Great article. The Spartans were wild savages, the Persians in general were not, at least not to that degree. They wouldn’t even be Muslim had the Arabs not conquered them.
Although, it’s kind of ironic that Zoroastranism, invented by the Iranians, should give rise to Islam, which was forced on Iran and holds it captive today.
Persians will rise again. Without Islam.
Islam holds many nations captive. How many of the world’s billion muslims have a choice of religion more than just a choice between being a muslim or being dead or a second class citizen?