Adhur Gushnasp (also spelled Arderveshnasp) was the ("

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 Emp ...

") of the

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 ...

province 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 ...

from 465 to 482. He was killed during the Armenian rebellion of 482–484, and replaced by

Sahak II Bagratuni Sahak II Bagratuni (Armenian: Սահակ Բ Բագրատունի), was an Armenian nobleman from the Bagratuni Dynasty. He served as the marzban of Persian Armenia briefly in 482. Biography Sahak II was the son of Tirots I Bagratuni, an Armenian ' ...

Biography

Map of Persian Armenia and its surroundings

Adhur Gushnasp is first mentioned in 465, when he was appointed as the ("

") of the province of

by the

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'' ...

()

Peroz I Peroz I ( pal, 𐭯𐭩𐭫𐭥𐭰, Pērōz) was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 459 to 484. A son of Yazdegerd II (), he disputed the rule of his elder brother and incumbent king Hormizd III (), eventually seizing the throne after a ...

(), thus replacing its previous Adhur-Hormizd. The country was at the time dissatisfied with

Zoroastrian 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 monotheistic on ...

Sasanian rule. The policies of the previous ''shahanshah''

Yazdegerd II Yazdegerd II (also spelled Yazdgerd and Yazdgird; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩), was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 438 to 457. He was the successor and son of Bahram V (). His reign was marked by wars against the Eastern Roman ...

() of integrating the Christian nobility into the bureaucracy by forcing them to convert to Zoroastrianism had resulted in a large-scale rebellion in 451, led by the Armenian military leader

Vardan Mamikonian Vardan Mamikonian ( hy, Վարդան Մամիկոնեան; – 451) was an Armenian military leader who led a rebellion against Sasanian Iran in 450–451. He was the head of the Mamikonian noble family and holder of the hereditary title of , ...

. Although the Sasanians defeated the rebels at the

Battle of Avarayr The Battle of Avarayr ( hy, Ավարայրի ճակատամարտ ''Avarayri čakatamart'') was fought on 2 June 451 on the Avarayr Plain in Vaspurakan between a Christian Armenian army under Vardan Mamikonian and Sassanid Persia. It is considere ...

, the impact of the rebellion was still felt, and tensions continued to grow. In 482, a secret meeting took place between a group of Christian Armenians, who prepared to rebel under the leadership of

Vahan Mamikonian Vahan Mamikonian ( hy, Վահան Մամիկոնյան) (440/445503/510) was an Armenian nobleman from the Mamikonian family. In 481 he rebelled against the Sasanian Empire that controlled the eastern part of Armenia known as Persian Armenia. He wa ...

, a nephew of Vardan.Ghazar Parpetsi
66–67
Varaz-Shapur Amatuni, who was present in the meeting, informed Adhur Gushnasp of the impending uprising, which made him abandon the Armenian capital of Dvin and leave for the fortress of

Ani Ani ( hy, Անի; grc-gre, Ἄνιον, ''Ánion''; la, Abnicum; tr, Ani) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia. Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the ...

, where he briefly stayed for a day, and then fled to the city of

Artaxata Artashat ( hy, Արտաշատ); Hellenized as Artaxata ( el, Ἀρτάξατα) and Artaxiasata ( grc, Ἀρταξιάσατα), was a large commercial city and the capital of ancient Armenia during the reign of king Artaxias I; the founder of t ...

whilst being chased by the rebels. They soon besieged the city, but Adhur Gushnasp managed to escape by night and reached the neighbouring province of

Adurbadagan Adurbadagan (Middle Persian: ''Ādurbādagān/Āδarbāyagān'', Parthian: ''Āturpātākān'') was a Sasanian province located in northern Iran, almost corresponded to the present-day Iranian Azerbaijan. Governed by a ''marzban'' ("margrave"), it ...

. At the same time, discord was occurring amongst the rebels, with a certain Varaz-Narseh, prince of Urts, pillaging the city of Brhnavezh.Ghazar Parpetsi
67
The rebels installed the ''

aspet ''Aspet'' (, , ''Aspetes'' in contemporary Greek) was a hereditary military title of the Armenian nobility, usually found within the Bagratuni family.Toumanoff, Cyril (1963), ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History III'', pp. 202, 324-26. Georget ...

as the new of Armenia. Raising a force of 7,000 troops from Adurbadagan and its surroundings, Adhur Gushnasp returned to Armenia. He soon clashed with a force led by Vasak Mamikonian and Babgen Siwni near Akori, but was defeated and killed.Ghazar Parpetsi
67–69

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{Marzbans of Persian Armenia 5th-century Iranian people Sasanian governors of Armenia Year of birth unknown 482 deaths Generals of Peroz I Iranian military personnel killed in action