House of Suren or Surenas.. (

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 ...

: 𐭎𐭅𐭓𐭉𐭍 Surēn,

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 ...

: 𐭮𐭥𐭫𐭩𐭭) is one of two Parthian noble families explicitly mentioned by name in sources dateable to the

Arsacid The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conqueri ...

period..

History

The head of Suren family had the privilege to crown the first Parthian king in the 3rd century BC, which founded a tradition that was continued by his descendants. Following the 3rd century AD defeat of the Arsacids and the subsequent rise of the

Sassanids 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 History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

, the Surenas then switched sides and began to serve the Persians,.. at whose court they were identified as one of the so-called " Parthian clans." The last attested scion of the family was a military commander active in northern China during the 9th century.. It is probable that the Surenas were landowners in

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 ...

, that is, in the region between

Arachosia Arachosia () is the Hellenized name of an ancient satrapy situated in the eastern parts of the Achaemenid empire. It was centred around the valley of the Arghandab River in modern-day southern Afghanistan, and extended as far east as the In ...

and

Drangiana Drangiana or Zarangiana ( el, Δραγγιανή, ''Drangianē''; also attested in Old Western Iranian as 𐏀𐎼𐎣, ''Zraka'' or ''Zranka'', was a historical region and administrative division of the Achaemenid Empire. This region comprise ...

in present-day southeast

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 ...

and Southern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The Surenas appear to have governed

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

(which derives its name from 'Sakastan' and was once a much larger region than the present day province) as their personal

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form o ...

. "

Ernst Herzfeld Ernst Emil Herzfeld (23 July 1879 – 20 January 1948) was a German archaeologist and Iranologist. Life Herzfeld was born in Celle, Province of Hanover. He studied architecture in Munich and Berlin, while also taking classes in Assyriology, anc ...

maintained that the dynasty of he_Indo-Parthian_emperor.html" ;"title="Indo-Parthian.html" ;"title="he Indo-Parthian">he Indo-Parthian emperor">Indo-Parthian.html" ;"title="he Indo-Parthian">he Indo-Parthian emperorGondophares represented the House of Suren." ''cf.'' . Other notable members of the family include the 1st century BC cavalry commander Surena, Gregory the Illuminator, and Chihor-Vishnasp, a 6th-century AD governor of

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 ''Ox ...

who attempted to establish

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...

in that country.. Mehr Narseh, the minister of four

Sasanian kings The Sasanian monarchs were the rulers of Iran after their victory against their former suzerain, the Parthian Empire, at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224. At its height, the Sasanian Empire spanned from Turkey and Rhodes in the west to Pakistan in ...

, was from the House of Suren.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * . * * * * Plutarch, "Marcus Crassus", in * * * * {{Parthian Empire Iranian dynasties