The Zoroastrian liturgies until that point had been orally transmitted, and the ability to set these ancient texts in writing helped to preserve them.
[1] Even earlier than that, however, the invention of the Old Persian syllabary, whose shapes were adapted from preexisting cuneiform systems demonstrates that Iranian peoples could think critically, logically, and imaginatively about their language.
Iranian-born grammarians, rhetoricians, scientists, philosophers, and theologians, contributed to the intellectual vitality of this new and vibrant civilization alongside other Muslims from other nationalities.
It was in the Eastern reaches of the Caliphate, far from the seat of Arab power in Baghdad, where New Persian reemerged as a literary and courtly language.
[1]: 8 During this period of intense interest in the Orient, Persian proved to be one of the most important languages for the incipient field of Comparative Linguistics.
Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in 1798 CE was the first European intrusion into the Muslim Middle East and prefigured many more disruptions for the peoples of this region, especially Iran.
As in many other countries during this time like Japan, China, and Turkey, a nationalist reaction occurred in Iran as Iranians realized the importance of modernizing as quickly as possible to fight off the encroachment of the Western powers.