During the first half of the 1st millennium CE, an empire arose in Persia that extended its power and influence to Mesopotamia in the east, Arabia in the south, the Caucasus Mountains in the north, and as far east as India. This empire, known alternatively as the Sasanian Empire or Sassanid Empire, was the last of three great dynasties in Persia—the Achaemenid and the Parthian being the first two dynasties—before the rise of Islam. In fact, many scholars consider the Sasanian Empire to be the last great empire of the ancient Near East because once it had been obliterated, Islam became the standard religion of the region, ushering in the Middle Ages.

The Sasanian Empire was important for a number of reasons. Besides being the last of three great Persian dynasties, they carried on many Persian cultural traditions relating to religion and kingship. The Sasanians fostered and promoted the native religion of Zoroastrianism to the point of persecuting other religions from time to time. It was during the Sasanian period that the numerous Zoroastrian hymns, prayers, and rituals were collected under one book, known as the Avesta.

However, as the Eastern Roman Empire and Sasanian Empire began to expand in the region through a combination of warfare, trade, and diplomacy, a number of Arab tribes caught in the middle coalesced to form their own powerful dynasties and states, one of which was the Lakhmid Dynasty. The Lakhmid Dynasty formed in the Mesopotamian city of al-Hira in the late 3rd century or 4th century from an Arab tribe that was searching for a home, yet within 100 years, the Lakhmids had carved out a sizable state in southern Arabia that included parts of the modern nation-states of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman. The Lakhmids were able to build this dynasty through a combination of brute force and skillful diplomacy, walking a political tightrope.

© 2022 Charles River Editors (Audiobook): 9781669623090

Release date

Audiobook: 8 January 2022