Christian Communities, Iran, 600–1500

Abstract

Before Islam arrived, Christians made up a significant religious minority in Persia. The faith presumably moved eastward from its Palestinian origins during the Parthian period and was already established when the Sasanian era began. The Church of the East developed as an independent body under the Sasanians, headed by a Catholicos‐patriarch and with a network of bishops and metropolitans. Periods of official persecution occurred from the fourth century on and the impact of the fifth‐century Christological controversies (Nestorianism and Monophysitism) was also felt. After the advent of Islam, Christians in Persia were subject to the jizya poll tax but also had protected dhimmi status. Whereas the Umayyads were less concerned with conversion than with tax revenues, their successors the Abbasids prioritized conversion, resulting in a gradual decline in the Christian population and an increase in the number of Muslims. Nonetheless, Christians continued to play key roles in the caliphate, as doctors, administrators, and translators from Greek to Arabic. After two centuries of Seljuk rule, the Mongols conquered Baghdad and Christians found themselves in favor initially. However, the rulers of the Ilkhanate eventually converted to Islam, shortly after which the state collapsed, to be succeeded by the Timurids and the Turkmen Federations (Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu), under whom Christianity shrank further in numerical strength and influence.