Mazdean quietism

The Arab conquests of the Sassanid empire had, in one fell swoop, robbed the Mazdeans of Iran of all profane power. The success of these conquests is seen in Muslim tradition (and historiography) as proof of the superiority of Islam. For the Mazdeans, they were a catastrophe. Modern historians have largely followed a historical model that is dominated by our knowledge of later events: the retreat of the Mazdeans from Iran into the deserts of central Iran, with the emigration of the Khorasan community to India (the Parsis). This model denies the fact that in the first centuries of the Hegira, the Mazdeans of Iran participated in and benefited from the cultural life of the new Abbasid empire. The withdrawal of the Mazdeans, and Mazdean quietism, occurred only after the Saljûq and Mongol raids. After the ^13th century, the Mazdeans - defined as a tolerated religious minority - continued to demonstrate their participation in Iranian culture, but the transfer to marginal regions was accompanied by "internal emigration". As early as the ^15th century, communities in Iran and India were exchanging letters and religious treaties. This has often been presented as indicative of the Iranian community's position of spiritual authority over the Indian community. The fact that sources for Parsee history have only very partially been published, let alone studied, makes any attempt at interpretation tentative, but there are also strong indications of Parsee participation in Indian society.