Background of the Sasanian Empire Conquest
The Islamic Conquest starts off with the Bedouin Arabs. On
this conquest they toppled many different empires, propelled not only by a
desire for land but also by a new religion, Islam. Abu Bakr steps into
power after Muhammad died in 632 and after a year Arabia had regained
its security and was able to begin the campaign against the Byzantine and
Sassanid Empires. The conquest was going well with the defeat of the Byzantine
Empire in 635, and the defeat of the Sassanid Empire in 641-42. The reason
these empires were so effortlessly defeated is because the native
populations had little to lose by cooperating with the conquering power.
Moreover, the Muslims offered relative religious tolerance and fair treatment
to people that accepted Islamic rules without resistance. The conversion to
Islam offered some advantages, and was rapidly accepted among the urban
population but slower among the peasantry, and dihqans (farmers). But Muslims
were not the only ones benefiting from allowing Iranians into their religion
because they contributed significantly to all branches of Islamic learning
including philology literature, history, geography, jurisprudence, philosophy,
medicine, and the sciences. Also, the Muslim conquerors adopted many new things
like the Sassanid coinage system, Iranian court ceremonial practices, and the
trappings of Sassanid monarchy. The Arabs were always in control, however, and the
new state religion, Islam, imposed its own system of beliefs, laws, and social
movements.
- Here is a video for viewers to get a better grasp of background information, various artifacts and architecture from the Sasanian Empire. (Below)