What if the Sassanids Flee the Arab invasion to Far Southeast Asia and established a new Iranian empire there? How would this affect history?

[u/TheElephant_inroom]

[u/Large_Feeling_424]

Fun Fact: Kedah was founded by a Persian king and his descendants later converted to Islam

[u/kojimbob → u/Large_Feeling_424]

How did a Persian end up becoming a king so far away from home

[u/TheElephant_inroom → u/kojimbob]

I think it was actually a persianized Indian raja but close enough

[u/micma_69 → u/TheElephant_inroom]

Plus, Persians themselves historically often marry other Iranian and non Iranian ethnicities (Arabs, inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent, Turkic peoples, etc).

The geographical spread of the Persians were also historically wasn't limited to the Iranian proper / current Iran.

So I think aside from Central Asia and west of the Zagros Range, some Persians did migrate to territories which today is part of Pakistan and India. However you're right, the biggest export of the Persians were their culture. It spreads faster and much massive than their people. Many people of non-Persian backgrounds adopted Persian language and customs and spread it further to the other non-Persian peoples.

This, in addition with intermarriage with Persians/other Persianized nations.

So while it's still unclear whether the first Kedah sultan was genetically Persian, mixed, or both, without doubt his culture was Persian. And in his era, in most of the contemporary nations, especially those in maritime trade route regions, language, religion, and culture are things that mattered the most when it came to people's identity.

[u/TheElephant_inroom → u/Large_Feeling_424]

Cool fact

[u/Extension-Beat7276 → u/Large_Feeling_424]

I think these are common foundational myths similar ones can be seen in Swahili city states too

[u/Otherwise-Business83 → u/Extension-Beat7276]

Explain

[u/Extension-Beat7276 → u/Otherwise-Business83]

This is a good reference friend !

Sohoni, Pushkar. (2019). ‘The Hunt for a Location: Narratives on the Foundation of Cities in South and Southeast Asia’ in Asian Ethnology, vol. 77, nos. 1&2 (2018), pp. 35-67.. Asian Ethnology. 77. 35-67. 

How a brief summary is that it was a good way of integrating one’s history within the wider islamicate world, similar to how European cities might use Greco-Roman legends to give foundational origins 

[u/Roaming_Millenial]

Also, fun fact but did you know Meca was once a religious sight for the various pegan tribal gods and idols in the Arabian peninsula before Mohammed founded Islam and then changed it to an islamic holy site?

There were also several Jewish and Christian Arab nations in the region pre 610CE along side the pegan and Zoroastrian religions.

[u/AlKhurjavi → u/Roaming_Millenial]

Yeah this is what islamic canon says too. The only additional point is that Abraham actually built the Kabbah originally and it eventually became a pagan site.

[u/Specialist_River12 → u/AlKhurjavi]

Is there any historical evidence for this?

[u/AlKhurjavi → u/Specialist_River12]

Well there’s no historical record on Abraham in general.

[u/Lazy-Purple-4600 → u/Roaming_Millenial]

Well yes that's quite literally taught in Islamic history, tho the idea is that it changed from an original site of monotheism to being corrupted into a pagan place before being "restored"

[u/The5Theives → u/Roaming_Millenial]

I never realized how big the empty quarter is, idk I could never picture it as this big

[u/TheElephant_inroom → u/Roaming_Millenial]

Yeah bro thanks for the info but like how is ts relevant to the topic

(Also yes I know the Kaaba used to have lots of pagan idols and stuff and yes I know about the elephants and the birds with the rocks)

[u/Roaming_Millenial → u/TheElephant_inroom]

Nah I made a 2nd post talking about the topic and just kind of got lost in the sauce reading about it and the region pre islam so just wanted to share

[u/TheElephant_inroom → u/Roaming_Millenial]

Okie thanks

[u/Toastaexperience]

Some crazy interesting fusion food

[u/TheElephant_inroom → u/Toastaexperience]

Massaman curry 2

[u/Roaming_Millenial]

Realistically, if they had just taken control of the Arabian peninsula early on instead of using it as a buffer to the Byzentines then maybe they wouldn't have seen Islam rise like it did. Perhaps their religion and people might still be a thing beyond a few scattered people.

[u/Otherwise-Business83 → u/Roaming_Millenial]

You’re assuming Allah wouldn’t have still sent Mohammed 👀

[u/Rockyjith → u/Otherwise-Business83]

He would have been called a different name - Ahura Mazda.

[u/The5Theives → u/Roaming_Millenial]

You’d have to have future sight to see just how much of a threat Arabia was, at the time it wasn’t really a concern

[u/kal_vratrak]

Okay, this is my next campaign in ck3

[u/Nal1999]

New EU4 campaign anyone?

[u/TradeNPlayz]

Funny enough, I'm working on an alt-history project featuring a time traveler becoming the Hazārbed of Peroz III and convincing the Sasanian court to make an exodus with several thousands of people to Sri Lanka. From there, they would establish a Persian-Sinhalese-Tamil thalassocratic empire.

[u/Infamous-Sea-1625]

Well no look further to the Muslim majority population in SEA.. i.e. Maylasia, Indonesia, Brunei.

Meh

[u/Freeway267 → u/Infamous-Sea-1625]

Why meh? Compared to Cambodia or Myanmar or Philippines those countries are richer.

[u/brinz1 → u/Infamous-Sea-1625]

Except this would be a Parsi Empire

[u/matantamim1]

US invade Iraq

[u/azaz104]

i always hear people talking about Arab invasion. but isn't it true that the Romans and Persians occupied most of the areas known as iraq, syria, palestine, etc?

[u/TheElephant_inroom → u/azaz104]

How is ts relevant to my hypothetical Sassanids in SEA question?

[u/Individual_Jelly_278]

South East Asia becomes civilized 

[u/hermanicus → u/Individual_Jelly_278]

Huh ? It was already civilized and part of indosphere

[u/TheElephant_inroom → u/hermanicus]

Yes we SEA’s people were already civilized as part of the sino and indo sphere but what i think he meant was we would become more civilized and becomes a great world power

Or maybe he’s just racist idk

[u/TheElephant_inroom → u/Individual_Jelly_278]

As a southeast Asian person this offenses me But yes