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العراق بعد الفتح الإسلامي
هذا الكتاب القيّم يجسد محاولة رائدة في دراسة تاريخ العراق قبيل الفتح الإسلامي وبعده، من منطلق لا يجعل حدث الفتح بوحده محوراً لكل الأحداث، ولا يعتبر العرب بمفردهم الفاعل التاريخي الجدير بالحديث عنه. بل يدرس العراق بوصفه الساحة الأنشط والأعنف التي تشكلت على مسرحها مؤسسات وعقائد وتيارات شتى تركت بصماتها في التاريخ الإسلامي المبكر، آخذاً بالاعتبار كل العوامل المساهمة، وناظراً للأحداث من زاوية التلاحم الثقافي والاستمرارية عبر التناقل. ستتضح للقارئ في طياته معالم البصمات الفكرية والإدارية التي تركتها الأديان والدول السابقة للمسلمين، والتي استعصت على الزوال برغم حركة الزمان.
596 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
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August 11, 2026
An excellent book, now over forty years old, for gaining insight into how the early Islamic conquests affected Iran, with a specific focus given to Mesopotamia, a heartland of the Sasanian Empire. Dr. Morony painstakingly dissects the available evidence to gain insights into how the Islamic conquests affected the people. He starts with a discussion of Sasanian administration in the region and takes care to set the scene. An excellent study of the culture, demography, economy, languages, and lineages, *Iraq After the Muslim Conquest* should be on the study list of anyone curious about what happened to Persia/Iran after the conquest.
It was not a good-vs.-evil battle, but a normal conquest, and unfortunately as bloody and violent as any similar endeavor. However, as Dr. Morony explains, none of the changes happened in a vacuum. Arab conquerors were not looking to butcher Persians and were not steadfast in wiping out Persian culture. He takes time to show, with ample evidence, that while the map is colored with a different color after the conquest, the conquered people and areas were not treated the same. There were also deals to be made, with the lower aristocracy holding on to their lands without forced assimilation and being able to pass their culture on to the next generations, and with many of the higher aristocracy surviving in power through forming allegiances with tribes or conversion, holding on to enough power to directly affect the results of the First and Second Fitnas by taking sides.
What I appreciate about this work is that the author keeps his focus and resists the urge to divert the conversation toward the Romans, where there are far more sources to use and the narrative is better established. He keeps a steady pace, discussing the myths and establishing the hypothesis, at the center of which is that in Eranshahr, social status was far more important than religion, and that the King of Kings tried to keep the peace and use diversity to establish his own necessity as a power broker and peacemaker instead of creating a uniform society that might have been able to resist his authority in unity. One of the most memorable sections of the book is the unraveling of the story of the persecution of Christians, where Morony sees it as necessary to attribute it to their loud stance against the established order and the will of their families rather than just personal belief, which draws a strange line between how religion was viewed on the Iranian Plateau versus the Roman Empire.
Overall, an amazing read and highly recommended despite its niche topic.
It was not a good-vs.-evil battle, but a normal conquest, and unfortunately as bloody and violent as any similar endeavor. However, as Dr. Morony explains, none of the changes happened in a vacuum. Arab conquerors were not looking to butcher Persians and were not steadfast in wiping out Persian culture. He takes time to show, with ample evidence, that while the map is colored with a different color after the conquest, the conquered people and areas were not treated the same. There were also deals to be made, with the lower aristocracy holding on to their lands without forced assimilation and being able to pass their culture on to the next generations, and with many of the higher aristocracy surviving in power through forming allegiances with tribes or conversion, holding on to enough power to directly affect the results of the First and Second Fitnas by taking sides.
What I appreciate about this work is that the author keeps his focus and resists the urge to divert the conversation toward the Romans, where there are far more sources to use and the narrative is better established. He keeps a steady pace, discussing the myths and establishing the hypothesis, at the center of which is that in Eranshahr, social status was far more important than religion, and that the King of Kings tried to keep the peace and use diversity to establish his own necessity as a power broker and peacemaker instead of creating a uniform society that might have been able to resist his authority in unity. One of the most memorable sections of the book is the unraveling of the story of the persecution of Christians, where Morony sees it as necessary to attribute it to their loud stance against the established order and the will of their families rather than just personal belief, which draws a strange line between how religion was viewed on the Iranian Plateau versus the Roman Empire.
Overall, an amazing read and highly recommended despite its niche topic.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review