The Development of Metaphysics in Persia

Before the prophet Muhammad, Persia was the nexus of  civilization; the crossroad between the great empires of China, India, Egypt, Greece, and, eventually, Rome. Consequently, the native philosophy was both similar and distinct from each of its peripheries, taking from them in ways both direct and subtle. After him, Persia became the developmental center of Islamic philosophy, from Avicenna’s consolidation of Hellenistic philos­ophy to its refinement by Ghazali and further development by Razi and his successors. Iqbal’s Development of Metaphysics in Persia traces this discourse from the time of Zoroaster up until  the Bab and his student Bahaullah.