MAGIANSgians in Iraq perished during the Islamic conquest. Their association
with the Sasanian state was at least partially responsible for the failure
of the Magians tb produce a fully developed autonomous religious
community. Most of the elements were present however: a distinctive
cult, a system of religious law, a priesthood, and a form of religious
education. The political associations of Magianism proved to be nearly
fatal to the organization during and immediately after the Islamic
conquest, but the Magian cult and traditions survived because more
reliance had been placed on preserving them among the priestly fam-
ilies than in the institutions of a religious community as such. Magian
families that survived in Iraq in ever-decreasing numbers preserved
their own traditions among themselves. The most significant losses of
Magianism were through conversion to Christianity and to Islam, but
this was only a continuation of conversions that had started in the
late Sasanian period and were accelerated by the changes brought by
the conquest. To the extent that such converts brought their religious
background with them, they were important channels of transmission
for Magian ideas both to Christians and to Muslims. However, the
Magian presence in early Islamic Iraq tended to be reinforced by the
voluntary or forced migration of Magian Persians to the garrison cities.
Throughout the century following the conquest, Magians were brought
to Iraq from all over Iran as captives. So Magian ideas present in early
Islamic Iraq were not necessarily a survival from the Sasanian period
but were just as likely to have been brought to Iraq after the conquest.
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