Anērān (
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 ...
, ) or Anīrân (
Modern Persian
New Persian ( fa, فارسی نو), also known as Modern Persian () and Dari (), is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into thre ...
, ) is an ethno-linguistic term that signifies "non-
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
" or "non-
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
" (non-Aryan). Thus, in a general sense, 'Aniran' signifies lands where
Iranian languages
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau.
The Iranian languages are groupe ...
are not spoken. In a pejorative sense, it denotes "a political and religious enemy of Iran and
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
."
The term 'Aniran' derives 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 ...
''anērān'',
Pahlavi ''ʼnyrʼn'', an antonym of ''
ērān'' that in turn denoted either the people or the
Sasanian Empire.
[.] However, "in Zoroastrian literature and possibly in Sasanian political thought as well, the term has also a markedly religious connotation. An ''anēr'' person is not merely non-Iranian, but specifically non-Zoroastrian; and ''anēr'' designates also worshipers of the
''dēws'' ("demons") or adherents of other religions." In these texts of the ninth to twelfth century, "Arabs and Turks are called ''anēr'', as are Muslims generally, the latter in a veiled manner."
In inscriptions
In official usage, the term is first attested in inscriptions 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 ...
(r. 241–272), who styled himself the "king of kings of ''Ērān'' and ''Anērān''." Shapur's claim to ''Anērān'' reflected the emperor's victories over
Valerian and
Philip, and staked a claim against the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
, the enemies of the Sassanid state. This is also reflected in
Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht
Shapur I's Ka'ba-ye Zartosht inscription (shortened as Shapur-KZ, ŠKZ, SKZ), also referred to as The Great Inscription of Shapur I, and ''Res Gestae Divi Saporis'' (RGDS), is a trilingual inscription made during the reign of the Sasanian king S ...
, where the emperor includes
Syria,
Cappadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...
, and
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
- all three previously captured from the Romans — in his list of ''Anērān'' territories.
The proclamation as "king of kings of Ērān and Anērān" remained a stock epithet of subsequent Sassanid dynasts. Thirty years after Shapur, the Zoroastrian high-priest
Kartir
Kartir (also spelled Karder, Karter and Kerdir; Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭫𐭲𐭩𐭫 ''Kardīr'') was a powerful and influential Zoroastrian priest during the reigns of four Sasanian kings in the 3rd-century. His name is cited in the inscriptions ...
included the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
and
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
in his list of ''Anērān'' territories. In this, Kartir's inscription (also at
Ka'ba-ye Zartosht
The Ka'ba-ye Zartosht ( fa, کعبه زرتشت), or the Cube of Zarathustra, is a stone quadrangular stepped structure in the Naqsh-e Rustam compound beside Zangiabad village in Marvdasht county in Fars, Iran. The Naqsh-e Rustam compound als ...
) contradicts Shapur's, which included the same two regions in his list of regions of ''Ērān''.
In scripture and folklore
In the ninth to twelfth century Zoroastrian texts, the legendary
Turan
Turan ( ae, Tūiriiānəm, pal, Tūrān; fa, توران, Turân, , "The Land of Tur") is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical re ...
ian king and military commander
Afrasiab
Afrasiab ( fa, ''afrāsiyāb''; ae, Fraŋrasyan; Middle-Persian: ''Frāsiyāv, Frāsiyāk'') is the name of the mythical king and hero of Turan. He is the main antagonist of the Persian epic Shahnameh, written by Ferdowsi.
The mythical king ...
is (together with
Dahag and
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
) the most hated among the beings that Ahriman (Avestan ''Angra Mainyu'') set against the
Iranians (''
Zand-i Wahman yasn
The ''Zand-i Wahman Yasn'' is a medieval Zoroastrian apocalyptical text in Middle Persian. It professes to be a prophetical work, in which Ahura Mazda gives Zoroaster an account of what was to happen to the ''behdin'' (those of the "good religio ...
'' 7.32; ''Menog-i Khrad'' 8.29)
[.]
In the ''
Shahnameh
The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50 ...
'', the poet
Ferdowsi draws on Zoroastrian scripture (with due attribution) and retains the association of ''Aneran'' with the Turanians. From the point of view of Ferdowsi's home in
Khorasan, this identification coincides with the Avestan notion (e.g. ''
Vendidad
The Vendidad /ˈvendi'dæd/ or Videvdat or Videvdad is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta. However, unlike the other texts of the Avesta, the ''Vendidad'' is an ecclesiastical code, not a liturgical manual.
Name
...
'' 7.2, 19.1) that the lands of Angra Mainyu (Middle Persian: Ahriman) lay to the north. The two sources do however diverge with respect to details. In the Avesta,
Sogdia (Avestan ''Sughdha'', present-day
Sughd and
Samarqand Region
Samarqand Region (Samarkand Region) ( uz, Самарқанд вилояти, Samarqand viloyati, russian: Самаркандская область) is the most populous region of Uzbekistan. It is located in the center of the country in the basi ...
s) is not Anērān – Sogdia is one of the sixteen lands created by Mazda, not one of the lands of Angra Mainyu.
Nonetheless, for Ferdowsi the division between Ērān and Anērān is just as rigid as it is in the ''Avesta'': When the primordial king
Fereydun
Fereydun ( ae, 𐬚𐬭𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀𐬊𐬥𐬀, Θraētaona, pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭩𐭲𐭥𐭭, ; New Persian: , ''Fereydūn/Farīdūn'') is an Iranian mythical king and hero from the Pishdadian dynasty. He is known as an emblem of victory, just ...
(Avestan ''Θraētaona'') divides his kingdom – the whole world – among his three sons, he gives the Semitic lands in the west to the eldest, the lands of the north to his middle son Tur (Avestan ''Turya'', hence the name "Turanian"), and ''Ērān'' to his youngest (''Shahnameh'' 1.189
[.]). In the story, this partition leads to a family feud in which an alliance of the two elder sons (who rule over the Anērānian lands) battle the forces of the youngest (the Iranians). The Iranians win.
For Ferdowsi, the Turanians/Anērānians (often used interchangeably) are unquestionably the villains of the piece. Their conflict with Iranians is the main theme of the ''Shahnameh'' and accounts for more than half of the text.
The deaths of heroes and other admirable figures are frequently attributed to Turanians. Thus ''Shahnameh'' 5.92
[.] says a Turanian raider named Tur-Baratur killed the 77-year-old
Zoroaster
Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label= Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is ...
in
Balkh.
Bibliography
{{reflist
Shahnameh
History of Zoroastrianism
Sasanian Empire
Ancient history of Iran
Ethno-cultural designations
Exonyms
Persian words and phrases