Argbed (

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

: hlgwpt; in Parthian: hrkpty ''Hargbed'';

Paikuli inscription The Paikuli inscription (, , in ) is a bilingual text corpus in Parthian and Middle Persian, inscribed on the stone blocks of the Paikuli Tower's walls. The tower is located in the southern part of Iraqi Kurdistan, near the modern-day village of ...

, line 16 etymology uncertain; in Roman sources: ''archapetēs'') were a class of military commanders in charge of castles and fortresses of the Parthian and

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

s of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

(Iran) between the 2nd and 7th centuries CE. The office became more important under the Sasanian Empire. Argbeds were granted their command by the Sassanian emperor (

Shahanshah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the List of monarchs of Iran, monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the ...

) and were responsible for maintaining the security of their area of operation (usually a trading post, military fortress, or city), fighting the encroaching nomadic tribes such as Bedouin Arabs, White Huns and

Oghuz Turks The Oghuz Turks ( Middle Turkic: , ) were a western Turkic people who spoke the Oghuz branch of the Turkic language family. In the 8th century, they formed a tribal confederation conventionally named the Oghuz Yabgu State in Central Asia ...

, and resisting the advances of settled enemies such as Romans and

Kushan ''Kushan'' or Kushana may refer to: * Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a Syncretism, syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan ...

s. The Sasanian king usually selected Argbeds from ''

wuzurgan ''Wuzurgān'' (, meaning "grandees" or the "great ones"), also known by its Modern Persian form of (), was the name of the high nobility and the third class-rank of the four of the Sasanian aristocracy. After the fall of the Sasanian Empire, the ...

'', Iranian noble families who held the most powerful positions in the imperial administration. This rank, like most imperial administration, was mostly patrimonial, and was passed down through a single family for generations. In many ways, the Argbeds had the same function and status as medieval ''

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

s''.

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