In the early centuries, the land of Persia was a scene of clashes, riots, revolutions – great and small – consisting of various political, religious, and social motivations. In the meantime, maybe the least known of all is the uprising of Abū ‘Īsā Iṣfahānī, which, because he and his followers were Jewish and as it was a resurgence in a country with a Muslim population as well as due to the ambiguities and differences in reports concerning the nature and quality of this resurgence and its aftermaths, it befits to be more seriously examined. Abū ‘Īsā was a Jew residing in Isfahan and in fact was the first Iranian, who revolted against the Umayyad rule after gathering many partisans in the second half of the second century A.H. with an optimal utilization of the intrigued atmosphere of that era and with new religious – and sometimes Christian – doctrines. According to some reports, he was defeated and suppressed, and according to others, he disappeared and hid in a cave, and yet according to some other reports, he took to the desert to convey God’s message and his own mission to Banū Mūsā, who lived on the other side of the Mermel River. His revolt – which was an important apocalyptic movement in the Jewish history
– was not left idle, as his companions, called ‘Īsawiyya or Iṣfahāniyya, followed his way both in theory and practice. |
