2.13. The land of the Magi

Today, we discuss the religion that dominated Iran until the Muslim Conquests: Zoroastrianism. As we shall see, this faith bears many resemblances to Twelver Shiism, the sect that would be embraced by the Buyid dynasty soon after it emerged, and not long after the Islamization of Iran really got underway. These similarities may not be entirely coincidental. Zoroastrianism also left a mark on other world religions. It had many followers in Arabia during the lifetime of the Prophet Mohammed. After the Muslims conquered Persia, both religions would co-exist there for centuries. That was bound to leave a mark.