The History of the Sassanid Empire

As late as the 930s, it was possible for a warlord of Iran to reject the authority of the Abbasid caliphs and proclaim a Zoroastrian revival. More than a century earlier, Persian culture had probably helped to spark the translation movement which rendered Greek works of philosophy and science into Arabic. Carrying on the cultural activities of the Sassanids was a way for them to claim authority for their new imperial rule.