Andarzbad (from

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...

: ''Andarz'', "advice, counsel") was a

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

administrative office meaning "chief advisor", "chief councillor" or "chief of staff". The ''andarzbads'' were assigned to cities within the Sasanian Empire such as

Ardashir-Khwarrah Ardashir-Khwarrah (Middle Persian: ''Arđaxšēr-Xwarra'', meaning "glory of Ardashir") was one of the four (later five) administrative divisions of the Sasanian province of Pars. The other administrative divisions were Shapur-Khwarrah, Istakhr an ...

(i.e. Gor) or entire provinces, such as

Sakastan Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and Sistan Basin, geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran (Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern A ...

. The main court ''andarzbad'', known as the ''darandarzbad'', served the

Shahanshah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

King of Kings King of Kings; grc-gre, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Basileùs Basiléōn; hy, արքայից արքա, ark'ayits ark'a; sa, महाराजाधिराज, Mahārājadhirāja; ka, მეფეთ მეფე, ''Mepet mepe'' ...

") directly and was one of the highest-ranking dignitaries within the Sasanian court. However, there were also ''andarzbads'' who served in other functions. There was the ''andarzbad ī aswāragān'', who instructed the Sasanian knights, or according to Anahit Perikhanian the ''andarzbadī wāspuhragān'', who exercised executive authority within the King's domain. The "''andarzbad'' of the

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

s" (Middle Persian: ''bʾnykn hndrcpt'';

Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

: ''MLKTEn hndrzpty'') dates back to the reign of

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardas ...

(240–170) and is attested in his inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht. The ''mōgān-andarzbad'' ("advisor of the

magi Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin ''magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...

") was a dignitary who effectively functioned as a legal consultant and held status as "one of the highest ranking dignitaries of the priestly class". M. L. Chaumont adds that the ''mōgān-andarzbad'' office "was quite different from that of the ''mōbadān mōbad''". '' Andarzgar'' ("counselor", "teacher"), a less familiar Sasanian title, may have been modeled on ''andarzbad'' but this remains uncertain.

References

Sources

* * * {{ODLA, last1=Zeini, first1=Arash, last2=Wiesehöfer, first2=Josef, authorlink2=Josef Wiesehöfer, title=Andarzbad, url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-255?rskey=B5106O&result=298 Positions of authority Sasanian administrative offices Persian words and phrases