This brief introduction to the state of Christianity in Iraq during the ascendancy of Islam begins with a discussion of the friction between Christians and Magians. The political role of the church among the Sassanians is addressed. The situation of tolerance that settled over the region regarding Christians, uneasy at times because of internal struggles and external changes of government, brought the Church of the East into a relationship with the Sassanian state. With the Islamic conquest various traditions circulated regarding the tolerance of Christianity within Muslim jurisdiction. Morony skillfully navigates these traditions, providing a plausible historical view. The political maneuvering of the various factions of the Christian citizens of Iraq is sketched through its complex development in the early Islamic era when the power struggles of the factions led to state involvement. The formation of the Church of the East’s doctrine and identity as well as their schools, monasteries, laws, and their sense of community and separateness are considered. The contrast with Miaphysites with their “Nestorian” competitors rounds out the discussion. Excerpted from Michael G. Morony’s Iraq After the Muslim Conquest, this brief study serves to illustrate some of the issues and concerns of late antique Christians in Iraq.

Michael G. Morony teaches in the History Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. He studied at the University of California, Berkeley and earned his Ph.D. at UCLA. He has written several books on West Asian social and economic history.