rsian-Hellenic culture of pre-Roman Empire was to develop roots deep and rich. Persia's Zoroaster introduced monotheism into Asia Minor a millennium before Islam made its appearance; perhaps, even, exerting a major influence over the Judeo-Christian traditions from which Islam emerged - a fact tacitly recognized, if not officially sanctioned, by the Arabian conquerors (Saunders 100).
Nevertheless, by the time Islam was on the rise, Persian culture had been in decline for several centuries. The Roman Empire had come and gone, leaving behind the Byzantines. The rule of Byzantium was nothing if not marked by internecine conflicts, corruption and religious intolerance (Nawwab 53). For the three centuries prior to Arab conquest, eastern portions of Persia had established a modicum of independent rule under the Sassanian house. Their rule, however, was primarily a decentralized, territorially feudal response to the chaos following Imperial Rome's slow demise (Morgan 8-9). As in Western Europe, the accomplishment was that of survival: to survive the various incursions from Central Asian nomadic raids, to survive Byzantine demands for tribute, to survive inter-clan rivalries. There w
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