Document Type : Review Article
Authors
1 Ph. d of Islamic Iran History , Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
2 Professor of Ancient History of Iran, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
3 Associate Professor of Islamic Iran History, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
4 Professor of Islamic Iran History, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Following the rule of Muslim Arabs in Iran and some political, social and cultural developments resulting from this historical event, many uprisings of various natures took place in this land, which reached its peak in the second century AH. During these uprisings, which began almost with the Abbasid caliphate, it shook the foundations of Abbasid power for almost a century. Thus, this study seeks to answer the question of what social status the leaders of these uprising had in the Iranian society in the first centuries, who found great success in attracting followers and accompanying various members of society. However, many of these uprisings have been studied by historians from various political, religious, military, and economic perspectives; But the social standing of these leaders, who played a central role in the uprisings, has received little attention, or some have introduced them from the masses without a critical approach to what Islamic historians have written about the lineage and family of these leaders. While in this research, it has been tried to deal with the background of the leaders of these protests by using ancient historical sources and with a critical approach to the sources and in a descriptive and analytical manner. The findings of this research, based on a careful reading of historical texts, show that, contrary to popular belief, most of the leaders of these popular uprisings against Arab rule in Iran had aristocratic backgrounds and were often rooted in former Iranian families and agents.
Keywords
Extended Abstract
The social base of the leaders of the Iranian uprisings in the first centuries of Islam
Introduction
Following the rule of Muslim Arabs in Iran and some political, social and cultural developments resulting from this historical event, many uprisings of various natures took place in this land which reached its peak in the second century AH. During these riots and uprisings which began almost with the Abbasid caliphate, it shook the foundations of Abbasid power for almost a century.
However, although the names of some of those leaders and their goals are recorded in the Islamic sources; but they have not mentioned about the social base of those leaders. Furthermore, research on such riot movements is difficult due to lack of resources. Because there is no writing left from their leaders and followers. Thus, the researcher in this field has to rely only on Moslem historians’ sources who although provide valuable insights into these riot movements and their leaders; but their views are largely narrative, ideological, and one-sided, and they more reflective of the ideology of the ruling power. Thus, the researcher should try to paint a picture of these riot movements by analyzing the crude, chaotic, and sometimes narrative consciousness of the sources of this period. In particular, Islamic chroniclers usually describe such events if for example a large army has been sent by the caliphate to fight the rioters or that insurgency has been suppressed.
Literature reviewThese riot movements and their leaders, despite all the weaknesses and shortcomings mentioned in the sources, have been studied by scholars and historians from various political, religious, military, and economic perspective, but the social standing of these leaders, who played a central role in those uprisings, has received little attention, or some have introduced them from the masses without a critical approach to what Islamic historians have written about the lineage and family of these leaders. As in the book of Gholam Hossein Sedighi entitled "Iranian religious movements in the second and third centuries AH"; Patricia Krone's book in English entitled " The Nativist Prophets of Early Islamic Iran: Rural Revolt and Local Zoroastrianism"; Omar Foroukh's article entitled "The Nature of Iranian Movements in the First Abbasid Caliphate"; Joint article by Mohammad Azgh, Fereydoun Al-Hayari and Ali Akbar Kajbaf entitled "Sociological explanation of the reasons for joining the social classes in the revolt of Babak Khorramdin against the Abbasids"; Mohammad Nabi Ghazanfari's dissertation at the University of Isfahan entitled "Religious nature and social composition of Iranian movements in the first centuries of Islam" and many others have done many researches about those riot movements, but none of them specifically concentrated on Social base of leaders of those uprising. In other word, no specific and independent research has been done about the social base of the leaders of these riot movements.
Thus, this study seeks to answer the question of what social status the leaders of these uprising had in the Iranian society in the first centuries, who gained great success in attracting followers and accompanying various members of society. .
Method of research, In this research and based on ancient historical sources, in particular early Islamic historians who reported those riots, it has been tried to deal with the background of the leaders of these protests with a critical approach to the sources and in a descriptive and analytical manner.
Conclusion,The findings of this research, based on a careful reading of historical texts and taking in to account the fact that in the political culture of ancient Iran, racial and family origin was very important and those who were descended from the ruling families of Iran were considered worthy of sovereignty and rule, shows that in the political atmosphere of that day, racial originality and having a royal lineage were considered a basic condition for gaining and maintaining power. Thus, on contrary to popular belief, most of the leaders of these popular uprisings against Arab ruled in Iran, seems had aristocratic backgrounds and were often rooted in former Iranian families and agents. In other word, in the first centuries of Islam, despite the religious and political rule of the Arabs and the gradual acceptance of Islam by many Iranians, ethnic and racial values were still effective in the advancement and high status of a group of sections of Iranian society in the first centuries of Islam.