I enjoyed reading this thread. It was quite thought provoking.![]()
It's not that hard to imagine. If the Sassanids defeated the Muslims, Persia and Mesopotamia would stay Zoroastrian. Of course for that, the long war between them and the Byzantines would have to end sooner. For all the great mythology of the ghazu or jihad, Umar lucked out. If the superpowers of the time hadn't spent a decade (?) beating the hell out of each other, the campaign would never have worked. Although some historians I've read suggest that Umar was simply using the campaign to keep the umma unified (during Abu Bakr's caliphate, there had been huge divisions in the community). I suspect he was as shocked as anyone by the astounding success of the war.Glad you agree.![]()
Could Zoroastrianism still be the Persian religion much after Islam begins?
Yes, it could. You'd need a PoD which enables the Sassanids to hold off the Arabs, though, I think. There are a number of options for this. Say Sassanid General Shahrbaraz is not fooled by the Byzantine's ploy to keep him out of the way of Heraclius' army.
Or perhaps the Sassanids just don't extend themselves quite as far.
I, too, want to see what would happen if Zoroastrianism remained a major religion somewhere.
I, too, want to see what would happen if Zoroastrianism remained a major religion somewhere.
Just curious here: Was the population of Mesopotamia already Arab before the Islam inspired conquest or was it a mish mash of leftovers from the several thousand years of its history? (i.e. Elamites, Assyrians, descendants of Greek settlers, Jews, Medes, Persians, etc).
And was the language still Aramic or more like Persian.
Same here. I wonder what you would need to get the Sassanids strong enough to rebuff the Muslim invaders.