The Khurramites: Religion, Revolt, and Memory. Part I.

The fall of the Sasanian Empire in the mid-7th century CE marked not just a political upheaval, but a profound transformation of Iranian society. The Islamic conquests introduced new religious paradigms, administrative structures, and social hierarchies. While Islam became the dominant faith, the process of Islamization was neither immediate nor uniform.Khurramism was, perhaps, one of the most notable movements in Early Islamic Iran. Neither fully Zoroastrian nor Islamic, they drew from deep wells of Persian religion, folk messianism, and anti-imperial rage.The episode no. 4 unfolds in two parts. The first part is focused on the historical context where the movement emerged, available sources about the Khurramites, their belief system and rituals, as well as the personality of their most famous leader - Babak Khorramdin.