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After 484, the death of Pērōz and loss of the east to the Hepthalites, Sasanians abandoned the east (which the Hephthalites forged into Miirosan/Khurasan) and switched the centre of their geo-strategic focus to Iraq/Asōrestān. The wars of the 6th & 7th c. affirmed this. 1/
During the early 7th century, this “western” Iranian empire sought to extend itself into Syria & Egypt & to dominate the E. Med. region. Despite short-lived success, this “united levant” formed the basis of the Islamic Empire that came to succeed both Sas. & Byz. NE...2/
Back in the “East,” the Hepthalite Miirosan formed its own identity and became the early mediaeval “east”, the Muslim Khurasan. But while the “west” Iranian regions became increasingly Abbasid/Muslim and Arab speaking, Khurasan formed into the core of mediaeval Iran...3/
This is where a new polity forms, an economic boom takes place, & a new culture - the Persianate - is invented. It is then with the Seljuks that this “East Iranian” world is extended, ironically coming to dominate the “west” too & become the quintessential marker of “Iran” 4/
