Dehqan
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The ''dehqân'' ( fa, دهقان) or ''dehgân'' ( fa, دهگان), were a class of land-owning magnates during 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 ...
and early Islamic period, found throughout Iranian-speaking lands. The ''deqhans'' started to gradually fade away under the
Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...
and
Qarakhanids The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; ), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia in the 9th through the early 13th century. The dynastic names of Karakhanids and Ilek K ...
, due to the increase of the ''
iqta' An iqta ( ar, اقطاع, iqṭāʿ) and occasionally iqtaʿa ( ar, اقطاعة) was an Islamic practice of tax farming that became common in Muslim Asia during the Buyid dynasty. Iqta has been defined in Nizam-al-Mulk's Siyasatnama. Administrat ...
'' (land grants) and the decline of the landowning class. By the time of their dissolution, they had played a key role in preserving the Iranian national identity. Their Islamization and cultural Iranianization of the Turks led to the establishment of the Iranian essence within the Islamic world, something which would continue throughout the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
and far into modern times.


Etymology

The term ''dehqân'' descended 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 ...
''dahigān'' meaning "countryman, peasent, villager" or "farmer". The original meaning was "pertaining to the deh" ( peo, dahyu)—the latter term not in the latter sense of “village” (as in
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 ...
) but in the original sense of “land”. ''Deh'' (ده / 𐭬𐭲𐭠) has both the same meaning of "village" in Middle Persian and in Modern Persian.


Pre-Islamic era

In the pre-Islamic
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 History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
, the ''dehqans'' were considered minor landowners. The term ''dehqan'' emerged as a
hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...
social class in the later Sassanid era, that managed local affairs and whom peasants were obliged to obey. Following the suppression of the
Mazdakite Mazdakism was an Iranian religion, which was an offshoot of Zoroastrianism. The religion has been called one of the most noteworthy examples of pre-modern communism. The religion was founded in the early Sasanian Empire by Zardusht, a Zoroas ...
uprising,
Khosrau I Khosrow I (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩; New Persian: []), traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan ( [] "the Immortal Soul"), was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from ...
implemented social reforms which benefited the ''dehqans''. Under reign of Khosrau, who followed the same policies as his father, the ''dehqans'' gained influence as the backbone of the
Sasanian army The Sasanian army was the primary military body of the Sasanian armed forces, serving alongside the Sasanian navy. The birth of the army dates back to the rise of Ardashir I (r. 224–241), the founder of the Sasanian Empire, to the throne. A ...
and as imperial tax collectors, eventually replacing the nobility as the base for the army under Khosrau reforms. As their influence grew, they maintained Persian ethics, ideals and social norms which were later reawakened during medieval times in Islamic Persia.


Islamic era

In early Islamic texts, the ''dehqans'' function almost as local rulers under the Arab domain and the term was sometimes juxtaposed with '' marzabān'' (“marcher-lord, governor”). By the 11th century, the ''dehqans'' were landowners or directly involved in agriculture; either the planting or the management of the land. Aside from their political and social role, the ''dehqans'' who were well versed in the history and culture of
pre-Islamic Iran The history of Iran is intertwined with the history of a larger region known as Greater Iran, comprising the area from Anatolia in the west to the borders of Ancient India and the Syr Darya in the east, and from the Caucasus and the Eurasian ...
, played an important cultural role by serving rulers and princes as learned men. Iranians had not only preserved the ideals of the ''dehqans'' from the Sassanid times and brought them into the Islamic period, but they also inculcated these ideals to the minds of the ruling Arab aristocracy, who also fused with Iranians. In the 9th century, the
Tahirids The Tahirid dynasty ( fa, طاهریان, Tâheriyân, ) was a culturally Arabized Sunni Muslim dynasty of Persian dehqan origin, that ruled as governors of Khorasan from 821 to 873 as well as serving as military and security commanders in A ...
, who were of Persian ''dehqan'' origin, initiated a resurgence of Persian culture. During the Saljuq era, the ''dehqans'' played a major role as the Saljuqs turned to the ''dehqan'' aristocracy in order to govern their empire. The alliance between the ''dehqans'' and the Saljuqs actually created resentment among the Turcoman tribesmen after 1055 when
Toghril Beg Abu Talib Muhammad Tughril ibn Mika'il ( fa, ابوطالب محمد تغریل بن میکائیل), better known as Tughril (; also spelled Toghril), was a Turkmen"The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...
took over
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
. Due to the attachment of the ''dehqans'' to Iranian culture, the term ''dehqan'' had already become synonymous to “a Persian of noble blood” in contrast to Arabs, Turks and
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. According to some sources, including Nezami ‘Aruzi, the Iranian national poet
Ferdowsi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...
was also of the ''dehqan'' lineage. Another poet that refers to himself as a ''dehqan'' is
Qatran Tabrizi Qatran Tabrizi ( fa, قطران تبریزی; 1009–1014 – after 1088) was a Persian writer, who is considered to have been one of the leading poets in 11th-century Iran. A native of the northwestern region of Azarbaijan, he spent all of his li ...
who was also well versed about ancient Iran. His poetry is replete with the references to ancient Iranian characters and their role.


References


Sources

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Further reading

* * {{Encyclopaedia Islamica, last=Miller, first=Isabel, title=Dihqān, url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-islamica/dihqan-COM_036009, year=2017 01 People of the Ghaznavid Empire People from the Sasanian Empire People from the Seljuk Empire Social class in the Sasanian Empire Persian words and phrases People of the Samanid Empire