Persian-speaking Iranians in medieval times
Persia came under Islamic/Arab domination after the defeat of Sassanid Persian Empire by the second Islamic Caliph Omar in the year 651. As Muslims, medieval Iranian scholars made substantial contributions, not only to the development of Islamic intellectual history, but also to the advancement of science, mathematics, and philosophy.
Medieval Iranians not only had inherited the great achievements of Pre-Islamic Persian civilization, they had also inherited the scientific achievements of the Ancient Greeks and Indian Sciences. Interestingly enough, during the medieval centuries, most of the best of medieval Muslim philosophers, scientists, physicians, and theologians were Persian-speaking Iranians, even if they published their writings in Arabic which, as the language of the Quran, had emerged as the language of theology, philosophy, science, and communication among diverse Muslims during those centuries.The fact that many Persian scholars wrote mostly in Arabic has caused much confusion among non-Iranians, who often refer to Persian-speaking Iranians as Arabs. During those golden centuries, Persia also gave rise to some of the best poets/writers in the world, including giants such as Rumi, the epic poet Ferdousi, Nezami, Saadi, Hafiz, and Omar Khayyam, who created classical Persian poetry/prose which became models for literature from contemporary Turkey all the way to Indonesia.
The following three different groups of medieval Persian-speaking Iranians demonstrated a tremendous understanding of the economic process:
(1) Medieval Persian-speaking Muslim philosophers/ethicists who were inspired by Greek thought, after Abbasid Caliph Mammon had ordered the translation of the philosophic/ scientific works of the Greek masters. Persia, which was also ruled by the Greeks after its defeat by Alexander, had access to Greek thought long before this.
In fact the Persian University of Jundi Shapur, according to many the oldest university in the world, had numerous Greek teachers.(2) Persian-speaking Muslim theologians who were inspired by Islamic teachings, which were very friendly to economic gain and the market.
(3) Persian-speaking writers of Islamic mirrors for princes, who were inspired by a realistic/ economically friendly body of pre-Islamic Persian mirrors. Islamic mirrors consisted of a body of medieval “Islamic” thought — in Persian, Arabic, and later in Turkish — that emerged in the Muslim world after a Muslim convert (from Zoroastrianism), Ibn Moqafah, translated a pre-Islamic book of wisdom titled Kellileh Demneh from Middle Persian to Arabic. This translation gave rise to numerous mirrors in the above languages that provided advice to political leaders.
Of course, these scholars could not have made those contributions had it not been for two other factors: the mercantile roots of Islam, and the fact that a rudimentary form of capitalism had emerged in much of the Islamic world when European lands were under feudalism, and the fact that Christian scholars did not advocate economic gain.
The medieval Persian/Muslim view of wealth and economic activity was much closer to Adam Smith's than those of the Ancient Greeks, or even medieval Christian scholars. After all, Islam had mercantile roots: Prophet Muhammad had been a merchant, and had married a merchant (Khadijeh) prior to his claim of receiving revelation. The Quran and Hadith (reported words and acts of the Prophet, and for Shiites also of several Imams) were pro-trade, and Persians also had a positive view of wealth and economic activity on the eve of the rise of Islam. Furthermore, Muslim scholars were equipped with the rationalism they had inherited from the Greeks. Besides, both the Quran and Hadith are anti-ascetic and advocate moderation in worldly affairs. In fact, production and trade are pictured in the Quran and Hadith as noble practices and merchants are favorably portrayed (Essid, 1987).
These main sources of Islamic teaching encourage trade and economic activity, and “the early Muslims of Mecca and Madina continued in trade” (Zubaida, 1972). It is no wonder that economic historians Subhi Labib, Elias Tuma, A. Udovitch, and Maxim Rodinson have emphasized the pro-market aspects of Islam, and the French scholar Goitein speaks of the rise of an Islamic bourgeoisie in Islamic lands during the first six centuries of Islamic history.Thus, being influenced by their pro-market environment and Persian tradition, plus the inherited Greek rationalism, the realism of the mirrors with pre-Islamic Iranian roots, and responding to the requirements of the early form of capitalism, these three groups of medieval Islamic scholars made substantial contributions to understanding the economic process, and influenced various European scholars, including Thomas Aquinas. These contributions to economics appeared in several areas: in their appreciation of the significance of wealth and economic activity; in their knowledge of division of labor and its usefulness; in their acknowledgement of the roles of demand, supply and the market; in understanding the evolution and functions of money; in their appreciation of public finance and the need for government; and their anticipation of the population theory as expressed by Thomas Malthus centuries later.