The origins and spread of Shiism in the East of Greater Khorasan

Following the conquests of the first caliphs and the introduction of Islam to the plateau of Iran, the footprints of all Islamic religions, including Shiism, can be seen throughout Iran, including Great Khorasan; But from the middle of the second century of Hijri onwards, Shiism gained a better position in Khorasan. The upcoming research aims to answer the question of how Shiism went to the eastern regions of Khorasan (especially the Hazarejat region) and spread there, and what was the contribution of each of the political, cultural and geographical components in this event? Distance from the center of the caliphate, dissatisfaction with the rulers, Sufi tendencies and the existence of numerous tombs provided the grounds for the emergence and expansion of Shiism throughout Greater Khorasan. In this article, the most important factors of the emergence and spread of Shiism and its long-term political, social and cultural effects in East Khorasan have been investigated. The research method is historical and descriptive-analytical. One of the achievements of this research is to express the course of transformation and development of Shia Sufi beliefs in the Middle Ages and its transformation into Imami Shia beliefs until the threshold of the Safavid era.