Turkmenistan:
The large area that was once the Khorasan section of the Persian Empire for many centuries encountered repetitive episode of invasion. It maintained a rigid identify throughout history that was largely based on the Persian leadership but also aligned itself periodically with the powers that intruded including Turkish armies or the Mongols during their vicious arrival in the twelfth century. Being so far to the east relative to the Arab Peninsula minimized the influence asserted by the Assyrians and later the Ottoman’s who came to control all of the territory west of the Persian Border near the Arozag Mountains. This effectively left Khorasan less exposed to transformative movements like Pan Arabization in the eight-tenth centuries that affected much of the other areas in the Middle East.
After Prophet Mohammad proclaimed Islam near Mecca, the religion was met with wide acceptance for reasons including it's unifying monotheist message that resonated with many of the ethnically similar people in this part of the world. To strengthen the fervor of the prophet's teachings, the crusade to reach all of Asia was initiated. Travelers often in large troops would travel the vast desert and mountains where violent subjugations of the teachings would ensue resulting occasionally in deaths to the Arabian people. The popular appeal though of the Muslim belief held it's momentum with much of the population of the Middle East given the emphasis on individual freedoms and abeyance to a God that held far greater meaning than the diminishing pagan worship, Christian or Judaic religions. Also Mazdaism which was an important early centuries monotheistic view of God had up to that time been accepted in the Persian Empire along with an acceptance diversity in other forms.
The contagion though of Islam made effective by the traveling proselytizers were prone to resistance once within the borders of Persia as it was governed by the presiding Shah and there already existed a religious elite named the ulema who held authority. So as Islam came to deepen it’s hold on life for the people of Arabia, Persians weren’t as inclined to bend to the zealous introduction but rather maintained a slightly different view that conflicted in part with the lineage of the prophet and the almighty caliph. Across the eastern region where the Persian borders technically stretched to Hindu India, a lesser importance was placed on the Sunni tenants of Islam that originated out of Mecca.
Considering again Khorasan, in the east, which derives it's name from the people who , a rather hostile tribal life existed for it's people. Living ruggedly as a herder on horseback who made his way with a tent across the land was often one’s means of existence. These nomads also were known to be seasoned hunters who may have squabbled together a living through trade or pillaging. A larger segment of the population were farmers who lived on and cultivated land in small towns or villages. This latter group were more easily held accountable on furnishing their mandatory taxes to local leaders who held position under the authorities of the Shah in the west. Being a far distance from the central authority of the Shah and the ulema in Isfahan, Shiraz or Tehran, Khorasan on the other hand was inclined to experience far more frequent attack from to the north or the east. Efforts were made by the Shah’s army to wield as much control as manageable in the eastern region but enemies including the Ghenavids and Seljuks extended their dynasties from Turkish areas to the north in what was called Transaxionia. Around 1220 witnessed the brutal arrival of Ghengis Khan’s mongol forces who spared nearly no lives and is said to have killed nearly a million of those living among these lands. Nearly all of the foreign occupiers though adopted a Persianizing policy that maintained the cultural tradition while concentrating more so on the territorial conquest.