Two Centuries Of Silence [Paperback]

In the days when the awe and majesty of the Sasanian Empire instilled fear in Byzantine emperors and generals behind the gates of Constantinople Arabs, like others ruled by Iran, brought their appeals to the doorsteps of Iran's kings. They came needy and helpless to the Sasanian court to seek relief. In those days, it would not have crossed anyone's mind that one day the Sasanian crown would wear through, the empire would vanish in the weary hands of Arab lightweights, and those who took pride in being obedient servants to Persians would upturn the kingdom and the king like worthless toys. A great civilization turned into ashes as the dusts of the Arabian desert choked most of the known world.
The fall of Nah vand in 642 CE marked the end of a glorious fourteenth-century history of Iran--a fascinating and dynamic history spanning the years from 700 BCE to 700 CE. For two centuries thereafter, a brutally long, chilling silence cast its shadow over the entire history and language of Iran.
What was the reason behind the Sasanian downfall? How did the uncouth Bedouins triumph over an immense and glorious civilization such as that? During these two centuries about which our recent historians have remained silent why did Farsi become a lost language, obscure and traceless? In the time when Iranian swordsmen revolted against the Arabs under any pretext, fighting the Arabs and Muslims, how did Zoroastrian priests argue and debate in the light of knowledge and wisdom against the Muslim faith? Finally, why did Zarinkoob name a book that tells the tale of a most turbulent period of Iran's history Two Centuries of Silence and not Two Centuries of Chaos and Uproar?
Prof. Zarinkoob's colorful narrative unravels these mysteries through Iranian eyes and is delivered here only as they may.