List of shahenshahs of the Sassanid Empire

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 the east, and also included territory in what is now the Caucasus, Yemen, UAE, Oman, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Central Asia.

The Sasanian Empire was recognized as one of the main powers in the world alongside its neighboring arch rival, the Roman Empire (later the Byzantine Empire), for a period of more than 400 years.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, 30 sep. 2006 The Sasanian dynasty began with Ardashir I in 224, who was a Persian from Istakhr, and ended with Yazdegerd III in 651.

The period from 631 (when Boran died) to 632 (when Yazdgerd III takes the throne) is confusing in determining proper succession because a number of rulers who took the throne were later removed or challenged by other members of the House of Sasan. The period was one of factionalism and division within the Sasanian Empire.

Titles

Ardashir I (''r.'' 224–242), the founder of the Sasanian Empire, introduced the title "Shahanshah of the Iranians" (Middle Persian: ; Parthian: '). Ardashir's immediate successor, Shapur I (''r.'' 240/42–270/72) chooses the titles in a precise manner in the inscription at Ka'ba-ye Zartosht. In that Shapur names four of his Sasanian predecessors with different titles and in "an ascending order of importance" by giving the title (''Xwaday'') "the lord" to Sasan, " the king" to Papag, "King of Kings of Iranians" to Ardashir, and "king of kings of Iranians and non-Iranians" ( pal, MLKAn MLKA 'yr'n W 'nyr'n ;; grc, βασιλεύς βασιλέων Αριανών ) to himself. The title "King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians" has also seen on a single silver coin of Shapur I, which indicates that the title was introduced after his victory over Romans and incorporation of non-Iranian lands into the Sasanian realms. The title was later used in coins of all later Sasanian kings.

Yazdegerd I's reign (), marks a shift in the political perspective of the Sasanian Empire, which (originally disposed towards the West) moved to the East. The shift may have been triggered by hostile tribes in eastern Iran. The war with the Iranian Huns may have reawakened the mythical rivalry between the mythological Iranian Kayanian rulers and their Turanian enemies, which is illustrated by Younger Avestan texts. The title of Ramshahr (peacekeeper in isdominion) was added to the traditional "King of Kings of the Iranians and non-Iranians" on Yazdegerd I's coins. In the Middle Persian heroic poem ''Ayadgar-i Zariran'' (''The Testament of Zarer''), the title was used by the last Kayanian monarch (Vishtaspa) and occurs in the 10th-century Zoroastrian ''Denkard''. Sasanian interest in Kayanian ideology and history would continue until the end of the empire. Bahram V (), on some rare coins minted in Pars, used the title of ''kirbakkar'' ("beneficent").

The reign of Yazdegerd II () marks the start of a new inscription on the Sasanian coins; ''mazdēsn bay kay'' ("The Mazda-worshipping majesty, the king"), which displays his fondness of the Kayanians, who also used the title of ''kay''. Under Peroz I (), the traditional titulature of ''šāhānšāh'' ("King of Kings") is omitted on his coins, and only the two aspects of ''kay Pērōz'' ("King Peroz") are displayed. However, a seal demonstrates that the traditional titulature was still used, which indicates that coins do not with certainty display the full formal titulature of the Sasanian monarchs. His brother and successor, Balash (), used the title of ''hukay'' ("the good king").

Kavad I () was the last Sasanian monarch to have ''kay'' inscribed on his coins—the last one issued in 513. The regular obverse inscription on his coins simply has his name; in 504, however, the slogan ''abzōn'' ("may he prosper/increase") was added. Khosrow II (), during his second reign, added the ideogram GDH, meaning xwarrah ("royal splendor") on his coins. He combined this together with the word abzōt ("he has increased"), making the full inscription thus read as: "Khosrow, he has increased the royal splendor" (''Khūsrōkhwarrah abzōt''). The title of King of Kings was also restored on his coins. His two successors, Kavad II () and Ardashir III (), refrained from using the title, seemingly in order distance themselves from Khosrow II.

The king

The head of the Sasanian Empire was the '' hahanshah' (king of kings), also simply known as the ''shah'' (king). His health and welfare were always important and the phrase “May you be immortal" was used to reply to him with. By looking on the Sasanian coins which appeared from the 6th-century and afterward, a moon and sun are noticeable. The meaning of the moon and sun, in the words of the Iranian historian ouraj Daryaee “suggest that the king was at the center of the world and the sun and moon revolved around him. In effect, he was the “king of the four corners of the world," which was an old Mesopotamian idea." The king saw all other rulers, such as the Romans, Turks, and Chinese, as being beneath him. The king wore colorful clothes, makeup, a heavy crown, while his beard was decorated with gold. The early Sasanian kings considered themselves of divine descent; they called themselves for “bay" (divine).

When the king went to the publicity, he was hidden behind a curtain, and had some of his men in front of him, whose duty was to keep the masses away from the king and to make his way clear. When one came to the king, he/she had to prostrate before him, also known as ''proskynesis''. The king was guarded by a group of royal guards, known as the ''pushtigban''. On other occasions, the king was protected by a group of palace guards, known as the ''darigan''. Both of these groups were enlisted from royal families of the Sasanian Empire, and were under the command of the ''hazarbed'', who was in charge of the king's safety, controlled the entrance of the kings palace, presented visitors to the king, and was allowed to be given military command or used in negotiations. The ''hazarbed'' was also allowed in some cases to serve as the royal executioner. During Nowruz (Iranian new year) and Mihragan ( Mihr's day), the king would hold a speech.

List of rulers

The table below lists the rulers of the Sasanian Empire.

See also

* Sasanian family tree
* List of Parthian kings
* List of Iranian dynasties

Notes

References

Sources

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire

Sasanian
Sasanian Empire-related lists
Lists of monarchs
Monarchs of Persia