The Immortals was an elite cavalry unit of the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

of the

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 ...

with the alleged size of 10,000 men, similar to the

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

" Immortals" described by Herodotus. The name is derived from a term used by

Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

historians to refer to the unit. Armenian and Islamic sources also have allusions to elite unit(s) in 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. Ard ...

History

The "Immortals" (Greek: ''Athanatoi'') is a name used by

historians of the Roman-Persian Wars to refer to an elite unit of the

of the

. Some of these sources claim the unit was composed of 10,000 cavalrymen. The reported Greek name and the size of the force is identical to the " Immortals" infantry unit of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

described by

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

. The name "Immortals" has been used by Greek-language works of Roman historians

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...

(describing the Battles of Thannuris and

Dara Dara is a given name in several languages. Dara, Daraa, or DARA may also refer to: Geography Africa * Dar'a, region in northern Ethiopia * Dara (woreda), region in southern Ethiopia Asia * Dara (Mesopotamia), an archeological site in Mard ...

John Malalas John Malalas (; ; – 578) was a Byzantine chronicler from Antioch in Asia Minor. Life Of Syrian descent, Malalas was a native speaker of Syriac who learned how to write in Greek later in his life. The name ''Malalas'' probably derive ...

(describing the Roman–Sasanian War of 421–422), Theophanes, and the lexicographer Hesychius, with the notable exception of

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus, occasionally anglicized as Ammian ( Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born , died 400), was a Greek and Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquit ...

's Latin history book. Despite having first-hand encounters with Sasanian forces, Ammianus has not mentioned such name (which would have been ' in Latin), although he mentions ' to refer to a heavy cavalry force in his description of Julian's Persian War; this may be a Royal Guard unit, but not necessarily the "Immortals" mentioned by other Roman historians.

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

sources (including those describing the Battle of Avarayr) also contain allusions to such elite unit(s) mentioned by other Roman sources. Arabic sources of the Islamic period also mention elite forces during the

Muslim conquest of Persia As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

(for example, that of Jalinus). According to one report, on one occasion during the Roman–Sasanian War of 421–422, the force attacked a Roman army, and although becoming outnumbered, they stood firm and were killed to the last man. Kaveh Farrokh calls the unit ''Zhayedan'', writing in his '' Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War'' that they were used often against the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

in the 7th century (such as in the Battle of the Bridge and the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah). According to Christensen (1944), the commander of the "Immortals" bore the title of ''varthraghnīghān khvadhāy''. Based on the phrase ''gund-n matean / matenik gund-n'' in Armenian sources, Chaumont (1973) reconstructed the Persian name for the unit "Immortals" as ''gund-i mādiyān'', for which Henning (1942) proposed the meaning "the principal battalion", which was supported by Nyberg (1974), who reconstructed it as ''mātiyān i gund''. However, NicoUe (1996) claimed the Persian name of the unit was ''Pushtighbansalar'', but others consider the phrase to simply mean "commander of the royal guard". Although modern historians of the twentieth century had accepted this description and interpreted it as a revival of the Achaemenid unit by the Sasanians, recent reinvestigations have doubted the simplified Roman description, based on the recent view of Touraj Daryaee (2006) (itself based on

Ehsan Yarshater Ehsan Yarshater (; April 3, 1920 – September 1, 2018) was an Iranian historian and linguist who specialized in Iranology. He was the founder and director of the Center for Iranian Studies, and Hagop Kevorkian Professor Emeritus of Iranian Stud ...

's theory) that the Sasanians had little knowledge of the specific institutions of their Achaemenid predecessors. Although there were probably such elite cavalry unit (or several such units in different time points throughout the Sasanian period), it is unlikely that it was a deliberate imitation of the Achaemenid unit described by Herodotus, and that the size of this elite force was as large as 10,000. The name "Immortals" mentioned by Roman historians was likely not derived from any official Sasanian name. The Immortals are said to have used the tough and powerful Nisean horse, native to the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of s ...

of western

Iran 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 ...

.Rome's Enemies (3): Parthians and Sassanid Persians By Peter Wilcox, Angus McBride

In popular culture

* In the strategy game '' Rome Total War: Barbarian Invasion'' the Sasanians can use Immortals. They are known as " Clibanarii Immortals" and are the elite

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

unit. * In the strategy game '' Total War: Attila'' the Sasanians can use Zhayedan Immortals as

Missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

. * In the Empire Divided DLC for '' Total War: Rome II'' the Zhayedan Immortals are included in the Sasanians roster as elite melee cavalry. *In the Sci-Fi tabletop wargame ''Infinity: The Game'', the Haqqislam army has access to Zhayedan Intervention Troops. This unit has the ability to revive itself when unconscious by spending an order token and passing a dice roll. *In the unofficial modification '' Minor Factions Revenge'' for the game '' Empire: Total War'', the Safavid Persia can recruit Immortals as elite unit for infantry and cavalry.

References

{{Reflist Cavalry units and formations of the Sassanian Empire

History

In popular culture

See also

References