Document Type : review paper
Abstract
Ya''qub-i Laith Saffarid reclaimed a large part of the eastern Islamic Caliphate jurisdiction to the borders of Dar-ol-harb (Dar-ol-kofr) from the the Abbasids and their dependents princes. The presence of the Saffarids meant dismissal of the direct pressure of the Muslim conquerors and immigrants on the territories across the Indus. Mibilization of Anti-Caliphate social forces including Ayaran، Motavaeh، Khawarij and other troops of the area، the distance between the Saffarid’s territories from the centre of caliphate as well as Ya’qhub’s success in establishing and organizing a government with a highly armed militia، advertantly or inadvertently، led to the formation of a defensive shield upon the north-west portals of India. Such a significant event opened up an opportunity for Hindus to rebuild their community and to postpone the penetration of Islam into their territories for more than a century. Even those cities in which Islamic communities had emerged were gradually assimilated into the Hindu community so that the citizens either followed the looks، customs and rituals، if not the beliefs، of the indigenous people or entered into the domestic crisis of the East Islamic World. Among all the Saffarid assaults on their enemies، it was only the war with the Ratbilan that was within the borders of India and was، thus، directed to the east. Applying a historical method، the present paper investigates the influence of the Saffarids on the cessation of the Arab conquests and migrations to India. The findings also demonstrate that the breakdown of the circle of conquered territories of the Abbasid Caliphate in the east Islamic terrain speeded up with the emergence of the Saffarids. Although such a trend prolonged and even changed they way Muslims، through militaristic measures of the caliphate system، penetrated into India and Indus، it also paved the way for the emergence of the devotees of other opposing religions such as thte Ismailis who were at odds with the Abbasid caliphate.
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