1.
Etymology of Iran
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In both geographic and demonymic senses, ērān is distinguished from its antonymic anērān, meaning non-Iran. In the geographic sense, ērān was also distinguished from ērānšahr, the Sassanians own name for their empire, the word ērān is first attested in the inscriptions that accompany the investiture relief of Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rustam. In this bilingual inscription, the calls himself ardašīr šāhān šāh ērān in Middle Persian. Both mean Ardashir, king of kings of the Iranians, the Middle Iranian ērān/aryān are oblique plural forms of gentilic ēr- and ary-, which in turn both derive from Old Iranian *arya-, meaning Aryan, i. e. of the Iranians. This Old Iranian *arya- is attested as an ethnic designator in Achaemenid inscriptions as Old Persian ariya-, and in Zoroastrianisms Avesta tradition as Avestan airiia-/airya, etc. It is very likely that Ardashir Is use of Middle Iranian ērān/aryān still retained the meaning as did in Old Iranian. The expression king of kings of the Iranians found in Ardashirs inscription remained a stock epithet of all the Sassanid kings, similarly, the inscription the Mazda-worshipping lord Ardashir, king of kings of the Iranians that appears on Ardashirs coins was likewise adopted by Ardashirs successors. Ardashirs son and immediate successor, Shapur I appended ud anērān and non-Iranians to these titles, in his trilingual inscription at the Kaba-i Zartosht, Shapur I also introduces the term *ērānšahr. Shapurs inscription includes a list of provinces in his empire, an antonymic anērānšahr is attested from thirty years later in the inscriptions of Kartir, a high priest under several Sassanian kings. Kartirs inscription also includes a lists of provinces, but unlike Shapurs considers the provinces in the Caucasus anērānšahr, notwithstanding this inscriptional use of ērān to refer to the Iranian peoples, the use of ērān to refer to the empire is also attested by the early Sassanid period. Both ērān and anērān appear in 3rd century calendrical text written by Mani, the same short form reappears in the names of the towns founded by Sassanid dynasts, for instance in Ērān-xwarrah-šābuhr Glory of Ērān Shapur. It also appears in the titles of government officers, such as in Ērān-āmārgar Accountant-General Ērān or Ērān-dibirbed Chief Scribe Ērān, because an equivalent of ērānšahr does not appear in Old Iranian, the term is presumed to have been a Sassanid-era development. In the Greek portion of Shapurs trilingual inscription the word šahr kingdom appears as ethnous nation, for speakers of Greek, the idea of an Iranian ethnous was not new, The mid-5th-century BCE Herodotus mentions that the Medes once called themselves Arioi. Damascius quotes the mid-4th-century BCE Eudemus of Rhodes for the Magi, the 1st-century BCE Diodorus Siculus describes Zoroaster as one of the Arianoi. The terms ērān/ērānšahr had no currency for the Arabic-speaking Caliphs, for whom Arabic al-ajam und al-furs to refer to Western Iran had greater traction than indigenous Iranian usage. Moreover, for the Arabs ērān/ērānšahr were tainted by their association with the vanquished Sassanians, for whom being Iranian was also synonymous with being mazdayesn, the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate in the mid-8th century ended the Umayyad policy of Arab supremacy and initiated a revival of Iranian identity. These dynasties provided the men of the pen, i. e. the literary elite, the best known of this literary elite was Firdausi, whose Shahnameh, completed around 1000 CE, is partly based on Sassanid and earlier oral and literary tradition. In Firdausis take on the legends, the first man and first king created by Ahura Mazda are the foundations of Iran
Etymology of Iran
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Qajar-era currency bill featuring a depiction of
Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar. It states: Issued from the imperial bank of Iran
2.
Middle Persian
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Middle Persian is classified as a Western Iranian language. It descends from Old Persian and is the ancestor of Modern Persian. Middle Persian consisted of dialects and variants. One of these variants was called Pahlavīk which stands for Parthian, another variant of Middle Persian, known locally as Pārsik, was the official language of the Sasanian Empire. Most scholars refer to the variant when using the term Middle Persian. The native name for Middle Persian was Pārsīk translating to language of Pārs and it consists of Pārs + adjective suffix -īk. The word is consequently the origin of the name for the Modern Persian language—Parsi or Fārsī. Manichaean Middle Persian texts were written in the Manichaean alphabet, which derives from Aramaic. The ISO639 language code for Middle Persian is pal, which reflects the post-Sasanian era use of the term Pahlavi to refer to the language, many tenses began to be formed from a composite form The modern-day descendant of Middle Persian is New Persian. The changes between late Middle and Early New Persian were very gradual, and in the 10th-11th centuries, the earliest texts in Zoroastrian Middle Persian were probably written down in late Sasanian times, although they represent the codification of earlier oral tradition. The surviving manuscripts are usually 14th-century copies, below is transcription and translation of the first page of the facsimile known as Book of Arda Viraf, originally written in a Pahlavi script. ōy petyārag ī wad-baxt ī ahlomōγ ī druwand ī anāg-kardār *aleksandar hrōmāyīg mu/zrāyīg-mānišn abar āwurd ud be sōxt, in the name of God Thus they have said that once the righteous Zoroaster accepted a religion, he established it in the world. After/Within the period of 300 years religion remained in holiness and the people were in peace and that wretched, ill-fated, heretic, evil/sinful Alexander, The Roman, who was dwelling in Egypt, and he burned them up. Shapur, the king of kings, son of Hormizd, induced all countrymen to orient themselves to god by disputation, and put forth all oral traditions for consideration and examination. There are a number of affixes in Middle Persian that did not survive into Modern Persian, the long vowels of Middle Persian did not survive in many present-day dialects. Also, initial consonant clusters were very common in Middle Persian, however, New Persian does not allow initial consonant clusters, whereas final consonant clusters are common. 1 Since many long vowels of Middle Persian did not survive, for example, šir and šer, meaning milk and lion, respectively, are now both pronounced šir. In this case, the pronunciation has been preserved in Kurdish
Middle Persian
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Geography
3.
List of shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire
–
The Shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire ruled over a vast majority of land. The Sasanian Empire was recognized as one of the powers in the world alongside its neighboring arch rival. The Sasanian dynasty began with Ardashir I in 224, who was a Persian from Estakhr, and was descended from the Achaemenid Kings, the downfall of the Sasanian Empire proved of great significance and effects to Zoroastrianism, the state religion of the Sasanian Empire. The head of the Sasanian Empire was the shahanshah, also known as the shah. His health and welfare was always important and the phrase “May you be immortal was used to reply to him with, by looking on the Sasanian coins which appeared from the 6th-century and afterwards, a moon and sun is noticeable. The meaning of the moon and sun, in the words of the Iranian historian Touraj Daryaee, “suggest that the king was at the center of the world, in effect he was the “king of the four corners of the world, which was an old Mesopotamian idea. The king saw all other rulers, such as the Romans, Turks, the king wore colorful clothes, makeup, a heavy crown, while his beard was decorated with gold. The early Sasanian kings considered themselves of divine descent, they called themselves for “bay. When the king went to the publicity, he was hidden behind a curtain, when one came to the king, he/she had to prostrate before him, also known as proskynesis. The king was guarded by a group of guards, known as the pushtigban. On other occasions, the king was protected by a group of palace guards, the hazarbed was also allowed in some cases to serve as the royal executioner. During Nowruz and Mihragan, the king would hold a speech, in the Sasanian era, the term the king of kings of Iran is the Persian term for King of Kings. was used from the time of its establishment by Ardashir. The term king of kings of Iran appears in Sasanian documents, in Kabe Zartosht inscription of Shapur I the Great the titles are chosen in a precise manner. Throughout its existence, the Sassanid Empire was an absolute monarchy, the Shahenshah was the height of authority, with satraps ruling over their satrapies underneath them. The shahanshah was the highest form of authority throughout the empire, in fact, the Sasanian Empire had been founded when a satrap rebelled against the Parthian Empire. The Sasanian Empire reached its greatest extent under Khosrau II, who reigned for 38 years, the longest reigning king was Shapur II, who reigned for 70 years. The Sasanian kings regarded themselves as successors of the Achaemenid Empire, the table below lists Sasanian shahanshahs and titles used by them. Šāh hindestān, i. e King of Hindustan Sasanian family tree Daryaee, Sasanian Persia, The Rise and Fall of an Empire
List of shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire
List of shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire
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Sasanian coat of arms
List of shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire
List of shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire
4.
Sasanian Empire
–
The Sasanian Empire was founded by Ardashir I, after the fall of the Parthian Empire and the defeat of the last Arsacid king, Artabanus V. According to a legend, the vexilloid of the Sasanian Empire was the Derafsh Kaviani, in many ways, the Sasanian period witnessed the peak of ancient Iranian civilization. Persia influenced Roman culture considerably during the Sasanian period, the Sasanians cultural influence extended far beyond the empires territorial borders, reaching as far as Western Europe, Africa, China and India. It played a prominent role in the formation of both European and Asian medieval art, much of what later became known as Islamic culture in art, architecture, music and other subject matter was transferred from the Sasanians throughout the Muslim world. Conflicting accounts shroud the details of the fall of the Parthian Empire, the Sassanid Empire was established in Estakhr by Ardashir I. Papak was originally the ruler of a region called Khir, however, by the year 200, he managed to overthrow Gochihr, and appoint himself as the new ruler of the Bazrangids. His mother, Rodhagh, was the daughter of the governor of Pars. Papak and his eldest son Shapur managed to expand their power all of Pars. The subsequent events are unclear, due to the nature of the sources. It is certain, however, that following the death of Papak, Ardashir, sources reveal that Shapur, leaving for a meeting with his brother, was killed when the roof of a building collapsed on him. By the year 208, over the protests of his brothers who were put to death. Once Ardashir was appointed shahanshah, he moved his capital further to the south of Pars, the city, well supported by high mountains and easily defendable through narrow passes, became the center of Ardashirs efforts to gain more power. The city was surrounded by a high, circular wall, probably copied from that of Darabgird, in a second attempt to destroy Ardashir, Artabanus V himself met Ardashir in battle at Hormozgan, where Artabanus V met his death. Following the death of the Parthian ruler, Ardashir I went on to invade the provinces of the now defunct Parthian Empire. Ardashir was aided by the geography of the province of Fars, in the next few years, local rebellions would form around the empire. Nonetheless, Ardashir I further expanded his new empire to the east and northwest, conquering the provinces of Sistan, Gorgan, Khorasan, Margiana, Balkh and he also added Bahrain and Mosul to Sassanids possessions. In the west, assaults against Hatra, Armenia and Adiabene met with less success, in 230, he raided deep into Roman territory, and a Roman counter-offensive two years later ended inconclusively, although the Roman emperor, Alexander Severus, celebrated a triumph in Rome. Ardashir Is son Shapur I continued the expansion of the empire, conquering Bactria, invading Roman Mesopotamia, Shapur I captured Carrhae and Nisibis, but in 243 the Roman general Timesitheus defeated the Persians at Rhesaina and regained the lost territories
Sasanian Empire
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Normal domains
Sasanian Empire
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Derafsh Kaviani
Sasanian Empire
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Ghal'eh Dokhtar (or "The Maiden's Castle") in present-day
Fars,
Firuzabad,
Iran, built by Ardashir in 209, before he was finally able to defeat the Parthian empire.
5.
Ardashir II
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Ardashir II, was the eleventh Sassanid King of Persia from 379 to 383. He was the brother of his predecessor, Shapur II, during the reign of Shapur II, Ardashir had served as governor-King of Adiabene, where he had reportedly persecuted Christians. However, the acts of brutality against Christians attributed to him severely contradict the view that he was the most kind. Ardashir II was given the epithet Nihoukar or Beneficent by the Persians, the Arabs called him Al Djemil or the Virtuous. According to the Modjmel-al-Tewarikh, he took no taxes from his subjects during the four years of his reign, before becoming king of Persia, he was governor-King of Adiabene from 344 to 376. In 379 Shapur II, the brother of Ardashir appointed him as his successor. It is believed that Ardashir took part in the defense of the Sasanian Empire with Shapur II when it was invaded by Emperor Julian, when Ardashir became king he ordered a rock relief to be made at Taq-e Bostan showing him flanked by Mithra and Ahura Mazda. During his reign as Shah of Persia, events in Armenia seemed to occupy Ardashirs attention, the son of Arsaces II, Papas had been murdered during Shapurs reign and the Romans had replaced him with a certain Varasdates who was a member of the Arsacid family. However, real power was in the hands of Mushegh I Mamikonian, Mushegh was suspected of having conspired with the Emperor of Rome and was murdered by Varasdates. In return for their services, Manuel allowed the Persians to maintain a garrison in Armenia, but this arrangement did not work for long. A nobleman named Merujan wrongly informed Manuel that the commandant of the Persian garrison desired to capture him, enraged, Manuel fell upon the ten thousand Persian soldiers stationed in Armenia and murdered them. But Manuel died soon afterwards and confusion followed, desirous of maintaining peace in the borderlands, the Roman Emperor Theodosius I and Ardashir decided upon a treaty. But Ardashir died in 383 before the treaty could be signed, the treaty was eventually signed and ratified by his nephew Shapur III in the year 384. His daughter Zruanduxt married the King Khosrov IV of Armenia, decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire, The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran
Ardashir II
Ardashir II
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High relief at
Taq-e Bostan of the investiture of Ardashir II, flanked by
Mithra and
Ahura Mazda
6.
Firuzabad, Fars
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Firuzabad is a city in and the capital of Firuzabad County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 58,210, Firuzabad is located south of Shiraz. The town is surrounded by a mud wall and ditch, Alexander of Macedonia destroyed the original city of Gōr. Centuries later, Ardashir I, founder of the Sassanid Dynasty, Firuzabad is situated in a low-lying area of the region, so Alexander was able to drown the city by directing the flow of a river into the city. The lake he created remained until Ardashir I built a tunnel to drain it and he founded his new capital city on this site. Ardashirs new city was known as Khor Ardashīr, Ardashīr Khurah and it had a circular plan so precise in measurement that the Persian historian Ibn Balkhi wrote it to be devised using a compass. It was protected by a trench 50 meters in width, and was 2 kilometers in diameter. The city had four gates, to the north was the Hormozd Gate, to the south the Ardashir Gate, to the east the Mithra Gate, the royal capitals compounds were constructed at the center of a circle 450 m in radius. At the center point of the city was a Zoroastrian fire temple 30 m high and spiral in design, the citys importance was revived again in the reign of Adud al-Dawla of the Buyid dynasty, who used the city as his frequent residence. It is at time that the old name of the city—Gōr, was abandoned in favor of the new. In New Persian, spoken at the time, Gōr had come to mean grave, king Adud al-Dawla, as the story goes, found it distasteful to reside in a grave. Per his instruction, the name was changed to Peroz-abad. Since then, the city has been known by variations of that name, among the attractions of the city are the Ghaleh Dokhtar, the Palace of Ardeshir, and the fire temple tower among the remains of Gōr. Bishapur Cities of the Ancient Near East Round city of Baghdad, modeled after Firuzabad Ernst Herzfeld Papers, Series 5, Drawings and Maps, Records of Firuzabad Collections Search Center, a guided tour of Firouzabad Palace, Ardeshirs Palace, YouTube
Firuzabad, Fars
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Sassanian first king
Ardashir I "Ardachir Babakan") relief at Firuzaba (Tangab relief).
Firuzabad, Fars
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Styles
7.
Bishapur
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Bishapur was an ancient city in Iran on the ancient road between Persis and Elam. The road linked the Sassanid capitals Estakhr and Ctesiphon and it is located south of modern Faliyan in the Kazerun County of Pars Province, Iran. Bishapur was built near a crossing and at the same site there is also a fort with rock-cut reservoirs. The name Bishapur derives from Bay-Šāpūr, which means Lord Shapur, in his native province of Fars, he built a new capital that would measure up to his ambitions, Bishapur, Shapurs City. Outside the city, Shapur decorated the sides of the Bishapur River gorge with huge historical reliefs commemorating his triple triumph over Rome. One of these reliefs, in a shape, has rows of registers with files of soldiers and horses. The city, as the dam bridge in Shushtar, was built by Roman soldiers who had been captured after Valerians defeat in 260. However, it was not a new settlement, archaeologists have found remains from the Parthian. The city remained important until the Arabian invasions and the rise of Islam in the quarter of the 7th century. There were still living there in the 10th century. The main part of the excavations took place in the royal sector, a fire altar, sometimes interpreted as a shrine to Anahita, was erected near the palace. In the center there is a space with eight large square exedrae decorated with 64 alcoves. The French excavators believed it had covered with a dome roof. To the west lies a courtyard decorated with mosaics, to the east and its walls must have been covered with small stucco ornaments, rows of medallions, bands of foliage, and topped with merlons inherited from Achaemenid architecture. All these decorative techniques were used after the Islamic conquest of Iran. The floor was paved with marble slabs, with a mosaic border. Along the walls runs a band featuring a series of heads and masks, in a frontal or profile view. At the top of each there was a picture of women naked under their transparent veils, courtesans, musicians, dancers, women twisting garlands
Bishapur
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The ruins of Bishapur
Bishapur
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Irano-Roman floor mosaic detail from the palace of
Shapur I at Bishapur
Bishapur
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Mosaic excavated at Bishapur. Some mosaics were denuded during the Islamic period. This one is kept at The
National Museum of Iran.
Bishapur
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Rock relief of Sasanian king Bahram II at Sarab-e Qandil (AKA Tang-e Qandil), vicinity of Bishapur
8.
Shapur III
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Shapur III, was the twelfth king of the Sasanian Empire from 383 to 388. He was the son of Shapur II and had succeeded his uncle Ardashir II, shapurs cousin Zruanduxt married the King Khosrov IV of Armenia. Shapur III, knowing about the murder of many Sasanian kings by the nobles, declared to them in his accession speech, however, in the opinion of the nobility, this was unacceptable. Negotiations between the Romans and the Sasanians which had begun in the reign of Ardashir II culminated in a treaty of friendship in the year 384. The Persian diplomat who was part of this negotiation was a certain Yazdan-Friy-Shabuhr, according to this treaty, Armenia was partitioned between the Romans and the Persians. Therefore, two kingdoms were formed, one a vassal of Rome and the other, of Persia. The larger portion, which consisted of the regions lying towards the east, passed under the suzerainty of Persia, and was handed over to an Arshakuni, named Khosrov IV, thus friendly relations were established between Rome and Persia which survived for thirty-six years. Shapur III died in 388, after reigning a little more than five years and he was a man of simple tastes, and was fond of spending his time outdoors in his tents. He died when some nobles cut the ropes of a tent that he had erected in one of his palace courts. He was shortly succeeded by his son Bahram IV, Shapur III left behind him a sculptured memorial, which is still to be seen in the vicinity of Kermanshah. It consists of two similar figures, looking towards each other, and standing in an arched frame. On either side of the figures are inscriptions in the Old Pahlavi character, whereby we are enabled to identify the individuals represented with the second and the third Shapur. They are identical in form, with the exception that the names in the inscription are Shapur, Hormizd, Narseh, while those in the left-hand one are Shapur, Shapur. Inscription of Shapour II and Shapour III in Taq-e Bostan Pourshariati, decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire, The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. Greatrex, Geoffrey, Lieu, Samuel N. C, the Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars. New York, New York and London, United Kingdom, Routledge, the Civilizations of the Ancient Near East by George Rawlinson, Project Gutenberg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed
Shapur III
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Image of Shapur III on a coin minted during his reign.
Shapur III
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Relief of Shapur III and his father
Shapur II.
9.
Dynasty
–
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
Dynasty
–
Charles I of England and his son, the future
James II
10.
House of Sasan
–
The House of Sasan ruled the Sasanian Empire from 224 to 651. It began with Ardashir I, who named the dynasty as Sasanian in honour of his grandfather, the Shahanshah was the sole regent, head of state and head of government of the empire. At times, power shifted de facto to other officials, namely the spahbed, list of shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire Sasanian family tree Sasanian architecture Pourshariati, Parvaneh. Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire, The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran
House of Sasan
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Sasanid dynasty
11.
Hormizd II
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Hormizd II was the eighth king of the Sasanian Empire, and reigned for seven years and five months, from 302 to 309. He was the son of Narseh, in 302, Hormizd II ascended the throne, assuming a crown resembling the crown used by the early Sasanian rulers. Hormizd II, unlike his father, persecuted the Manicheans who had lived peacefully during the reign of his father, in 309, while Hormizd was hunting, he was wounded by a Ghassanid army, and was shortly killed by the Sasanian nobles. Another version has it that Shapur II was the son of Hormizd IIs first wife, Hormizd II also had many other sons named Adurfrazgird, Zamasp, Ardashir, and two daughters named Hormizddukht and Asay. Prince Shapur II, the king of the Sasanian Empire. Prince Adurfrazgird, governor of southern Arbayistan, prince Zamasp, governor of northern Arbayistan. Prince Shapur Sakanshah, governor of Sakastan, prince Hormizd, imprisoned by the Sasanian nobles and later defected to the Roman Empire. Prince Ardashir II, the king of the Sasanian Empire. Princess Asay, married the Arsacid king Urnayr, princess Hormizddukht, married the Mamikonian prince Vahan. Sasanian Persia, The Rise and Fall of an Empire and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed
Hormizd II
–
Hormizd II
Hormizd II
–
Coin of Hormidz II
12.
Zoroastrianism
–
Ascribed to the teachings of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster, it exalts a deity of wisdom, Ahura Mazda, as its Supreme Being. Zoroastrianism was suppressed from the 7th century onwards following the Muslim conquest of Persia of 633-654, recent estimates place the current number of Zoroastrians at around 2.6 million, with most living in India and in Iran. Besides the Zoroastrian diaspora, the older Mithraic faith Yazdânism is still practised amongst Kurds, the religious philosophy of Zoroaster divided the early Iranian gods of Proto-Indo-Iranian tradition. The most important texts of the religion are those of the Avesta, in Zoroastrianism, the creator Ahura Mazda, through the Spenta Mainyu is an all-good father of Asha, in opposition to Druj and no evil originates from him. He and his works are evident to humanity through the six primary Amesha Spentas, Spenta Mainyu adjoined unto truth oppose the Spirits opposite, Angra Mainyu and its forces born of Akəm Manah. In Zoroastrianism, the purpose in life is to be among those who renew the world. to make the progress towards perfection. Its basic maxims include, Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta, which mean, Good Thoughts, Good Words, there is only one path and that is the path of Truth. Do the right thing because it is the thing to do. The full name by which Zoroaster addressed the deity is, Ahura, The Lord Creator and he proclaimed that there is only one God, the singularly creative and sustaining force of the Universe. He also stated that human beings are given a right of choice, Zoroasters teachings focused on responsibility, and did not introduce a devil per se. The contesting force to Ahura Mazda was called Angra Mainyu, or angry spirit, post-Zoroastrian scripture introduced the concept of Ahriman, the Devil, which was effectively a personification of Angra Mainyu. The name Zoroaster is a Greek rendering of the name Zarathustra and he is known as Zartosht and Zardosht in Persian and Zaratosht in Gujarati. The Zoroastrian name of the religion is Mazdayasna, which combines Mazda- with the Avestan language word yasna, meaning worship, in English, an adherent of the faith is commonly called a Zoroastrian or a Zarathustrian. An older expression still used today is Behdin, meaning The best Religion | Beh < Middle Persian Weh + Din < Middle Persian dēn < Avestan Daēnā. In Zoroastrian liturgy the term is used as a title for an individual who has formally inducted into the religion in a Navjote ceremony. The term Mazdaism /ˈmæzdə. ɪzəm/ is a typical 19th century construct, taking Mazda- from the name Ahura Mazda, the March 2001 draft edition of the Oxford English Dictionary also records an alternate form, Mazdeism, perhaps derived from the French Mazdéisme, which first appeared in 1871. In older English sources, the terms Gheber and Gueber were used to refer to Zoroastrians, however, Zoroastrian philosophy is identified as having been known to Italian Renaissance Europe through an image of Zoroaster in Raphaels School of Athens by Giorgio Vasari in 1550. The Oxford English Dictionary records use of the term Zoroastrianism in 1874 in Archibald Sayces Principles of Comparative Philology, Zoroastrians believe that there is one universal, transcendent, supreme god, Ahura Mazda, or the Wise Lord
Zoroastrianism
–
Farvahar.
Persepolis, Iran.
Zoroastrianism
–
Faravahar (or Ferohar), one of the primary symbols of Zoroastrianism, believed to be the depiction of a Fravashi (guardian spirit)
Zoroastrianism
–
A scene from the
Hamzanama where
Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib Burns Zarthust’s Chest and Shatters the Urn with his Ashes
Zoroastrianism
–
The
fire temple of
Baku, c. 1860
13.
Siege of Amida
–
The Siege of Amida took place when the Sassanids, under Shah Shapur II besieged the Roman city of Amida in 359. In this battle Ammianus Marcellinus, a historian of Greek origin from Antioch, was a Roman army officer, when Shapur II took control of the Sassanid Empire he sought to regain old territories previously lost to the Roman Empire. After crushing the Arabs in the south, he moved east to deal with nomadic forces, following a prolonged struggle from the Xionites were forced to conclude a peace, and their king, Grumbates, accompanied Shapur II in the war against the Romans. In 358 the Romans had failed to dissuade Shapur from attacking Mesopotamia, Shapur started the western campaign in 359. Emperor Constantius II had increasingly been doubting the loyalty of general Ursicinus, as a result, he did not give him command of the Roman forces in the East, and instead gave it to Sabinianus. Carrhae was to be evacuated immediately, because of the weakness of its fortifications, in the panic which followed, several Roman legions chaotically escaped the Persian advance to the safety of Amida. These included the Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix and the Legio X Fretensis and it appears the Sassanid plan was to bypass difficult fortresses like Nisibis and to then march straight into Syria. When his forces approached Amida, the Sassanids were provoked into attacking the city and this came about when the son of Grumbates, while inspecting the defences of Amida, was shot and killed with an arrow shot by the city garrison. Ammianus described how the Grumbates, outraged at his sons death, demanded revenge from the Romans, the Sassanids began the attack with siege towers and attempted to take the city hastily, but were largely unsuccessful. Unable to gain a victory, Shapur had to commit to capturing Amida in order to appease his ally. But it was clear that he would try the effect of a conference on the defenders of the walls. Shapur attempted to capture the city several times but every time it ended with disaster, many times siege towers were set on fire by the Romans. During the siege, plague broke out in Amida but ended after ten days by a light rain, a day before capture of the city, Ammianus Marcellinus escaped to Melitene, and thence returned to Antioch. After capturing the city, the garrison and its inhabitants were put to the sword, the Persians lost approximately 30,000 in the siege but Shapur II advanced further and took Singara and some other fortresses in the following years. In 363, Emperor Julian, at the head of a strong army and his successor Jovian signed a treaty of peace, by which the districts on the Tigris and Nisibis were ceded to the Persians and the Romans promised to interfere no more in Armenia. Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, Cambridge MA,1982, abd al-Husayn Zarrin’kub, Ruzgaran, tarikh-i Iran az aghz ta saqut saltnat Pahlvi, Sukhan,1999. ISBN 964-6961-11-8 The Siege of Amida in 359 by Ammianus Marcellinus
Siege of Amida
–
Shapur II, conqueror of Amida, along with Shapur III
Siege of Amida
–
The walls of Amida, built by
Constantius II before the Siege of Amida of 359.
14.
Battle of Samarra
–
The Battle of Samarra took place in June 363, after the invasion of Sassanid Persia by the Roman Emperor Julian. A major skirmish, the fighting was indecisive but Julian was mortally wounded in the battle, the Romans, stranded deep in Persian territory and suffering from a lack of supplies, were forced to accept terms for peace. Julian invaded Sassanian Empire with a force of 65,000 men, hoping to win a victory against Persians in the east. Julian made two blundering mistakes at the onset of the invasion. He split his force into two, one under General Procopius numbering 30,000 men, which went to northern Mesopotamia and his second mistake was not defeating the main Sassanid army before attacking the capital, which would eventually lead to expeditions failure in 363. Julian at first won a victory outside Ctesiphon, but could not take the city. Even worse, Procopius failed to join him with his army, david S. Potter suggests that Julians main faults was that he made a very risky campaign and that he didnt bring adequate siege train. Therefore, he had to retreat after realizing that Ctesiphon was too strongly defended to be taken by assault while his army was running out of supplies. However, the Sassanid army, under Shapur, implemented a scorched earth policy while harassing Romans all their way back to Roman Mesopotamia. Julian, realizing that his army could not be resupplied or reinforced, tried to force a set piece battle with his enemy, so decision was taken to retreat through the district of Corduene to the north, where there was hope to find adequate supplies. After three quiet days, the Roman army was attacked during its cautious advance in square formations, the battle at Samarra was a Persian skirmish, first against the rear guard of the Roman column. Then they fell on the center and the wing of the Romans. According to Ammianus Marcellinus narrative, Julian hastened to rally his forces against the Persians and he managed to raise their morale and reverse the possibility of collapsing but his personal guard was dispersed during the fighting and Julian was fatally hit on his back by a spear. The spear was most probably thrown by a Saracen auxiliary in Persian service, after treatment by the doctors, he returned to the battlefield. The battle continued indecisively until the darkness of the night put an end to the fighting, according to other views, the Roman army was victorious or was defeated by the Persian forces. Julian died from his wound, in his tent, a few hours later, the Roman armys general staff proclaimed Jovian, the commander of Julians guard, as his successor. He led his army to the east bank of Tigris, under continuous harassing from the Persians, after failing to cross the Tigris, Jovian clearly saw that the situation was desperate. Thus he was forced to accept humiliating terms from Shapur, in order to save his army, the treaty with Shapur included surrendering Eastern Mesopotamia, Georgia and Armenia, as well as fifteen fortresses, including the strategic cities of Nisibis and Singara, without their inhabitants
Battle of Samarra
–
A map of the campaign up to the battle of Samarra
15.
Middle Persian language
–
Middle Persian is classified as a Western Iranian language. It descends from Old Persian and is the ancestor of Modern Persian. Middle Persian consisted of dialects and variants. One of these variants was called Pahlavīk which stands for Parthian, another variant of Middle Persian, known locally as Pārsik, was the official language of the Sasanian Empire. Most scholars refer to the variant when using the term Middle Persian. The native name for Middle Persian was Pārsīk translating to language of Pārs and it consists of Pārs + adjective suffix -īk. The word is consequently the origin of the name for the Modern Persian language—Parsi or Fārsī. Manichaean Middle Persian texts were written in the Manichaean alphabet, which derives from Aramaic. The ISO639 language code for Middle Persian is pal, which reflects the post-Sasanian era use of the term Pahlavi to refer to the language, many tenses began to be formed from a composite form The modern-day descendant of Middle Persian is New Persian. The changes between late Middle and Early New Persian were very gradual, and in the 10th-11th centuries, the earliest texts in Zoroastrian Middle Persian were probably written down in late Sasanian times, although they represent the codification of earlier oral tradition. The surviving manuscripts are usually 14th-century copies, below is transcription and translation of the first page of the facsimile known as Book of Arda Viraf, originally written in a Pahlavi script. ōy petyārag ī wad-baxt ī ahlomōγ ī druwand ī anāg-kardār *aleksandar hrōmāyīg mu/zrāyīg-mānišn abar āwurd ud be sōxt, in the name of God Thus they have said that once the righteous Zoroaster accepted a religion, he established it in the world. After/Within the period of 300 years religion remained in holiness and the people were in peace and that wretched, ill-fated, heretic, evil/sinful Alexander, The Roman, who was dwelling in Egypt, and he burned them up. Shapur, the king of kings, son of Hormizd, induced all countrymen to orient themselves to god by disputation, and put forth all oral traditions for consideration and examination. There are a number of affixes in Middle Persian that did not survive into Modern Persian, the long vowels of Middle Persian did not survive in many present-day dialects. Also, initial consonant clusters were very common in Middle Persian, however, New Persian does not allow initial consonant clusters, whereas final consonant clusters are common. 1 Since many long vowels of Middle Persian did not survive, for example, šir and šer, meaning milk and lion, respectively, are now both pronounced šir. In this case, the pronunciation has been preserved in Kurdish
Middle Persian language
–
Geography
16.
Shah
–
Shah is a title given to the emperors, kings, princes and lords of Iran. In Iran the title was used, rather than King in the European sense. The full, Old Persian title of the Achaemenid rulers of the First Persian Empire was Xšāyathiya Xšāyathiyānām or Šāhe Šāhān and this word is commonly confused with the unrelated and distinct Indian surname Shah, which is derived from the Sanskrit Sadhu or Sahu, meaning gentleman. Šāh, or Šāhanšāh to use the term, was the title of the Persian emperors. While the Ottoman Sultans never styled themselves as Shah, but rather Sultan, their male offspring received the title of Şehzade, or prince. The full title of the Achaemenid rulers was Xšāyaθiya Xšāyaθiyānām, literally King of Kings in Old Persian, corresponding to Middle Persian Šāhān Šāh, in Greek, this phrase was translated as βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλέων, King of Kings, equivalent to Emperor. Both terms were often shortened to their roots shah and basileus, in Western languages, Shah is often used as an imprecise rendering of Šāhanšāh. The term was first recorded in English in 1564 as a title for the King of Persia, for a long time, Europeans thought of Shah as a particular royal title rather than an imperial one, although the monarchs of Persia regarded themselves as emperors of the Persian Empire. In the twentieth century, the Shah of Persia, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, officially adopted the title شاهنشاه Šāhanšāh and, in western languages and he also styled his wife شهبانو Shahbānu. Iran no longer had a shah after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, from the reign of Ashot III, the Bagratid kings of Armenia used the title shahanshah, meaning king of kings. The title padishah was adopted from the Iranians by the Ottomans and by other monarchs claiming imperial rank. Another subsidiary style of the Ottoman and Mughal rulers was Shah-i-Alam Panah, meaning King, the Shah-Armens, used the title Shāh-i Arman. Georgian title mepetmepe was also inspired by the shahanshah title, however the precise full styles can differ in the court traditions of each shahs kingdom. This title was given to the princes of the Ottoman Empire and was used by the princes of the Mughal Empire in India. Thus, in Oudh, only sons of the sovereign shah bahadur were by birth-right styled Shahzada Mirza Bahadur, though this style could also be extended to individual grandsons, other male descendants of the sovereign in the male line were merely styled Mirza or Mirza. This could even apply to non-Muslim dynasties, for example, the younger sons of the ruling Sikh maharaja of Punjab were styled Shahzada Singh Bahadur. Shahbanu, Persian term using the word shah and the Persian suffix -banu, Empress, in modern times, shahdokht is also another term derived from shah using the Persian patronymic suffix -dokht daughter, female descendant, to address the Princess of the imperial households. Shahpur also been derived from using the archaic Persian suffix -pur son, male descendant
Shah
–
Royal and noble ranks in Iran, Turkey, Caucasus, Pakistan and Afghanistan
17.
History of Iran
–
Iran is home to one of the worlds oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 7000 BC. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel names the Persians as the first Historical People, the Medes unified Iran as a nation and empire in 625 BC. It was the largest empire yet seen and the first world empire and they were succeeded by the Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Empires, who successively governed Iran for almost 1000 years and made Iran once again as a leading power in the world. Persias arch-rival was the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, the Persian Empire proper begins in the Iron Age, following the influx of Iranian peoples. Iranian people gave rise to the Medes, the Achaemenid, Parthian, once a major empire of superpower proportions, having conquered far and wide, Iran has endured invasions too, by the Greeks, Arabs, Turks, and the Mongols. Iran has continually reasserted its national identity throughout the centuries and has developed as a political and cultural entity. The Muslim conquest of Persia ended the Sasanian Empire and was a point in Iranian history. Islamization of Iran took place during the eighth to tenth centuries, however, the achievements of the previous Persian civilizations were not lost, but were to a great extent absorbed by the new Islamic polity and civilization. Iran, with its history of early cultures and empires, had suffered particularly hard during the late Middle Ages. Many invasions of nomadic tribes, whose leaders became rulers in this country, the earliest archaeological artifacts in Iran were found in the Kashafrud and Ganj Par sites that are thought to date back to 100,000 years ago in the Middle Paleolithic. Mousterian stone tools made by Neandertals have also been found, in 1949, a Neanderthal radius was discovered by Carleton S. Coon in Bisitun Cave. Early agricultural communities such as Chogha Golan in 10,000 BC along with such as Chogha Bonut in 8000 BC, began to flourish in. Around about the time, the earliest-known clay vessels and modeled human and animal terracotta figurines were produced at Ganj Dareh. There are also 10, 000-year-old human and animal figurines from Tepe Sarab in Kermanshah Province among many ancient artifacts. The two main Neolithic Iranian settlements were the Zayandeh River Culture and Ganj Dareh, parts of what is modern-day northwestern Iran was part of the Kura–Araxes culture, that stretched up into the neighboring regions of the Caucasus and Anatolia. Susa is one of the settlements of Iran and the world. Based on C14 dating, the time of foundation of the city is as early as 4395 BC, the general perception among archeologists is that Susa was an extension of the Sumerian city state of Uruk. In its later history, Susa became the capital of Elam and it is one of the most artifact-rich archaeological sites in the Middle East
History of Iran
–
A gold cup at the
National Museum of Iran, dating from the first half of 1st millennium BC.
History of Iran
–
Arg-e Bam Before the 2003 earthquake.
History of Iran
–
Chogha Zanbil is one of the few extant
ziggurats outside of Mesopotamia and is considered to be the best preserved example in the world.
18.
Shapur I
–
Shapur I, also known as Shapur I the Great, was the second shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire. The dates of his reign are commonly given as 240/42 – 270/72 and he became the first Roman Emperor to be captured as a prisoner of war, causing instability in the Empire. As such, the battle is viewed as one of the worst disasters in Roman military history. The name Shapur is a combination of the word šāh and pūr, the name is derived from Old Iranian *xšāyaθiyahyā-puθra-. The name is attested in Manichaean sources as Shabuhr, while it is attested in Latin sources as Sapores and Sapor, Shapur was the son of Ardashir I, the founder of the Sasanian dynasty and whom Shapur succeeded. His mother was Lady Myrōd, who—according to legend—was an Arsacid princess, the Talmud cites a nickname for her, Ifra Hurmiz, after her bewitching beauty. Shapur also had a brother named Ardashir, who would serve as governor of Kirman. Shapur may have also had another brother with the same name, before an assembly of magnates, Ardashir judged him the gentlest, wisest, bravest and ablest of all his children and nominated him as his successor. Shapur also appears as heir apparent in Ardashirs investiture inscriptions at Naqsh-e Rajab and his capital, Gor. ”The Cologne Mani-Codex indicates that, by 240, Ardashir and Shapur were already reigning together. In a letter from the Roman Emperor Gordian III to his senate, dated to 242, synarchy is also evident in the coins of this period that portray Ardashir facing his youthful son and bear a legend that indicates Shapur as king. The date of Shapurs coronation remains debated,240 is frequently noted, the year 240 also marks the seizure and subsequent destruction of Hatra, about 100 km southwest of Nineveh and Mosul in present-day Iraq. According to legend, al-Nadirah, the daughter of the king of Hatra, betrayed her city to the Sasanians, Ardashir I had, towards the end of his reign, renewed the war against the Roman Empire. Shapur I conquered the Mesopotamian fortresses Nisibis and Carrhae and advanced into Syria. In 242, the Roman emperor Gordian III set out against the Sasanians with “a huge army and great quantity of gold, ” and wintered in Antioch, while Shapur was busy in subduing Khwarezm and Gilan. “We have penetrated as far as Nisibis, and shall even get to Ctesiphon, Gordian III later invaded eastern Mesopotamia but faced tough resistance from the Sasanians, following this blockade Gordian died in battle and the Romans chose Philip the Arab as Emperor. Philip was not willing to repeat the mistakes of previous claimants, Philip concluded a peace with the Sasanians in 244, he had agreed that Armenia lay within Persia’s sphere of influence. He also had to pay an indemnity to the Persians of 500,000 gold denarii. Philip immediately issued coins proclaiming that he had made peace with the Persians, however, Philip later broke the treaty and seized lost territory
Shapur I
19.
Khosrow II
–
Khosrow II, entitled Aparvēz, also Khusraw Parvēz, was the last great king of the Sasanian Empire, reigning from 590 to 628. He was the son of Hormizd IV and the grandson of Khosrow I and he was the last king of Persia to have a lengthy reign before the Muslim conquest of Iran, which began five years after his death by execution. The Byzantines also regained the True Cross, which Khosrow had captured following his conquest of the Levant during the same 602–628 war. Khosrow and Shirin tells the story of his love for the Aramean or Roman princess Shirin, Khosrow is first mentioned in the 580s, when was at Partaw, the capital of Caucasian Albania. During his stay there, he served as the governor of the kingdom, furthermore, Khosrow II also served as the governor of Arbela around this period. According to a legend, Khosrow had a shabestan in which over 3,000 concubines resided, Khosrow was raised to the throne by his two uncles Vistahm and Vinduyih, who were the leaders of a palace coup that deposed, blinded and killed Hormizd IV. Furthermore, Persia was required to cease intervening in the affairs of Iberia and Armenia, after some time, Khosrow along with the Byzantine commander of the south, Comentiolus, invaded Mesopotamia. During this invasion, Nisibis and Martyropolis quickly defected to them, during the same period, Khosrow, feeling disrespected by Comentiolus, convinced Maurice to replace the latter with Narses as the commander of the south. Khosrow and Narses then penetrated deeper into Bahrams territory, seizing Dara and then Mardin on February, shortly after this, Khosrow sent one of his Iranian supporters, Mahbodh, to capture Ctesiphon, which he managed to accomplish. Meanwhile, Khosrows two uncles and John Mystacon, conquered northern Adurbadagan, and went further south in the region, where they defeated Bahram at Blarathon, however, Khosrow managed to deal with him by either having him assassinated or convince the Turks to execute him. Peace with the Byzantines was then officially concluded, for his aid, Maurice received much of Persian Armenia and western Georgia, and received the abolition of the subsidies which had formerly been paid to the Sasanians. Soon, however, Khosrow changed his intentions, trying to disassociate himself from his fathers murder, the Sasanian monarchs traditional mistrust of over-powerful magnates and Khosrows personal resentment of Vinduyihs patronising manner certainly contributed to this decision. Vinduyih was soon put to death, according to a Syriac source captured while trying to flee to his brother in the East, at the news of his brothers murder, Vistahm rose in open revolt. According to Dinawari, Vistahm sent a letter to Khosrow announcing his claim to the throne through his Parthian heritage, indeed, I am more deserving on account of my descent from Darius, son of Darius, who fought Alexander. You Sasanians deceitfully gained superiority over us and usurped our right and your ancestor Sasan was no more than a shepherd. Vistahms revolt, like Bahramss shortly before, found support and spread quickly, local magnates as well as the remnants of Bahram Chobins armies flocked to him, especially after he married Bahrams sister Gordiya. He even campaigned in the east, where he subdued two Hephthalite princes of Transoxiana, Shaug and Pariowk, the date of Vistahms uprising is uncertain. From his coinage, it is known that his rebellion lasted for seven years, the commonly accepted dates are ca
Khosrow II
–
Gold coin of Khosrow II.
20.
Avesta
–
The Avesta /əˈvɛstə/ is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the otherwise unrecorded Avestan language. The Avesta texts fall into different categories, arranged either by dialect. The principal text in the group is the Yasna, which takes its name from the Yasna ceremony, Zoroastrianisms primary act of worship. The most important portion of the Yasna texts are the five Gathas and these hymns, together with five other short Old Avestan texts that are also part of the Yasna, are in the Old Avestan language. The remainder of the Yasnas texts are in Younger Avestan, which is not only from a stage of the language. Extensions to the Yasna ceremony include the texts of the Vendidad, the Visperad extensions consist mainly of additional invocations of the divinities, while the Vendidad is a mixed collection of prose texts mostly dealing with purity laws. Even today, the Vendidad is the liturgical text that is not recited entirely from memory. Some of the materials of the extended Yasna are from the Yashts, unlike the Yasna, Visperad and Vendidad, the Yashts and the other lesser texts of the Avesta are no longer used liturgically in high rituals. Aside from the Yashts, these lesser texts include the Nyayesh texts, the Gah texts, the Siroza. Together, these texts are conventionally called Khordeh Avesta or Little Avesta texts. When the first Khordeh Avesta editions were printed in the 19th century, the term Avesta is from the 9th/10th-century works of Zoroastrian tradition in which the word appears as Zoroastrian Middle Persian abestāg, Book Pahlavi ʾpstʾkʼ. In that context, abestāg texts are portrayed as received knowledge, the literal meaning of the word abestāg is uncertain, it is generally acknowledged to be a learned borrowing from Avestan, but none of the suggested etymologies have been universally accepted. The surviving texts of the Avesta, as they exist today and that master copy, now lost, is known as the Sassanian archetype. The oldest surviving manuscript of an Avestan language text is dated 1323 CE, summaries of the various Avesta texts found in the 9th/10th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition suggest that about three-quarters of the corpus has since been lost. A pre-Sasanian history of the Avesta, if it had one, is in the realm of legend, the oldest surviving versions of these tales are found in the ninth to 11th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition. The legends run as follows, The twenty-one nasks of the Avesta were created by Ahura Mazda, supposedly, Vishtaspa or another Kayanian, Daray, then had two copies made, one of which was stored in the treasury, and the other in the royal archives. Following Alexanders conquest, the Avesta was then supposedly destroyed or dispersed by the Greeks after they translated the scientific passages that they could make use of, the Denkard also transmits another legend related to the transmission of the Avesta. In that story, credit for collation and recension is given to the early Sasanian-era priest Tansar, who had the works collected
Avesta
–
Yasna 28.1 (Bodleian MS J2)
21.
Christianization
–
Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire groups at once. Various strategies and techniques were employed in Christianization campaigns from Late Antiquity, often the conversion of the ruler was followed by the compulsory baptism of his subjects. In essence, it was intended that the traditions and practices still existed, Early works of this type have tended to be downplayed and even dismissed as a form of Protestant apologetics aimed at purification of Christianity. The Council of Jerusalem, according to Acts 15, agreed that lack of circumcision could not be a basis for excluding Gentile believers from membership in the Jesus community. Rather, they instructed new believers to avoid pollution of idols, fornication, things strangled, the Apostolic Decree thus helped to establish nascent Christianity as a unique alternative among the forms of Judaism for prospective Proselytes. The Armenian and Ethiopian churches are the instances of imposition of Christianity by sovereign rulers predating the council of Nicaea. The initial conversion of the Roman Empire occurred mostly in areas of Europe. Later conversions happened among the Grecian-Roman-Celtic populations over centuries, often initially among its urban population, the term pagan is from Latin and means villager, rustic, civilian. It is derived from this historical transition, the root of that word is present in todays word paisan or paisano. The Christianization of the Roman Empire is typically divided into two phases, before and after the year 312, which marked the momentous quasi-conversion of Constantine. By this date, Christianity had already converted a significant but unknown proportion of at least the urban population of the empire, Constantine ended the intermittent persecution of Christianity with the Edict of Milan, which granted tolerance to all religions, but specifically mentioned Christianity. Under Constantines successors, Christianization of Roman society proceeded by fits and starts, Constantines sons, for example, banned pagan state religious sacrifices in 341, but did not close the temples. Although all state temples in all cities were ordered shut in 356, under Julian, the temples were reopened and state religious sacrifices performed once more. When Gratian declined the position and title of Pontifex Maximus, his act brought an end to the state religion due to the positions authority. Again, however, this process ended state official practices but not private religious devotion, however, many temples remained open until Theodosius Is edict of Thessalonica in 381 banned haruspices and other pagan religious practices. From 389 to 393 he issued a series of decrees which led to the banning of religious rites and by confiscating their property. Further laws were passed against remaining pagan practices over the course of the following years, the effectiveness of these laws empire-wide is debatable. Christianization of central Balkans is documented at the end of the 4th century, where Nicetas the Bishop of Remesiana brought the gospel to those mountain wolves, reportedly his mission was successful, and the worship of Dionysus and other Thracian gods was eventually replaced by Christianity
Christianization
–
St. Francis Xavier converting the
Paravas seeking protection of Portuguese explorers from Arab fleets offshore: a 19th-century representation of the "docile heathen".
Christianization
–
James the Just, whose judgment was adopted in the Apostolic Decree of Acts 15:19-29, c. 50 AD: "...we should write to them [Gentiles] to abstain only from things polluted by
idols and from
fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from
blood..." (
NRSV)
Christianization
–
Constantine's conversion, by
Rubens.
Christianization
–
Statue depicting the baptism of Clovis by
Saint Remigius.
22.
Constantine the Great
–
Constantine the Great, also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor from 306 to 337 AD. Constantine was the son of Flavius Valerius Constantius, a Roman Army officer and his father became Caesar, the deputy emperor in the west, in 293 AD. Constantine was sent east, where he rose through the ranks to become a military tribune under the emperors Diocletian, in 305, Constantius was raised to the rank of Augustus, senior western emperor, and Constantine was recalled west to campaign under his father in Britannia. As emperor, Constantine enacted many administrative, financial, social, the government was restructured and civil and military authority separated. A new gold coin, the solidus, was introduced to combat inflation and it would become the standard for Byzantine and European currencies for more than a thousand years. He called the First Council of Nicaea in 325, at which the Nicene Creed was adopted by Christians, in military matters, the Roman army was reorganised to consist of mobile field units and garrison soldiers capable of countering internal threats and barbarian invasions. The age of Constantine marked an epoch in the history of the Roman Empire. He built a new residence at Byzantium and renamed the city Constantinople after himself. It would later become the capital of the Empire for over one thousand years and his more immediate political legacy was that, in leaving the empire to his sons, he replaced Diocletians tetrarchy with the principle of dynastic succession. His reputation flourished during the lifetime of his children and centuries after his reign, the medieval church upheld him as a paragon of virtue while secular rulers invoked him as a prototype, a point of reference, and the symbol of imperial legitimacy and identity. Beginning with the Renaissance, there were more critical appraisals of his due to the rediscovery of anti-Constantinian sources. Critics portrayed him as a tyrant, trends in modern and recent scholarship attempted to balance the extremes of previous scholarship. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on his orders at the site of Jesus tomb in Jerusalem. The Papal claim to power in the High Middle Ages was based on the supposed Donation of Constantine. He is venerated as a saint by Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholics, though Constantine has historically often been referred to as the First Christian Emperor, scholars debate his actual beliefs or even his actual comprehension of the Christian faith itself. Constantine was a ruler of major importance, and he has always been a controversial figure, the fluctuations in Constantines reputation reflect the nature of the ancient sources for his reign. These are abundant and detailed, but have strongly influenced by the official propaganda of the period. There are no surviving histories or biographies dealing with Constantines life, the nearest replacement is Eusebius of Caesareas Vita Constantini, a work that is a mixture of eulogy and hagiography
Constantine the Great
–
Colossal marble head of Emperor Constantine the Great, Roman, 4th century, located at the
Capitoline Museums, in Rome.
Constantine the Great
–
Remains of the luxurious residence palace of
Mediana, erected by Constantine I near his birth town of
Naissus
Constantine the Great
–
Head from a statue of
Diocletian, Augustus of the East
23.
Jews
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The Jews, also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites, or Hebrews, of the Ancient Near East. Jews originated as a national and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE, the Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel, associated with the god El, somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE. The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population, consolidated their hold with the emergence of the Kingdom of Israel, some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as Hebrews. The worldwide Jewish population reached a peak of 16.7 million prior to World War II, but approximately 6 million Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust. Since then the population has risen again, and as of 2015 was estimated at 14.3 million by the Berman Jewish DataBank. According to the report, about 43% of all Jews reside in Israel and these numbers include all those who self-identified as Jews in a socio-demographic study or were identified as such by a respondent in the same household. The exact world Jewish population, however, is difficult to measure, Israel is the only country where Jews form a majority of the population. The modern State of Israel was established as a Jewish state and defines itself as such in its Declaration of Independence and its Law of Return grants the right of citizenship to any Jew who requests it. The English word Jew continues Middle English Gyw, Iewe, according to the Hebrew Bible, the name of both the tribe and kingdom derive from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The Hebrew word for Jew, יְהוּדִי ISO 259-3 Yhudi, is pronounced, with the stress on the syllable, in Israeli Hebrew. The Ladino name is ג׳ודיו, Djudio, ג׳ודיוס, Djudios, Yiddish, ייִד Yid, ייִדן, Yidn. The etymological equivalent is in use in languages, e. g. but derivations of the word Hebrew are also in use to describe a Jew, e. g. in Italian. The German word Jude is pronounced, the corresponding adjective jüdisch is the origin of the word Yiddish, in such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of Jew as a noun, a factual reconstruction for the origin of the Jews is a difficult and complex endeavor. It requires examining at least 3,000 years of ancient human history using documents in vast quantities, as archaeological discovery relies upon researchers and scholars from diverse disciplines, the goal is to interpret all of the factual data, focusing on the most consistent theory. In this case, it is complicated by long standing politics and religious, Jacob and his family migrated to Ancient Egypt after being invited to live with Jacobs son Joseph by the Pharaoh himself. The patriarchs descendants were later enslaved until the Exodus led by Moses, traditionally dated to the 13th century BCE, Modern archaeology has largely discarded the historicity of the Patriarchs and of the Exodus story, with it being reframed as constituting the Israelites inspiring national myth narrative. The growth of Yahweh-centric belief, along with a number of practices, gradually gave rise to a distinct Israelite ethnic group
Jews
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Baruch Spinoza
Jews
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Map of
Canaan
Jews
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David Ben-Gurion
Jews
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George Gershwin
24.
Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)
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The Kingdom of Armenia, also the Kingdom of Greater Armenia, or simply Greater Armenia, was a monarchy in the Ancient Near East which existed from 321 BC to 428 AD. Its history is divided into successive reigns by three dynasties, Orontid, Artaxiad and Arsacid. It is widely believed to be the region with which all Armenians descend from and it was one of the largest empires in the history of the Middle East. Under the Seleucid Empire, the Armenian throne was divided in two – Armenia Maior and Sophene – both of which passed to members of the Artaxiad dynasty in 189 BC. The remaining Artaxiad kings ruled as clients of Rome until they were overthrown in 12 AD due to their allegiance to Romes main rival in the region. During the Roman–Parthian Wars, the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia was founded when Tiridates I, throughout most of its history during this period, Armenia was heavily contested between Rome and Parthia, and the Armenian nobility was divided among pro-Roman, pro-Parthian or neutrals. From 114 to 118, Armenia briefly became a province of the Roman Empire under Emperor Trajan, the Kingdom of Armenia often served as a client state or vassal at the frontier of the two large empires and their successors, the Byzantine and Sassanid empires. In 301, Tiridates III proclaimed Christianity as the religion of Armenia. During the Byzantine–Sasanian wars, Armenia was ultimately partitioned into Byzantine Armenia in 387, the Kingdoms symbol and most famous icon was Mount Ararat, arguably the tallest mountain in the kingdom. The geographic Armenian Highlands, then known as the highlands of Ararat, was inhabited by Proto-Armenian tribes which did not yet constitute a unitary state or nation. The highlands were first united by tribes in the vicinity of Lake Van into the Kingdom of Van, the kingdom competed with Assyria over supremacy in the highlands of Ararat and the Fertile Crescent. Both kingdoms fell to Iranian invaders from the neighbouring East in the 6th century BC and its territory was reorganized into a satrapy called Armenia. The Orontid dynasty ruled as satraps of the Achaemenid Empire for three centuries until the defeat against Alexander the Greats Macedonian Empire at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC. After Alexanders death in 323 BC, a Macedonian general named Neoptolemus obtained Armenia until he died in 321 BC and the Orontids returned, not as satraps, Orontes III also defeated the Thessalian commander Menon, who wanted to capture Spers gold mines. The Seleucid Empires influence over Armenia had weakened after it was defeated by the Romans in the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, a Hellenistic Armenian state was thus founded in the same year by Artaxias I alongside the Armenian kingdom of Sophene led by Zariadres. Artaxias seized Yervandashat, united the Armenian Highlands at the expense of neighboring tribes, according to Strabo and Plutarch, Hannibal Barca received hospitality at the Armenian court of Artaxias I. The authors add a story of how Hannibal planned and supervised the building of Artaxata. The new city was laid on a position at the juncture of trade routes that connected the Ancient Greek world with Bactria, India
Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)
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Roman coin of 141 AD, showing emperor
Antoninus Pius holding a crown on the Armenia King's head
Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)
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Armenia its greatest extent under
Tigranes the Great, 69 BC (including vassals)
Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)
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Armenian foot soldiers wearing the traditional Mithraic caps.
Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)
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Mesrop Mashtots, the creator of Armenian Alphabet, by Francesco Maggiotto (1750–1805)
25.
Roman Empire
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Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
Roman Empire
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The
Augustus of Prima Porta (early 1st century AD)
Roman Empire
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Aureus of
Augustus, the first
Roman Emperor.
Roman Empire
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A segment of the ruins of Hadrian's Wall in northern England
Roman Empire
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A 5th-century
papyrus showing a parallel Latin-Greek text of a speech by
Cicero
26.
Alireza Shapour Shahbazi
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Alireza Shapour Shahbazi was a prominent Persian archeologist, Iranologist and a world expert on Achaemenid archeology. Alireza Shahbazi got a BA degree in and an MA degree in East Asian archeology from SOAS, Shahbazi had a doctorate degree in Achaemenid archeology from University of London. Alireza Shapour Shahbazi was a lecturer in Achaemenid archeology and Iranology at Harvard University and he was also a full professor of Archeology at Shiraz University and founded Achaemenid research Foundation in 1973. After the Islamic revolution, he moved to the USA and became a Full Professor of history in Eastern Oregon University. Shahbazi wrote numerous books and articles on archeology in English, German, French. He was transferred to Shiraz and buried in the surrounding the Tomb of Hafez. Cyrus the Great, Founder of the Persian Empire, Darius the Great, second revised version is in preparation. A Persian Prince, Cyrus the Younger, second revised edition in the press. The Irano-Lycian Monuments, The Antiquities of Xanthos and Its Region as Evidence for the Iranian Aspects of the Achaemenid Lycia, Persepolis Illustrated, second edition, Tehran, third revised edition due out in April 2003. Sharh-e Mosawwar-e Takht-e Jamshid, Tehran 1966, third revised edition in the press, the Medes and The Persians, Tehran Open University text book, Tehran. A History of Iranian Historiography to A. D.1000, Old Persian Inscriptions of Persepolis, I, Texts from the Platform Monuments, London. Persepolis IV, A comprehensive analysis of Persepolitan inscriptions and monument studied since E. F. Schmidt, ferdows, A Critical Biography, Centre for Near Eastern Studies, Harvard University. A Comprehensive and Illustrated Guide, Tehran 2000, a Political History of the Sasanian Period, Persian Heritage Series, New York. A Commentary on Tabari’s History of the Sasanian Kings, The University Press of Iran, Tehran, the Authoritative Guide to Persepolis, SAFIR Publication, Tehran,200419. Rahnamaye Mostanade Takhte-Jamshid, Parsa-Pasargadae Research Foundation Publication, No, annotated ed. of P. J. Junge, Darieos I. König der Perser, Institute of Achaemenid Research Publications, No, Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. II, London 1987. Festschrift for Professor Richard Nelson Frye = Bulletin of the Asia Institute 4, papers in Honor of Professor Ehsan Yarshater Leiden. The Splendour of Iran, Vol. I, Ancient Times, Booth-Clibborn Editions of London and The University Press of Iran, “Cyrus the Great and Croesus”, Khirad va Kushish 2, 157-74
Alireza Shapour Shahbazi
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Alireza Shapour Shahbazi
Alireza Shapour Shahbazi
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gravestone
27.
Nakhal Fort
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Nakhal Fort is a large fortification in the Al Batinah Region of Oman. It is named after the Wilayah of Nakhal, the fort houses a museum, operated by the Ministry of Tourism, which has exhibits of historic guns, and the fort also hosts a weekly goat market. The fort, also known as Husn Al Heem, was named after the state of Nakhal where it exists above the old village of Nakhl and it has a history which dates back to the pre-Islamic period. Over the centuries, it underwent many renovations and improvements and it was re-built by Omani architects in the 17th century. Built as a measure for an area oasis and nearby trade routes. The gateway and towers seen now were built in 1834 attributed to imam Said bin Sultan. In 1990, it was fully renovated, imams of Wadi Bani Kharous and the Yaarubah dynasty resided here in the past. In November 2003, Prince Charles visited the fort during an official visit to Oman. The fort is approximately 120 kilometres to the west of Muscat and it is situated on a rocky prominence at the foot of Jebel Nakhal, a spur of the main Western Hajar range. It is to the northeast of Jabal Akhdar also called green mountain, Nakhal Fort is surrounded by orchards of palm trees. Its battlements provide a view of the Al-Batinah Region, the ancient Nakhal village is below the fort and close by is the warm springs of Ain AThawwarah. Nakhal Fort is one of several fortifications in the Al Batinah Region, the others being Al Hazim, Al-Sifalah, Rustaq, and Shinas forts. Built in the style of the Sultanate of Oman, it is unique in that it was built to fit around an irregularly-shaped rock. The fort houses a museum, operated by the Ministry of Tourism with exhibits of historic guns, a weekly Friday goat auction market takes place within the precincts of the fort. During recent renovations the fort has been fitted with traditional furniture, handicrafts, media related to Nakhal Fort at Wikimedia Commons
Nakhal Fort
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View of Nakhal Fort
Nakhal Fort
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Archway
28.
Al Hajar Mountains
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The Al Hajar Mountains in northeastern Oman and also the eastern United Arab Emirates are the highest mountain range in the eastern Arabian peninsula. They separate the low plain of Oman from the high desert plateau. In Arabic, Al means The and Hajar means Stone or Rock, so Al Hajar would be defined as The Stone or The Rock. Therefore, Al Hajar Mountains could mean the stony mountains or the rocky mountains and these mountains are chiefly made of Cretaceous limestones and ophiolites. The mountains begin in the north, forming the peninsula, the central section of the Hajar is the highest and wildest terrain in the country. Jebel Akhdar and the smaller Jebel Nakhl range are bounded on the east by the low Samail Valley, east of Samail are the Eastern Hajar, which run east to the fishing town of Sur, almost at the eastern point of Oman. The mountains extend for 500 km in total, the low coastal land north and east of the Jebel Hajar is called the Al Batinah region. The climate is cool and wet from December to March, and warmer, the mountains are rich in plant life compared to most of Arabia, including a number of endemic species. Fruit trees such as pomegranate and apricot are grown in the cooler valleys, the flora shows similarities with mountain areas of nearby Iran, as well as with areas along the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa. For example, the tree Ceratonia oreothauma is found here and also in Somalia, a number of birds are found in the mountains including Egyptian and lappet-faced vultures. Mammals include mountain gazelles and the Arabian tahr, which is endemic to the Al Hajar, the endangered Arabian leopard is still found in the Musandam Peninsula, according to records of the Oman Ministry of Environment. Poaching of wildlife is another issue, the Oman government has created the Wadi Sareen Reserve and an area of Jebel Qahwan-Jebal Sebtah in the Eastern Hajar for the protection of Arabian tahr and mountain gazelle. For visitors there is a road into the mountains from the town of Birkat al-Mawz, there are 11 marked trails / routes of varying intensity and duration published by Ministry or Tourism, Oman along the Hajar Mountain range. Hatta Heritage Village Regions of Oman, a new species of Asaccus from the mountains of northern Oman
Al Hajar Mountains
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The Hajjar Mountains rise behind
Nakhal Fort
Al Hajar Mountains
29.
Arabs
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Arabs are an ethnic group inhabiting the Arab world. They primarily live in the Arab states in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabs are first mentioned in the mid-ninth century BCE as a tribal people dwelling in the central Arabian Peninsula. The Arabs appear to have been under the vassalage of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, tradition holds that Arabs descend from Ishmael, the son of Abraham. The Arabian Desert is the birthplace of Arab, there are other Arab groups as well that spread in the land and existed for millennia. Before the expansion of the Caliphate, Arab referred to any of the largely nomadic Semitic people from the northern to the central Arabian Peninsula and Syrian Desert. Presently, Arab refers to a number of people whose native regions form the Arab world due to spread of Arabs throughout the region during the early Arab conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries. The Arabs forged the Rashidun, Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates, whose borders reached southern France in the west, China in the east, Anatolia in the north, and this was one of the largest land empires in history. The Great Arab Revolt has had as big an impact on the modern Middle East as the World War I, the war signaled the end of the Ottoman Empire. They are modern states and became significant as distinct political entities after the fall and defeat, following adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944, the Arab League was founded on 22 March 1945. The Charter of the Arab League endorsed the principle of an Arab homeland whilst respecting the sovereignty of its member states. Beyond the boundaries of the League of Arab States, Arabs can also be found in the global diaspora, the ties that bind Arabs are ethnic, linguistic, cultural, historical, identical, nationalist, geographical and political. The Arabs have their own customs, language, architecture, art, literature, music, dance, media, cuisine, dress, society, sports, the total number of Arabs are an estimated 450 million. This makes them the second largest ethnic group after the Han Chinese. Arabs are a group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. In the pre-Islamic era, most Arabs followed polytheistic religions, some tribes had adopted Christianity or Judaism, and a few individuals, the hanifs, apparently observed monotheism. Today, Arabs are mainly adherents of Islam, with sizable Christian minorities, Arab Muslims primarily belong to the Sunni, Shiite, Ibadi, Alawite, Druze and Ismaili denominations. Arab Christians generally follow one of the Eastern Christian Churches, such as the Maronite, Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, or Chaldean churches. Listed among the booty captured by the army of king Shalmaneser III of Assyria in the Battle of Qarqar are 1000 camels of Gi-in-di-buu the ar-ba-a-a or Gindibu belonging to the Arab
Arabs
Arabs
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Schoolgirls in
Gaza lining up for class, 2009
Arabs
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Syrian immigrants in New York City, as depicted in 1895
Arabs
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Lebanese–Mexican billionaire
Carlos Slim has been ranked by Forbes as the
second richest person in the world.
30.
Meshan
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Meshan was a province of the Sasanian Empire. It consisted of the Parthian vassal kingdoms of Mesene and Characene and reached north along the Shatt al-Arab river and then the lower Tigris to Madhar and its inhabitants included Babylonians, Arabs, Iranians, and even some Indians and Malays. The province was very fertile, the best place for barley according to Strabo and it was also an important trading province along the Persian Gulf. In, the first ruler of the Sasanian dynasty, Ardashir I after having conquered his native province, Pars, invaded Meshan, killing its ruler, Ardashir had a city named Karkh Meshan rebuilt, and had it renamed as Astarabad-Ardashir. According to a fraction of a Manichean source, a brother of the Sasanian king Shapur I, Mihrshah, ruled as the vassal-king of Meshan - however, Ardashir also built a town named Vahman-Ardashir, also known as Forat Meshan. A son of Shapur I, Shapur Mishanshah, is confirmed to have ruled Meshan from a date until his death in 260. During the 5th century, Vahman-Ardashir had seemingly succeeded Karkh Meshan as the capital of Meshan, Iranians had also begun to settle in the province, along with the Zutt, who had been deported from India. Other Indian groups such as the Malays may also have been deported to Meshan, the Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 5. The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. V. Brill, Arabs and Iran in the pre-Islamic period. The Cambridge History of Iran, The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian periods
Meshan
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Map of Meshan and its surrounding provinces
.png)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Shapur". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
