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Sassanid Empire

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                                       CAPTION: Eranshahr ايرانشهر
                                                           Sassanid Empire

                                           Image:Sassanid-empire-610CE.png
   Green: Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent (619-629), Strokes: Under
                                                Sassanid military control.
                                         Official languages Middle Persian
    Capitals Ctesiphon, in the early years of the empire Ardashir-Khwarrah
                                                       Government Monarchy
                                   Head of state Shahanshah شاهنشاه
                                    Deliberative Body Council of Ministers
                                                         Establishment 226
        Dissolution Arab invasion during the Muslim conquests and death of
                                             Yazdegerd III in Merv on 651.
                                        First emperor Ardashir I (226-241)
                                      Last Emperor Yazdegerd III (632-651)
                                           Preceding state Parthian Empire
                                               Succeeding states Caliphate
                                                          Currency Drachma

   The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Empire ( Persian: ساسانیان‎ Sasanian)
   is the name used for the fourth Iranian dynasty, and the second Persian
   Empire (226 - 651). The Sassanid dynasty was founded by Ardashir I
   after defeating the last Parthian (Arsacid) king, Artabanus IV and
   ended when the last Sassanid Shahanshah (King of Kings), Yazdegerd III
   (632–651), lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the early Islamic
   Caliphate, the first of the Islamic empires. The empire's territory
   encompassed all of today's Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, eastern
   parts of Turkey, and parts of Syria, Pakistan, Caucasia, Central Asia
   and Arabia. During Khosrau II's rule in 590–628 Egypt, Jordan,
   Palestine, Lebanon were also briefly annexed to the Empire. The
   Sassanids called their empire Erānshahr ايرانشهر (Iranshæhr) "Dominion
   of the Iranians ( Aryans)"

   The Sassanid era, encompassing the length of the Late Antiquity period,
   is considered to be one of the most important and influential
   historical periods in Iran. In many ways the Sassanid period witnessed
   the highest achievement of Persian civilization, and constituted the
   last great Iranian Empire before the Muslim conquest and adoption of
   Islam. Persia influenced Roman civilization considerably during the
   Sassanids' times; their cultural influence extended far beyond the
   empire's territorial borders, reaching as far as Western Europe,
   Africa, China and India and played a prominent role in the formation of
   both European and Asiatic medieval art.

   This influence carried forward to the early Islamic world. The
   dynasty's unique and aristocratic culture transformed the Islamic
   conquest of Iran into a Persian Renaissance. Much of what later became
   known as Islamic culture, architecture, writing and other skills, were
   taken mainly from the Sassanid Persians into the broader Muslim world.

History

Origins and Early History (205-310)

   Relief of Ardashir I, in Naqsh-e Rustam
   Enlarge
   Relief of Ardashir I, in Naqsh-e Rustam

   The Sassanid Dynasty was established by Ardashir I (226–241), a
   descendant of a line of the priests of goddess Anahita in Istakhr,
   Persis ( Pars) who at the beginning of the third century had acquired
   the governorship of Persis. His father Papag (also pronounced Papak and
   Babak), was originally the ruler of a small town called Kheir, but had
   managed, in 205, to depose Gocihr, the last king of the Bazrangids (the
   local rulers of Persis as a client of the Arsacids) and appointed
   himself as the new ruler. His mother, Rodhagh, was the daughter of the
   provincial governor of Peris. The eponymous founder of the line was
   Ardashir I's paternal grandfather, Sassan, the great priest of the
   Temple of Anahita.

   Pabag's efforts in gaining local power at the time escaped the
   attention of Artabanus IV, the Arsacid Emperor of the time who was
   involved in a dynastic struggle with his brother Vologases (Walakhsh)
   VI in Mesopotamia. Using the relief offered by these problems among the
   Arsacids, Pabag and his eldest son Shapur managed to expand their power
   over all of Persis. The subsequent events are unclear, due to the
   sketchy nature of the sources. It is however certain that following the
   death of Pabag around 220, Ardashir who at the time was the governor of
   Darabgird, got involved in a power struggle of his own with his elder
   brother Shahpur. The sources tell us that in 222, Shapur, leaving for a
   meeting with his brother, was killed when the roof of a building
   collapsed on him.

   At this point, Ardashir moved his capital further to the south of
   Persis and founded a capital at Ardashir-Khwarrah (formerly Gur, modern
   day Firouzabad). The city, well supported by high mountains and easily
   defendable through narrow passes, became the centre of Ardashir's
   efforts to gain more power. The city was surrounded by a high, circular
   wall, probably copied from that of Darabgird, and on the north-side
   included a large palace, remains of which still survive.
   A coin of Shapur I.
   Enlarge
   A coin of Shapur I.
   A rock relief at Naqsh-e Rostam. Behind Shapur, his hands clasped by
   the king's, stands the Emperor Valerian; kneeling before the king on
   one knee is Philip the Arab, and beneath the feet of the king's horse
   lies the body of Gordian III.
   Enlarge
   A rock relief at Naqsh-e Rostam. Behind Shapur, his hands clasped by
   the king's, stands the Emperor Valerian; kneeling before the king on
   one knee is Philip the Arab, and beneath the feet of the king's horse
   lies the body of Gordian III.

   After establishing his rule over Persis, Ardashir I rapidly extended
   his territory, demanding fealty from the local princes of Fars, and
   gaining control over the neighboring provinces of Kerman, Isfahan,
   Susiana, and Mesene. This expansion quickly came to the attention of
   Artabanus IV (216–224), Ardashir I's overlord. Artabanus IV initially
   ordered the governor of Khuzestan to march against Ardashir in 224, but
   this ended up in a major victory for Ardashir. Artabanus himself
   marched a second time against Ardashir I in 224. Their armies clashed
   at Hormizdeghan, where Artabanus IV was killed. Ardashir I went on to
   invade the western provinces of the now defunct Parthian ( Arsacid)
   Empire. Crowned in 226 at Ctesiphon as the sole ruler of Persia, he
   took the title Shahanshah, or "King of Kings" (the inscriptions mention
   Adhur-Anahid as his "Queen of Queens", but her relationship with
   Ardashir is not established), bringing the 400-year-old Parthian Empire
   to an end and beginning four centuries of Sassanid rule.

   Over the next few years, following local rebellions around the empire,
   Ardashir I further expanded his new empire to the east and northwest,
   conquering the provinces of Sistan, Gorgan, Khorasan, Margiana (in
   modern Turkmenistan), Balkh, and Chorasmia. He also added Bahrain and
   Mosul to Sassanid possessions. Later Sasanid inscriptions also claim
   the submission of the Kings of Kushan, Turan, and Mekran to Ardashir,
   although based on numismatic evidence, it is more likely that these
   actually submitted to Ardashir's son, the future Shapur I. In the west,
   assaults against Hatra, Armenia, and Adiabene met with less success.

   Ardashir I's son Shapur I (241–272), whose mother was the daughter of a
   Parthian monarch, possibly Artabanus IV or one of the members of Suren
   Clan, continued this expansion, conquering Bactria and Kushan, while
   leading several campaigns against Rome. Penetrating deep into Roman
   territory, Shapur I conquered and plundered Antiochia in Syria (253 or
   256) and finally defeated the Roman emperors Gordian III (238–244),
   Philip the Arab (244–249), and Valerian (253–260). The latter was taken
   (259) into Persian imprisonment after the Battle of Edessa, a
   tremendous and hitherto unknown disgrace for the Romans. Shapur I
   celebrated his victory by carving the impressive rock reliefs in
   Naqsh-e Rostam, for example, with Bishapur, as well as a monumental
   inscription in Persian and Greek with Naqsh-i Rustam in the proximity
   of Persepolis. Between 260 and 263, Shapur I lost some of these newly
   conquered territories to Odaenathus, a Roman ally.

   Shapur I had intensive development plans. He founded many cities, some
   settled in part by emigrants from the Roman territories. These included
   Christians who could exercise their faith freely under Sassanid rule.
   Two cities, Bishapur and Nishapur, are named after him. Shapur I
   particularly favored Manichaeism. He protected Mani and sent many
   Manichaeist missionaries abroad. Shapur I also befriended a Babylonian
   rabbi called Shmuel. This friendship was advantageous for the Jewish
   community and gave them a respite from the oppressive laws enacted
   against them.

   Later kings reversed Shapur I's policy of religious tolerance.
   Succeeding Shapur I, Bahram I (273–276) persecuted Mani and his
   followers under pressure from Magi. Bahram I imprisoned Mani and
   ordered him killed; Mani died, according to the legend, in jail
   awaiting his execution.

   Bahram II (276–293) followed his father's religious policy. He was a
   weak ruler and lost several western provinces to the Roman Emperor
   Carus (282–283). During his rule most of Armenia, after half a century
   of Persian rule, was ceded to Diocletian (284–305).

   Succeeding Bahram III (who ruled briefly in 293), Narseh (293–302)
   embarked on another war with the Romans. After an early success against
   the Emperor Galerius (305–311) near Callinicum on the Euphrates in 296,
   Narseh was decisively defeated in an ambush while he was with his harem
   in Armenia in 297. In the treaty that concluded this war, the Sassanids
   ceded all lands west of the Tigris and agreed not to interfere in the
   affairs of Armenia and Georgia. Following this crushing defeat, Narseh
   resigned in 301 and died in grief a year later. Narseh's son Hormizd II
   (302–309) assumed the throne. Although he suppressed revolts in Sistan
   and Kushan, Hormizd II was another weak ruler, unable to control the
   nobles. He was killed by Bedouins while hunting in 309.

First Golden Era (309–379)

   Following Hormizd II's death, Arabs from the south started to ravage
   and plunder the southern cities of the empire, even attacking the
   province of Fars, the birthplace of the Sassanid kings. Meanwhile,
   Persian nobles killed Hormizd II's eldest son, blinded the second, and
   imprisoned the third (who later escaped to Roman territory). The throne
   was reserved for the unborn child of one of Hormizd II's wives. It is
   said that Shapur II (309–379) may have been the only king in history to
   be crowned in utero: the crown was placed upon his mother's belly. This
   child, named Shapur, was therefore born king. During his youth the
   empire was controlled by his mother and the nobles. Upon Shapur II's
   coming of age, he assumed power and quickly proved to be an active and
   effective ruler.

   Shapur II first led his small but disciplined army south against the
   Arabs, whom he defeated, securing the southern areas of the empire. He
   then started his first campaign against Romans in the west,
   experiencing early success. After the Siege of Singara, however, his
   conquests were halted by nomadic raids along the eastern borders of the
   empire. These raids threatened Transoxiana, a strategically critical
   area for control of the Silk Road. In addition, Shapur II's military
   forces were not sufficient to hold the territory he had taken in the
   west. He therefore signed a peace treaty with Constantius II (353–361)
   in which both sides agreed not to attack each other's territory for a
   limited period of time.

   Shapur II then marched east toward Transoxiana to meet the eastern
   nomads. He crushed the Central Asian tribes, and annexed the area as a
   new province. He completed the conquest of the area now known as
   Afghanistan. Cultural expansion followed this victory, and Sassanid art
   penetrated Turkistan, reaching as far as China. Shapur II, along with
   the nomad King Grumbates, started his second campaign against the
   Romans in 359, this time with his full military force and support from
   the nomads. The campaign was overwhelmingly successful; a total of five
   Roman provinces were ceded to the Persians after its completion.

   Shapur II pursued a harsh religious policy. Under his reign the
   collection of the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, was
   completed, heresy and apostasy were punished, and Christians were
   persecuted. The latter was a reaction against the Christianization of
   the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great (324–337). Shapur II, like
   Shapur I, was amicable towards Jews, who lived in relative freedom and
   gained many advantages in his period (see also Raba (Talmud)).

   At the time of Shapur's death, the Persian Empire was stronger than
   ever, with its enemies to the east pacified and Armenia under Persian
   control.

Second Golden Era (498–622)

   Hunting scene showing king Khosrau I.
   Enlarge
   Hunting scene showing king Khosrau I.

   The second golden era began after the second reign of Kavadh I. With
   the support of the Hephtalites, Kavadh I launched a campaign against
   the Romans. In 502, he took Theodosiopolis (Erzurum) in Armenia. In 503
   he took Amida (Diarbekr) on the Tigris. In 505, an invasion of Armenia
   by the western Huns from the Caucasus led to an armistice, during which
   the Romans paid subsidies to the Persians for the maintenance of the
   fortifications on the Caucasus. In year 525, he suppressed revolts in
   Lazica and recaptured Georgia. In 530, he sent an army under Firouz the
   Mirranes to attack the important Roman frontier city of Daras. The army
   was met by the Roman general Belisarius, and though superior in
   numbers, was defeated decisively at the Battle of Daras. However,
   Kavadh's army with aid of Lakhmid ruler (a Sassanid vassal kingdom) ,
   al-Mundhir IV ibn al-Mundhir and tactical adjustment of his elite
   Savarans (knights) to counter Belaisarius's legions, later defeated
   Roman armies under the command of Belisarius twice, one in year 530 in
   Battle of Nisbis and other in year 531 in Battle of Callinicum.
   Although he could not free himself from the yoke of the Ephthalites,
   Kavadh succeeded in restoring order in the interior and fought with
   general success against the Eastern Romans, founded several cities,
   some of which were named after him, and began to regulate the taxation
   and internal administration.

   After Kavadh I, his son Khosrau I, also known as Anushirvan ("with the
   immortal soul"; ruled 531–579), ascended to the throne. He is the most
   celebrated of the Sassanid rulers. Khosrau I is most famous for his
   reforms in the aging governing body of Sassanids. In his reforms he
   introduced a rational system of taxation, based upon a survey of landed
   possessions, which his father had begun and tried in every way to
   increase the welfare and the revenues of his empire. Previous great
   feudal lords fielded their own military equipment, followers and
   retainers. Khosrau I developed a new force of dehkans or "knights" paid
   and equipped by the central government and the bureaucracy, tying the
   army and bureaucracy more closely to the central government than to
   local lords. (For more about Khosrau I's reforms, visit ).

   Although the Emperor Justinian I (527–565) had paid him a bribe of
   440,000 pieces of gold to keep the peace, in 540 Khosrau I broke the
   "eternal peace" of 532 and invaded Syria, where he temporarily captured
   and plundered the city of Antioch. During Khosrau's en route return, he
   collected money from the different Byzantine cities.

   In 565, Justinian I died and was succeeded by Justin II (565–578), who
   resolved to stop subsidies to Arab chieftains to restrain them from
   raiding Byzantine territory in Syria. A year earlier the Sassanid
   governor of Armenia, of the Suren family, built a fire temple at Dvin
   near modern Yerevan, and he put to death an influential member of the
   Mamikonian family, touching off a revolt which led to the massacre of
   the Persian governor and his guard in 571. Justin II took advantage of
   the Armenian revolt to stop his yearly payments to Khosrau I for the
   defense of the Caucasus passes. The Armenians were welcomed as allies,
   and an army was sent into Sassanid territory which besieged Nisibis in
   572. However, dissension among the Byzantine generals not only led to
   an abandonment of the siege, but they in turn were besieged in the city
   of Dara, which was taken by the Persians who then ravaged Syria,
   causing Justin II to sue for peace. Armenian revolt came to an end with
   a general amnesty from Khosrau I, which brought Armenia back into the
   Sassanid Empire.

   Around 570, "Ma 'd-Karib", half-brother of the King of Yemen, requested
   Khosrau I's intervention. Khosrau I sent a fleet and a small army under
   a commander called Vahriz to the area near present Aden, and they
   marched against the capital San'a'l, which was occupied. Saif, son of
   Mard-Karib, who had accompanied the expedition, became King sometime
   between 575 and 577. Thus the Sassanids were able to establish a base
   in south Arabia to control the sea trade with the east. Later the south
   Arabian kingdom renounced Sassanid overlordship, and another Persian
   expedition was sent in 598 that successfully annexed southern Arabia as
   a Sassanid province, which lasted until the time of troubles after
   Khosrau II.

   Khosrau I's reign witnessed the rise of the dihqans (literally, village
   lords), the petty landholding nobility who were the backbone of later
   Sassanid provincial administration and the tax collection system.
   Khosrau I was a great builder, embellishing his capital, founding new
   towns, and constructing new buildings. He rebuilt the canals and
   restocked the farms destroyed in the wars. He built strong
   fortifications at the passes and placed subject tribes in carefully
   chosen towns on the frontiers to act as guardians against invaders. He
   was tolerant of all religions, though he decreed that Zoroastrianism
   should be the official state religion, and was not unduly disturbed
   when one of his sons became a Christian.

   After Khosrau I, Hormizd IV (579–590) took the throne. Hormizd IV was
   also a vigorous ruler who continued the success and prosperity
   established by his predecessors. During the reign of Khosrau II
   (590–628), the revolt of general Bahram Chobin (rival King Bahram VI)
   briefly threw the empire into crisis, but the crisis was short lived,
   and Khosrau II soon reestablished firm control over the empire. Taking
   advantage of a civil war in the Byzantine Empire, Khosrau II launched a
   full-scale invasion. The Sassanid dream of restoring the Achaemenid
   boundaries was close to completion when Jerusalem and Damascus fell;
   Egypt fell soon after. In 626 Constantinople also was under siege by
   Slavic and Avar forces supported by the Persians. This remarkable peak
   of expansion was paralleled by a blossoming of Persian art, music, and
   architecture. By 622, the Byzantine Empire was on the verge of collapse
   and the borders of the Achaemenid Empire were restored on all fronts
   except for parts of Anatolia.

Decline and fall (622–651)

   Queen Purandokht, daughter of Khosrau II, the last woman and one of the
   last rulers on the throne of the Sassanid dynasty, 630.
   Enlarge
   Queen Purandokht, daughter of Khosrau II, the last woman and one of the
   last rulers on the throne of the Sassanid dynasty, 630.

   Although hugely successful, Khosrau II's campaign had overextended the
   Persian army and overtaxed the people. The Byzantine emperor Heraclius
   (610–641) retaliated with a tactical move, abandoning his besieged
   capital and sailing up the Black Sea to attack Persia from the rear.
   Meanwhile, mutual suspicion had arisen between Khosrau II and his
   general Shahrbaraz. Byzantine agents showed Shahrbaraz pseudo letters
   indicating that Khosrau II was planning the general's execution.
   Shahrbaraz, fearing for his life, remained neutral during this critical
   period. Persia was thus denied the services of one of its largest
   armies and one of its best generals. To Khosrau's bad fortune, Shahin,
   the other great spahbod of Sassanid army who had conquered Caucasus and
   Anatolia passed away unexpectedly, further tipping the balance in
   favour of the Byzantines and drove Khosrau into state of melancholia.

   Heraclius, with the assistance of the Khazars and other Turkic troops,
   took advantage of Shahin and Shahrbaraz's absence to win several
   devastating victories against a Sassanid state substantially weakened
   by 15 years of war. Heraclius' campaign culminated in the Battle of
   Nineveh, where the Byzantines (without the Khazars, who had left
   Heraclius) defeated the Persian army, commanded by Rhahzadh. Heraclius
   then marched through Mesopotamia and Western Persia sacking Takht-e
   Soleyman and the Palace of Dastugerd, where he received the news of the
   assassination of Khosrau II.

   Chaos and civil war followed after assassination of Khosrau II. Over a
   period of fourteen years and twelve successive kings, including two
   daughters of Khosro II and spahbod Shahrbaraz, the Sassanid Empire
   weakened considerably. The power of the central authority passed into
   the hands of the generals. It would take several years for a strong
   king to emerge from a series of coups, and the Sassanids never had time
   to be fully recovered.

   In the spring of 632, a grandson of Khosrau I, Yazdegerd III who had
   lived in the hiding, ascended the throne. In that same year, the first
   Arab squadrons made their raids into Persian territory. Years of
   warfare had exhausted both the Byzantines and the Persians. The
   Sassanids were further weakened by economic decline, heavy taxation,
   religious unrest, rigid social stratification, the increasing power of
   the provincial landholders, and a rapid turnover of rulers. These
   factors facilitated the Arab invasion.

   The Sassanids never mounted a truly effective resistance to the
   pressure applied by the initial Arab armies. Yazdegerd was a boy at the
   mercy of his advisers and incapable of uniting a vast country crumbling
   into small feudal kingdoms, despite the fact that Byzantine, under
   similar pressure from the newly expansive Arabs, no longer threatened.
   The first encounter between Sassanids and Muslim Arabs was in the
   Battle of the Bridge in 634 which resulted in a Sassanid victory,
   however the Arab threat did not stop there and reappeared shortly from
   the disciplined armies of Khalid ibn Walid, once one of Muhammad's
   chosen companion-in-arms and leader of the Arab army. Under the Caliph
   `Umar ibn al-Khattāb, a Muslim army defeated a larger Persian force
   lead by general Rostam Farrokhzad at the plains of al-Qādisiyyah in 637
   and besieged Ctesiphon. Ctesiphon fell after a prolonged siege.
   Yazdgerd fled eastward from Ctesiphon, leaving behind him most of the
   Empire's vast treasury. The Arabs captured Ctesiphon shortly afterward,
   leaving the Sassanid government strapped for funds and acquiring a
   powerful financial resource for their own use. Had the empire not been
   exhausted, and divided, without an effective government, at the time of
   the Arab invasions, the Asawaran (Azatan) knightly caste could in all
   probablity have defeated them, if summoned at once, and massed as a
   single army. But they were never summoned in time, events unfolded too
   quickly, in a relative vacuum of power in the Empire. The result was
   the Islamic conquest. A number of Sassanid governors attempted to
   combine their forces to throw back the invaders, but the effort was
   crippled by the lack of a strong central authority, and the governors
   were defeated at the Battle of Nihawānd; the empire, with its military
   command structure non-existent, its non-noble troop levies decimated,
   its financial resources effectively destroyed, and the Asawaran
   (Azatan) knightly caste destroyed piecemeal, the Sassanid empire was
   now utterly helpless in the face of the invaders.

   Upon hearing the defeat in Nihawānd, Yazdgerd along with most of
   Persian nobilities fled further inland to the northern province of
   Khorasan. He was assassinated by a miller in Merv in late 651 while the
   rest of the nobles settled in central Asia where they contributed
   greatly in spreading Persian culture and language in those regions and
   the establishment of the first native Iranian dynasty, the Samanid
   dynasty, which sought to revive and ressuscitate Sassanid traditions
   and culture after the invasion of Islam.

   The abrupt fall of Sassanid Empire was completed in a period of five
   years, and most of its territory was absorbed into the Islamic
   caliphate; however many Iranian cities resisted and fought against the
   invaders several times. Cities such as Rayy, Isfahan and Hamadan were
   exterminated thrice by Islamic caliphates in order to suppress revolts
   and to terrify Iranian people. The local population either willingly
   accepted Islam, thus escaping from various restrictions imposed on
   non-Muslims, including the requirement to pay a special poll tax (
   jizya), or were forced to convert by the invading armies. Invaders
   destroyed the Academy of Gundishapur and its library, burning piles of
   books. Most Sassanid records and literary works were destroyed. A few
   that escaped this fate were later translated into Arabic and later to
   Modern Persian. During the Islamic invasion many Iranian cities were
   destroyed or deserted, palaces and bridges were ruined and many
   magnificent imperial Persian gardens were burned to the ground. Says
   Persian poet, Ferdowsi of their downfall, in commending the Sassanids:


   Sassanid Empire

                  کجا آن بزرگان ساسانیان
                 زبهرامیان تا بسامانیان

                     kujā ān buzurgān-e Sāsānīyān
                   ze Bahrāmīyān tā ba Sāmānīyān?

                  "To where have the great Sassanids gone?
            "To the Bahrāmids and Samanids what has come upon?"


   Sassanid Empire

Government

   Shahryar is the fictional Sassanid King of kings in The Book of One
   Thousand and One Nights, who is told stories by Scheherazade.
   Enlarge
   Shahryar is the fictional Sassanid King of kings in The Book of One
   Thousand and One Nights, who is told stories by Scheherazade.

   The Sassanids established an empire roughly within the frontiers
   achieved by the Achaemenids, with the capital at Ctesiphon in the
   Khvarvaran province. In administering this empire, Sassanid rulers,
   took the title of Shāhanshāh (King of Kings), became the central
   overlords and also assumed guardianship of the sacred fire, the symbol
   of the national religion. This symbol is explicit on Sassanid coins
   where the reigning monarch, with his crown and regalia of office,
   appears on the obverse, backed by the sacred fire, the symbol of the
   national religion, on the coin's reverse. Sassanid queens had the title
   of Banebshenan banebshen (the Queen of Queens).

   On smaller scale the territory might also be ruled by a number of petty
   rulers from Sassanid royal family, known as Shahrdar (شهردار) overseen
   directly by Shahanshah. Sassanid rule was characterized by considerable
   centralization, ambitious urban planning, agricultural development, and
   technological improvements. Below the king a powerful bureaucracy
   carried out much of the affairs of government; The head of the
   bureaucracy and vice chancellor, was the "Vuzorg (Bozorg) Farmadar"
   (بزرگ فرمادار). Within this bureaucracy the Zoroastrian priesthood was
   immensely powerful. The head of the Magi priestly class, the Mobadan
   (موبدان), along with the commander in chief, the Iran (Eran) Spahbod
   (ايران سپهد), the head of traders and merchants syndicate "Ho Tokhshan
   Bod" (هوتوخشان بد) and minister of agriculture "Vastrioshansalar"
   (واستریوشانسالار) who was also head of farmers, were below the emperor
   the most powerful men of the Sassanid state.

   The Sassanid monarch usually acted with the advice of his ministers,
   who composed a council of state. Masudi, the Muslim historian, praised
   the "excellent administration of the [Sassanid] kings, their
   well-ordered policy, their care for their subjects, and the prosperity
   of their domains."

   In normal times the monarchical office was hereditary, but might be
   transmitted by the king to a younger son; in two instances the supreme
   power was held by queens. When no direct heir was available, the nobles
   and prelates chose a ruler, but their choice was restricted to members
   of the royal family.

   The Sassanid nobility was a mixture of old Parthian clans, Persian
   aristocratic families, and noble families from subjected territories.
   Many new noble families had risen after the dissolution of Parthian
   dynasty, while several of the once-dominant Seven Parthian clans
   remained of high importance. At the court of Ardashir I, the old
   Arsacid families of Suren-Pahlav and Karen-Pahlav, along with several
   Persian families, the Varazes and Andigans, held positions of great
   honour. Ardashir's successor, Shapur I , used as his symbol the
   Gondophar's crest (a circle surrounded by crescent), which may have
   indicated his relationship through his mother to the House of
   Suren-Pahlav. Alongside these Iranian and non-Iranian noble families,
   the kings of Merv, Abarshahr, Carmania, Sakastan, Iberia, and Adiabene,
   who are mentioned as holding positions of honour amongst the nobles,
   appeared at the court of the Shahanshah. Indeed, the extensive domains
   of the Surens, Karens, and Varazes had become part of the original
   Sassanid state as semi-independent states. The Suren-Pahlavs maintained
   their rule over the Sakastan, and one of their branches ruled the area
   around Nishapur. Thus, the noble families that attended at the court of
   the Sassanid empire continued to be ruling lines in their own right,
   although subordinate to the Shahanshah.

   In general, Bozorgan from Persian families held the most powerful
   positions in the imperial administration, including governorships of
   border provinces (Marzban مرزبان). Most of these positions were
   patrimonial, and many were passed down through a single family for
   generations. Those Marzbans of greatest seniority were permitted a
   silver throne, while Marzbans of the most strategic border provinces,
   such as the Caucasus province, were allowed a golden throne. In
   military campaigns the regional Marzbans could be regarded as field
   marshals, while lesser spahbods could command a field army.

   Culturally, the Sassanids implemented a system of social
   stratification. This system was supported by Zoroastrianism, which was
   established as the state religion. Other religions appear to have been
   largely tolerated (although this claim is the subject of heated
   discussion; see, for example, Wiesehöfer, Ancient Persia, or the
   Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3). Sassanid emperors consciously
   sought to resuscitate Persian traditions and to obliterate Greek
   cultural influence.

Sassanid army

   Mounted Persian knight, Taq-e Bostan, Iran.
   Enlarge
   Mounted Persian knight, Taq-e Bostan, Iran.

   The backbone of the Persian army (Spah) in the Sassanid era was
   composed of two types of heavy cavalry units: Clibanarii and
   Cataphracts. This cavalry force, composed of elite noblemen trained
   since youth for military service, was supported by light cavalry,
   infantry, and archers. Sassanid tactics centered around disrupting the
   enemy with archers, war elephants, and other troops, thus opening up
   gaps the cavalry forces could exploit.

   Unlike their predecessors, the Parthians, the Sassanids developed
   advanced siege engines. This development served the empire well in
   conflicts with Rome, in which success hinged upon the ability to seize
   cities and other fortified points; conversely, the Sassanids also
   developed a number of techniques for defending their own cities from
   attack. The Sassanid army was famous for its heavy cavalry, which was
   very much like its predecessor Parthian army, albeit more advanced and
   fatal. The Greek historian Ammianus Marcellinus's description of a
   Shapur II's clibanarii cavalry manifestly shows how heavily equipped it
   was:

     All the companies were clad in iron, and all parts of their bodies
     were covered with thick plates, so fitted that the stiff-joints
     conformed with those of their limbs; and the forms of human faces
     were so skillfully fitted to their heads, that since their entire
     body was covered with metal, arrows that fell upon them could lodge
     only where they could see a little through tiny openings opposite
     the pupil of the eye, or where through the tip of their nose they
     were able to get a little breath. Of these some who were armed with
     pikes, stood so motionless that you would have thought them held
     fast by clamps of bronze.

   The amount of money involved in maintaining a warrior of the Asawaran
   (Azatan) knightly caste required a small estate, and the Asawaran
   (Azatan) knightly caste received that from the throne, and in return,
   were the throne's most notable defenders in time of war. Had the empire
   not been exhausted, and divided, without an effective government, at
   the time of the Arab invasions, the Asawaran (Azatan) knightly caste
   could in all probablity have defeated them. But they were never
   summoned in time, events unfolded too quickly, in a relative vacuum of
   power in the Empire. The result was the Islamic conquest.

Conflicts

   A fine cameo showing an equestrian combat of Shapur I and Valerian in
   which the Roman emperor is seized, according to Shapur’s own statement,
   “with our own hand”, in year 256.
   Enlarge
   A fine cameo showing an equestrian combat of Shapur I and Valerian in
   which the Roman emperor is seized, according to Shapur’s own statement,
   “with our own hand”, in year 256.

   The Sassanids, like the Parthians, were in constant hostilities with
   the Roman Empire. Following the division of the Roman Empire in 395,
   the Eastern Roman Empire, with its capital at Constantinople, replaced
   the Roman Empire as Persia's principle western enemy. Hostilities
   between the two empires became more frequent. The Sassanids, similar to
   the Roman Empire, were in a constant state of conflict with neighboring
   kingdoms and nomadic hordes. Although the threat of nomadic incursions
   could never be fully resolved, the Sassanids generally dealt much more
   successfully with these matters than did the Romans, due to their
   policy of making coordinated campaigns against threatening nomads.

   In the west, Sassanid territory abutted that of the large and stable
   Roman state, but to the east its nearest neighbors were the Kushan
   Empire and nomadic tribes such as the White Huns. The construction of
   fortifications such as Tus citadel or the city of Nishapur, which later
   became a centre of learning and trade, also assisted in defending the
   eastern provinces from attack.

   In the south in central Arabia, Bedouin Arab tribes occasionally raided
   the Sassanid empire. The Kingdom of Al-Hirah, a Sassanid vassal
   kingdom, was established to form a buffer zone between the empire's
   mainland and the Bedouin tribes. The dissolution of the Kingdom of
   Al-Hirah by Khosrau II in 602 contributed greatly to decisive Sassanid
   defeats suffered against Bedouin Arabs later in the century. These
   defeats resulted in a sudden takeover of the Sassanid empire by Bedouin
   tribes under the Islamic banner.

   In the north, Khazars and other Turkic nomads frequently assaulted
   northern provinces of the empire. They plundered the territory of the
   Medes in 634. Shortly thereafter, the Persian army defeated them and
   drove them out. The Sassanids built numerous fortifications in the
   Caucasus region to halt these attacks.

Interactions with Eastern states

Relations with China

   Sassanid influence didn't remain confined to its borders. In this
   depiction from Qizil, Tarim Basin China, The "Tocharian donors", are
   dressed in Sassanid style.
   Enlarge
   Sassanid influence didn't remain confined to its borders. In this
   depiction from Qizil, Tarim Basin China, The " Tocharian donors", are
   dressed in Sassanid style.

   Like their predecessors the Parthians, the Sassanid Empire carried out
   active foreign relations with China, and ambassadors from Persia
   frequently traveled to China. Chinese documents report on thirteen
   Sassanid Embassies to China. Commercially, land and sea trade with
   China was important to both the Sassanid and Chinese Empires. Large
   number of Sassanid coins have been found in southern China, confirming
   maritime trade.

   On different occasions Sassanid kings sent their most talented Persian
   musicians and dancers to the Chinese imperial court. Both empires
   benefited from trade along the Silk Road, and shared a common interest
   in preserving and protecting that trade. They cooperated in guarding
   the trade routes through central Asia, and both built outposts in
   border areas to keep caravans safe from nomadic tribes and bandits.

   Politically, we hear of several Sassanid and Chinese efforts in forging
   alliances against the common enemy who were the Hephthalites. Upon the
   encroachment of the nomadic Turkic states in Central Asia, we also see
   what looks like a collaboration between China and the Sassanid to
   defuse the Turkic advances. The documents from Mt. Mogh also talk about
   the presence of a Chinese general in the service of the king of
   Sogdiana at the time of the Arab invasions.

   Following the invasion of Iran by Muslim Arabs, Pirooz, son of
   Yazdegerd III, escaped along with a few Persian nobles and took refuge
   in the Chinese imperial court. Both Piroz and his son Narseh (Chinese
   neh-shie) were given high titles at the Chinese court. At least in two
   occasions, last one possibly in 670, Chinese troops were sent with
   Peroz in order to restore him to the Sassanid throne with mixed
   results, one possibly ending up in a short rule of Peroz in Sistan (
   Sakestan) from which we have a few remaining numsmatic evidence. Narseh
   later reached the position of the commander of the Chinese Impersial
   guards and his descendants lived in China as respected princes.

Expansion to India

   After the Sassanids had secured Iran and its neighboring regions under
   Ardashir I, the second emperor, Shapur I (240–270), extended his
   authority eastwards into what is today Pakistan and northwestern India.
   The previously autonomous Kushans were obliged to accept his
   suzerainty. Although the Kushan empire declined at the end of the 3rd
   century, to be replaced by the northern Indian Gupta Empire in the 4th
   century, it is clear that Sassanid influence remained relevant in
   India's northwest throughout this period.

   Persia and northwestern India engaged in cultural as well as political
   intercourse during this period, as certain Sassanid practices spread
   into the Kushan territories. In particular, the Kushan's were
   influenced by the Sassanid conception of kingship, which spread through
   the trade of Sassanid silverware and textiles depicting emperors
   hunting or dispensing justice.

   This cultural interchange did not, however, spread Sassanid religious
   practices or attitudes to the Kushans. While the Sassanids always
   adhered to a stated policy of religious proselytization, and
   sporadically engaged in persecution or forced conversion of minority
   religions, the Kushans preferred to adopt a policy of religious
   tolerance.

   Lower-level cultural interchanges also took place between India and
   Persia during this period. For example, Persians imported chess from
   India and changed the game's name from chaturanga to chatrang. In
   exchange, Persians introduced Backgammon to India.

   During Khosrau I's reign many books were brought from India and
   translated into Pahlavi, the language of the Sassanid Empire. Some of
   these later found their way into the literature of the Islamic world. A
   notable example of this was the translation of the Indian Panchatantra
   by one of Khosrau's ministers, Burzoe; this translation, known as the
   Kelileh va Demneh, later made its way into Arabia and Europe. The
   details of Burzoe's legendary journey to India and his daring
   acquirement of Panchatantra is written in full details in Ferdowsi's
   Shahnameh.

Iranian society under the Sassanids

   Ancient Iranians attached great importance to music and poetry, as they
   still do today. This 7th century plate depicts Sassanid era musicians.
   Enlarge
   Ancient Iranians attached great importance to music and poetry, as they
   still do today. This 7th century plate depicts Sassanid era musicians.

   Sassanid society and civilization were among the most flourishing of
   their time, rivaled in their region only by the Byzantine civilisation.
   The amount of scientific and intellectual exchange between the two
   empires is witness to the competition and cooperation of these cradles
   of civilization.

   The most striking difference between Parthian and Sassanid society was
   renowed emphasis on charismatic and centeralized government. In
   Sassanid theory, the ideal society was one which could maintain
   stability and justice and the necessary instrument for this was a
   strong monarch. Sassanid society was immensely complex, with separate
   systems of social organization governing numerous different groups
   within the empire. Historians believe that society was divided into
   four classes: Priests (Atorbanan in Persian: آتروبانان), Warriors
   (Arteshtaran in Persian: ارتشتاران), Secretaries (Dabiran in Persian:
   دبيران), and Commoners (Vasteryoshan-Hootkheshan in Persian:
   هوتخشان-واستريوشان). At the centre of the Sassanid caste system was the
   Shahanshah, ruling over all the nobles. The royal princes, petty
   rulers, great landlords, and priests together constituted a privileged
   stratum, and were identified as Bozorgan بزرگان, or nobles. This social
   system appears to have been fairly rigid.

   Membership in a class was based on birth, although it was possible for
   an exceptional individual to move to another class on the basis of
   merit. The function of the king was to ensure that each class remained
   within its proper boundaries, so that the strong did not oppress the
   weak, nor the weak the strong. To maintain this social equilibrium was
   the essence of royal justice, and its effective functioning depended on
   the glorification of the monarchy above all other classes.

   On a lower level, Sassanid society was divided into Azatan (Azadan)
   آزادان (freemen), who jealously guarded their status as descendants of
   ancient Aryan conquerors, and the mass of originally non-Aryan
   peasantry. The Azatan formed a large low-aristocracy of low-level
   administrators, mostly living on small estates. The Azatan provided the
   cavalry backbone of Sassanid army.

Art, science and literature

   A bowl with Khosrau I's image at the center.
   Enlarge
   A bowl with Khosrau I's image at the centre.
   Dish Shapur II Hunting Lions 4th century.
   Enlarge
   Dish Shapur II Hunting Lions 4th century.
   Horse head, gilded silver, 4th century, Sassanid art.
   Enlarge
   Horse head, gilded silver, 4th century, Sassanid art.

   The Sassanid kings were enlightened patrons of letters and philosophy.
   Khosrau I had the works of Plato and Aristotle translated into Pahlavi
   taught at Gundishapur, and even read them himself. During his reign
   many historical annals were compiled, of which the sole survivor is the
   Karnamak-i Artaxshir-i Papakan (Deeds of Ardashir), a mixture of
   history and romance that served as the basis of the Iranian national
   epic, the Shahnama. When Justinian I closed the schools of Athens,
   seven of their professors fled to Persia and found refuge at Khosrau's
   court. In time they grew homesick, and in his treaty of 533 with
   Justinian, the Sassanid king stipulated that the Greek sages should be
   allowed to return and be free from persecution.

   Under Khosrau I the college of Gundishapur, which had been founded in
   the 4th century, became "the greatest intellectual centre of the time,"
   drawing students and teachers from every quarter of the world.
   Nestorian Christians were received there, and brought Syriac
   translations of Greek works in medicine and philosophy. Neoplatonists,
   too, came to Gundishapur, where they planted the seeds of Sufi
   mysticism; the medical lore of India, Persia, Syria, and Greece mingled
   there to produce a flourishing school of therapy.

   Artistically, the Sassanid period witnessed some of the highest
   achievements of Persian civilization. Much of what later became known
   as Muslim culture, including architecture and writing, was originally
   drawn from Persian culture. At its peak the Sassanid Empire stretched
   from Syria to northwest India, but its influence was felt far beyond
   these political boundaries. Sassanid motifs found their way into the
   art of Central Asia and China, the Byzantine Empire, and even
   Merovingian France. Islamic art however, was the true heir to Sassanid
   art, whose concepts it was to assimilate while, at the same time
   instilling fresh life and renewed vigor into it. According to Will
   Durant:


   Sassanid Empire

      "Sasanian art exported its forms and motifs eastward into India,
   Turkestan, and China, westward into Syria, Asia Minor, Constantinople,
   the Balkans, Egypt, and Spain. Probably its influence helped to change
     the emphasis in Greek art from classic representation to Byzantine
    ornament, and in Latin Christian art from wooden ceilings to brick or
                stone vaults and domes and buttressed walls."


   Sassanid Empire

   Sassanid carvings at Taq-e Bostan and Naqsh-e Rustam were colored; so
   were many features of the palaces; but only traces of such painting
   remain. The literature, however, makes it clear that the art of
   painting flourished in Sasanian times; the prophet Mani is reported to
   have founded a school of painting; Firdowsi speaks of Persian magnates
   adorning their mansions with pictures of Iranian heroes; and the poet
   al-Buhturi describes the murals in the palace at Ctesiphon. When a
   Sasanian king died, the best painter of the time was called upon to
   make a portrait of him for a collection kept in the royal treasury.

   Painting, sculpture, pottery, and other forms of decoration shared
   their designs with Sasanian textile art. Silks, embroideries, brocades,
   damasks, tapestries, chair covers, canopies, tents, and rugs were woven
   with servile patience and masterly skill, and were dyed in warm tints
   of yellow, blue, and green. Every Persian but the peasant and the
   priest aspired to dress above his class; presents often took the form
   of sumptuous garments; and great colorful carpets had been an appanage
   of wealth in the East since Assyrian days. The two dozen Sasanian
   textiles that escaped the teeth of time are the most highly valued
   fabrics in existence. Even in their own day, Sasanian textiles were
   admired and imitated from Egypt to the Far East; and during the
   Crusades these pagan products were favored for clothing the relics of
   Christian saints. When Heraclius captured the palace of Khosru Parvez
   at Dastagird, delicate embroideries and an immense rug were among his
   most precious spoils. Famous was the "Winter Carpet", also known as
   "Khosro's Spring" (Spring Season Carpet قالى بهارستان) of Khosru
   Anushirvan, designed to make him forget winter in its spring and summer
   scenes: flowers and fruits made of inwoven rubies and diamonds grew, in
   this carpet, beside walks of silver and brooks of pearls traced on a
   ground of gold. Harun al-Rashid prided himself on a spacious Sasanian
   rug thickly studded with jewelry. Persians wrote love poems about their
   rugs.

   Studies on Sassanid remains show that over 100 types of crowns being
   worn by Sassanid kings. The various Sassanid crowns demonstrate the
   cultural, economic, social, and historical situation in each period.
   The crowns also show the character traits of each king in this era.
   Different symbols and signs on the crowns, the moon, stars, eagle, and
   palm, each illustrate the wearer's religious faith and beliefs. (For
   more on Sassanid crowns please visit )

   The Sassand Dynasty, like the Achaemenid, originated in the province of
   Persis ( Fars). The Sassanids saw themselves as successors of the
   Achaemenids, after the Hellenistic and Parthian interlude, and believed
   that it was their destiny to restore the greatness of Persia.

   In reviving the glories of the Achaemenid past, the Sassanids were no
   mere imitators. The art of this period reveals an astonishing virility,
   in certain respects anticipating key features of Islamic art. Sassanid
   art combined elements of traditional Persian art with Hellenistic
   elements and influences. The conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great
   had inaugurated the spread of Hellenistic art into Western Asia. Though
   the East accepted the outward form of this art, it never really
   assimilated its spirit. Already in the Parthian period, Hellenistic art
   was being interpreted freely by the peoples of the Near East.
   Throughout the Sassanid period there was reaction against it. Sassanid
   art revived forms and traditions native to Persia, and in the Islamic
   period, these reached the shores of the Mediterranean. According to
   Fergusson:


   Sassanid Empire

     With the accession of the [Sassanids], Persia regained much of that
     power and stability to which she had been so long a stranger… The
    improvement in the fine arts at home indicates returning prosperity,
    and a degree of security unknown since the fall of the Achaemenidae.


   Sassanid Empire

   Surviving palaces illustrate the splendor in which the Sassanid
   monarchs lived. Examples include palaces at Firouzabad and Bishapur in
   Fars and the capital city of Ctesiphon in Khvarvaran province, Iraq. In
   addition to local traditions, Parthian architecture influenced Sassanid
   architectural characteristics. All are characterized by the
   barrel-vaulted iwans introduced in the Parthian period. During the
   Sassanid period, these reached massive proportions, particularly at
   Ctesiphon. There, the arch of the great vaulted hall, attributed to the
   reign of Shapur I (241–272), has a span of more than 80 feet and
   reaches a height of 118 feet. This magnificent structure fascinated
   architects in the centuries that followed and has been considered one
   of the most important examples of Persian architecture. Many of the
   palaces contain an inner audience hall consisting, as at Firuzabad, of
   a chamber surmounted by a dome. The Persians solved the problem of
   constructing a circular dome on a square building by employing
   squinches, or arches built across each corner of the square, thereby
   converting it into an octagon on which it is simple to place the dome.
   The dome chamber in the palace of Firouzabad is the earliest surviving
   example of the use of the squinch, suggesting that this architectural
   technique was probably invented in Persia.

   The unique characteristic of Sassanid architecture was its distinctive
   use of space. The Sassanid architect conceived his building in terms of
   masses and surfaces; hence the use of massive walls of brick decorated
   with molded or carved stucco. Stucco wall decorations appear at
   Bishapur, but better examples are preserved from Chal Tarkhan near Rayy
   (late Sassanid or early Islamic in date), and from Ctesiphon and Kish
   in Mesopotamia. The panels show animal figures set in roundels, human
   busts, and geometric and floral motifs.

   At Bishapur some of the floors were decorated with mosaics showing
   scenes of merrymaking as at a banquet. The Roman influence here is
   clear, and the mosaics may have been laid by Roman prisoners. Buildings
   were decorated with wall paintings. Particularly fine examples have
   been found at Kuh-i Khwaja in Sistan.

Industry and trade

   Egyptian woven pattern woolen curtain or trousers, which was a copy of
   a Sassanid silk import, which was in turn based on a fresco of King
   Khosrau II fighting Axum Ethiopian forces in Yemen, 5-6th century
   Enlarge
   Egyptian woven pattern woolen curtain or trousers, which was a copy of
   a Sassanid silk import, which was in turn based on a fresco of King
   Khosrau II fighting Axum Ethiopian forces in Yemen, 5-6th century
   Sassanid sea trade routes
   Enlarge
   Sassanid sea trade routes
   Sassanid silk twill textile of a Simurgh in a beaded surround, 6–7th
   century. Used in the reliquary of Saint Len, Paris.
   Enlarge
   Sassanid silk twill textile of a Simurgh in a beaded surround, 6–7th
   century. Used in the reliquary of Saint Len, Paris.

   Persian industry under the Sassanids developed from domestic to urban
   forms. Guilds were numerous, and some towns had a revolutionary
   proletariat. Silk weaving was introduced from China; Sassanid silks
   were sought for everywhere, and served as models for the textile art in
   Byzantium, China, and Japan. Chinese merchants came to Iran to sell raw
   silk and buy rugs, jewels, rouge; Armenians, Syrians, and Jews
   connected Persia, Byzantium, and Rome in slow exchange. Good roads and
   bridges, well patrolled, enabled state post and merchant caravans to
   link Ctesiphon with all provinces; and harbors were built in the
   Persian Gulf to quicken trade with India. Sassanid merchants ranged far
   and wide and gradually ousted Romans from lucrative Indian ocean trade
   routes. The recent Archeological discovery has shown an interesting
   fact that Sassanids used special labels (commercial labels) on goods as
   a way of promoting their brands and distinguish between different
   qualities.

   Khosrau I further extended the already vast trade network. The Sassanid
   state now tended toward monopolistic control of trade, with luxury
   goods assuming a far greater role in the trade than heretofore, and the
   great activity in building of ports, caravanserais, bridges, and the
   like was linked to trade and urbanization. The Persians dominated
   international trade, both in the Indian Ocean and in Central Asia and
   South Russia in the time of Khosrau, although competition with the
   Byzantines was at times intense. Sasanian settlements in Oman and Yemen
   testify to the importance of trade with India, but the silk trade with
   China was mainly in the hands of Sassanid vassals and the Iranian
   people, the Sogdians.

   The main exports of Sassanids were silk, woolen and golden textile,
   carpet and rug, skin, leather and Pearl from Persian gulf. Also there
   were goods in transit from China (paper, silk) and India (spices) whom
   Sassanid customs imposed taxes on them and were re-exported from Empire
   to Europe.

   It was also a time of increased metallurgical production, so Iran
   earned a reputation as the "armory of Asia". Most of the Sassanids
   mining centers were at the fringes of the Empire, in Armenia, the
   Caucasus and above all Transoxania. The extraordinary mineral wealth of
   Pamir Mountains on the eastern horizon of the Sassanid empire led to a
   legend among the Tajiks, an Iranian people living there, which is still
   told today. It said when God was creating the world, he tripped over
   Pamirs, dropping his jar of minerals which spread across the region.

Religion

   Relief from Taq-i Bostan showing Ardashir II at the center receiving
   his crown from Ahura Mazda. The two stand on a prostrate enemy. At the
   left is Mithra as a priest, wearing a crown of sun-rays, holding a
   priest's barsam, and standing on a sacred lotus.
   Enlarge
   Relief from Taq-i Bostan showing Ardashir II at the centre receiving
   his crown from Ahura Mazda. The two stand on a prostrate enemy. At the
   left is Mithra as a priest, wearing a crown of sun-rays, holding a
   priest's barsam, and standing on a sacred lotus.
   The Zoroastrian fire temple, Yazd, Iran.
   Enlarge
   The Zoroastrian fire temple, Yazd, Iran.

   The religion of the Sassanid state was Zoroastrianism, but Sassanid
   Zoroastrianism had clear distinctions from the practices laid out in
   the Avesta, the holy books of Zoroastrianism. Sassanid Zoroastrian
   clergy modified the religion in a way to serve themselves, causing
   substantial religious uneasiness. Sassanid religious policies
   contributed to the flourishing of numerous religious reform movements,
   the most important of these being the Mani and Mazdak religions.

   Extreme and pronounced dualism constituted the most noticeable feature
   of Zoroastrianism. Ormazd and Ahriman, the principles of Good and Evil,
   were expressly declared to be "twins" who had "in the beginning come
   together to create Life and Death, and to settle how the world was to
   be." There was no priority of existence of the one over the other, and
   no decided superiority. The two, being coeval, had contended since the
   beginning of time and would, it was almost certain, continue to contend
   for all eternity, neither being able to vanquish the other.

   These two principles were represented as persons. Ormazd was "the
   creator of life, the earthly and the spiritual," he who "made the
   celestial bodies, earth, water, and trees." He was "good," "holy,"
   "pure," "true," "the Holy God," "the Holiest," "the Essence of Truth,"
   "the father of all truth," "the being best of all," "the master of
   purity." He was supremely "happy," being possessed of every blessing,
   "health, wealth, virtue, wisdom, immortality." From him came every good
   gift enjoyed by man; on the pious and the righteous he bestowed, not
   only earthly advantages, but precious spiritual gifts, truth, devotion,
   "the good mind," and everlasting happiness; and, as he rewarded the
   good, so he also punished the bad, though this was an aspect in which
   he was but seldom represented.

   Zoroastrian worship was intimately connected with fire-temples and
   fire-altars. A fire-temple was maintained in every important city
   throughout the empire; and in these a sacred flame, believed to have
   been lighted from heaven, was kept perpetually alight by the priests,
   and was spoken of as "unextinguishable". Fire-altars probably also
   existed independently of temples; throughout Sassanid history a
   freestanding fire-altar was given a prominent place on coinage as the
   main impress on the reverse. It was represented with the flame rising
   from it, and sometimes with a head in the flame; its stem was
   ornamented with garlands or fillets; and on either side, as protectors
   or as worshippers, were represented two figures, sometimes watching the
   flame, sometimes turned from it, guarding it apparently from external
   enemies.

   Alongside Zoroastrianism other religions, primarily Judaism,
   Christianity and Buddhism existed in Sassanid society, and were largely
   free to practice and preach their beliefs. A very large Jewish
   community flourished under Sassanid rule, with thriving centers at
   Isfahan, Babylon and Khorasan, and with its own semiautonomous
   Exilarchate leadership based in Mesopotamia. This community would, in
   fact, continue to flourish until the advent of Zionism.Jewish
   communities suffered only occasional persecution. They enjoyed a
   relative freedom of religion, and were granted privileges denied to
   other religious minorities. Shapur I (Shabur Malka in Aramaic) was a
   particular friend to the Jews. His friendship with Shmuel produced many
   advantages for the Jewish community. He even offered the Jews in the
   Sassanid empire a fine white Nisaean horse, just in case that the
   Messiah, who was thought to ride a donkey or a mule, would come .
   Shapur II, whose mother was Jewish, had a similar friendship with a
   Babylonian rabbi named Raba. Raba's friendship with Shapur II enabled
   him to secure a relaxation of the oppressive laws enacted against the
   Jews in the Persian Empire. Moreover, in the eastern portion of the
   empire, various Buddhist places of worship, notably in Bamiyan were
   active as Buddhism gradually became more popular in that region.

   Christians in Iran at this time belonged mainly to the Nestorian and
   Jacobite branches of Christianity, also known as respectively the
   Assyrian Church of the East and the Syriac Orthodox Church. Although
   these churches were originally maintaining ties with the Christian
   churches in the Roman Empire, they were indeed quite different from the
   churches in the Roman Empire. One of the most important reasons for
   this, is that the Church language of the Nestorian and Jacobite
   churches was the Aramaic language, which is also the language spoken by
   the Jews in Judea and Galilee at the time of Jesus. This language was
   not used by the vast majority of the Christians in the Roman Empire,
   who mainly spoke Latin, Koine Greek, or Coptic.

   Another factor that the churches within the Persian Empire did not
   maintain such close ties with their counterparts in the Roman Empire,
   was also the continuous rivalry between these two great empires. And
   quite often, Christians in Persia were (often falsely) accused of
   sympathizing with the Romans, especially when the Roman emperor
   Theodosius I declared Christianity the state religion of the Roman
   Empire.

   But it was not until the Council of Ephesus in 431 that the vast
   majority of Christians in Persia broke their ties with the churches in
   the Roman Empire. At this council, Nestorius, a theologian of
   Syrian/Assyrian origin and the patriarch of Constantinople, taught a
   different view of the Christology that was rejected and regarded as
   heretical by the majority of Greek, Roman and Coptic Christians. One of
   the differences in Nestorius' teachings, was that he refused to call
   Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ " Theotokos" or Mother of God. The
   Assyrian Church, however, disagreed with the other churches, and
   refused to condemn Nestorius' teachings.

   Nestorius eventually lost the debate, and was deposed as patriarch. He
   was forced to flee with a number of his followers to the Sassanid
   Persian Empire where he was allowed to settle in Persian territories.
   He and his followers were welcomed into the Assyrian Church in
   Mesopotamia. Several Persian emperors also used this opportunity to
   strengthen Nestorius' position within the Assyrian Church (which made
   up the vast majority of the Christians in the Persian Empire) by
   eliminating the most important pro-catholic clergymen in Persia and
   making sure that their places were taken by Nestorians. This was to
   assure that the only loyalty these Christians would have, would be to
   the Persian Empire. (see also Sassanid Church)

   Most of the Christians in the Sassanid empire lived on the western edge
   of the empire, predominately in Mesopotamia, but there were also
   important communities on the island Tylos (present day Bahrain), the
   southern coast of the Persian Gulf, the area of the Arabian kingdom of
   Lakhm and the Persian part of Armenia. Some of these areas were the
   earliest to be Christianized; the kingdom of Armenia became the first
   independent Christian state in the world in 301 while a number of
   Assyrian territories had almost become fully Christianized even earlier
   during the 3rd century, they never became independent nations.

   Most Christians in the Persian Empire belonged to a number of
   predominately Christian ethnic groups. Some of these groups were the
   Assyrians, the Arabs of southern Mesopotamia, the Armenians, as well as
   some smaller ethnic groups such as the Monophysite Syriacs. The latter
   group was taken to Persia as prisoners of war from the many conflicts
   with the Roman Empire. Conversion did take place among ethnic Persians
   and other ethnicities residing in the empire. Among them were certain
   small Caucasian and Kurdish tribes which had converted to Christianity.

Legacy and Importance

   The influence of the Sassanids continues long after they ceased to
   exist:

In Europe

   Sassanids had a significant influence on Roman civilization. The
   character of the Roman army was affected by the methods of Persian
   warfare. In a modified form, the Roman Imperial autocracy imitated the
   royal ceremonial of the court of Sassanids at Ctesiphon, and the Roman
   ceremonies had in turn an influence on the ceremonial traditions of the
   courts of modern Europe. The origin of the formalities of European
   diplomacy is attributed to the diplomatic relations between the Persian
   governments and Roman Empire.

   The principles of the European knighthood (heavily armoured cavalry) of
   the Middle ages can be traced to the Sassanid Asawaran (Azatan)
   knightly caste, with whom it also shares a number of similarities.

In India

   Following the collapse of the Sassanid Empire, after which
   Zoroastrianism was supplanted by Islam, Zoroastrians increasingly
   became a persecuted minority, and a number of them chose to emigrate.
   According to the Qissa-i Sanjan, one group of those refugees landed in
   what is now Gujarat, India, where they were allowed greater freedom to
   observe their old customs and to preserve their faith. The descendants
   of those Zoroastrians, now known as the Parsis, would play a
   significant role in the development of India. Today there are around
   70,000 Parsis in India.

   The Parsis, as Zoroastrians, still use a variant of the religious
   calendar instituted under the Sassanids. That calendar still marks the
   number of years since the accession of Yazdegerd III, just as it did in
   632. (See also: Zoroastrian calendar)

Sassanid Empire chronology

   CAPTION: Sassanid rulers

       Ruler        Year
   Ardashir I    224 to 241
   Shapur I      241 to 272
   Hormizd I     272 to 273
   Bahram I      273 to 276
   Bahram II     276 to 293
   Bahram III    293
   Narseh        293 to 302
   Hormizd II    302 to 310
   Shapur II     310 to 379
   Ardashir II   379 to 383
   Shapur III    383 to 388
   Bahram IV     388 to 399
   Yazdegerd I   399 to 420
   Bahram V      420 to 438
   Yazdegerd II  438 to 457
   Hormizd III   457 to 459
   Peroz I       457 to 484
   Balash        484 to 488
   Kavadh I      488 to 531
   Djamasp       496 to 498
   Khosrau I     531 to 579
   Hormizd IV    579 to 590
   Bahram Chobin 590 to 591
   Khosrau II    591 to 628
   Kavadh II     628
   Ardashir III  628 to 630
   Shahrbaraz    630
   Purandokht    630 to 631
   Hormizd VI    631 to 632
   Yazdgerd III  632 to 651

   226–241: Reign of Ardashir I:
     * 224–226: Overthrow of Parthian Empire.
     * 229–232: War with Rome
     * Zoroastrianism is revived as official religion.
     * The collection of texts known as the Zend Avesta is assembled.

   241–271: Reign of Shapur I:
     * 241–244: First war with Rome.
     * 258–260: Second war with Rome. Capture of Roman emperor Valerian in
       Battle of Edessa.
     * 215–271: Mani, founder of Manicheanism.

   271–301: A period of dynastic struggles.

   309–379: Reign of Shapur II "the Great":
     * 337–350: First war with Rome with a relatively little success.
     * 358–363: Second war with Rome. Great victories, extending eastern
       and western borders of empire.

   399–420: Reign of Yazdegerd I "the Sinner":
     * 409: Christian are permitted to publicly worship and to build
       churches.
     * 416–420: Persecution of Christians as Yazdegerd revokes his earlier
       order.

   420–438: Reign of Bahram V:
     * 420–422: War with Rome.
     * 424: Council of Dad-Ishu declares the Eastern Church independent of
       Constantinople.

   438–457: Reign of Yazdegerd II:
     * 441: War with Rome with success.
     * 451: Armenian revolt crushed in Battle of Vartanantz.

   483: Edict of Toleration granted to Christians.

   491: Armenian Church repudiates the Council of Chalcedon:
     * Nestorian Christianity becomes dominant Christian sect in Sassanid
       Empire

   531–579: Reign of Khosrau I, "with the immortal soul" (Anushirvan)

   533: "Treaty of Endless Peace" with Rome.

   540–562: War with Rome.

   590–628: Reign of Khosrau II

   603–628: War with Rome. Conquests in Syria, Palestine, Egypt and
   Anatolia, Persia nearly restored to boundaries of Achaemenid dynasty
   before being beaten back by Romans.

   610: Arabs defeat a Sassanid army at Dhu-Qar.

   626: Unsuccessful siege of Constantinople by Avars and Persians.

   627: Roman Emperor Heraclius invades Assyria and Mesopotamia.
   Definitive defeat of Persian forces at the battle of Nineveh by the
   joint Byzantine force.

   628–632: Chaotic period of multiple rulers.

   632–642: Reign of Yazdegerd III.

   636: Decisive Sassanid defeat at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah during the
   Islamic conquest of Iran.

   642: Final victory of Arabs when Persian army destroyed at Nahavand
   (Nehavand).

   651: Last Sassanid ruler Yazdegerd III murdered at Merv, present-day
   Turkmenistan, ending the dynasty. His son Pirooz and many others went
   into exile in China.
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