Sasanian Empire

The Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE, also given as Sassanian, Sasanid or

Sassanid) was the last pre-Islamic Persian empire, established in 224 CE
by Ardeshir I, son of Papak, descendant of Sasan. The Empire lasted until
651 CE when it was overthrown by the Arab Rashidun Caliphate. It is
considered by the Iranian people to be a highlight of their civilization for,
after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE) at the hands
of Alexander the Great in 330 BCE, Persian culture was sustained
through the Parthian Empire (247 BCE - 224 CE) and reached its height in
the Sassanian Period; there was not to be another state that truly felt
”Iranian" after its fall.

After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, the Iranian Plateau fell into the hands
of Seleucus I Nicator (r. 305-281 BCE), following the Wars of the
Diadochoi (Alexander's generals). He established a Hellenistic state known
as the Seleucid Empire (312-63 BCE), mainly on what is today the Islamic
Republic of Iran, although at its height the Empire extended from modern-
day Turkey to modern-day Pakistan. The Seleucids, although certainly
influenced by the Iranian people over whom they ruled, still kept true to
their Greco-Macedonian origins and hence were not seen as native rulers by
their subjects.

By 155 BCE, the Parthians had conquered all of the Iranian territories of
the Seleucid Empire. The Parthians, a group of Northeastern Iranians,
who, although certainly refreshing to their Iranian subjects, were still
heavily influenced by Hellenistic culture. They are mostly known to the
European world as antagonists of the Roman Empire, and Parthian
culture is often neglected in history books. The Parthians themselves fell
to Ardashir I, who was a Persian for he came from the province of Fars
(originally known as Pars, which is where the word Persian comes from)
from where the Achaemenids came. He installed his own dynasty under the
family name of his forefather Sasan.

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 THE SASANIANS STARTED A PROCESS OF
"IRANIZATION": ZOROASTRIANISM BECAME
ONE OF THE FOUNDING STONES OF THE
EMPIRE.
The Sasanians then started a process that would reinstate the values of
Iranian culture. Although certainly still Hellenized, the Sasanians started a
process of "Iranization" unlike the Parthians before them: Zoroastrianism
became one of the founding stones of the Empire - nevertheless religious
minorities such as Jews, Christians, Manicheans, and other faiths of the
Iranian people would play an important part. Some of the Sasanian kings
even married Jewish and Christian women.

For 400 years the Sasanian Empire was the major power in the Near
East as the rival of the Late Roman Empire. Not only that, but they
sustained relations with the Tang Dynasty of China and several Indian
Kingdoms where their products and culture were held in high esteem.

Notable Monarchs of the Sasanian Empire

The Sasanian family has several possible origins related to the genealogy of
the dynasty's founder Ardashir I who was born in 180 CE. These origins
either link him to the Achaemenids or the Kayanids, both important to the
Iranian identity. The first is a historical empire and dynasty, and the second
is a mythological dynasty of kings deeply related to Zoroastrianism and
Iranian mythological tradition.

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Ardashir I, (l.180-240 CE, r. 224-240 CE) gave special importance to three

things: centralization of power, installing Zoroastrianism as a
state religion, and paying attention to the Persian rivalry with Rome. This
all meant big reforms. Centralization was an especially enormous task since
the Parthians had kept a federative alliance of small kingdoms.
Zoroastrianism, although always present, was now to be linked to the
Empire's organization and became of great importance to the Persian
government administration system, especially since the legitimacy of the
system established by the Sasanians was based on their divine lineage. The
wars with Rome at first seemed stagnant, being a game of push and pull
between the two empires mostly in Mesopotamia and Armenia. Already
reigning with his son Shapur I, it would be the task of Shapur I to end
this war.
Ardashir I
dynamosquito (CC BY-SA)

Shapur I, (l. 215-270 CE, r. 240-270 CE) was a king mostly important for his
ability to reaffirm Sasanian power in Iran and for his military prowess in
fighting Rome. Although through most of the Sasanian Empire's history
there would be a push and pull game in Mesopotamia and Armenia, Phillip
the Arab (Roman emperor, r. 244-249 CE) would concede to Shapur I in
order to secure his power over Rome, signing a treaty that would hand
Armenia to Persia. The Persian king, seeing the current weakness of the
Roman Empire, continued his attacks and dealt a special blow to Roman
morale by capturing Roman emperor Valerian. The information provided by
the Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr ("Provincial Capitals of Iran") indentifies
Shapur as a prolific city founder, which seems to have been the start of the
Sasanian policy of urbanization identified by Touraj Daryaee in Sasanian
Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire ( 2009).

Shapur II, (r. 309-379 CE) is said to have been crowned king in his
mother's womb but this legend comes from his having been chosen as king
shortly after his birth. His father was murdered and the nobles who were
taking power decided to crown the newborn, whom they hoped to mold,
rather than risk trusting the crown to any of his older brothers. He proved
to be an energetic and imaginative leader, taking the empire to its greatest
height up to that time, comitting the Zoroastrian scriptures to writing, and
expanding his territories by taking advantage of the weakened Roman
Empire.

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Reign of Kosrau I
SUCCESSFUL IN BOTH MILITARY &
ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES, KOSRAU WOULD
BECOME THE IRANIAN IDEAL OF A KING.
Kosrau I (l. c. 501-579 CE, r. 531-579 CE) is the most important and famous
of the Sasanian kings. Successful in both military and administrative duties,
he would become the Iranian ideal of a king. He would also feature
prominently in Iranian literature. Kosrau's reforms were probably what
continued to sustain the Sasanian Empire for the next 100 years. His tax
reforms strengthened the court by eliminating the special privileges of the
Grandees or Wuzurgans who ruled over their territories and who were able
to tax the population and not tax themselves. By reforming this system, the
state was able to provide a fixed tax that would help predict the amount of
income received. Many of these reforms are believed by scholar Touraj
Daryaee to be former projects of his father Kavad I (r. 488-496, 498-531
CE), during whose reign massive revolts and the appearance of Mazdakism
(a lower class favoring cult) were encouraged by Kavad to weaken the
nobles.

Persian warfare and the military saw great reforms as well, mostly
directed at addressing the many borders of the empire. The Sasanian
Empire had the Romans to the west, the Huns to the east, and the Arabs to
the south, all of which required a military capable of reacting quickly, so the
empire was divided into four regions, each controlled by a general. As for
most Sasanian kings, the wars with Rome continued in an endless push and
pull, mostly favorable to the Sasanians, as the Romans and then the
Byzantines would be busy with the Germanic invasions.

Probably the most important of Kosrau's achievements was seeking

knowledge and the special attention given to the Academy of Gundeshapur.
This academy was one of the most important centers of learning in the
world's history as it sought texts from all of the neighbouring countries,
from Greek philosophers, to Iranian religious texts, and Indian works as
well, translating them not only to Middle Persian but also Greek and other
languages - a scholarly knowledge later inherited by the Arabs, and then
passed to European culture.
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Statue of Kosrau I in Tehran courthouse

مانفی (CC BY-SA)

Yazdegerd III - the Last Sasanian king

The last Sasanian king, Yazdegerd III (624-651 CE, r. 632 to 651 CE)
ascended the throne when he was only eight years old. Due to the chaotic
situation of the Empire, the king was actually crowned not in the capital but
in the province of Persis, the original home of the Sasanian dynasty. He
ruled during the time of the Muslim invasion of the Sasanian Empire and
had to move from province to province in order to gather resources and be
able to fight against the invading Arabs.

During 629 to 630 CE, the Sasanian Empire suffered the loss of Yemen,
Oman, and Bahrain; soon after, in 633 CE, the Sasanian client state of Hira
was taken as well and thus a buffer state between the Iranians and the
Arabs was removed. In 633 CE the Sasanian army was defeated by the
Muslim army at the Battle of D'at al-Salasel. More defeats followed, and by
634 CE, Sawad (the name used in early Islamic times for southern Iraq)
came under Muslim control. In 636 CE at the battle of Madār, Sasanian
forces completely lost southern Mesopotamia to the Arab army. Finally in
637 CE the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah took place in which the Iranian general
Rostam ī Farroxzad and most of his army were killed.

The king fled the capital and moved toward Ray, but soon after, in 640 CE,
the Arabs managed to take over the heartland of Iran and the king had no
choice but to move further toward the east. After the serious insurrections
of the eastern provinces of Sēstān and Kermān also resulted in defeat, the
ruler (Marzbān) of Marw refused to help the runaway king. Yazdegerd III is
believed to have been murdered by a local miller near Marw in 651 CE.
 BOOK RECOMMENDATION

Persian Art and Architecture

by Stierlin, Henri

published by Thames & Hudson (2012)

$66.64

The Sasanian empire came under Arab control, but Persian cultural
heritage continued as an enduring influence in the emerging Muslim world.

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Bibliography
 ARDAŠĪR I i. History – Encyclopaedia Iranica , accessed 1 Dec 2016.
 Daryaee, T. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris, 2013.
 Farrokh, K. Shadows in the Desert. Osprey Publishing, 2007.
 Katouzian, H. The Persians: Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern Iran. Yale University Press,
2010.
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