12. The Muslim massacre of the ancient Persian city of Istakhr
The ancient city of Istakhr in present day Iran emerged as a Achaemenid city of the Persian Empire on the end of a caravan road which connected it to the Persian city of Persepolis and the trade rich Indus Valley. The city thrived on the brisk trade with both. In 649 CE Muslim Arabs conquered the city, and the new masters imposed restrictions on the Persians including repression of Zoroastrian beliefs, and demands for the support of Islam. For two years the residents of the city and its environs endured the repressive rule of the Arabs before rising in revolt against them. The Persian revolt was put down harshly by the Arabs, who then took punitive measures against the population of the city.
Muslim Arab settlers were moved to the city to replace the population, which was simply massacred by the Arabs. The price imposed by the Arabs for the act of rebellion against them was the killing of over 150,000 Persian civilians, many of whom had little or no culpability in regards to support of the brief rebellion. The Istakhr massacre took place against the backdrop of the Arab conquest of Persia, and was but one of several incidents of mass killings of the civilian communities in Persia. The city continued to exist under the Arabs and then once again under the Persians until it was sacked in the early eleventh century, reducing it to a village, and eventually to ruins. The massacre of 651 is largely forgotten to all but Iranians today.