L’expansion de l’islam | De la Perse à l'Iran : 3 000 ans de civilisations (2/3) | ARTE

The country holds two names: Persia, representing mystery and ancient grandeur with imposing temples and palaces built by powerful kings, and Iran, portraying isolation, pride, and fierce independence from foreign interference.

Despite their mysterious place in Western imagination, Persian art and language have diffused across the world, influencing both European and Asian cultures.

Since Iran became an Islamic Republic in 1979, Western film crews have rarely been permitted to enter. The journalist gained this rare privilege as a British correspondent to travel through the country and discover its passionate history.

• Exploration of the Arab conquest of Persia • Clash of two major civilizations, not just military confrontation • How Persia resisted despite submission • Why Iran remained culturally distinct and linguistically Persian

In the early 7th century, a merchant named Muhammad in the distant Arabian Peninsula receives a series of divine revelations that will serve as the basis for the Quran, sparking a radical movement that changes the world.

• Arabia unites under Muslim power through conquest and conversion • Construction of an Islamic empire begins • Arab armies capture the Levant and Egypt first • Then they attack Persia

King Yazdgerd III, who ascended the throne in 632, courageously launches his troops against the Arab Islamic armies. The Persians fight with courage but are annihilated, and Yazdgerd flees eastward with his remaining army.

By 637, the Arabs stand at the gates of Ctesiphon, the Persian capital. Though the royal family manages to escape, the Sassanid Empire faces its final collapse.

According to legend, the royal family fled through the hostile mountainous desert of southern Iran, pursued by Arab armies. This tale connects to one of Iran's most sacred religious sites: a Zoroastrian fire temple.

King Yazdgerd III had two sons and three daughters. During the siege of Iran's capital, they fled toward the center of the country. According to tradition, at least two of them perished in these inhospitable mountains. The temple was built to honor them.

One princess supposedly prayed to the mountain to save her, and it miraculously opened to hide her from Arab soldiers. The waters of a nearby spring are said to be tears shed in sorrow for this princess, the empire's fall, and the decline of Zoroastrianism.

Pilgrims from around the world visit this sacred place, but it remains primarily a location where Iranians reconnect with their lost past and pre-Islamic civilization.

For Persians, the Islamic conquest represents an enormous trauma, as their entire culture, religion, and identity face absorption and replacement by Islam.

• Founded on positive thinking, good deeds, and benevolence • Authority of supreme god Ahura Mazda, meaning 'Lord of Wisdom' • Principle of Arta (truth) emanates from Ahura Mazda • Order and harmony flow from this truth

Believers must pray toward light. The only light source ancient peoples controlled was fire, so they created temples to maintain eternal flames representing Ahura Mazda's divinity.

• Many Zoroastrians fled to India after Islam's arrival • Approximately 25,000 still practice in Iran today • Yazd is considered the cradle of this ancient religion • Believers remain connected through communal bonds and shared faith

Throughout pre-Islamic Persian history, the god Ahura Mazda conferred special powers upon sovereigns, establishing divine kingship as central to Persian civilization.

This site houses rock reliefs honoring kings from before the Arab conquest. Every year, Iranians gather here to reconnect with their lost civilization and marvel at the pride and strength of their ancient sovereigns.

Ardashir I became king in 224 CE, descended from a Zoroastrian priest named Sassan. He founded the Sassanid dynasty and made Zoroastrianism the official religion of the Persian Empire. On reliefs, he is shown receiving his diadem from Ahura Mazda himself.

• Ardashir prophesied his dynasty would last 500 years • He warned the last Sassanids would lose the true faith • In 651, the last Sassanid king Yazdgerd dies • The conquest is complete; Persia falls under Arab-Muslim rule

A great Zoroastrian fire temple once stood where the Jam Mosque now stands in Yazd. This ancient temple could not long resist Islam's arrival, and the Persian religion was literally crushed.

The Jam Mosque features over 100 different calligraphic representations of God's name on its brick vaulting, symbolizing Islam's complete dominance over Zoroastrianism in the city of Yazd.

Persian soldiers in defeat enter clandestinity, creating an unprecedented and powerful movement that will persist for centuries as resistance to the Arab invasion.

• Arab conquerors forbade Persians from physical training • Persians met in secret to maintain fitness for future combat • Movements symbolically recreate battlefield techniques: archery, shields, batons, hand-to-hand combat • The practice evolved into a means to build community heroes across generations

In 750, a century after the Arab conquest, the Abbasid dynasty comes to power. These sovereigns hold the title of Caliph, supreme political and religious leader of Islam. They establish Baghdad as their new capital, located at the heart of Persia.

Islamization occurs very rapidly, but Arabization never takes hold because Persian culture is deeply rooted and resilient.

• Persian dirham currency remains the strongest in the ancient world, like the dollar or euro of its time • Arab invaders attempt to introduce their own currency but gain no confidence • Without trust, commerce collapses, forcing Arab leaders to maintain Persian currency • Coins feature pre-Islamic Persian kings and Zoroastrian fire altars with only an Arab governor's name added

The influence reverses: Arabs are conquered by Persians in many respects. They adopt Persian New Year celebrations, wear Persian traditional costumes, impose veiling on women, and use Persian administrative systems perfected over centuries.

The bodyguards of Abbasid sovereigns wear traditional Persian clothing called jamaat. The word 'pajama' derives from Persian 'jama' (garment) and 'pa' (leg), proving Persian influence in everyday life.

• Early Islamic law forbids images; only religious and divine symbols appear on daily objects • Soon legendary characters from pre-Islamic Persia emerge on ceramics • Stories depict Sassanid kings and their romances • Phantoms of Iran's pre-Islamic past resurface through artistic tradition

Persians are forced to adopt the conquerors' language, Arabic, but they appropriate it. Persian resurfaces, strengthened by the Arabic alphabet. The new Persian becomes the lingua franca of the entire eastern Islamic world.

After Islam's arrival, Persians adapt the Arabic alphabet, adding four letters to create the modern Persian alphabet of 32 letters. Calligraphy masters use this art to preserve the Persian language and find forms that harmonize with words' meanings.

New Arab sovereigns adopt the local Persian administrative system, a well-oiled machine refined over centuries. They even retain Persian officials, including the most powerful: the vizier.

• The most powerful viziers come from the Barmakid family • They supplied high officials for generations under the Sassanids • They continued serving during the Abbasid Caliphate for a century • Their political power becomes unmatched in the Islamic state

In the early 9th century, Caliph Harun al-Rashid grows suspicious of his vizier Jafar Barmaki, who has become too powerful. Harun imprisons Jafar's entire family, confiscates their lands, and has Jafar beheaded. These historical figures inspired the Aladdin story from Arabian Nights.

• Jafar's death marks the beginning of the Abbasid Empire's collapse in Persia • Warlords begin fighting for power • Arab dominance over Persia is ending • In 809, Harun dies during a military campaign in the northeast

In 935, a century after the Abbasid collapse, a poet named Ferdowsi is born in the town of Tus, where Caliph Harun had died. Ferdowsi becomes the most powerful warrior in the battle to preserve Persian culture.

• Ferdowsi belongs to the dihqan class: landowners and tax-collecting administrators • As a young man, he travels through regions collecting myths and legends of pre-Islamic Persia • He witnesses the last vestiges of ancient Persian civilization • He becomes determined to preserve his country's heritage

After the Abbasids fall, the Samanids, a Persian dynasty, rise to power. These Persian princes, not Arabs, want to highlight pre-Islamic sovereigns as their models. They commission Ferdowsi to compile all his collected legends into a book that becomes the Shahnameh.

Ferdowsi writes the Book of Kings to save the past from an overly Arabized present. He fears Persia will lose its soul and become engulfed. He writes entirely in Persian, not Arabic, to preserve what his country was before Arab arrival.

• The Shahnameh contains legendary and historical characters • It recounts their exploits against divine and human forces • It serves as a manifesto restoring pride to Iranians oppressed by Arab invaders • Ferdowsi is clearly a good Muslim but anti-Arab and Iranian nationalist

Ferdowsi takes 30 to 34 years to write the work, composing no fewer than 60,000 verses. Stories claim he was paid one gold coin per verse, which would surely have bankrupted the treasury. His fortune should have been made.

When Ferdowsi completes his masterpiece 30 years later, the dynasty that commissioned it no longer exists. Iran is under a new sultan, Mahmud, who has nothing to do with the project and may not even speak Persian. The sultan is unimpressed and does not pay Ferdowsi.

• Ferdowsi dies bitter, having received no reward from the sultan • Legend claims the sultan eventually sends gold, but it arrives as Ferdowsi leaves the city by the other gate, feet first • Yet 1000 years later, the Book of Kings is still read throughout Iran • Statues honor him; streets, squares, and metro stations bear his name

The adventures of Shahnameh characters are so famous that street art celebrates them. Artists spend 40 years perfecting their craft, sketching on paper before painting murals. Neighborhood residents bring them tea and sandwiches while they work.

• Shahnameh characters transmit from generation to generation • Some heroes are extremely popular; everyone knows them • These stories act as cement between parents and children • They connect families to a heroic, proud past

The Farzane family maintains a living cult of the Book of Kings. Children know all the stories and love them. Parents have raised them in a world full of pageantry, adventure, music, and poetry. The book possesses hidden power that strengthens children, making them stronger and more solid.

• Knowing one's roots prevents domination by other cultures • The Shahnameh represents Iranian identity, roots, and origins • Understanding ancestral traditions gives children strength to hold their heads high • The book is essential learning for maintaining cultural consciousness

Nishapur, birthplace of the poet Omar Khayyam, exploits turquoise mines for 7,000 years. The precious blue stone, symbol of paradise, colors the city and its surroundings. Artisans spend two days producing a dozen objects from fragments, separating precious stones from rock.

• Omar Khayyam is renowned in Iran as mathematician and astronomer • His work on algebra influenced European Enlightenment thinkers • He was first to prove the Earth rotates on its axis • He created a calendar with 8 leap years per 33 years, more precise than the Gregorian calendar

In the West, Khayyam is known primarily as a poet. His Rubaiyat, discovered by English translation through Edward FitzGerald, became famous. The message is Carpe Diem: enjoy today because you might die tomorrow. Victorian officers carried copies during World War I, finding comfort in his resigned wisdom.

• Khayyam's fatalism echoes the tragic prophecy of King Ardashir and destiny central to Zoroastrianism • His father was Zoroastrian; Nishapur was a great center of the ancient religion • His poetry resonates with resignation: 'I came like water and like wind I go' • Such resigned verses were forbidden in Islam, but Khayyam enjoyed the vizier's protection

At Esfahan, an extraordinary madrassa was built in 1086, the largest in the world at the time. It was constructed by Nizam al-Mulk, protector of Omar Khayyam and vizier of the last Persian conqueror, a Seljuk sultan.

• Nizam al-Mulk was not merely a great builder but a talented administrator • In modern terms, he would belong to the highest-ranking civil servants • More accurately, he truly directed the Seljuk Empire • He ensured Persian administrators preserved their superior systems under new sultans

Nizam al-Mulk wrote a treatise on government called a 'Mirror of Princes,' a manual on how a king should behave. It details everything from hunting frequency to slave trust and army recruitment. He borrowed heavily from pre-Islamic ideas and Zoroastrianism, showing Seljuk sultans how to govern properly.

• Nizam al-Mulk's power becomes so immense that his employers grow threatened • They decide: 'This old man won't die; he annoys us; we must eliminate him' • His assassination in 1092 triggers murders throughout the Islamic world • His political vision endured despite his violent end, remembered as Machiavelli of Persia

Since the Arab invasion, Persians have fought for their culture's survival. Five hundred years later, they achieve an impressive comeback with a vibrant language and living culture.

• Thanks to powerful viziers like Nizam al-Mulk, Persian governance systems remain Iranian under various sovereigns • The administrative apparatus maintains Persian character despite Arab political dominance • Persian officials preserve their civilization's continuity and wisdom

Through poets like Ferdowsi and Khayyam, through viziers' wisdom, through everyday objects and practices, Persian civilization proves resilient. It refuses erasure despite conquest and pressure to assimilate.

Despite this cultural victory, the period of great invasions has not ended. The struggle for Persian identity continues beyond this episode, indicating more upheaval and transformations lie ahead.