During the first centuries of Islam the intellectual significance of Persian culture manifested itself nearly exclusively at the centre of the caliph’s empire. All great intellects were attracted so strongly by the splendour of the capital that in the provinces, with the exception of independent Spain, only very limited intellectual life could evolve within the scope of Islamic culture. In the early years of the Abbasid era countries such as Arabia, Egypt, Syria (after the fall of the Umayyads) and Persia retreated from the stage as places of intellectual productivity. This was due not only to the attraction of the capital but also to the fact that ‘like the Teutons, the Iranians were stronger in the appropriation and creative imitation of cultural tradition than in pure original creativity’. They thus needed some time to establish themselves in the new cultural circle in Baghdad, although a significant part of the establishment of this centre was due to their fellow-countrymen (Source: Iran in Early Islamic Period).
Rise of Islam and Early Islamic Expansionism: Revolution Inside and Outside
