largest unitary states in history and one of the
few states to ever extend direct rule over three continents.
TERM [ edit ]
Zoroastrianism
an ancient Iranian religion and religious philosophy that arose in the eastern ancient Persian
Empire, when the religious philosopher Zoroaster simplified the pantheon of early Iranian gods
into two opposing forces
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Sassanid Empire Before the Conquest
Since the 1st century BCE, the Euphrates river divided the Roman (later Byzantine) and
Parthian (later Sassanid) empires. This border was constantly contested. Most battles and
fortifications were concentrated in the hilly regions of the north, as the vast Arabian or
Syrian Desert (Roman Arabia) separated the rival empires in the south. The only dangers
expected from the south were occasional raids by nomadicArab tribesmen. Both empires
therefore allied themselves with small, semi­independent Arab principalities, which served
as buffer states and protected Byzantium and Persia from Bedouin attacks. The Byzantine
clients were the Ghassanids; the Persian clients were the Lakhmids. The Ghassanids and
Lakhmids feuded constantly, which kept them occupied, and did not greatly affect the
Byzantines or the Persians. In the 6th and 7th centuries, various factors destroyed the
balance of power they maintained for so many centuries.
The Byzantine clients, the Arab Ghassanids, converted to the Monophysite form
of Christianity, which was regarded asheretical by the established Byzantine Orthodox
Church. The Byzantines attempted to suppress the heresy, alienating the Ghassanids and
sparking rebellions on their desert frontiers. The Lakhmids also revolted against the Persian
king Khusrau II. Nu'man III (son of Al­Monder IV), the first Christian Lakhmid king, was
deposed and killed by Khusrau II in 602 because of his attempt to throw off the Persian
tutelage. After Khusrau's assassination, the Persian Empire fractured and the Lakhmids
became effectively semi­independent. It is now widely believed that the annexation of the
Lakhmid kingdom was one of the main factors behind the Fall of Sassanid dynasty, in
addition to the Muslim Arabs and the Islamic conquest of Persia, as the Lakhmids agreed to
act as spies for the Muslims after being defeated in the Battle of Hira by Khalid ibn al­Walid.
The Sassanian Empire at its greatest extent, under Khosrau II in 621 CE
The Sassanian (or Sassanid) Empire constantly feuded with the Byzantine Empire, gaining and losing
territories in a delicate balance. When Islam united the Arab tribes, the Caliphates attacked and
conquered the territories previously held by the two empires.
Byzantine–Sassanid War (612–629)
After the Persian ruler Khosrau II (Parviz) defeated a dangerous rebellion in his own empire,
he turned his energies towards his traditional Byzantine enemies, leading to the Byzantine­
Sassanid War of 602–628. From 612 to 622, he extended the Persian borders to almost those
of the ancient Achaemenid dynasty (550–330 BCE), capturing Western states as far as Egypt
and Palestine.
The Byzantines regrouped and pushed back in 622 under Heraclius. Khosrau was defeated at
the Battle of Nineveh in 627, and the Byzantines recaptured all of Syria and conquered the
Persian provinces of Mesopotamia. In 629, Khosrau's general Shahrbaraz agreed to peace,
and the border between the two empires was reestablished.
Muhammed's Role
After the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah in 628, Islamic tradition holds that Muhammad sent many
letters to the princes, kings, and chiefs of the various tribes and kingdoms of the time,
inviting them to convert to Islam. These letters were carried by ambassadors to Persia,
Byzantium, Ethiopia, Egypt, Yemen, and Hira (Iraq) on the same day. With regards to Persia,
Muslim histories further recount that at the beginning of the seventh year of migration,
Muhammad appointed one of his officers, Abdullah Huzafah Sahmi Qarashi, to carry a letter
to Khosrau II inviting him to convert. There are differing accounts of the reaction of Khosrau
II, but nearly all assert that he destroyed the letter in anger.
Khosrau II was executed in 628 and as a result, there were numerous claimants to the
throne; from 628 to 632 there were ten kings and queens of Persia.
The Caliphate Expansions
As soon as he was appointed caliph after Muhammad's death in 632 CE, Abu Bakr moved to
strike against the Byzantine (or Eastern Roman Empire). The wars between the Byzantine
Roman Empire and Sassanid Persian Empire had devastated the pre­Islamic Middle East
and made both empires unpopular among local tribes. The empires were militarily and
economically exhausted from decades of fighting one another and vulnerable to attack.
In areas which were previously under Sassanid Persian or Byzantine rule, the Caliphs
lowered taxes, provided greater local autonomy, greater religious freedom for Jews and some
indigenous Christians, and brought peace to the people affected by the casualties and heavy
taxation from the decades of Byzantine­Persian warfare. After the Radishun Caliphate was
succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate in 661, the Umayyads continued to expand the territory
under Islamic rule. They expanded westward across North Africa and into Hispania and
eastward through Persia and ultimately to the western lands of Indus Valley, in modern­day
Pakistan.
Expansion of the Islamic Empire under the Rashidun and Ummayyad Caliphates
Dark red: Expansion under Muhammad, 622–632 Light red: Expansion during the Rashidun Caliphs,
632–661 Orange: Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750
Persecution and Assimilation of Zoroastrians
Zoroastrianism was an ancient Iranian religion and religious philosophy in ancient Persian
Empire. After the Muslim conquest of Persia, Zoroastrians were given dhimmi status and
subjected to persecutions; discrimination and harassment began in the form of sparse
violence. Zoroastrians were made to pay an extra tax called Jizya; if they failed, they were
killed, enslaved, or imprisoned. Those paying Jizya were subjected to insults and humiliation
by the tax collectors. Zoroastrians who were captured as slaves in wars were given their
freedom if they converted to Islam.
To gain more converts, Muslim leaders encouraged attendance at Muslim prayer with
promises of money and allowed the Quran to be recited in Persian instead of Arabic. Islam
was readily accepted by Zoroastrians who were employed in industrial and artisan positions
because their occupations involved defiling fire and made them impure, according to
Zoroastrian dogma. Muslim missionaries did not encounter difficulty in explaining Islamic
tenets to Zoroastrians, as there were many similarities between the faiths.
Continued Spread of Islam
Islam continued to spread slowly and steadily. Under the reign Hisham ibn Abd al­Malik and
Umar ibn AbdulAziz, Umayyad missionaries spread Islam throughout Afghanistan. There
were also large and thriving Christian and Jewish communities, along with smaller numbers
of Buddhists and other religious groups. The nobility and city­dwellers were the first to
convert. Islam spread more slowly among the peasantry and the dihqans, or landed gentry.
By the late 10th century, the majority of the Persians had become Muslim. Until the 15th
century, most Persian Muslims were SunniMuslims, though today Iran is known as a
stronghold of the Shi'a Muslim faith.