From what historians have recorded, one can clearly understand the elevated position of the Persian language during the period of Arab domination over our land. The language of the Arabs never truly took root in Iran and never entered the lives of the general population. Therefore, although Persians who had dealings with Arabs were compelled to learn Arabic and used it only to meet their daily necessities, their own language remained Persian, along with its various beautiful dialects. In the cities and villages of Iran, people spoke only Persian languages and dialects, and in their daily lives they used no other language. The greatest proof that Arabic never became established in Iran—and the reason why, shortly after the conquest by the Arab armies, Persian once again replaced Arabic in literature and administration—was that Arabic never entered Iranian households and never found a place in the everyday life of the people.*
It is entirely incorrect to assume that, just as the Sasanian Persian state collapsed, Persian language and literature were likewise transformed and destroyed. It may be true that the political power of a state can decline after military defeat; however, language, literature, traditions, and all the elements that form the identity of a nation are not things that can be quickly or easily erased, especially when that nation possesses a deep-rooted and ancient culture. The fact that Persians were able, one or two centuries after the Arab invasions, to gradually regain their independence and preserve the Persian language as a living and flourishing language in opposition to Arabic—which had gained strength through political and religious dominance—was not a spontaneous event based merely on chance or destiny. Rather, it was the result of a series of visible and hidden historical developments, as well as the efforts and struggles of Persians during that dark and difficult era. When we remember that among all the neighboring nations conquered by the Arabs and exposed to the Arabic language, the Persians were the only people who preserved and protected their own language and culture, we can better appreciate the importance and greatness of their efforts during those two bleak centuries.
In any case, it is evident that the foundations of knowledge and culture in Iran did not disappear with the fall of the Sasanian Empire. Instead, they continued and repeatedly revealed brilliant signs of their existence. Although Persian scholars of that difficult and oppressive period were often forced to write their works in Arabic, after Persians succeeded in establishing their own local governments, they immediately returned to Persian and once again composed their works in their national language.
The Russian Iranologist Vasily Vladimirovich Bartold (referred to in the original as “Istranzov”) writes about the “influence of Iran on Islam”:
“The Arabs are greatly indebted to Iran in their history. The influence of Iran in the history of Muslim nations has been visible and continuous for centuries. Persian symbols and signs have appeared whenever circumstances allowed; and whenever times were unfavorable, they disappeared from view, yet remained hidden beneath the surface with profound influence. To understand the reasons behind this phenomenon—which also possesses universal significance—we must examine many historical processes as links in a connected chain. In short, this influence originated from the fact that Iran’s historical and cultural achievements continued to survive and develop throughout the Islamic period.”
A. V. Williams Jackson, professor of Persian and Indo-Iranian languages at Columbia University, described this event as follows:
“Although the Persians lost their political freedom after their defeat by the Arabs, because they possessed a culture and knowledge of a much higher level, they preserved their freedom of spirit and thought. The flame of freedom continued to burn secretly within their hearts, and whenever an opportunity appeared, it burst into flames and shone brightly.”
Arnold also writes in his book The Preaching of Islam:
“The characteristics of Iranian painting from the Sasanian era survived for six centuries and once again appeared within an Islamic environment, even though Islam was not compatible with the most prominent branch of this art—the representation of human figures. This is a clear example of that national and patriotic spirit which, throughout all periods of foreign domination over Iran, was never completely broken.”
Research into the influence of Iranian culture and the Persian language on Arabic literature is one of the fields that, with recent developments in scholarly methods, has increasingly attracted the attention of researchers. According to scholars, this new approach may transform many existing views regarding the foundations of Islamic culture. Although such historical and intellectual discussions are still relatively young and incomplete in Eastern scholarship, from the middle of the nineteenth century onward, as studies in “Arabic and Islamic sciences” as well as “the history and culture of pre-Islamic Iran” expanded, European Orientalists increasingly recognized that Islamic sciences and Arabic literature were deeply filled with and influenced by Iranian thought and artistic sensibility. To the extent that understanding their historical development without studying Persian culture would be impossible.
Among the scholars whose research contributed to the development of this perspective are Ignaz Goldziher, von Kremer, Theodor Nöldeke, Carl Brockelmann, Arnold, Baron Rosen, Zetterstéen, Huart, and others.
Scholars and researchers around the world have recognized the Iranian nation, as well as Iranian culture and thought, as having had a significant influence on other peoples and as having contributed greatly to the advancement of global civilization. Edward Granville Browne wrote:
“The destruction of any creation, whether it is a human being or a nation, is a loss to the world and therefore must be regarded as a great wrong. Since the Iranian nation has contributed greatly to global culture and civilization through its literary and industrial achievements, the disappearance of Iran from the community of free nations would not only be a loss for the Iranian people and their country, but a much greater loss for humanity itself.”
During the first century after the Arab conquest, the Arabs were still unfamiliar with the value of knowledge. Consequently, they had little connection with books and writings; and even when they did not actively seek to destroy them, they did not consider their preservation important. As a result, during the turmoil and plundering that followed their conquests, a large portion of Iran’s scientific and literary works disappeared. The small portion that survived eventually, after the passing of that dark era, became useful again to scholars and writers, was gradually translated into Arabic, and often appeared under different names. Many historical writings mention the tragic destruction and burning of Iranian books during the Arab invasions.
Much has been written about the Arabs’ treatment of libraries and cultural treasures belonging to nations whose lands they conquered. It has been stated:
“When the Arabs conquered a country, they destroyed whatever books and signs of knowledge they found, and in the same way they burned or destroyed the libraries of Iran and Egypt. However, in later centuries, when they gradually became familiar with knowledge and literature, they recognized their value; therefore, they attempted to destroy the evidence of their own destruction of books and libraries, so that they might remove the shame of that unjust act from themselves.”
Jurji Zaydan, the Egyptian historian whose most famous works include History of Islamic Civilization and History of Arabic Literature, wrote extensively in his first book about the burning of libraries during the Arab conquests. Although he initially considered the story of Arabs burning books to be false, after conducting broader historical research he found evidence that caused him to abandon his earlier view and accept the accounts recorded in historical sources. He presented his arguments as follows:
- The Arabs’ tendency to destroy every book except their own holy scripture.
- The story that, during the conquest of Iran and Egypt, Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas and ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAs asked Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab for instructions regarding the libraries and books they found. Umar reportedly ordered them to burn them or throw them into water, saying that their own book was sufficient.
- Numerous historical reports concerning the destruction of Iranian libraries by the Arabs.
- Evidence showing that, during that period, burning the books of enemies was considered a form of revenge among Arabs, with many historical examples supporting this.
- Evidence indicating that when Arabs encountered followers of other religions, they destroyed their places of worship and their books.
- Reports showing that individuals such as Ahmad ibn Abi al-Hawari and Abu Amr ibn al-Ala burned their own earlier books, demonstrating that some early Muslims did not view the writings of previous generations favorably.
After presenting his arguments, Jurji Zaydan concluded:
“The Arabs, upon first reaching the neighboring nations, burned and destroyed whatever books and signs of ancient knowledge they found.”
Nevertheless, despite all the pressures and devastating losses that historical accounts describe as having been inflicted upon Persian culture and literature, historians have recorded the persistence and vitality of Persian language and literature:
“When the representatives of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan arrived at the camp of Ibrahim al-Ashtar, they did not hear even a single Arabic word there. The army of Ibn al-Ashtar and Mukhtar consisted entirely, or mostly, of Iranians; and although these soldiers lived among Arabs, they still spoke their own language and did not know Arabic.”
Likewise, Ibrahim al-Imam, the representative of the Abbasid movement, wrote in his instructions to Behzadan (Abu Muslim Khorasani):
“If you are able to leave not even a single Arabic-speaking person alive in Khorasan, do so.”
By “Arabic-speaking,” Ibrahim meant those Arabs who had migrated from the Hejaz to Khorasan. This clearly shows that Arabic was primarily the language of Arab settlers, while Iranians continued to speak their own language—Persian.
During that era, the Persian language was widespread throughout Iran and even in Baghdad. Al-Qalqashandi, explaining why many official titles of the Egyptian government were Persian, wrote:
“Although Egypt was not neighboring Iran, because most government officials in Baghdad were Iranian and spoke Persian, those titles also spread from there to Egypt.”
(Subh al-Aʿsha, Vol. 4, p. 453)
Persian Culture Before Islam — Tous Publications
* More than a thousand years ago, our ancestors stood firmly against foreign languages and preserved a precious treasure such as the Persian language for us. Yet today we have become so passive before foreign English and Latin words, and it remains unclear what kind of worthless and poorly shaped stone we intend to hand over to future generations of this land.
* These two connected articles were published in Shahrivar and Mehr 1390 (2011 CE) in the eighth page of Amordad magazine, issues 261 and 262
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