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Mesopotamians (Iraqis) and Persians (Iranians) Maintain Distinction During Medieval Period

Despite being under the same rule for much of the past 1000+ years, Mesopotamians and Persians remained very distinct and separate from one another. They developed their respective cultures and sense of unified identity in isolation from one another, as the Iranian Plateau and Euphrates-Tigris River Basin were separated by harsh desert and mountainous terrain.

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Therefore, Mesopotamian culture and lineage was strongly distinguished from that of Persia before falling under rule of the Persian Empire in 539 BC. This pronounced differentiation would endure during the two centuries of common rule under the Persian Empire, and another three centuries of common rule under the Greek Seleucid Empire.

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The distinction was further pronounced during the Roman Era, when Mesopotamia would fall under Roman rule for the better part of the time period between 116 and 363. During this time, many Mesopotamians became Christianized, while another significant portion continued to practice ancient Mesopotamian polytheist religions. During the Roman Era, the Persians resisted the Roman threat, maintaining sovereignty under the Persian-ruled Parthian and Sassanid Empires.

Zoroastrianism remained the dominant religion among the Persians. Zoroastrians did not believe in proselytizing, nor converting people without either a father or mother belonging to the faith. As Christianity and Islam would unify previously separate nations, Zoroastrianism may have been able to accomplish the same within the Persian Empire had conversions been permitted.

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After Mesopotamia fell under Persian rule again following the withdrawal of Rome in 363, these separate cultural, lineage and religious roots were too deeply ingrained to be erased. Consequently, even after Iran and Iraq would be consolidated under Arab Muslim, Mongol and Turkish rule in the following centuries, they remained separate nations.

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