I read a book once that was fairly obviously using Rome as a stand in for the west, the Sasanian Empire as a stand in for IsIs, and zoroastrianism as a stand in for islam. do you think those are appropriate substitutions?

by grapp
CptBuck

IsIs as in ISIS? The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria/ash-Sham?

If so, no, that doesn't make any sense to me, either looking at the comparison backwards (i.e. was the Sasanian Empire like ISIS?) or forwards (i.e. Is ISIS like the Sasanian Empire?)

Perhaps explain a bit more a bit about how the book is making that comparison?

Darzin_

I don't think those really work as appropriate substitutions. If you look a the relative power between "The West" and ISIS and the Roman and Sasanian Empires you won't see many similarities.

First look at the relative power, Rome and the Sasanian Empire were two mighty empires that were relatively equal in strength they waxed and waned and fought wars across the Middle East but they both controlled many nations and people and both fielded strong conventional militaries. ISIS on the other hand has 20,000 light infantry, some captured tanks and home made car bombs. They have no ability to produce modern weaponry. And control part of Syria and Iraq. America alone has a military consisting of a little under 1.5 million personal. It's not even close to comparable. Additionally America is not "The West" there are many other countries in this grouping and all but the very smallest would wipe the floor with ISIS. At 25,000 personnel the Belgian military has a numbers strength comparable to ISIS and yet in a fight they would still easily win as they have access to modern tanks, and airplanes not mention vastly better training and equipment.

Additionally the Sasanian Empire was somewhat tolerant some groups of Christians such as Nestorians settled there to escape Roman persecution. While they did later experience some persecution from the Sasanians they did continue to exist as a minority there for hundreds of years. ISIS in less then five years has eliminated almost every religious minority in the regions they control and I can see anyone who is not Muslim ever emigrating to the Islamic State.

Basically I don't think there is much similarity at all. Two fairly evenly matched Empires fighting for land on one had an allied group of countries bombing, a small militia fighting in a civil war. The situations just aren't really comparable except for the fact they are happening in the same location.