Gone Medieval – "How Islam Came to Iran" (March 8, 2026)

Host: Matt Lewis
Guest: Dr. Hodad Rezakhani, Historian of Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages
Podcast: Gone Medieval by History Hit

Episode Overview

This episode of "Gone Medieval" explores the profound and complex transformation of Iran (formerly Persia) as it transitioned from the powerful, cosmopolitan Sasanian Empire to a central region in the Islamic world. Matt Lewis welcomes Dr. Hodad Rezakhani to discuss the historical, religious, and cultural forces at play before, during, and after the Arab Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century. The conversation delves into how Islam took root in Iranian soil, changing both the region and the religion itself, and traces the echoes of these early encounters in the Iran of today.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Identity of "Persia" and the Sasanian Empire

[05:17 – 10:26]

• Naming the Region:

  • "Persia" is an exonym reflecting foreign designations; "Iran" is the local (endonym) term, rooted in "er/an," meaning "the people."
  • The term is analogous to Holland vs. the Netherlands.

• Rise and Structure of the Sasanians:

  • The Sasanian Empire emerged in the 3rd century CE from the province of Persis after the decline of the Arsacid (Parthian) dynasty.
  • Rapid consolidation, with coinage symbolizing sovereignty (divine connection to Ahura Mazda) and the use of the title "Shahan Shah Iran" (King of Kings of Iran).
  • The capital at Ctesiphon, near modern Baghdad, became a center for imperial administration, Jewish scholarship, and Christian patriarchates.

Notable Quote:

"Persia is an exonym, an external name... The endonym, the internal name was always something derived from the term 'er' or 'an,' which is the root of the word Iran."
— Dr. Hodad Rezakhani [05:17]

2. Geography and Extent of the Sasanian Empire

[10:26 – 12:09]

• Core territories included present-day Iran and Iraq, parts of Turkey, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Caucasus, and eastern Arabian Peninsula.
• At its peak, briefly controlled all of Syria, Turkey, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, and Libya.

3. Social and Religious Structure under the Sasanians

[12:09 – 19:06]

• Social Hierarchies:

  • Traditional views suggest a strict caste system, but scholarship is re-evaluating these models; actual structure likely fluid, combining genealogical, military, economic, urban, and religious elites.

• Religious Diversity and Policy:

  • Zoroastrianism was dominant, but the empire was pluralistic: Christianity, Judaism, and Manichaeism also had significant followings.
  • Sasanian rulers were Zoroastrian but did not seek religious homogenization; religious identity was more ethnicity-based and not evangelical.

Notable Quotes:

"Zoroastrianism ... is not a missionary, it's not an evangelizing religion, it doesn't try to convert anybody."
— Dr. Hodad Rezakhani [19:06]

"Religiously it's a big, very, very interesting empire and in many senses is much more tolerant than the Roman Empire..."
— Dr. Hodad Rezakhani [14:30]

4. The Fall of the Sasanian Empire & Arrival of Islam

[23:22 – 29:44]

• On the Empire’s Demise:

  • The Sasanian Empire was at its zenith just before the Arab conquests, having expanded dramatically in the 6th–7th centuries.
  • Dynastic instability led to rapid decline despite strong infrastructure ("The empire outgrows the dynasty").

• Process of Conquest:

  • Arab Muslims swiftly took Mesopotamia and Sasanian core territories after victories such as the Battle of Qadisiya and Nahavand.
  • The conquest of the more outlying Iranian territories was gradual, taking nearly a century.

Notable Quotes:

"We have to separate the fall of the Sasanian dynastic rule separately as the fall of the empire they created... The empire outgrows the dynasty."
— Dr. Hodad Rezakhani [23:55]

"So Mesopotamia is very easy. It seems to be very easy. The rest... takes about a century."
— Dr. Hodad Rezakhani [28:32]

5. Conversion, Resistance, and the Spread of Islam

[29:44 – 37:58]

• Islamization of Iran was slow; not immediate or uniform.
• Early Muslim rule allowed populations to retain existing faiths in exchange for tribute and cooperation; forced conversions were rare.
• Most mass conversions to Islam occurred in the 9th century, centuries after conquest.
• Resistance was especially strong in eastern (Afghanistan) and northern Iran (Caspian), where conversion took place much later via local dynasties.

Notable Quotes:

"Even [Muslim conquerors] don’t claim that they are converting everybody absolutely to Islam..."
— Dr. Hodad Rezakhani [31:10]

"Interestingly enough, early Muslims never get into Afghanistan... Afghanistan is actually the area that resists the longest."
— Dr. Hodad Rezakhani [35:28]

6. Language and Culture: Persianization or Islamization?

[38:59 – 52:46]

• Modern myths suggest Persian culture "civilized" its conquerors (Alexander, Arabs, Mongols).
• In reality, the emergence of New Persian is entwined with Islamic expansion. Old Persian was one of many regional languages; new Persian—a linguistic "creole"—spread with Islam and became a literary language under later dynasties like the Samanids.
• Arabic had significant influence, especially in vocabulary and culture, but Persian maintained a distinct administrative and literary tradition.
• The persistence of native faiths and languages in Iran and neighboring regions marks Islam as unique compared to Christianity, which extinguished earlier religions more completely.

Notable Quotes:

"Saying that Persian and this Persian culture always civilizes people is kind of discounting that the fact that we speak neo Persian today is become because of Islam..."
— Dr. Hodad Rezakhani [49:47]

"Persian is the second language of Islam. Islam is not a monolingual religion. Even from the beginning. It has two languages. Persian is the language of Eastern Islam."
— Dr. Hodad Rezakhani [52:46]

Memorable Moments

• The Comparison to Europe's Religious Supersessionism:
  "There are not even any native Lithuanian pagans remaining. And Lithuanians converted to Christianity only 700 years ago. But Christianity is a supersessionist religion..."
  — [33:17]
• Language, Identity, and National Narratives:
  The widely held Iranian belief in the eternal ancientness of "Persian" language and culture is nuanced and, as Dr. Rezakhani notes, both heartwarming and misleading.
  — [39:33–50:33]

Key Timestamps

• [05:17] – Regional terminology: Persia vs. Iran; origins of names
• [10:42] – Geographic scope of the Sasanian Empire
• [12:18] – Social and aristocratic structure
• [14:30] – Religious landscape and Zoroastrianism
• [23:55] – Sasanian decline and dynastic collapse
• [28:32] – Arab conquest: swiftness and gradual resistance
• [31:10] – Islamization: gradual, multifaceted, never absolute
• [38:59] – Language, "Persianization," and the myth of continuity
• [49:47] – Emergence and spread of New Persian
• [52:46] – Persian as the second language of Islam

Conclusion

Dr. Hodad Rezakhani challenges easy narratives about Iran's transformation post-Arab conquest, revealing a story marked by gradual change, vibrant religious and linguistic diversity, and a dynamic interplay between conqueror and conquered. The myth of an unbroken, resistant Persian culture is compelling, but the real story is richer: the emergence of New Persian, the slow and regionally varied spread of Islam, and a heritage shaped as much by adaptation as by resistance.

Final thought:

"Whatever I'm saying is only sort of the tip of the iceberg of what is lying beneath, and I'm hoping that these things pique people's interest enough to follow up on them."
— Dr. Hodad Rezakhani [53:07]

For more deep dives into medieval history, listen to Gone Medieval every Tuesday and Friday on History Hit.