Powers of the Crown/Persians
The Persians have the power of Suzerainty.
Faction Type: Muslim National Bonuses:
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Unique Units:
No warships beyond the Barque and Roundship may be built.
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Unique buildings:
Unique technologies:
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Suggestions and spoilers
- Strengths:
- Weaknesses:
When it comes to their abilities, the Persians are centred mostly in two areas: more cultural and military sophistication.They may neither have the same degree of modernisation as the Turks, or have the
Faction summary
- Offensive, expansive faction focused on cavalry, raiding and expansion.
Settlements: Gurganj; Samarqand; Tabriz; Nishapur; Hamedan; Kerman; Mashhad; Isfahan; Tehran; Bushehr; Bukhara; Rasht; Bam; Istahbanat; Yasuj; Rigan; Abadan; Marvas; Merv; Shiraz; Khomein; Qon; Susa;Yazd; Arak; Sanandaj; Meymand; Halabja; Maragha
Leaders: Ismail ibn Ahmad; Ahmad Samani; Ibrahim ibn Ahmad; Nuh; Abd al-Aziz; Isma'il Muntasir; Ismail Khandan; Muhammad ibn Tekish; Mingburnu ibn Muhammad; Mahmud Ghazan; Muhammad Khodabandeh; Abu Sa'id Bahadur
Best age(s): Dark, mostly
History
The Islamisation of Persia
By the end of the Sassanian dynasty, the Persians and the Romans had been involved in countless wars which sapped all semblance of stability. War exhaustion and political instability had eroded the ability of the Sassanian court to effective impose its will, so it was gradually crumbling apart into several smaller petty fiefdoms ruled by the local aristocracy. It was in this time period that the first Arabs of the Rashidun caliphate arrived, and subsequently subjugated the Sassanian empire. Those who could fled the Muslim invaders and went into exile in Central Asia, while the nobles who remained in Iran eventually converted to the beliefs of their new overlords, eventually becoming the scions of the new Muslim dynasties that were to rule Iran at the zenith of the Umayyad caliphate.
Even despite having supplanted the native Sassanian rulers, Arab control of Iran proved to be tenuous. Insurrections eventually doomed the Umayyad empire (although Umayyad rule of Spain would continue until the close of the 12th century), and soon a new leader, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, a relative of the Prophet, was appointed as caliph. Abbas' rule now covered the eastern half of the original Umayyad empire but his realm was to soon fall apart. Racked with internal unrest, racial tensions between Arab Muslims, non-Arab Muslims and non-Muslims, this empire broke apart into several ruling houses within the space of a few generations: the Idrisids and Aghlabids arose in Africa, while the Tulunids took Egypt; and the Buyids; Uqaylids; Samanids and Hamdanids took over and fought each other in Iran.
The first of the new Islamic dynasties to effectively rule Iran were the Samanids. Although they were eager proselytisers and zealous propagators of Islam, Samanid rule also witnessed the comeback and resurgence of native Persian culture. The Qur'an was translated into native Persian, and culture, arts and industries flourished throughout the Samanid kingdom, for it was during this period that some of the giants of the Islamic "Golden Age" such as Avicenna and Ferdowsi came to prominence.