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So, the 602-622 Byzantine-Sassanid War is a crucial and important war. It tired both the Sassanids and the Byzantines tremendously, and the Sassanids were thrust into civil war that ultimately resulted in the Caliphate conquering all of the Sassanid Empire. On the other hand, while the Byzantines did not see civil war, they did get weakened to the point that most of the Byzantine Empire fell to the Caliphate. This war was so incredibly destructive that it allowed both empires to be greatly overshadowed by a people who were formerly a warring mass of tribes.

But, what if the war were shorter? Let's say the Byzantines, for whatever reason, come to peace relatively early? In the ensuing peace agreement, the Sassanids win control over the portions of Mesopotamia that were contested between the two, but nothing more. Simply put, the contested territory shown becomes Sassanid.



Such a war could bring about a rich, strong Sassanid Empire that would surely be able to defeat the Caliphate and restrict it to the Arabian peninsula. In addition, I think it should be noted that a lot of what is Islamic culture came from the Sassanids. The Sassanids were more tolerant than the Caliphate, and were situated at a nice place in terms of trade. Assuming the Sassanids don't fall any time soon (I don't think they would), I think they could achieve a golden age similar to the Islamic one, and achieve similar progress in terms of science and philosophy, albeit under Persian rather than Arab lines.

Is this scenario plausible?
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