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Marzban
Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from ''marz'' "border, boundary" and the suffix ''-pān'' "guardian"; Modern Persian: ''Marzbān'') were a class of margraves, warden of the marches, and by extension military commanders, in charge of border provinces of the Parthian Empire (247 BC–224 AD) and mostly Sasanian Empire (224–651 AD) of Iran. Etymology The Persian word ''marz'' is derived from Avestan ''marəza'' "frontier, border"; ''pān/pāvan'' is cognate with Avestan and Old Persian ''pat'' "protector". The word was borrowed from New Persian into Arabic as ''marzubān'' (plural ''marāziba''). "Al-Marzubani" () has been used as a '' nisba'' (family title) for some Iranian families whose ancestor was a marzbān. The prominent Islamic scholar Abu Hanifa, whose formal name is given in Islamic sources as Nu'man ibn Thabit ibn Zuta ''ibn Marzubān'' (), was descended from the marzbāns of Kabul, where his father came from. The Bavand (651� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sasanian Empire
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 after the House of Sasan, it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651 AD, making it the longest-lived Persian imperial dynasty. The Sasanian Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire, and re-established the Persians as a major power in late antiquity alongside its neighbouring arch-rival, the Roman Empire (after 395 the Byzantine Empire).Norman A. Stillman ''The Jews of Arab Lands'' pp 22 Jewish Publication Society, 1979 International Congress of Byzantine Studies ''Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London, 21–26 August 2006, Volumes 1–3'' pp 29. Ashgate Pub Co, 2006 The empire was founded by Ardashir I, an Iranian ruler who rose to power as Parthia weakened from internal strife and wars with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kanarang
The ''kanārang'' ( fa, کنارنگ) was a unique title in the Sasanian military, given to the commander of the Sasanian Empire's northeasternmost frontier province, Abarshahr (encompassing the cities of Nishapur, Tus and Abiward). In Byzantine sources, it is rendered as ''chanaranges'' ( el, χαναράγγης) and often used, for instance by Procopius, in lieu of the holder's actual name. The title was used instead of the more conventional ''marzban'', which was held by the rest of the Iranian frontier wardens. Like the other ''marzbans'', the position was hereditary. The family holding it (the ''Kanarangiyan'') is first attested in the reign of Yazdegerd I (r. 399–421), but was descended from some pre-Sasanian, most likely Parthian, dynasty. They enjoyed a high prestige and great authority in the Sasanian Empire's northeastern borderlands, as reflected in their glorified description in the ''Shahnameh'' of the great Persian poet Ferdowsi. They were among the great fam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abarshahr
Abarshahr (Persian:اَبَرشهر) or Nishapur (Persian:نیشاپور) was a Sasanian satrapy (province) in Late Antiquity, that lay within the kust of Khorasan. The province bordered Media in the west, Hyrcania in the north west, Margiana in the north east, and Harev in the south east. The governor of Abarshahr is attested to have held the unique title of kanarang, distinguished from the title of marzban given to governors of frontier provinces. Abarshahr came to be known as one of the nicknames of the city of Nishapur which was considered to be the capital city of the province of Abarshahr during the Sassanian period and later on. Etymology Several etymologies have been put forward as to the origin of the name of the province. During the Middle Ages, for example, Arab geographers stated that the name meant "cloud city". It has also been interpreted to mean "upper country". A more recent etymology that suggests that Abarshahr derives from ''Aparn-xšahr'', "land of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abu Hanifa
Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān ( ar, نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان; –767), commonly known by his '' kunya'' Abū Ḥanīfa ( ar, أبو حنيفة), or reverently as Imam Abū Ḥanīfa by Sunni Muslims, was a Persian Sunni Muslim theologian and juristPakatchi, Ahmad and Umar, Suheyl, "Abū Ḥanīfa", in: ''Encyclopaedia Islamica'', Editors-in-Chief: Wilferd Madelung and, Farhad Daftary. who became the eponymous founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence, which has remained the most widely practiced law school in the Sunni tradition, predominates in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran (until the 16th century), Balkans, Russia, Chechnya, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Muslims in India, Turkey, and some parts of the Arab world. Some followers call him ''al-Imām al-Aʿẓam'' ("The Greatest Imam") and ''Sirāj al-Aʾimma'' ("The Lamp of the Imams") in Sunni Islam. Born to a Muslim family in Kufa, Abu Hanifa is known to have travelle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margrave
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empire and the title came to be borne by rulers of some Imperial principalities until the abolition of the Empire in 1806 (e.g., Margrave of Brandenburg, Margrave of Baden). Thereafter, those domains (originally known as ''marks'' or ''marches'', later as ''margraviates'' or ''margravates'') were absorbed in larger realms or the titleholders adopted titles indicative of full sovereignty. History Etymologically, the word "margrave" ( la, marchio, links=no, ) is the English and French form of the German noble title (, meaning "march" or "mark", that is, border land, added to , meaning "Count"); it is related semantically to the English title "Marcher Lord". As a noun and hereditary title, "margrave" was common among the languages of Eur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azadan
The ''Azadan'' (Middle Persian: , Parthian: ; meaning 'free' and 'noble') were a class of Iranian nobles. They are probably identical to the ('the free ones') mentioned in Greek sources to refer to a group of Parthian nobles. According to the 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian Josephus (died 100 AD), the Parthian army led by prince Pacorus I during the invasion of Judea consisted of members of the . The Kingdom of Armenia adopted the same hierarchy as that of the Parthians, which included the class (), which was used to label the Armenian middle and lower nobility. The name of the Georgian nobility, , also corresponded to that of . A class of are also attested in Sogdia, an Iranian civilization located in Central Asia. The Sasanians, who supplanted the Parthians in 224, maintained the same divisions of the nobility as their predecessor. Under the Sasanians, the were members of the lower nobility and the last class-rank of the four types of the Sasanian nobility. The fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aswaran
The Aswārān (singular aswār), also spelled Asbārān and Savaran, was a cavalry force that formed the backbone of the army of the Sasanian Empire. They were provided by the aristocracy, were heavily armored, and ranged from archers to cataphracts. Etymology The word comes from the Old Persian word ''asabāra'' (from ''asa''- and ''bar'', a frequently used Achaemenid military technical term). The various other renderings of the word are following; Parthian ''asbār'', Middle Persian ''aspabārak'', Classical Persian ''suwār'' (), ''uswār''/''iswār'' (), Modern Persian ''savār'' (). The Arabic word ''asāwira'' (), used to refer to a certain faction of the Sasanian cavalry after the Muslim conquest, is a broken plural form of the Middle Persian ''aswār''. However, the word ''aswār'' only means "horseman" in Middle Persian literature, and it is only the late Arabic term that has a more specialized meaning. In the Sassanian inscriptions, the formula ''asp ud mard'' (lit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nisa, Turkmenistan
Nisa ( grc, Νῖσος and Νίσα and Νίσαιον; also Parthaunisa, tk, Nusaý) was an ancient settlement of the Parthians, located near thBagyr neighborhoodof Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 18 km west of the city center. Nisa is described by some as the first seat of the Arsacid Empire. It is traditionally assumed to have been founded by Arsaces I (reigned c. 250 BC–211 BC) and was reputedly the royal residence of the Parthian kings, although it has not been established that the fortress at Nisa was either a royal residence or a mausoleum. In 2007, the fortress was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. History Nisa was a major trading hub in the Parthian Empire. Nisa was later renamed Mithradātkert Parthian: 𐭌𐭕𐭓𐭃𐭕𐭊𐭓𐭕 ("fortress of Mithradates") by Mithridates I of Parthia (reigned c. 171 BC–138 BC). The region was famous for the fast and beautiful horses. Nisa was totally destroyed by an earthquake, which occurred during the 1st decade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darius I
Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of Western Asia, parts of the Balkans (Thrace– Macedonia and Paeonia) and the Caucasus, most of the Black Sea's coastal regions, Central Asia, the Indus Valley in the far east, and portions of North Africa and Northeast Africa including Egypt (), eastern Libya, and coastal Sudan. Darius ascended the throne by overthrowing the legitimate Achaemenid monarch Bardiya, whom he later fabricated to be an imposter named Gaumata. The new king met with rebellions throughout his kingdom and quelled them each time; a major event in Darius' life was his expedition to subjugate Greece and punish Athens and Eretria for their participation in the Ionian Revolt. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spahbed
''Spāhbed'' (also spelled ''spahbod'' and ''spahbad'') is a Middle Persian title meaning "army chief" used chiefly in the Sasanian Empire. Originally there was a single ''spāhbed'', called the , who functioned as the generalissimo of the Sasanian army. From the time of Khosrow I ( 531–579) on, the office was split in four, with a ''spāhbed'' for each of the cardinal directions.Gyselen (2004) After the Muslim conquest of Persia, the ''spāhbed'' of the East managed to retain his authority over the inaccessible mountainous region of Tabaristan on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, where the title, often in its Islamic form ( fa, اسپهبذ; in ar, اصبهبذ ), survived as a regnal title until the Mongol conquests of the 13th century.Bosworth (1978), pp. 207–208 An equivalent title of Persian origin, '' ispahsālār or sipahsālār'', gained great currency across the Muslim world in the 10th–15th centuries. The title was also adopted by the Armenians ( hy, սպ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Persian continued to function as a prestige language. It descended from Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenid Empire and is the linguistic ancestor of Modern Persian, an official language of Iran, Afghanistan ( Dari) and Tajikistan ( Tajik). Name "Middle Iranian" is the name given to the middle stage of development of the numerous Iranian languages and dialects. The middle stage of the Iranian languages begins around 450 BCE and ends around 650 CE. One of those Middle Iranian languages is Middle Persian, i.e. the middle stage of the language of the Persians, an Iranian people of Persia proper, which lies in the south-western highlands on the border with Babylonia. The Persians called their language ''Parsik'', meaning "Persian" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seven Parthian Clans
The Seven Great Houses of Iran, also known as the seven Parthian clans, were seven feudal aristocracies of Parthian origin, who were allied with the Sasanian court. The Parthian clans all claimed ancestry from Achaemenid Persians. The seven Great Houses of Iran had played an active role in Iranian politics since the days of the Arsacid Empire, which they continued to do under their successors, the Sasanians. Only two of the seven – the House of Suren and the House of Karen – however, are actually attested in sources date-able to the Parthian period. The seven houses claimed to have been confirmed as lords in Iran by the legendary Kayanian king Vishtaspa. "It may be that ..members of them made up their own genealogies in order to emphasize the antiquity of their families." During Sasanian times, the seven feudal houses played a significant role at the Sasanian court. Bahram Chobin, a famed military commander of Hormizd IV (r. 579–590), was from the House of Mihran. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
