Persia and Islam: The History of the Islamic Empires that have Ruled Persia Since the Middle Ages

As the Persian Empire's power makes clear, Persia has been a crucial area throughout history, and thus it has been fought over incessantly, watching empires rise and fall. For most of the past 1,400 years, Islamic powers have struggled for supremacy in the region.

The split between the two forms of Islam was already in the process of forming upon the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad had constructed around himself not only a potent new religious movement but also a powerful young sta...