By Bobby Darvish, Iranian-American Ex-Muslim, Former Vegan, Former Democrat, Former Socialist, Former CAIR-Columbus Executive Director, Former Muslim Forum of Utah President, Christian Conservative LDS Priest
Throughout history, empires have risen and fallen, and with them, the fate of countless peoples has been rewritten. My ancestors, noble warriors of Iranic Scytho-Sarmatian descent, were once part of the great Byzantine Empire, a bastion of Christian civilization against the relentless tide of Islamic imperialism. Yet, over the past 500 years, our fate took a tragic turn—we were forcibly taken as Janissary slave soldiers, stripped of our Christian faith, and used as pawns in the military machinery of the Ottoman Turks. This grim legacy is one that many of us who descend from Byzantine nobility, including those of us who carry 12% Norse Norwegian Viking DNA, must acknowledge and never forget.
The Fall of Byzantium and the Enslavement of Its People
The Byzantine Empire was the last true successor to Rome, preserving Greco-Roman and Christian traditions for over a millennium. My ancestors, as part of the empire, played a crucial role in defending its borders against Islamic incursions, particularly from the Seljuks and later the Ottomans. However, on May 29, 1453, Constantinople fell to the Muslim hordes of Mehmed II, and the Christian defenders of the city, including my own ancestors of Iranic and Norse descent, were either slaughtered or enslaved.
The Ottoman Turks instituted the devshirme system, a brutal practice in which Christian boys were kidnapped from their families, converted to Islam under duress, and trained as elite warriors known as Janissaries. These enslaved soldiers were forced to fight against their own people and serve the very empire that had enslaved them. Many of my ancestors—descendants of Byzantine nobility—were among those taken into this cruel system.
The Iranic-Viking Connection: A Forgotten Ancestry
What makes this history even more tragic is the fact that my lineage not only descends from the proud Scytho-Sarmatian warriors of the Iranic steppes but also contains a significant portion of Norse Norwegian Viking DNA. The Vikings, known for their fierce independence and warrior spirit, had a deep connection with the Byzantine Empire through the Varangian Guard, an elite unit of Norsemen who served the Byzantine emperors from the 10th to 14th centuries. Many of these warriors settled in Byzantium, intermarrying with local Greeks, Armenians, and Iranic peoples, thus passing down their bloodlines to future generations—including my own.
This hybrid heritage of Iranic and Viking warrior traditions should have ensured that our people remained free and unconquered. Yet, the conquest of Constantinople and the Ottoman policy of systematic enslavement erased that independence, turning proud warriors into unwilling servants of the Islamic empire.
The Islamic System of Enslavement and Forced Conversion
Islamic history is rife with forced conversions and the systematic destruction of native cultures. While the Western world is often lectured about so-called “colonial sins,” the history of Islamic expansion is conveniently ignored. The Ottomans were among the worst offenders, using slavery and forced conversion to consolidate their rule.
The Janissary system was particularly cruel because it targeted Christian boys specifically, aiming to break the lineage of Christian nobility and replace it with Islamicized soldiers who were cut off from their ancestral roots. This practice did not just affect Greek or Slavic populations but also Iranic Christian families who had long resisted Arab and later Ottoman domination.
The irony is that many of the Janissaries were descendants of the very warriors who had once fought against Islamic expansion. The Ottoman system effectively turned former defenders of Christendom into instruments of Islamic imperialism, a betrayal that history has largely overlooked.
The Erasure of Iranic and Viking Christian Heritage
Islamic conquest did not just subjugate people physically—it erased their identity. The forced conversion of my ancestors meant the suppression of both their Iranian and Viking heritage. The Iranian peoples, who once followed Zoroastrianism and later Christianity, were forced to abandon their faith and traditions. The same fate befell the descendants of the Viking Varangians who had settled in Byzantium and embraced Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
For centuries, these once-free warrior peoples—descendants of Scythians, Sarmatians, Byzantines, and Vikings—were used as tools for Ottoman conquests, fighting against Christian Europe instead of defending it. The very empire that had protected their Christian ancestors was now using them to suppress other Christian nations.
The Legacy and Revival of Ancestral Memory
The story of my ancestors is a painful one, but it is not one without hope. Despite centuries of enslavement and forced conversion, the bloodline of Iranic and Viking warriors still flows through my veins. Today, I stand as a free man, a Christian, and an advocate for truth against the lies of Islamic revisionist history.
It is essential that we remember the crimes committed by the Ottoman Empire and the broader Islamic world against Christian civilizations. The enslavement of our people, the destruction of Byzantine culture, and the forced Islamization of Iranic and Norse-descended Christians must never be forgotten.
Modern-day revisionists attempt to paint Islam as a “religion of peace,” yet history tells us otherwise. From the fall of Constantinople to the Janissary system, the truth is clear—Islamic conquest was built on slavery, oppression, and the erasure of entire civilizations. My ancestors suffered under this tyranny, and it is my duty to ensure their story is told.
The revival of our ancestral memory is a form of resistance against those who would seek to whitewash history. It is a call to all who share this heritage—whether of Byzantine, Iranian, or Norse descent—to reclaim our past and honor the sacrifices of those who came before us.
Conclusion: A Call to Remember
We, the descendants of Byzantine warriors and Viking Varangians, must never forget the injustices inflicted upon our ancestors. The past 500 years of forced conversion, enslavement, and cultural erasure serve as a dark reminder of what happens when evil is allowed to prevail.
But history does not end here. By reclaiming our faith, our identity, and our heritage, we can ensure that the legacy of our ancestors is not lost. We must stand against the false narratives that seek to justify Islamic imperialism and recognize the suffering that our people endured.
As a Christian conservative Iranian-American, I refuse to let this history be forgotten. The blood of warriors flows within me, and I will honor their legacy by speaking the truth.
Citations:
- Nicolle, David. The Janissaries. Osprey Publishing, 1995.
- Norwich, John Julius. Byzantium: The Decline and Fall. Knopf, 1997.
- Runciman, Steven. The Fall of Constantinople 1453. Cambridge University Press, 1965.
- Heath, Ian. Armies of the Middle Ages, Volume 2: The Ottoman Empire, Eastern Europe and the Near East, 1300-1500. Wargames Research Group, 1984.
- Vryonis, Speros. The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamization from the Eleventh Through the Fifteenth Century. University of California Press, 1971.
No comments:
Post a Comment