1.
Shah
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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
2.
Sasanian Empire
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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
3.
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
4.
Bahram IV
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Bahram IV, was thirteenth king of the Sasanian Empire from 388 to 399. He was the son and successor of Shapur III, Bahram IV is often regarded as a harsh man who neglected his duties. He has been portrayed as a king, under whom his vassals regained influence lost under Shapur II. Bahram, during the reign of his father, was the governor of Kirman and he later founded the city of Kermanshah in western Persia. In 388, his father was killed by a group of Sasanian nobles, Bahram thus succeeded him as the ruler of the Sasanian Empire. Armenia had been divided during the reign of Shapur III according to the terms of a peace treaty, but this arrangement barely survived the reign of Shapur III. This enraged Bahram and made him have Khosrov imprisoned in the Castle of Oblivion, Bahram shortly made the latters brother Vramshapuh the new ruler of Armenia. In 395, the Huns invaded the Sasanian province of Asuristan, Bahram IV then had an army sent against them, which managed to kill a great deal of them and regain the riches they had taken including the captives. In 399, Bahrams conduct, it is recorded, grew so unbearable that he was assassinated by his own troops who surrounded him. He was succeeded by his brother Yazdegerd I, 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
5.
Yazdegerd I
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Yazdegerd I was the fourteenth Sasanian king of Persia and ruled from 399 to 420. He was the son of Shapur III and he succeeded to the Sasanian throne on the assassination of his brother Bahram IV in 399 and ruled for twenty-one years till his death in 420. Yazdegerd Is reign was largely uneventful, the king is described as being of a peaceful disposition. There were cordial relations between Persia and the Eastern Roman Empire as well as between Persia and the Western Roman Empire, Yazdegerd promoted Christianity in the early years of his reign and later opposed it. He is known in Sasanian sources as the Sinner, Yazdegerd also used the title of Ramshahr, which fitted to him, due to his peace with the Romans and tolerance towards his subjects. The title Ramshahr was a used by the legendary Kayanid kings, and thus starts the Sasanian interest in Kayanid history. During Yazdegerds last days, there took place a civil war between his sons, Bahram V emerged victorious and claimed the throne. Yazdegerd I died in 420 and was succeeded by his son Bahram V. Yazdegerd was the son of Shapur III, Yazdegerd had three sons whom were named, Shapur IV, Narseh, and Bahram V. When Yazdegerds brother Bahram IV was assassinated in 399, he succeeded him, the Persian soldiers who had murdered Bahram IV did not hurt him on account of his excellent character and fine disposition. The general tenor of his rule was quite peaceful, between 386 and 398, Gildo the Moor ruled an independent kingdom in Africa, and in 395 the Goths took to arms under their leader Alaric. But Yazdegerd on his accession to the throne desisted from assuming any aggressive posture towards the Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius or the Western Roman Emperor Honorius. On the ninth year of his reign, it is believed, Yazdegerd was entrusted the care of Prince Theodosius by his father Arcadius, the Eastern Roman Emperor. It was strange that Arcadius chose neither his younger-brother Honorius nor any of his subjects for the purpose. One writer even goes to the extent of claiming that Arcadius gifted Yazdegerd a thousand pounds of gold in return for his favour. Flattered, he performed his role with utmost sincerity providing him the best possible education. A eunuch named Antiochus was selected and sent to Constantinople to look after the young Emperor and he was, for many years, the princes intimate companion. He was supposed to have killed or expelled from the kingdom by Pulcheria. However, even after Antiochus end, Yazdegerd continued his aid to the young monarch, according to Wein, Yazdegerd I was a wise, benevolent, and astute ruler
6.
Dynasty
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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
7.
House of Sasan
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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
8.
Shapur II
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Shapur II, also known as Shapur II the Great, was the tenth king of the Sasanian Empire. The longest reigning Sasanian monarch, he reigned from 309 to 379 and he was the son of Hormizd II. During Shapur IIs long reign, the Sasanian Empire saw its first golden era. When Hormizd II died in 309, he was succeeded by his son Adur Narseh and they then blinded the second, and imprisoned the third. The throne was reserved for the child of Hormizd IIs wife Ifra Hormizd. It is said that Shapur II may have been the king in history to be crowned in utero. However, according to Alireza Shapour Shahbazi, it is unlikely that Shapur was crowned as king while still in his mothers womb, during the childhood of Shapur II, Arab nomads made several incursions into the Sasanian homeland of Pars, where they raided Gor and its surroundings. Furthermore, they also made incursions into Meshan and Mazun and he then attacked the Banu Tamim in the Al Hajar Mountains. Shapur II reportedly killed a number of the Arab population. After having dealt with the Arabs of eastern Arabia, he continued his expedition into western Arabia and Syria, because of his cruel way of dealing with the Arabs, he was called Dhū l-Aktāf he who pierces shoulders by them. Not only did Shapur II pacify the Arabs of the Persian Gulf, Shapur II, in order to prevent the Arabs from making more raids into his country, ordered the construction of a wall near al-Hirah, which became known as war-i tāzigān. This was the beginning of two long drawn-out wars which were inadequately recorded, after crushing a rebellion in the south, Shapur II invaded Roman Mesopotamia and captured Armenia. Apparently, nine major battles were fought, gibbon asserts that Shapur II invariably defeated Constantius, but there is reason to believe that the honours were fairly evenly shared between the two capable commanders. The most notable feature of war was the consistently successful defence of the Roman fortress of Nisibis in Mesopotamia. Shapur besieged the fortress three times and was repulsed each time by Roman general Lucilianus, although often victorious in battles, Shapur II had made scarcely any progress. At the same time he was attacked in the east by Scythian Massagetae and he had to break off the war with the Romans and arrange a hasty truce in order to pay attention to the east. After a prolonged struggle they were forced to conclude a peace, in 358 Shapur II was ready for his second series of wars against Rome, which met with much more success. The delay forced Shapur to halt operations for the winter, early the following spring he continued his operations against the Roman fortresses, capturing Singara and Bezabde
9.
Zoroastrianism
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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
10.
Middle Persian language
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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
11.
New Persian
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Persian, also known by its endonym Farsi, is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan and it is mostly written in the Persian alphabet, a modified variant of the Arabic script. Its grammar is similar to that of many contemporary European languages, Persian gets its name from its origin at the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persis, hence the name Persian. A Persian-speaking person may be referred to as Persophone, there are approximately 110 million Persian speakers worldwide, with the language holding official status in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. For centuries, Persian has also been a cultural language in other regions of Western Asia, Central Asia. It also exerted influence on Arabic, particularly Bahrani Arabic. Persian is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-European family, other Western Iranian languages are the Kurdish languages, Gilaki, Mazanderani, Talysh, and Balochi. Persian is classified as a member of the Southwestern subgroup within Western Iranian along with Lari, Kumzari, in Persian, the language is known by several names, Western Persian, Parsi or Farsi has been the name used by all native speakers until the 20th century. Since the latter decades of the 20th century, for reasons, in English. Tajiki is the variety of Persian spoken in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by the Tajiks, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term Persian as a language name is first attested in English in the mid-16th century. Native Iranian Persian speakers call it Fārsi, Farsi is the Arabicized form of Pārsi, subsequent to Muslim conquest of Persia, due to a lack of the phoneme /p/ in Standard Arabic. The origin of the name Farsi and the place of origin of the language which is Fars Province is the Arabicized form of Pārs, in English, this language has historically been known as Persian, though Farsi has also gained some currency. Farsi is encountered in some literature as a name for the language. In modern English the word Farsi refers to the language while Parsi describes Zoroastrians, some Persian language scholars such as Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, and University of Arizona professor Kamran Talattof, have also rejected the usage of Farsi in their articles. The international language-encoding standard ISO 639-1 uses the code fa, as its system is mostly based on the local names. The more detailed standard ISO 639-3 uses the name Persian for the dialect continuum spoken across Iran and Afghanistan and this consists of the individual languages Dari and Iranian Persian. Currently, Voice of America, BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty also includes a Tajik service and an Afghan service. This is also the case for the American Association of Teachers of Persian, The Centre for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, Persian is an Iranian language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family of languages
12.
Khosrov IV of Armenia
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Khosrov IV, was a Prince who served as a Sassanid King of Arsacid Armenia, which flourished during the second half of the 4th century & first half of the 5th century, from 387 until 389. The exact origins of Khosrov IV are unknown, the Armenian Historians of the 5th century, Faustus of Byzantium and Moses of Chorene, present Khosrov IV as a prince from the Arsacid dynasty, without mentioning his parentage. According to modern genealogies, Khosrov IV is presented as being one of the sons of Varasdates and he was the namesake of his ancestor Khosrov III and was also the namesake of his Armenian and Parthian monarch ancestors who ruled with this name. Khosrov IV was born and raised in Armenia and little is known of his life prior to his kingship, in 386, Vologases III died without leaving an heir and Arsaces III became the sole-ruler of Armenia. As Manuel Mamikonian died at the time as Vologases III did. The Sassanid invasion of Armenia, led the Roman emperor Theodosius I and this led the Armenian Kingdom in 387 to be partitioned into two empires, Western Armenia to be under Roman rule and Eastern Armenia to be under Sassanid rule. Arsaces III witnessed his whole kingdom reduced to a kingdom in Western Armenia as he resided in Ekeleac’ also known as Ekeghiats in which his area of rule was a line from Erzurum to Mush. Later in 387, Arsaces III died and leaving no heir, Western Armenia was annexed and became a province of the Byzantine Empire. After the partitioning of Armenia and the death of Arsaces III, the Armenians that lived under Sassanid rule, requested to Shapur III from him an Arsacid King. Shapur III delighted from the request of the Armenians and with their consent appointed Khosrov IV as King of Armenia, after the appointment of Khosrov IV, Shapur III put a crown on the head of the youth. Khosrov IV in his kingdom kept the Arsacid capitals of Artashat, the partitioning of Armenia and from the reign of Khosrov IV, marked the last stage of the ruling Arsacid dynasty in Armenia. As a sign to extend his courtesies to Sassanid Armenia, Shapur III gave his sister Zruanduxt to Khosrov IV to marry as his wife. Zruanduxt became a Queen consort, whom her brother had given her with Khosrov IV a large army to protect Armenia and had given Khosrov IV a tutor called Zik, Khosrov IV was a Christian Client Monarch governing under a pagan state whose official religion was Zoroastrianism. Little is known of Khosrov IV’s relationship with Zruanduxt, according to modern genealogies, Zruanduxt and Khosrov IV were the parents of two sons, Tigranes and Arsaces. In his reign, Khosrov IV had shown too great assertiveness of his royal authority, in the first year of his kingship, Khosrov IV bestowed Sahak son of Nerses as the Armenian Catholicos. Sahak was the last Gregorian Patriarch and he was related to Khosrov IV. Bambish was a sister to King Tigranes VII and a daughter of King Khosrov III, saint Mesrop Mashtots in 387, on account of his piety and learned background was appointed by Khosrov IV as his imperial secretary. Mesrop’s duty was to write in Greek and Persian characters the decrees and he restored many Nakharars to their former nobility status and he was well known for his sympathies towards the Byzantine Empire, in particular to Theodosius I and his family
13.
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
14.
Treaty
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A treaty is an agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, pact, or exchange of letters, regardless of terminology, all of these forms of agreements are, under international law, equally considered treaties and the rules are the same. A treaty is an official, express written agreement that states use to bind themselves. Since the late 19th century, most treaties have followed a consistent format. A treaty typically begins with a preamble describing the parties and their joint objectives in executing the treaty. Modern preambles are sometimes structured as a very long sentence formatted into multiple paragraphs for readability. The end of the preamble and the start of the agreement is often signaled by the words have agreed as follows. After the preamble comes numbered articles, which contain the substance of the actual agreement. Each article heading usually encompasses a paragraph, a long treaty may further group articles under chapter headings. The date is written in its most formal, longest possible form. For example, the Charter of the United Nations was DONE at the city of San Francisco the twenty-sixth day of June, one nine hundred. If the treaty is executed in multiple copies in different languages, that fact is always noted, the signatures of the parties representatives follow at the very end. Bilateral treaties are concluded between two states or entities, each of these treaties has seventeen parties. These however are still bilateral, not multilateral, treaties, the parties are divided into two groups, the Swiss and the EU and its member states. The treaty establishes rights and obligations between the Swiss and the EU and the member states severally—it does not establish any rights and obligations amongst the EU, a multilateral treaty is concluded among several countries. The agreement establishes rights and obligations between each party and every other party, Treaties of mutual guarantee are international compacts, e. g. the Treaty of Locarno which guarantees each signatory against attack from another. Reservations are essentially caveats to an acceptance of a treaty. Reservations are unilateral statements purporting to exclude or to modify the legal obligation and these must be included at the time of signing or ratification, i. e. a party cannot add a reservation after it has already joined a treaty
15.
Armenia
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Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a sovereign state in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. The Republic of Armenia constitutes only one-tenth of historical Armenia, Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. Urartu was established in 860 BC and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia, in the 1st century BC the Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great. Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion, in between the late 3rd century to early years of the 4th century, the state became the first Christian nation. The official date of adoption of Christianity is 301 AD. The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century, under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was restored in the 9th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the fell in 1045. An Armenian principality and later a kingdom Cilician Armenia was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, during World War I, Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian Genocide. By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, in 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into full Union republics. The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Armenia recognises the Armenian Apostolic Church, the worlds oldest national church, as the countrys primary religious establishment. The unique Armenian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD, Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Council of Europe and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia supports the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which was proclaimed in 1991, the native Armenian name for the country is Հայք. The name in the Middle Ages was extended to Հայաստան, by addition of the Persian suffix -stan, the further origin of the name is uncertain. It is also postulated that the name Hay comes from one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states—the Ḫayaša-Azzi. The exonym Armenia is attested in the Old Persian Behistun Inscription as Armina, the ancient Greek terms Ἀρμενία and Ἀρμένιοι are first mentioned by Hecataeus of Miletus. Xenophon, a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and he relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians. According to the histories of both Moses of Chorene and Michael Chamchian, Armenia derives from the name of Aram, a descendant of Hayk
16.
Vassal
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A vassal or feudatory is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, the term is applied to similar arrangements in other feudal societies. It is like a land lord some one who own and lets you live on it, in contrast, a fidelity, or fidelitas, was a sworn, unconditional loyalty to a monarch. Such refinements were not included from the outset when it was time of crisis, war, hunger, under feudalism, those who were weakest needed the protection of the knights who owned the weapons and knew how to fight. Feudal society was based on the concept of lordship, which was one of the distinguishing features of the Early Middle Ages and had evolved from times of Late Antiquity. In the time of Charlemagne, the connection slowly developed between vassalage and the grant of land, the form of wealth at that time. Contemporaneous social developments included agricultural manorialism and the social and legal structures labelled — and these developments proceeded at different rates in various regions. In Merovingian times, monarchs would reward only the greatest and most trusted vassals with lands, even at the most extreme devolution of any remnants of central power, in 10th-century France, the majority of vassals still had no fixed estates. The stratification of a band of vassals into distinct groups might roughly correlate with the new term fief that had started to supersede benefice in the 9th century. An upper group comprised great territorial magnates, who were strong enough to ensure the inheritance of their benefice to the heirs of their family, a lower group consisted of landless knights attached to a count or duke. This social settling process also received impetus in fundamental changes in the conduct of warfare, as co-ordinated cavalry superseded disorganized infantry, armies became more expensive to maintain. A vassal needed economic resources to equip the cavalry he was bound to contribute to his lord to fight his frequent wars. Such resources, in the absence of an economy, came only from land and its associated assets. Many empires have set up states, based on tribes, kingdoms, or city-states. In these cases a state has retained internal autonomy, but has lost independence in foreign policy, while and, in many instances. In this framework, a colony or junior ally might also be regarded as a vassal state in terms of international relations. The concept of a state uses the concept of personal vassalry to theorize formally hegemonic relationships between states – even those using non-personal forms of rule. Imperial states to which this terminology has been applied include, for instance, Ancient Rome, the Mongol Empire, and the British Empire
17.
Pap of Armenia
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Pap, also known as Papas was a Prince who served as the Roman Client King of Arsacid Armenia from 370 until 374. Pap was the son born to the Arsacid monarchs Arsaces II and his wife Pharantzem, the father of Pap served as Roman Client King of Armenia from 350 until 368. Pap is the known child born to Arsaces II during his Armenian Kingship. He was born and raised in Armenia and little is known on his early life, Pap was named in honor of Pap, a brief Catholicos in 348 who was Pap’s late paternal relative and the first son of Saint Husik. Saint Husik was the grandfather of the Catholicos, St. Nerses I, during Sassanid King Shapur IIs invasion of the Kingdom of Armenia, Pharantzem and Pap were holed up with the Armenian treasure in the fortress of Artogerassa defended by a troop of Azats. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, the Persian invasion force was commanded by two Armenian defectors, Cylaces and Artabanes, Shapur IIs intention was to replace the Armenian Arsacid monarchy with a non-Arsacid but still Armenian nakharar diarchy. This also implies that Shapur II might have intended to combine Sassanid administrative rule with that of nakharar rule. During the siege, Arsaces II’s wife Pharantzem appealed to Cylaces and Artabanes in the name of her husband who defected back to the Arsacid monarchy, themistius reported of Paps arrival at Valens court in Marcianopolis where the Emperor was wintering. Valens bade him to stay at Neocaesarea in Pontus Polemoniacus three hundred kilometers from the Armenian border, in 369, Pap returned to Armenian territory at the request of the nobility. He was accompanied by the comes et dux Terentius but was not yet endowed with a royal rank, Valens was reluctant to bestow a royal title upon Pap in order not to violate an earlier treaty signed by Jovian in July 363. Valens dispatched his magister peditum praesentalis Arinthaeus to Armenia just as Shapur II invaded the country in pursuit of Pap who was hiding near the Roman frontier in Lazica. Meanwhile, Terentius restored Sauromaces to the throne of Iberia, but the appointed by the Persians. Shapur II also began persecuting the local Christians by forcing apostasy to Mazdaism. Shapur II contacted Pap who was still in hiding and tried to persuade him to come over to his side, under Shapur IIs influence Pap murdered the duplicitous Cylaces and Artabanes and sent their heads to the shahanshah as a sign of loyalty. In the spring of 370 Shapur II prepared an invasion of Armenia which was realized in the spring of 371. Valens generals Traianus and Vadomarius met the Persian force in Armenia at Bagrevand not far from the village called Dzirav, faustus of Byzantium gives considerable credit for the victory to sparapet Mushegh I Mamikonian. Moses of Chorene of Armenia and Roman Ammianus Marcellinus noted that the Valens generals did not participate in the battle actively, during the ensuing battles more Armenian territories were reclaimed from the Persians, including Arzanene and Corduene which were ceded to Persians by Jovian in 363. By the end of the summer Shapur II retreated to his capital at Ctesiphon, Shapur II was unable to confront the massive Roman build up in Armenia as a result of his preoccupation with Kushan attacks in the eastern realm of his empire
18.
Arshak II
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For the King of Iberia, see Arshak II of Iberia Arshak II, also known as Arsaces II and Arsak II was a Prince who served as a Roman Client King of Arsacid Armenia from 350 until 368. Arshak II was the second son to Tiran by an unnamed mother. His father served as Roman Client King of Arsacid Armenia from 339 until 350 and his date of birth is unknown and little is known on his early life. Sometime during his father’s reign, the Sassanid King Shapur II launched a war on Rome and her allies, Shapur II’s war by capturing these territories began to deal a severe blow to Roman prestige in the East. Arshak II along with members of his family had become Sassanid political prisoners in which his father was blinded and they successfully drove Shapur II and his army out from Armenia. After Shapur II was defeated, he had signed a treaty, as Arshak II’s father being depressed and blinded from his experience in captivity, had abdicated his throne and Arshak II succeeded their father as Armenian King in 350. Arshak II like his father, strongly pursued a policy on Christian Arianism, in the early years of his reign, Arshak II found himself courted by the Roman Empire and Sassanid Empire, both of which hoped to win Armenia to their side in the ongoing conflicts between them. According to the Historian Ammianus Marcellinus, describes Arshak II as ‘steadfast, the King of Sassanid Persia Shapur II, intensified his efforts to conquer Armenia once and for all. He was able to bribe two Armenian noblemen Vahan Mamikonian and Meruzhan Artsruni and make them join his royal court, Arshak II focused on strengthening the army. He rewarded loyal generals and severely punished disloyal ones and he crafted an ambitious plan in which all criminals that settled in his newly founded city, Arshakavan, were given complete amnesty. Approximately 150,000 individuals were settled in the city and his hope was to create a large army directly under his command but, many in the Armenian nobility did not agree with the plan and subsequently destroyed the city and killed the inhabitants. The Romans and the Persians were involved in conflict again, Arshak II found himself abandoned by the Romans and left to defend Armenia all alone. The Persians swiftly attacked but were unsuccessful, partly due to the leadership of the general Vasak Mamikonian, Shapur II, seeing that brute force was not going to subjugate Arshak II, he turned to treachery. Arshak II was invited by the Persian King for peace talks, when Arshak II arrived with Vasak Mamikonian, he was taken prisoner and his general was skinned. Living in a Persian prison, Arshak II was unable to stop the Sassanid invasion of Armenia, Shapur II had conquered Armenia in which he tried to convert Christian Armenians to Zoroastrianism, the main religion of the Sassanid Empire. Sometime 369 or 370, an Armenian by the name of Drastamat visits the imprisoned Arshak II, during his visit to Arshak II, the King was reminiscing on his glory days and feeling depressed, he took his visitor’s knife and killed himself. Drastamat, moved by what he had just witnessed, took the knife from Arshak II’s chest, despite having a troublesome reign, Arshak II was able to improve many aspects of his kingdom. The chief architect of the reforms was his cousin, Saint Nerses I the Great, Arshak II appeared to have three known wives
19.
Julian (emperor)
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Julian, also known as Julian the Apostate, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. A member of the Constantinian dynasty, Julian became Caesar over the provinces by order of Constantius II in 355 and in this role campaigned successfully against the Alamanni. Most notable was his victory over the Alamanni in 357 at the Battle of Argentoratum. In 360 in Lutetia he was proclaimed Augustus by his soldiers, before the two could face each other in battle, however, Constantius died, after naming Julian as his rightful successor. In 363, Julian embarked on an campaign against the Sassanid Empire. Though initially successful, Julian was mortally wounded in battle and died shortly thereafter, Julian was a man of unusually complex character, he was the military commander, the theosophist, the social reformer, and the man of letters. He was the last non-Christian ruler of the Roman Empire, and it was his desire to bring the Empire back to its ancient Roman values in order to, as he saw it, save it from dissolution. He purged the state bureaucracy and attempted to revive traditional Roman religious practices at the expense of Christianity. His anti-Christian sentiment and promotion of Neoplatonic paganism caused him to be remembered as Julian the Apostate by the church and he was the last emperor of the Constantinian dynasty, the empires first Christian dynasty. Both of his parents were Christians and his paternal grandparents were Western Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus and his second wife, Flavia Maximiana Theodora. His maternal grandfather was Julius Julianus, praetorian prefect of the East under emperor Licinius from 315 to 324, the name of Julians maternal grandmother is unknown. Constantius II, Constans I, and Constantine II were proclaimed joint emperors, Julian and Gallus were excluded from public life, were strictly guarded in their youth, and given a Christian education. They were likely saved by their youth and at the urging of the Empress Eusebia, if Julians later writings are to be believed, Constantius would later be tormented with guilt at the massacre of 337. After Eusebius died in 342, both Julian and Gallus were exiled to the estate of Macellum in Cappadocia. Here Julian met the Christian bishop George of Cappadocia, who lent him books from the classical tradition, at the age of 18, the exile was lifted and he dwelt briefly in Constantinople and Nicomedia. He became a lector, an office in the Christian church. Julian studied Neoplatonism in Asia Minor in 351, at first under Aedesius, the philosopher and he was summoned to Constantius court in Mediolanum in 354 and kept there for a year, in the summer and fall of 355, he was permitted to study in Athens. While there, Julian became acquainted with two men who became both bishops and saints, Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil the Great
20.
Arsacid dynasty of Armenia
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The Arsacid dynasty, known natively as the Arshakuni dynasty, ruled the Kingdom of Armenia from 54 to 428. They are a branch of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia, Arsacid Kings reigned intermittently throughout the chaotic years following the fall of the Artaxiad Dynasty until 62 when Tiridates I secured Arsacid dynasty of Parthia rule in Armenia. An independent line of Kings was established by Vologases II in 180, the first appearance of an Arsacid on the Armenian throne came about in 12 when the Parthian King Vonones I was exiled from Parthia due to his pro-Roman policies and Occidental manners. Artabanus III did not waste time after deposition of Vonones I, Armenia was given in 18 to Zeno the son of Polemon I of Pontus, who assumed the Armenian name Artaxias. The Parthians under Artabanus III were too distracted by internal strife to oppose the Roman-appointed King, zenos reign was remarkably peaceful in Armenian history. Tiberius, sent an Iberian named Mithridates, who claimed to be of Arsacid blood, Mithridates successfully subjugated Armenia to the Roman rule and deposed Arsaces inflicting huge devastation to the country. Surprisingly, Mithridates was summoned back to Rome where he was kept a prisoner, another civil war erupted in Parthia upon Artabanus IIIs death. In the meantime Mithridates was put back on the Armenian throne, with the help of his brother, Pharasmanes I, civil war continued in Parthia for several years with Gotarzes eventually seizing the throne in 45. In 51 Mithridates’ nephew Rhadamistus invaded Armenia and killed his uncle, the governor of Cappadocia, Julius Pailinus, decided to conquer Armenia but he settled with the crowning of Radamistus who generously rewarded him. The current Parthian King Vologases I, saw an opportunity, invaded Armenia, the harsh winter that followed proved too much for the Parthians who also withdrew, thus leaving open doors for Radamistus to regain his throne. Unhappy with the growing Parthian influence at their doorstep, Roman Emperor Nero sent General Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo with an army to the east in order to install Roman client kings. After Tiridates I escaped, Roman client king Tigranes VI was installed and in 61 he invaded the Kingdom of Adiabene, Vologases I considered this as an act of aggression from Rome and restarted a campaign to restore Tiridates I onto the Armenian throne. Trajan marched towards Armenia in October 113 to restore a Roman client king in Armenia, envoys from Osroes I met Trajan at Athens, informing him that Axidares had been deposed and asking that Axidares elder brother, Parthamasiris, be granted the throne. Trajan declined their proposal and in August 114 captured Arsamosata where Parthamasiris asked to be crowned, Parthamasiris was dismissed and died mysteriously soon afterwards. As a Roman province Armenia was administered along with Cappadocia by Lucius Catilius Severus of the gens Catilia, eventually compromise with the Parthians was reached and Parthian Vologases was placed in charge of Armenia. Vologases IV, son of legitimate Parthian king Mithridates IV, dispatched his troops to seize Armenia in 161, encouraged by the spahbod Osroes, Parthian troops marched further West into Roman Syria. Marcus Aurelius immediately sent Lucius Verus to the Eastern front, in 163, Verus dispatched General Statius Priscus, who was recently transferred from Britain along with several legions, from Syrian Antioch to Armenia. As a result of an epidemic within the Roman forces, Parthians retook most of their lost territory in 166, after a few intervening Roman and Parthian rulers, Vologases II assumed the throne in 186
21.
Christianity in Iran
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Christianity has a long history in Iran, dating back to the early years of the faith, and pre-dating Islam. It has always been a minority relative to the majority state religions. Christians of Iran have played a significant part in the history of Christian mission, today, there are at least 600 churches and 300, 000–370,000 Christians in Iran. A number of Christian denominations are represented in Iran, many members of the larger, older churches belong to minority ethnic groups – the Armenians – and Assyrians having their own distinctive culture and language. The members of the newer, smaller churches are both from the traditionally Christian ethnic minorities and converts from non-Christian background. The Country Information and Guidance, Christians and Christian Converts, Iran report published in December 2014 by the Home Office of the United Kingdom states there are 370,000 Christians in Iran. According to acts 2,9 in the Acts of the Apostles there were Persians, Parthians, since then there has been a continuous presence of Christians in Iran. During the apostolic age, Christianity began to establish throughout the Mediterranean. However, a quite different Semitic Christian culture developed on the borders of the Roman Empire. Syriac Christianity owed much to preexistent Jewish communities and the Aramaic language and this language was spoken by Jesus, and, in various modern Eastern Aramaic forms is still spoken by the ethnic Assyrian Christians in Iran, northeast Syria, southeast Turkey and Iraq today. Early Christian communities straddling the Roman-Persian border were in the midst of civil strife, Christians were feared as a subversive and possibly disloyal minority. In the early 5th century official persecution increased once more, however, from the reign of Hormizd III serious persecutions grew less frequent and the church began to achieve recognised status. Through the Battle of Avarayr and the out coming treaty for example, political pressure within Persia and cultural differences with western Christianity were mostly to blame for the Nestorian schism, in which the Church of the East was labelled heretical. The bishop of the capital of the Sassanid Empire, Ctesiphon, acquired the title first of catholicos, Persia is considered by some to have been briefly officially Christian. Khosrau I married a Christian wife, and his son Nushizad was also a Christian, when the king was taken ill at Edessa a report reached Persia that he was dead, and at once Nushizad seized the crown and made the kingdom Christian. Very soon the rumour was false, but Nushizad was persuaded by persons who appear to have been in the pay of Justinian to endeavour to maintain his position. The action of his son was deeply distressing to Khosrau, it was necessary to take measures. In the battle which followed Nushizad was mortally wounded and carried off the field, having professed himself a Christian he died, and the rebellion was quickly put down
22.
Kermanshah
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Kermanshah, the capital of Kermanshah Province, is located 525 kilometres from Tehran in the western part of Iran. According to the 2011 census, its population is 851,405, Kermanshah has a moderate and mountainous climate. Kermanshah is the largest Kurdish-speaking city in Iran, because of its antiquity, attractive landscapes, rich culture and Neolithic villages, Kermanshah is considered one of the cradles of prehistoric cultures. The Lower Paleolithic evidence consists of some found in the Gakia area to the east of the city. The Middle Paleolithic remains have been found in the vicinity of the city in Tang-e Kenesht. Neanderthal Man existed in the Kermanshah region during this period, the known Paleolithic caves in this area are Warwasi, Qobeh, Malaverd and Do-Ashkaft Cave. The region was one of the first places in which human settlements including Asiab, Qazanchi, Tappeh Sarab, Chia Jani. This is about the time that the first potteries pertaining to Iran were made in Ganj-Darreh, near present-day Harsin. P. was discovered in Sahneh. Remains of later village occupations and early Bronze Age are found in a number of sites in the city itself. In ancient Iranian mythology, construction of the city is attributed to Tahmuras and it is believed that the Sassanids have constructed Kermanshah and Bahram IV gave his name to this city. It was a city in Sassanid period about the 4th century AD when it became the capital city of Persian Empire. In AD226, following a war led by the Persian Emperor, Ardashir I, against Kurdish tribes in the region. At the time, the term Kurd was used as a term, designating Iranian nomads. The word became an identity in the 12th and 13th century. Within the dynasty known as the House of Kayus remained a semi-independent kingdom lasting until AD380 before Ardashir II removed the dynastys last ruling member, Kermanshah was conquered by the Arabs in AD640. Under Seljuk rule in the century, it became the major cultural and commercial center in western Iran. The Safavids fortified the town, and the Qajars repulsed an attack by the Ottomans during Fath Ali Shahs rule, Kermanshah was occupied by Ottomans between 1723–1729 and 1731-1732. Occupied by the Imperial Russian army in 1914, followed by the Ottoman army in 1915 during World War I, Kermanshah played an important role in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution during the Qajar dynasty period and the Republic Movement in Pahlavi dynasty period
23.
Pahlavi scripts
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Pahlavi or Pahlevi denotes a particular and exclusively written form of various Middle Iranian languages. The essential characteristics of Pahlavi are the use of a specific Aramaic-derived script, the Pahlavi script, Pahlavi compositions have been found for the dialects/ethnolects of Parthia, Persis, Sogdiana, Scythia, and Khotan. Independent of the variant for which the Pahlavi system was used, Pahlavi is then an admixture of written Imperial Aramaic, from which Pahlavi derives its script, logograms, and some of its vocabulary. Spoken Middle Iranian, from which Pahlavi derives its terminations, symbol rules, Pahlavi may thus be defined as a system of writing applied to a specific language group, but with critical features alien to that language group. It has the characteristics of a language, but is not one. It is a written system, but much Pahlavi literature remains essentially an oral literature committed to writing. If this etymology is correct, Parthav presumably became pahlaw through a semivowel glide rt change to l, the term has been traced back further to Avestan pərəthu- broad, also evident in Sanskrit pŗthvi- earth and parthivi of the earth. Common to all Indo-Iranian languages is a connotation of mighty, the earliest attested use of Pahlavi dates to the reign of Arsaces I of Parthia in early Parthian coins with Pahlavi scripts. There are also several Pahlavi texts written during the reign of Mithridates I, such fragments, as also the rock inscriptions of Sassanid kings, which are datable to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, do not, however, qualify as a significant literary corpus. It is in an archaic script than Book Pahlavi. After the Muslim conquest of Persia, the Pahlavi script was replaced by the Arabic script, except in Zoroastrian sacred literature, the replacement of the Pahlavi script with the Arabic script in order to write the Persian language was done by the Tahirids in 9th century Khurasan. In the present-day, Pahlavi is frequently identified with the dialect of south-west Iran, formerly and properly called Pārsi. This practice can be dated to the immediately following the Islamic conquest. Tables showing the letters and their names or pronunciations are available on line, the Pahlavi script is one of the two essential characteristics of the Pahlavi system. Its origin and development occurred independently of the various Middle Iranian languages for which it was used, the Pahlavi script is derived from the Aramaic script as it was used under the Achaemenids, with modifications to support the phonology of the Iranian languages. It is essentially a typical abjad, where, in general, only vowels are marked with matres lectionis. In addition to this, during much of its later history, similarly, certain words continued to be spelt with postvocalic ⟨s⟩ and ⟨t⟩ even after the consonants had been debuccalized to ⟨h⟩ in the living language. The Pahlavi script consisted of two widely used forms, Inscriptional Pahlavi and Book Pahlavi, a third form, Psalter Pahlavi, is not widely attested
24.
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
25.
Narseh
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Narseh was the seventh Sasanian king of Ērānshahr. He was the son of Shapur I, during the rule of his father Shapur I, Narseh had served as the governor of Sakastan, Sindh and Turan. Prior to becoming King of Persia, he held the title Great King of Armenia, Narseh overthrew the increasingly unpopular Bahram III in 293 with the support of most of the nobility. The circumstances of Narsehs rise to power are detailed in the Paikuli inscription, Narseh was known for his tolerance of other religions. Narseh is quoted in an inscription by his father Shapur I as the governor of Sindh, Narseh was later appointed as governor of Armenia. Following the death of Bahram II in 293 CE, his son Bahram III was proclaimed king in Pars by a group of nobles led by Wahnam and supported by Adurfarrobay, governor of Mesan. Four months into Bahram IIIs reign, Narseh was summoned to Ctesiphon by the request of members of the Persian nobility. According to the Paikuli inscription these nobles swore their allegiance to him there. In a brief revolt, Wahnam was captured and executed and Bahram was removed from the throne and it is assumed Bahram III was also killed in the uprising though there is no documentation of this so his fate remains uncertain. During Narsehs time, Rome was ruled by Diocletian and it was with Diocletian, in 296, fed up with incursions made by the Armenian monarch Tiridates III, Narseh invaded Armenia. Surprised by the attack, Tiridates fled his kingdom. The Roman Emperor Diocletian dispatched his son-in-law Galerius with an army to Tiridatess aid. Galerius invaded Mesopotamia, which Narseh had occupied hoping to check his advance, three battles were fought subsequently, the first two of which were indecisive. In the third fought at Callinicum, Galerius suffered a defeat and was forced to retreat. Galerius crossed the Euphrates into Syria to join his father-in-law Diocletian at Antioch, on his arrival at Antioch, Galerius was rebuked by Diocletian who disgraced him for his shameful defeat at the hands of Narseh. Vowing to take revenge, Galerius made preparations throughout the winter of 297, supported by the Armenians, Galerius surprised Narseh in his camp at the Battle of Satala and inflicted a crushing defeat on the latter forcing him to flee in haste. His wife, prisoners, his sisters and a number of his children were captured apart from his prodigious military chest, eastern Mesopotamia was recovered by the Romans and Tiridates was reinstated as the monarch of Armenia. In the meantime, he consulted Diocletian at Nisibis who persuaded Galerius to offer terms of peace to the Persians, accordingly terms of peace were agreed upon, and were ratified by a treaty concluded by Narseh with the Romans
26.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
27.
Public domain
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The term public domain has two senses of meaning. Anything published is out in the domain in the sense that it is available to the public. Once published, news and information in books is in the public domain, in the sense of intellectual property, works in the public domain are those whose exclusive intellectual property rights have expired, have been forfeited, or are inapplicable. Examples for works not covered by copyright which are therefore in the domain, are the formulae of Newtonian physics, cooking recipes. Examples for works actively dedicated into public domain by their authors are reference implementations of algorithms, NIHs ImageJ. The term is not normally applied to situations where the creator of a work retains residual rights, as rights are country-based and vary, a work may be subject to rights in one country and be in the public domain in another. Some rights depend on registrations on a basis, and the absence of registration in a particular country, if required. Although the term public domain did not come into use until the mid-18th century, the Romans had a large proprietary rights system where they defined many things that cannot be privately owned as res nullius, res communes, res publicae and res universitatis. The term res nullius was defined as not yet appropriated. The term res communes was defined as things that could be enjoyed by mankind, such as air, sunlight. The term res publicae referred to things that were shared by all citizens, when the first early copyright law was first established in Britain with the Statute of Anne in 1710, public domain did not appear. However, similar concepts were developed by British and French jurists in the eighteenth century, instead of public domain they used terms such as publici juris or propriété publique to describe works that were not covered by copyright law. The phrase fall in the domain can be traced to mid-nineteenth century France to describe the end of copyright term. In this historical context Paul Torremans describes copyright as a coral reef of private right jutting up from the ocean of the public domain. Because copyright law is different from country to country, Pamela Samuelson has described the public domain as being different sizes at different times in different countries. According to James Boyle this definition underlines common usage of the public domain and equates the public domain to public property. However, the usage of the public domain can be more granular. Such a definition regards work in copyright as private property subject to fair use rights, the materials that compose our cultural heritage must be free for all living to use no less than matter necessary for biological survival
28.
Ardashir I
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Ardashir I or Ardeshir I, also known as Ardashir the Unifier, was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. After defeating the last Parthian shahnshah Artabanus V on the Hormozdgān plain in 224, he overthrew the Parthian dynasty, afterwards, Ardashir called himself shahanshah and began conquering the land that he called Iran. There are various reports about Ardashirs lineage and ancestry. According to Al-Tabaris report, Ardashir was son of Papak, son of Sasan, according to Al-Tabaris report, Ardashir was born in the outskirts of Istakhr, Pars. Al-Tabari adds that Ardashir was sent to the lord of Fort Darabgard when he was seven years old, after the lords death, Ardashir succeeded him and became the commander of Fort Darabgard. Al-Tabari continues that afterward, Papak overthrew the local Persian shah named Gochihr and appointed his son, Shapur, according to Al-Tabaris report, Shapur and his father, Papak, suddenly died and Ardashir became the ruler of Pars. It is probable that the role that is stated about Ardashir in leading the rebellion against the central government is the product of the later historical studies. Papak had probably united most of Pars under his rule by then, Ardashir had an outstanding role in developing the royal ideology. He tried to show himself as a worshiper of Mazda related to god, on the other hand, some historians believe that the first Sasanian shahanshahs were familiar with the Achaemenids and their succeeding shahanshahs deliberately turned to the Kayanians. They knowingly ignored the Achaemenids in order to attribute their past to the Kayanians, in order to remark his victories, Ardashir carved petroglyphs in Firuzabad, Naqsh-e Rajab and Naqsh-e Rustam. It can be deduced from the picture that Ardashir assumed or wished for others to assume that his rule over the land that was called Iran in the inscriptions was designated by the lord. The word Iran was previously used in Avesta and as the name of the land of the Aryans. In Ardashirs period, the title Iran was chosen for the region under the Sasanian rule, what is clear is that the concept of Iran previously had a religious application and then ended up creating its political face and the concept of a geographical collection of lands. Ardashir, which was pronounced /ærtæxʃæɵræ/, has one of old. It is read and pronounced as Artaxérxēs, Αρταξέρξης in Greek, /ærtæxʃtær/, /ærtæxʃir/ in Middle Persian, Artašēs, Արտաշէս in Armenian, literally, Ardashir means the one whose reign is based on honesty and justice. The first part of Artakhshir is adapted from the concept of justice known as Ṛta or Asha. Three of Achaemenid kings of kings and four of the local Shahs of Pars - known as Frataraka - were named Ardashir, examples of text remnants related to Ardashir I include his short inscription in Nagsh-e Rajab and also Shapur Is inscription at the Kaba-ye Zartosht. Reports are texts that are written in languages and periods
29.
Shapur I
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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
30.
Hormizd I
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Hormizd-Ardashir, better known by his dynastic name of Hormizd I, was the third shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire from May 270 to June 271. He was the youngest son of Shapur I, under whom he was governor of Armenia, according to legend, Gurdzad alone was saved by a peasant, Shapur I saw her and made her his wife, and afterwards her son Hormizd I was recognized and acknowledged by Ardashir. Hormizd also had three brothers named Bahram I, Narseh, and Shapur Mishanshah, although he was younger than some of his brothers, he was designed as Shapurs heir because of his prominent descent from his mothers side. Hormizd is first mentioned during the wars of Shapur I against the Roman Empire, according to Cyrille Toumanoff, Hormizd was appointed as the ruler of Armenia, which he ruled from 251 until his accession in 270. Little is known of his reign, according to the Muslim chronicler Abu Mansur al-Thaalibi, Hormizd, like his father and grandfather, ruled with justice. He founded the city of Ram-Hormizd, Hormizd-Ardashir, and Dastagird, Hormizd also campaigned against the Sogdians, where he was victorious, managed to impose tribute, and erect at their border a stone column that they were not allowed to cross. Hormizd then returned to Estakhr where he died after a reign of one year. Hormizd was not succeeded by his son Hormozdak, but by his brother Bahram I, decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire, The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
31.
Bahram I
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Bahram I was the fourth Sasanian emperor of the third Iranian Empire. He was the eldest son of Shapur I and succeeded his brother Hormizd I, Bahram I was known as a benevolent and worthy king. Bahram I was the son of Shapur I and he had 3 brothers, who were named Hormizd I, Narseh, and Shapur Mishanshah. The theophoric name Bahram comes from middle Persian Varahrän, victory, according to a Pahlavi inscription, Bahram I was the son of Shapur I. The earliest reference to Bahram I occurs in the monument of Bahrams grandfather Ardashir I at Naqsh-e Rajab. There, the king appears as a smaller figure between Ardeshir and Ahura Mazda, and Bahram is seen bowing before the divinity after whom he is named. Similar iconography, such as the motifs in the seals and crown of Bahram. He was succeeded by his son who bore the name and is known to history as Bahram II. Under the guidance of Kartir, Bahram I had the prophet Mani, Mani died in his cell by unknown cause. On orders of Bahram I, the death was followed by the persecution of his disciples. Manichaeism was relatively well established by that time, and was supported by numerous priests under a hierarchy of leaders that including twelve apostles. Nearly all of them were handed over to the Zoroastrian clergy, Bahram I did not have good relations with Rome. Zenobia, the wife of Odenathus had established herself the regent of Palmyra in the name of Odenathus minor son, however, Odenathus had expanded his little kingdom to such a large extent that it now arouse the jealousy of the Roman Emperor. Hence despite the fact that the dealings between Rome and Palmyra were friendly, the Roman Emperor Aurelian still commissioned a force to capture Palmyra in the year 273, Zenobia appealed to Bahram for help, who then provided her with an armed contingent. Despite this assistance, Zenobia lost the battle and was forced to flee and she once again appealed to Bahram I for asylum but was overtaken and captured before she could cross into Sassanid-controlled territory. Bahram I appealed to the Roman Emperor for peace and dispatched envoys to Rome, Aurelian accepted Bahram Is gifts and the terms of peace offered. The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, ch. V. Shapur Shahbazi, A. SASANIAN DYNASTY
32.
Bahram II
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Bahram II was the fifth Sasanian King of Persia in 274–293. He was the son of Bahram I, Bahram II is said to have ruled at first tyrannically, and to have greatly disgusted all his principal nobles, who went so far as to form a conspiracy against him, and intended to put him to death. The chief of the Magi, however, interposed, and, having effectually alarmed the king, brought him to acknowledge his wrong, Bahram II was the oldest son of Bahram I. During his youth, he grew up in Khuzistan, a province inhabited by many Assyrian Christians and he seems to have learned the doctrine of Christianity and some of the Syriac language of Mesopotamia. During the late reign of his father, Bahram had not reached adulthood yet, when his father died in 276, he succeeded the latter, being aided in the affairs of his empire by his mentor Kartir. Bahram II was shortly married to Shapurdukhtak, the daughter of Shapur Mishanshah, in 282, while Persia was in civil war, the Roman Emperor Carus crossed the Euphrates along with his troops and invaded Mesopotamia wreaking havoc. Bahram II was not able to offer any resistance as his troops were occupied fighting against his cousin Hormizd in Sakastan, Mesopotamia was ravaged and the city of Ctesiphon was occupied by the Roman troops. However, as an oracle had predicted earlier, the death of Carus cut short his career as well as the Roman advance, following Caruss death, the Romans retreated, Bahram retook Mesopotamia. In 283 Bahram II defeated his brother in Sakastan, and had the latter executed and replaced with his own son Bahram III as the governor of Sakastan and he later had rock reliefs cut at Bishapur and Naqsh-e Rustam to commemorate his victory. In 286, however, Diocletian resumed hostilities with Persia, Armenia was separated after a couple of battles and Tiridates declared himself independent. Tiridates achieved extraordinary success during this period and he defeated two Persian armies in the open field, drove out the garrisons which held the more important of the fortified towns, and became undisputed master of Armenia. He even crossed the border which separated Armenia from Persia, Bahram II died soon afterwards in an extremely dejected state. He was succeeded by his son Bahram III, of Bahram IIs reign some theological inscriptions exist. Bahram II, like his father, treated Kartir with much respect, saw him as a mentor, decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire, The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. The Civilizations of the Ancient Near East Volume 7 by George Rawlinson William Leadbetter, Carus, DIR
33.
Bahram III
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Bahram III, was the sixth Sassanid King of Persia and son of Bahram II. He was appointed viceroy to the region of Sakastan after Bahram IIs re-conquest of it sometime in the 280s CE, Bahram III ascended to the throne vacated by his father following his death in 293 CE. After reigning for a period of four months, Bahram III was either captured or more likely killed during a campaign by Narseh who then ascended to the throne in Bahrams place. In Sassanid Persia, it was customary for kings after conquering a land or people, Bahram III gained his title of sākān shāh presumably after his fathers victory over the Sakastan region. Following the death of Bahram II in 293 CE, Bahram III was proclaimed king in Fārs by a group of nobles led by Wahnam and supported by Adurfarrobay, King of Mesan. By the time of his ascension, he was still a minor, Bahram IIs loss of Armenia undermined the integrity of the kingdom giving the Romans an easy route to invade Media and many western parts of the kingdom. Many amongst the nobility considered him too weak to properly handle the threat posed by the Romans, four months into Bahram IIIs reign, his grand-uncle Narseh was summoned to Ctesiphon by the request of many members of the Persian nobility. According to the Paikuli inscription these nobles swore their allegiance to him there. In a brief revolt, Wahnam was captured and executed and Bahram was removed from the throne and it is assumed Bahram III was also killed in the uprising though there is no documentation of this so his fate remains uncertain. Many coins that could be attributed to him are small in number and due to uncertainty, because many of the coins are attributed to him are smoother than usual the details of his crown are faint. It is believed that he is depicted wearing a crown with a crenelated lower rim. The Sasani sphere sits between the horns on the front of the crown, a low relief at the Bishapur archeological site depicts a figure being trampled by a horse. It is assumed that this scene is a representation of either the death of Bahram III or more likely his ally Wahnam, the Sassanian Inscription of Paikuli by Prods Skjærvø
34.
Bahram V
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Bahram V was the fifteenth Sasanian King of Persia. Also called Bahram Gōr or Bahram Gūr, he was a son of Yazdegerd I, after his fathers assassination, Bahram V gained the crown against the opposition of the grandees by the help of Al-Mundhir I ibn al-Numan, the king of the Lakhmid dynasty. Bahram V began his reign with a persecution of the Christians. His chief mōbed Mihr-Shabūr ordered Christian tombs and gravesites exhumed, among those executed was James Intercisus, which led to a war with the Eastern Romans. In the year 421, the Romans sent their general Ardaburius with an extensive contingent into Armenia, Ardaburius defeated the Persian commander Narseh and proceeded to plunder the province of Arzanene and lay siege to Nisibis. Ardaburius abandoned the siege in the face of an army under Bahram. Peace was then concluded between the Persians and Romans with a return to status quo ante bellum, the situation in Armenia occupied Bahram immediately after the conclusion of peace with Rome. Armenia had been without a king since Bahrams brother Shapur had vacated the country in 418, Bahram now desired that a descendant of the royal line of kings, a scion of the Arshakunis, should be on the throne of Armenia. With this intention in mind, he selected an Arshakuni named Artaxias IV, a son of Vramshapuh, but the newly appointed king did not have a good character. The frustrated nobles petitioned Bahramgur to remove Artaxias IV and admit Armenia into the Persian Empire so that the province would be under the control of the Sassanian Empire. Despite his strong protests, however, Armenia was annexed by Bahram, during the later part of Bahram Vs reign, Persia was invaded from the northeast by Hephthalite hordes who ravaged northern Iran under the command of their leader. They crossed the Elburz into Khorasan and proceeded as far as the ancient town of Rey, unprepared, Bahram initially made an offer of peace and submission which was well received by the Khan of the Hephthalites. But crossing Tabaristan, Hyrcania and Nishapur by night, he took the Huns unawares and massacred them along with their Khan, the retreating Huns were pursued and slaughtered up to the Oxus. One of Bahrams generals followed the Huns deep into Hun territory and his portrait which survived for centuries on the coinage of Bukhara is considered to be an evidence of his victory over the Huns. Bahram V has left behind a rich and colorful legacy, with numerous legends and his fame has survived the downplay of Zoroastrianism and the anti-Iranian measures of the Umayyads and the Mongols, and many of the stories have been incorporated in contemporary Islamic lore. His legacy even survives outside Iran and he is the king who receives the Three Princes of Serendip in the tale that gave rise to the word Serendipity. He is believed to be the inspiration for the legend of Bahramgur prevalent in the Punjab and he is called Bahram Gur, Onager, on account of his love for hunting, and in particular, hunting onagers. The ruins of three of these towers are yet shown by the peasantry, as also the swamp in which Bahram sunk while pursuing his Gur, some have judged Bahram V to have been rather a weak monarch, after the heart of the grandees and the priests
35.
Yazdegerd II
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Yazdegerd II, was the sixteenth Sasanian emperor of Iran. He was the successor and son of Bahram V and reigned from 438 to 457, at the start of his reign, he continued his father’s policies. However, after time, he turned away from these. Each age has its own customs, in 440, Yazdegerd II waged a war against the Roman Empire, with little success for either side. The Romans, however, were invaded in their provinces by the Vandals, Making the Roman Emperor, Theodosius II, ask for peace and send his commander, Anatolius. In the ensuing negotiations in 440, both empires promised not to any new fortifications in Mesopotamia and that the Sasanian Empire would get some payment. In 453, Yazdegerd II moved his court to Nishapur in Khorasan to face the threat from the Huns and he spent many years at war against the Huns. According to the Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr, Yazdegerd fortified the city of Damghan, after his wars against the Huns, Yazdegerds shifted his focus on Armenia, Caucasian Albania and the Roman Empire. Yazdegerd was known for his religious zeal in promoting Zoroastrianism, leading to persecutions of Christians, mostly Assyrians, under his reign,153,000 Assyrians were massacred solely in one city, Kirkuk. Advancing his pro-Zoroastrian policy, he battled an uprising of Armenian Christians in the Battle of Avarayr in 451, in his later years, Yazdegerd became engaged again with the Kidarites until his death in 457. He pursued strict religious policies and persecuted various minorities, decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire, The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran
36.
Peroz I
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Peroz I was the eighteenth king of the Sasanian Empire, who ruled from 459 to 484. Peroz I was the eldest son of Yazdegerd II, the Hephthalite monarch, Khushnavaz, was glad to welcome him and aid him in his war against Hormizd. Peroz was also supported by Raham of the Mihran family, during this dynastic struggle, Denag, the mother of the two Sasanian princes, governed all of the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon, or some parts of it. With Hephthalite and Mihranid assistance, Peroz led an army against Hormizd, defeated him and he then ceded Taliqan to Khushnavaz. Sources differ as to what happened to Hormizd after his capture, some say that he was put to death. However, the Persian historian Mir-Khvand says that Peroz pardoned his younger brother, the civil war in Iran had affected the nation so much as to cost a province. Vache II, the king of Caucasian Albania, rebelled against Sasanian rule, so once Peroz I ascended the throne in the year 459, he led an army into Albania and completely subjugated the nation. He then allowed the Armenians of Persian Armenia to practice their religion, Christianity and he also made an agreement with the Byzantine Empire that they would together defend the Caucasus from incursions. Furthermore, Peroz ordered his foster brother Izad Gushnasp to take the Armenians who had held captive during the reign of his father to Herat. Historians of the record the occurrence of a seven-year famine which devastated the crops. Sources say that the wells became dry and that there was not a trickle of water either in the Tigris or the Euphrates, eventually the crops failed and thousands perished. Historians record that Peroz I showed an extreme rigidness of character in the face of such an adversity, as a result of his wisdom and benevolence, Persia gradually recovered from the famine. During the start of the war, however, Peroz did not have enough manpower to fight them, and therefore asked for aid by the Byzantine Empire. Peroz then offered peace to the leader of the Kidarites, Kunkhas, however, Peroz tried to trick Kunkhas, and sent a woman of low status instead. After some time Kunkhas found about Perozs false promise, and then in turn tried to trick him, by requesting him to send military experts to strengthen his army. What happened after remains obscure, it is known that by 467, Peroz, with Hephthalite aid, managed to capture Balaam and put an end to Kidarite rule in Transoxiana once. Although the Kidarites still controlled some places such as Gandhara, they would never bother the Sasanians again, however, after some time, the Hephthalites betrayed Peroz and seized Balkh from him, startiny the first war between the Sasanians and the Hephthalites. During this war, Peroz suffered a defeat in the third battle between the two forces in 469, and was captured by Hephthalites
37.
Balash
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Balash was the nineteenth king of the Sasanian Empire from 484 to 488. He was the brother and successor of Peroz I, who had died in a battle against the Hephthalite invasion of Iran from the east, Balash was made King of Persia following the death of his brother Peroz fighting the Hephthalites at the Battle of Herat. Immediately after ascending the throne, he sought peace with the Hephthalites, little is known about Balash, but he is perceived by eastern sources as a mild and tolerant ruler. He was very tolerant of Christianity, which earned him a reputation among Christian authors, nevertheless, it would seem that Balash was only a nominee of the powerful nobleman and de facto ruler Sukhra. At the announcement of the death of Peroz, the Iranian nobles of Persian Armenia became eager to go to Ctesiphon to elect a new sovereign and this allowed the Armenians under Vahan Mamikonian to liberate Armenia from the Sasanians. Given the situation of the weakness in Persia, Balash did not send an army to fight the rebels, in 485, Balash appointed Vahan Mamikonian as the marzban of Armenia. A few months later, a son of Peroz named Zarir rose in rebellion, Balash, with the aid of the Armenians, put down the rebellion, captured and killed him. As a result, Balash was deposed by Sukhra, and Kavadh was installed as emperor, decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire, The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran
38.
Kavadh I
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Kavadh I was the Sasanian king of Persia from 488 to 531. A son of Peroz I, he was crowned by the nobles in place of his deposed and blinded uncle Balash and his reign saw the uprising of Vakhtang I of Iberia, as well as the Anastasian War and the Iberian War against the Sasanians archrival, the neighboring Byzantines. During Kavadhs reign, the name of the Iranian city of Derbent meaning gateway in modern-day Dagestan, after the Sasanian disaster at the battle of Herat, only few members of the royal line remained, according to Procopius, of the ca.30 sons of Peroz I. He was, however, in captivity under the Hephthalites, and was rescued by the Karenid Sukhra. After this victory, Kavadh and Sukhra returned to Ctesiphon, where Balash was crowned as king of the Empire, however, in reality it was Sukhra who had control over the Sasanian Empire. Gushnaspdad, the kanarang of Abarshahr, urged the Sasanian nobles to have Kavadh executed, however, the Sasanian nobles declined the suggestion and instead had Kavadh imprisoned. He later managed to escape and took refugee in Central Asia, in 488, Kavadh returned to Persia with the aid of the Hephthalites, and was joined by other Sasanian nobles, who included Adergoudounbades, a relative of Gushnaspdad. During the revolt of Kavadh, Sukhra told Balash that he was unsuitable to rule as the king of Sasanian Empire and had him deposed in favor of Kavadh, the new Sasanian king then had Gushnaspdad executed, and he was replaced by Adergoudounbades as kanarang. Even after the ascension of a new Sasanian king, Sukhra still possessed a massive amount of power, according to Ferdowsi, al-Tabari says the following thing about Sukhras power, Sukhra was in charge of government of the kingdom and the management of affairs. The people came to Sukhra and undertook all their dealings with him, treating Kavadh as a person of no importance and regarding his commands with contempt. In 493 Kavadh tried to reduce the power of Sukhra by sending him to his city in Pars, and later, with the aid of Shapur of Ray, defeated Sukhras loyalists. Sukhra was then brought to Ctesiphon where he was executed, Vakhtang I, the incumbent Chosroid king, was on friendly terms with the Sasanian kings prior to Kavadh I, and joined them on various expeditions and in numerous wars. By this act, Vakhtang placed himself in open confrontation with his Iranian suzerain, Vakhtang called on the Armenian princes and the Huns for co-operation. After some hesitation, the Armenians under Vardan’s nephew Vahan Mamikonian, the allies were routed and Iberia was ravaged by Iranian punitive expeditions in 483 and 484, forcing Vakhtang into flight to Roman-controlled Lazica. After Peroz’s death in the war with the Hephthalites in 484, Vakhtang was able to resume his reign in Iberia, but did not betray his pro-Roman line. Once the Hundred Years Peace between Iran and the Eastern Roman Empire collapsed, Kavadh I summoned Vakhtang as a vassal to join in a new campaign against the Romans, Vakhtang refused, provoking an Iranian invasion of his kingdom. Then about 60, he had to spend the last years of his life in war and exile, according to the LVG, Vakhtang died fighting an Iranian invading army at the hands of his renegade slave who shot him through an armpit defect of his armor. The wounded king was transported to his castle at Ujarma where he died and was interred at the cathedral in Mtskheta, javakhishvili puts Vakhtang’s death at c
39.
Jamasp
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Djamasp was a Sasanian king who ruled from 496 to 498. He was the brother of king Kavadh I and was installed on the Sasanian throne upon the deposition of the latter by members of the nobility. Not much is known about Jamasp himself, and his name only in conjunction with his short interregnum. Byzantine accounts of the mention that Kavadh was deposed because of his determination to spread a new religion that preached redistribution of property. Following Kavadhs deposition and subsequent imprisonment, Jamasp was elected to succeed his brother, later Islamic sources such as Tabari and Dinawari inform us that Jamasp was a good and kind king who reduced taxes in order to relieve the peasants and the poor. He was also an adherent of the Mazdean religion, diversions from which had cost Kavadh his throne. Jamasp then went to Persian Armenia, where he defeated the Khazars, conquered some of their territory, and married a woman from Armenia, who bore him a son named Narsi. After Jamasps death in 530/540, his son Narsi, who had a son named Piruz, expanded the domains of his family, which included Gilan. He then married one of the princesses of Gilan, who bore him a son named Gil Gavbara, who started the Dabuyid dynasty. His son Dabuya succeeded him as ispahbadh of the Dabuyid dynasty, while his son, Paduspan. An introduction to the history of the Assyrian Church, or, The Church of the Sassanid Persian Empire, decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire, The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Shapur". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the