The Nativist Prophets of Early Islamic Iran: Rural Revolt and Local Zoroastrianism, written by Patricia Crone

Abstract

The Nativist Prophets of Early Islamic Iran: Rural Revolt and Local Zoroas trianism is an ambitious and welcome project; one that addresses a vast lacuna in Iranian studies by painting a detailed portrait of the social history of early Islamic Iran and the religious beliefs in circulation. Through methodical readings of primary sources with both direct and indirect knowledge of the Iranian religious movements, attention to Zoroastrian, Manichaean, Buddhist, and Christian primary sources, and analyses of various secondary source literature, Crone has traced the development and/or appropriation of religious ideas and notions such as the transmigration of the soul, reincarnation, and polyandry. While the book focuses primarily on the Iranian areas of the Islamic empire and on Khurramism, Crone casts the net wide to compare and contrast these ideas as they appear in various communities from Greece through Central and South West Asia to China and India. The Nativist Prophets of Early Islamic Iran is divided into three parts with an introduction and a conclusion that ties the various strands of the book together and traces the religious beliefs and notions associated with Khurramism (Crone's designation of the religion of Khorram-dinān) down to the Safavid (and early modern) period. Throughout the first half of the book, Crone focuses on the socio-cultural and political nature of the revolts. For the introduction, however, she sets her sights earlier to provide the relevant background and context. She begins with a brief overview of the conquest of the Sasanian empire, with an emphasis on the importance of the fall of the capital, the early post conquest revolts, the significance of the proximity to and eventual intermingling of garrison troops with local populations, and the conversion of Iranians in rural and urban settings during the first two centuries of Islamic rule. She also offers a percipient