Middle Period 641 – 1501 CE ~8 centuries

8 Centuries of Foreign or Fragmented Iranian Rule 641 C.E.- Arabs; 866 to 1005- Persians; 1219 - 40 Mongol Invasion /then (Ilkhanian) Rule 1370-Turk/Timour Invasion

The Sāsānians’ end was shameful, but it was not the end of Iran. Rather, it marked a new beginning. Many movements against the Caliphs started, by individuals such as:

  • Abo Muslim Khorasani (Behzadan Porvand Hormoz). His followers were called the Siyah-Jamegan (The Black Attires)
  • Hashem e ben Hakeem (Al Moghneh) – His followers were called the Sefeed -Jamegan ( The White Attires)
  • Babak Khorramdyn. His followers were called the Sorkh-Jamegan – (The Red Attires)
  • Hassan Sabbah; He ruled from a famous castle called: Ghaleh Alamut in Ghazvin. He had a group of followers called Fadaeeyan who were ready to give their lives under his command.

And within two centuries Iranian civilization was revived with a cultural blend through 2 different sets of Tribal governments, where within each many educated Iranians influenced the rulers.

Non-Sunni— Independent from the Caliphs (Rashidun 661; Umayyad 661-750; Abbasid 750-1258) who ruled from Baghdad such as:
  • Taherian – Khorasan first Persian Dynasty after Islam, 
  • Alavian – Tabarestan;
  • Dialemeh Al Ziyar (Gilan today);
  • Dialemeh Al Booyeh;
  • Saffarian (Sistan province) Yacob Lace conquered Kabol and defeated Taherian. Iranian ruled over current Afghanistan and parts of Tajikistan and Pakistan.
Sunni – Subordinate to the Caliphs in Baghdad (But with Turkic heritage) such as:
  •  Samanian – Iranian ruled over Transoxania, (Mā Warāʾ al-Nahr, meaning “That Which Lies Beyond the River” historical region of Turkistan in Central Asia east of the Amu Darya (Oxus River) and west of the Syr Darya (Jaxartes River), roughly corresponding to present-day Uzbekistan and parts of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan.
           o    Famous Iranian scholars of this period are: Rudaki, Ferdowsi, Avicenna. 
  • Ghaznaviyan : Turkic descent, Farsi speaking, ruled over Afghanistan and parts of India
  • Saljoghiyan: Turkic descent, Farsi speaking, Took over the Ghaznaviyan territories.
           o    A famous Iranian scholar of this period is Nizam al-Mulk Tusi.
  • Khawrazmshahian: Turkic descent, Farsi speaking (ruled over current Ozbakestan and Turkamanestan)
    o    A famous Iranian scholar of this period is Al-Tusi, Nasir al-Din; famous for his contributions in astronomy. He was captured when the Mongols took over Iran and was sent to work as an advisor for the Mongul leader Hulegu Khan Mongul.
 
Then the Mongols (Ilkhanian) and the Tatars took over, leaving Iran broken for 300 years.
  • The Mongol leader Genghis Khan (Tamuchin) defeated the Khawrazmian between 1219 -1220 with historical horrific mass massacres, and even though he withdrew to Mongolia, where he died in 1227. Thus, the Ilkhanate (descendants of Genghis’ grandson Hulegu Khan) ruled Iran.
  • That disaster was followed by another devastating invasion—The Tatars. Timur Gurkani (Tamerlane) in 1380. He brought the Kara Qoyunlu (the “Black Sheep”) and the Ak Qoyunlu (“White Sheep”); 2 Turkman clans in Iran together and ruled over Iran. Current scholars estimate that he caused the deaths of 17 million people, amounting to about 5% of the world population at the time.
  • 1501 Rise of Iranian Nationalism