Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic Conquest Narrative

Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic Conquest Narrative Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic Conquest Narrative analyzes how early Muslim historians merged the pre- Islamic histories of the Arab and Iranian peoples into a didactic narrative culminating with the Arab conquest of Iran. This book provides an in-depth examination of Islamic historical accounts of the encounters between representatives of these two peoples that took place in the centuries prior to the coming of Islam. By doing this, it uncovers anachronis- tic projections of dynamic identity and political discourses within the contemporaneous Islamic world. It shows how the formulaic placement of such embellishment within the context of the narrative served to justify the Arabs rise to power, whilst also explaining the fall of the Iranian Sasanian empire. The objective of this book is not simply to mine Islamic historical chronicles for the factual data they contain about the pre-Islamic period, but rather to understand how the authors of these works thought about this era. By investigating the intersection between early Islamic memory, identity construction, and power discourses, this book will benet researchers and students of Islamic history and literature and Middle Eastern Studies. Scott Savran obtained his PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 2011. Dr Savrans research focuses on identity-based discourses in early Islamic historiography. Culture and Civilization in the Middle East General Editor: Ian Richard Netton Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Exeter This series studies the Middle East through the twin foci of its diverse cultures and civilisations. Comprising original monographs as well as scholarly surveys, it covers topics in the elds of Middle Eastern literature, archaeology, law, history, philosophy, science, folklore, art, architecture and language. While there is a plurality of views, the series presents serious scholarship in a lucid and stimulating fashion. For a full list of books in the series, please go to: www.routledge.com/middle eaststudies/series/SE0363 51 Eastern Rome and the Rise of 55 Ibn al- Haythams Geometrical Islam Methods and the Philosophy of History and Prophecy Mathematics Olof Heilo A History of Arabic Sciences and Mathematics, Volume 5 52 Literature and the Islamic Roshdi Rashed Court Cultural Life under al-ৡƗত ib 56 New Horizons in Quranic Ibn ޏAbbƗd Linguistics Erez Naaman A Grammatical, Semantic, and Stylistic Analysis 53 Women and Leadership in Hussein Abdul- Raof Islamic Law A Critical Analysis of Classical 57 Arabs and Iranians in the Legal Texts Islamic Conquest Narrative David Jalajel Memory and Identity Construction in Islamic Historiography, 54 Orthodoxy and Islam 7501050 Theology and MuslimChristian Scott Savran Relations in Modern Greece and Turkey Archimandrite Nikodemos Anagnostopoulos Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic Conquest Narrative Memory and Identity Construction in Islamic Historiography, 7501050 Scott Savran First published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 Scott Savran The right of Scott Savran to be identied as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identication and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Names: Savran, Scott, author. Title: Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic conquest narrative : memory and identity construction in Islamic historiography, 750-1050 / Scott Savran. Other titles: Culture and civilisation in the Middle East ; 57. Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2018. | Series: Culture and civilization in the Middle East ; 57 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identiers: LCCN 2017016187| ISBN 9780415749688 (hbk) | ISBN 9781315795959 (ebk) Subjects: LCSH: IranHistory640-1256Historiography. | Islamic EmpireHistory750-1258Historiography. | Arabs. | Iranians. | Sassanids. Classication: LCC DS288.3 .S28 2018 | DDC 955/.02dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017016187 ISBN: 978-0-415-74968-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-79595-9 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders for their permission to reprint material in this book. The publishers would be grateful to hear from any copyright holder who is not here acknowledged and will undertake to rectify any errors or omissions in future editions of this book. For my father Contents Preface viii List of abbreviations x 1 Introduction 1 2 Shifting patterns of identity and early Islamic historiography in context 25 3 The opening of the drama: ShƗpǌr and the Sheikh 59 4 BahrƗm V Gǌr, the Lakhmids, and the Hephthalite disaster 81 5 The twilight of Sasanian power: Khusraw I AnǌshirvƗn and the saga of ণimyar 102 6 The buildup to the confrontation: Khusraw II ParvƯz and the rise of the Arabs 128 7 The climax: the Islamic victory over the Sasanians 156 8 Conclusion 202 Bibliography 207 Index 241 Preface This book is based on my dissertation which I completed at the University of Wisconsin in 2011. My idea for this study rst came about during the summer of 2004, during which time I spent in Damascus reading Arabic chronicles. Though I was originally a student of Mamlǌk studies, my colleague, Martyn Smith, con- vinced me that we read together al-Mas ǌdƯs Murǌj al- dhahab wa- maƗdin al- jawhar, and that we focus on the section of pre- Islamic antiquities. I was drawn to this authors chapter on the Sasanian empire, which cites pre- Islamic Persian texts. Whose voice was speaking to us, I wondered, al-Mas ǌdƯ or the com- posers of these ancient texts? Furthermore, what did the Sasanian era mean for al- MasǌdƯ, and how did other Muslim historians, living in different times and places, think about the pre- Islamic period? These questions led me down the path of this current study, which analyzes early Islamic historiography on the relation- ship between the Sasanian empire and the tribes and states of the Arabian pen- insula and Iraq through the lens of contemporaneous discourses and processes. Many people have helped and supported me through the course of this project. While space limitations prevent me from mentioning everyone by name, there are several individuals whom I would particularly like to acknowledge. I would rst like to thank my graduate and undergraduate advisors, David Morgan and Rudi Lindner, who have supported and inspired me throughout my education and in writing this book. From the University of Wisconsin, Uli Schamiloglu has also been a supportive gure throughout my career. Next, I would like to express my gratitude towards Tayeb El- Hibri, who kindly read a draft of my introduction, and provided invaluable advice. Sarah Savant, Greg Fisher, Conor Whately, Michael Bates, and Ignacio Sánchez graciously shared their scholarship with me, which I found most helpful. Likewise, the faculty and students participating in the History Reading Circle at Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan, provided a much welcome assessment of my early chapters. While writing both my dissertation and this book, I beneted from my communication with Boaz Shoshan, Mahmoud Omidsalar, Parvaneh Pourshariati, Shaul Shaked, Reuven Amitai, Julia Rubanovich, Michael Morony, Elizabeth Urban, D. Gershon Lewental, and the late Patricia Crone, who gave me useful feedback on my dissertation. Furthermore, I would like to thank my teaching assistants from opposite sides of the globe, Nurlan Kabdylkhak and Jay Coman, for providing me invaluable Preface ix assistance and friendship during very busy times. Other friends and colleagues I would like to thank include John Bragg, Don Leggett, Daniel Beben, Zbigniew Wojnowski, Alexander Morrison, Beatrice Penati, Brendan Pietsch, Matthew Wilhite, Daniel Scarborough, Siegfried Van Duffel, Philip Enns, Soa An, Brian Ulrich, Mark Barrow, Trudy Harrington Becker, William Ochsenwald, Daniel Geiger, Elizabeth Bouldin, Eren Tasar, Natalia Bwallerstero, Austin Hollar, and Elsaid Mohammed. My own family and my spouses family have been bastions of support during this process as well. Finally and most importantly, I could not have completed this book without the support of my wife Hannah. From proof- reading drafts of chapters, to following me to Kazakhstan, and back to the United States, this book is as much hers as it is mine. Abbreviations BSOAS Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies CHALAB Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Abbasid Belles-Lettres CHALUP Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Arabic Literature to the End of the Umayyad Period CHI Cambridge History of Iran EI Encyclopaedia of Islam EIr Encyclopaedia Iranica IJMES International Journal of Middle East Studies JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society JESHO Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies JRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society PSAS Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 1 Introduction The Battle of al- QƗdisiyya (AD 636) was the decisive victory for the Muslim- Arabs over the Sasanian empire, opening up Iran for conquest and resulting in the eradication of the Sasanian dynasty. In his historical chronicle, TarƯkh al- rusul wal-mulǌk, Abǌ Jafar Muতammad b. JarƯr al- ৫abarƯ (d. 923) details numerous reports (akhbƗr) of the embassies which the Arabs sent to the Persian1 camp in the days prior to this battle. His main source for these accounts is Sayf b.

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