Narsieh (Fidem Pacis)

Narsieh (AD 668-732) was the second Indo-Sassanid king of the Hindustani Empire. The son of Firuz Nirvasita and grandson of Yazdegerd III of Persia, he had a strong claim to the Persian throne despite being born and raised in India. He succeeded to the Hindustani throne in 710 after the death of his father.

Although Muslim merchants had been preaching in the coastal ports since his father's time, it was during Narsieh's reign that the new religion began to have influence throughout India. In 712 he invited the theologian Malik Dinar to come to Pataliputra to explain several Islamic teachings, and to show goodwill he exempted Muslims from taxation and allowed missionaries to roam freely throughout his domain. This proved to be a masterful stroke, as his good relations with the Islamic Roman, Arab and Ethiopian states ensured their support when in 718 he invaded Persia to reclaim his grandfather's throne.

After a decade of warfare he finally succeded in dethroning his rivals and claiming Persia for his own. Narsieh died in 732, and was succeeded in Persia by his eldest son Hormizd and in Hindustan by his second son Darius. His legacy is still evident today in the large Muslim communities in Iran and India, and in the exchange of science and culture between Europe, the Middle East and India which has greatly influenced the history of all three.