The ''pushtigban'' was an elite military unit of the
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 ...
, charged with the protection of the
Persian Emperor.
They were stationed during peacetime in the royal capital of
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...
and were drawn from the best of the ranks of the Sasanian
Savārān cavalry. They numbered 1000 men, under the command of the ''pushtigban-salar'' ; in battle they fought mostly as
cataphracts, heavily armed and armoured horsemen who would charge enemy positions with tremendous momentum.
There are allusions to the participation of this unit in sources describing the
Shapur II's Arab campaign and
Siege of Amida (359).
A sub-unit of ''pushtigban'' were the ''gyan-avspar'', the "sacrificers of their lives" - the best of the ''pushtigban''. The ''pushtigban'' fought with distinction and zeal befitting their name during
Julian's invasion of Persia in the 4th century AD.
The ''pushtigban'' disappeared with the
Muslim conquest of Persia
The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, was carried out by the Rashidun Caliphate from 633 to 654 AD and led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire as well as the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.
The ...
, that led to the
Fall of the Sasanian Empire.
See also
*
Immortals (Sasanian Empire)
The Immortals was an elite cavalry unit of the army of the Sasanian Empire with the alleged size of 10,000 men, similar to the Achaemenid " Immortals" described by Herodotus. The name is derived from a term used by Roman historians to refer to th ...
*
Cataphract
Bibliography
*Farrokh, Kaveh (2005) ''Sassanian Elite Cavalry, AD224-642''.
Osprey Publishing
Osprey Publishing is a British, Oxford-based, publishing company specializing in military history. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company produces ov ...
*
References
Guards units of the Sasanian Empire
Cavalry units and formations of the Sassanian Empire
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