The Seven Great Houses of Iran, also known as the seven Parthian clans, were seven feudal aristocracies of
Parthia
Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Mede ...
n origin, who were allied with the
Sasanian court. The Parthian clans all claimed ancestry from
Achaemenid
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...
Persians.
The seven Great Houses of Iran had played an active role in Iranian politics since the days of the
Arsacid Empire, which they continued to do under their successors, the
Sasanians. Only two of the seven – the
House of Suren and the
House of Karen – however, are actually attested in sources date-able to the
Parthian period. The seven houses claimed to have been confirmed as lords in Iran by the legendary
Kayanian king
Vishtaspa. "It may be that
..members of them made up their own genealogies in order to emphasize the antiquity of their families." During Sasanian times, the seven feudal houses played a significant role at the Sasanian court.
Bahram Chobin, a famed military commander of
Hormizd IV (r. 579–590), was from the
House of Mihran.
The seven houses with their respective main fiefs and ruling-family seats were:
*the
House of Ispahbudhan, of
Tabaristan and
Gurgan
*the
House of Varaz, of
Eastern Khorasan
*the
House of Karen, of
Nahavand
Nahavand ( fa, نهاوند, translit=Nahāvand / Nehāvend) is a city in Hamadan Province, Iran. It is the capital of Nahavand County. At the time of the 2006 census, its population was 72,218, in 19,419 families. It is located south of the c ...
*the
House of Mihran, of
Ray
Ray may refer to:
Fish
* Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea
* Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin
Science and mathematics
* Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point
* Ray (g ...
*the
House of Spandiyadh, of
Ray
Ray may refer to:
Fish
* Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea
* Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin
Science and mathematics
* Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point
* Ray (g ...
*the
House of Zik, of
Adurbadagan
*the
House of Suren, of
Sakastan
See also
*
Seven Achaemenid clans
*
Sasanian government
*
Dabuyid dynasty
*
Padusbanids
*
Ispahbads of Gilan
*
Bavand dynasty
*
Qarinvand dynasty
*
Chosroid dynasty
References
Sources
*.
*.
*.
*
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Clans