Abstract
The Jewish presence in the Iranian world is well attested from the advent of Islam up to the rise of the Safavids in the early sixteenth century. The vast area stretching from modern Iran in the west to China in the east, and from the Central Asian Steppes in the north to the shores of the Persian Gulf in the south, was home to multiple Jewish communities, Rabbanite and non‐Rabbanite alike. While retaining their religious identity through their practices and ties to the main spiritual centers of Judaism, Iranian Jews formed part and parcel of Iran's social fabric. This is particularly evident given their high degree of involvement in the political sphere and their acculturation to the Perso‐Islamic environment during the Ilkhanid and early post‐Mongol periods.