Arab Invasion & Islamic Empires: A Turning Point in Iran
Brice, W.C. The Late Abbasid Caliphate until c.A.D. 900. Photograph. University of Texas Libraries. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east.html>.
The Arab invasions were one of the most critical turning points in Iranian history because Islam became a part of Iranian culture. Before the Umayyad Dynasty began its Islamic expansion, the Sassanid Empire ruled Iran as a Zoroastrian region (Gearon). However, after the Arabs established the Umayyad Dynasty, it replaced Islam as the official religion and attempted to use Persianization, the process of integrating Persian culture and governmental systems with Islam (“Iran”). The invasion was critical to Iran as it was the first time that it was introduced to Islam, the religion that would eventually come to dominate modern day Iran. After the Arab invasions, Iranian culture blended in with Islamic traditions of the Arab empires to create a unique Iranian culture. The Abbasid caliphate, the Islamic dynasty that followed the Umayyad dynasty, adopted Persian bureaucracy to establish new governments headed by the vizier. In addition, the new caliphate was centered in an area formerly dominated by the Persian Empire and integrated Persian culture into the empire as a result (“History”). Thus, although the Arab invasions also introduced the Iranians to a new religion, Islam, they also took advantage of the sophisticated Persian institutions to build a solid civilization. Shia Islam, the sect of Islam that has the majority of its followers in Iran, emerged during this era due to the influence of regional Persian culture. Thus, the Arab invasions integrated Iran as an important cultural and political force into the extensive Islamic empire in the Middle East and completely transformed Iran’s history by implementing a new religion into Iran that would greatly affect Iranian society.