The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran,[2] led to the end of the Sasanian

Empire of Persiain 651 and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Iran (Persia).
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.[3] With conflict erupting between Persian and Parthian 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.[4] Following the transfer of Khalid to the Byzantine front in the Levant,
the Muslims eventually lost their holdings to Sassanian counterattacks. The second invasion began in 636
under Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, when a key victory at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah 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. Due to continuous raids by Persians into the area, Caliph
Umar ordered a full invasion of the Sasanian empire in 642, which led to the complete conquest of the
Sasanians around 651.a[›] Directing from Medina, a few thousand kilometres from the battlefields of Iran, 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.[3]
Iranian historians have defended their forebears vis a vis Arab sources to illustrate that "contrary to the claims
of some historians, Iranians, in fact, fought long and hard against the invading Arabs."[5] 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. The violent subjugation
of Bukhara is a case in point: Conversion to Islam was gradual, partially as the result of this violent resistance;
however, Zoroastrian scriptures were burnt and many priests were executed.[6] However, the Persians began to
reassert themselves by maintaining Persian language and culture. Islam would become the dominant religion
late in the medieval ages.[7][8]

Contents
[hide]

• 1Historiography and recent scholarship

• 2Sassanid Empire before the Conquest
o 2.1Revolt of the Arab client states (602)
o 2.2Byzantine–Sassanid War (612–629)
2.2.1Execution of Khosrau II
o 2.3During Muhammad's life
• 3Rise of the Caliphate
• 4First invasion of Mesopotamia (633)
• 5Second invasion of Mesopotamia (634–636)
o 5.1Battle of the Bridge
o 5.2Battle of Qadisiyyah
• 6Conquest of Mesopotamia (636–638)
o 6.1Raids of Persians in Mesopotamia (638–641)
• 7Battle of Nahavand (642)
• 8Conquest of Persia (642–651)
o 8.1Strategic planning for the conquest of Persia
o 8.2Conquest of Central Iran
o 8.3Conquest of Fars
8.3.1First Muslim invasion and the successful Sasanian counter-attack
8.3.2Second and last Muslim invasion
 o 8.4Conquest of Southeastern Persia (Kerman and Makran)
o 8.5Conquest of Sakastan
o 8.6Conquest of Azerbaijan
o 8.7Conquest of Armenia
o 8.8Conquest of Khorasan
• 9Persian rebellion and reconquest
• 10End of the Sassanid dynasty
• 11Persia under Muslim rule
o 11.1Administration
o 11.2Religion
• 12Language of Persia
• 13Urbanisation
• 14See also
• 15References
• 16Sources
• 17External links

Historiography and recent scholarship[edit]

When Western academics first investigated the Muslim conquest of Persia, they only had to rely on the
accounts of the Armenian Christian bishop Sebeos, and accounts in Arabic that were written some time after
the events they describe. The most significant work was probably that of Arthur Christensen, and his L’Iran
sous les Sassanides, published in Copenhagen and Paris in 1944.[9]
However recent scholarship, both Iranian and Western,[citation needed] has begun to question the traditional narrative.
Parvaneh Pourshariati, in her Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy
and the Arab Conquest of Iran, published in 2008, provides both a detailed overview of the problematic nature
of trying to establish exactly what happened, and a great deal of original research that questions fundamental
facts of the traditional narrative, including the timeline and specific dates.
Pourshariati's central thesis is that contrary to what was commonly assumed, the Sassanian Empire was highly
decentralized, and was in fact a "confederation" with the Parthians, who themselves retained a high level of
independence.[10] Despite their recent victories over the Byzantine Empire, the Parthians unexpectedly withdrew
from the confederation, and the Sassanians were thus ill-prepared and ill-equipped to mount an effective and
cohesive defense against the Muslim armies.[11] Moreover, the powerful northern and eastern Parthian families,
the kust-i khwarasan and kust-i adurbadagan, withdrew to their respective strongholds and made peace with
the Arabs, refusing to fight alongside the Sassanians.
Another important theme of Pourshariati's study is a re-evaluation of the traditional timeline. Pourshariati
argues that the Arab conquest of Mesopotamia "took place, not, as has been conventionally believed, in the
years 632–634, after the accession of the last Sasanian king Yazdgerd III (632–651) to power, but in the period
from 628 to 632."[12] An important consequence of this change in timeline means that the Arab conquest started
precisely when the Sassanians and Parthians were engaged in internecine warfare over succession to the
Sassanian throne.[12]

Sassanid Empire before the Conquest[edit]

Since the 1st century BC, the border between the Roman (later Byzantine) and Parthian (later Sassanid)
empires had been the Euphrates River. The border was constantly contested. Most battles, and thus most
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 nomadic Arab tribesmen. Both empires therefore allied themselves with small, semi-independent 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, but that did not greatly affect the Byzantines or the Persians. In
the 6th and 7th centuries, various factors destroyed the balance of power that had held for so many centuries.
Revolt of the Arab client states (602)[edit]

Ancient Iranians attached great importance to music and poetry, as they still do today. This 7th century plate
depicts Sassanid era musicians.

The Byzantine clients, the Arab Ghassanids, converted to the Monophysite form of Christianity, which was
regarded as heretical 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 Al-Monder 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 were effectively semi-independent. It
is now widely believed that the annexation of the Lakhmid kingdom was one of the main factors behind the Fall
of Sassanid dynasty, 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 al-Walid.[13]

Byzantine–Sassanid War (612–629)[edit]

Main articles: Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602–628 and Byzantine–Sassanid Wars
See also: Fall of Sassanid dynasty