Chihor-Vishnasp | |
---|---|
Marzban of Persian Armenia | |
In office 564–572 | |
Monarch | Khosrau I |
Preceded by | Varazdat |
Succeeded by | Vardan III Mamikonian |
Personal details | |
Died | 23 February 572 Dvin,Persian Armenia |
Chihor-Vishnasp Suren,also known as Chihr-Gushnasp and Suren,was an Iranian military officer from the Suren family,who served as the governor ( marzban ) of Persian Armenia from 564 until his murder on 23 February 572 by the Armenian rebel Vardan III Mamikonian.
A member of the Suren family [1] and a relative of the Sasanian king Khosrau I himself, [1] [2] Chihor-Vishnasp enjoyed a high status,and served as the hazarapet (minister of the interior) of Persian Armenia,before he was appointed as the marzban of the province in 564. [2] During this period,the Armenian aristocracy was split between two parties,the national one which was headed by a member of the Mamikonian family,and a pro-Sasanian one,which was headed by a member of the Siunia family.
Chihor Vishnasp not only harshly treated the Christian Armenians who were suspected of secretly siding with the Byzantines,but also did the same with the rest of the Christian Armenian population. Claiming to exploit on the command of the king,he persecuted the Christian Armenians and even built a fire-temple in their capital,Dvin. [1] These actions soon resulted in a massive uprising in late 571 or early 572,which was led by Vardan III Mamikonian. On 23 February 572,the Armenian rebels managed to capture Dvin,and had Chihor-Vishnasp killed. [1]
Khosrow I,traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan,was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 531 to 579. He was the son and successor of Kavad I.
Peroz I was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 459 to 484. A son of Yazdegerd II,he disputed the rule of his elder brother and incumbent king Hormizd III,eventually seizing the throne after a two-year struggle. His reign was marked by war and famine. Early in his reign,he successfully quelled a rebellion in Caucasian Albania in the west,and put an end to the Kidarites in the east,briefly expanding Sasanian rule into Tokharistan,where he issued gold coins with his likeness at Balkh. Simultaneously,Iran was suffering from a seven-year famine. He soon clashed with the former subjects of the Kidarites,the Hephthalites,who possibly had previously helped him to gain his throne. He was defeated and captured twice by the Hephthalites and lost his recently acquired possessions.
Yazdegerd II,was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 438 to 457. He was the successor and son of Bahram V.
Bahram V,also known as Bahram Gor was the Sasanian King of Kings (shahanshah) from 420 to 438.
Shapur III,was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 383 to 388. He was the son of Shapur II and succeeded his uncle Ardashir II.
Ardashir II,was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 379 to 383. He was the brother of his predecessor,Shapur II,under whom he had served as vassal king of Adiabene,where he fought alongside his brother against the Romans. Ardashir II was appointed as his brother's successor to rule interimly till the latter's son Shapur III reached adulthood. Ardashir II's short reign was largely uneventful,with the Sasanians unsuccessfully trying to maintain rule over Armenia.
Nakharar was a hereditary title of the highest order given to houses of the ancient and medieval Armenian nobility.
Sasanian Armenia,also known as Persian Armenia and Persarmenia,may either refer to the periods in which Armenia was under the suzerainty of the Sasanian Empire or specifically to the parts of Armenia under its control such as after the partition of 387 when parts of western Armenia were incorporated into the Eastern Roman Empire while the rest of Armenia came under Sasanian suzerainty but maintained its existing kingdom until 428.
Balāsagān,also known as Bazgan,was a region located in the area of the Kura and Aras rivers,adjacent to the Caspian Sea. To the south,it bordered Atropatene/Adurbadagan and Gilan. It roughly corresponded to the Armenian province of Paytakaran,albeit extending farther into the north. It has been suggested that under the Sasanians the region extended as far as the stronghold of Derbent,albeit this remains disputed. The heartland of Balasagan was the Dasht i-Bałasakan which corresponds to the Mughan plain. During the late Sasanian era,Balasagan was included in the northern quadrant (kust) of Adurbadagan.
The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591 was a war fought between the Sasanian Empire of Persia and the Eastern Roman Empire,termed by modern historians as the Byzantine Empire. It was triggered by pro-Byzantine revolts in areas of the Caucasus under Persian hegemony,although other events also contributed to its outbreak. The fighting was largely confined to the southern Caucasus and Mesopotamia,although it also extended into eastern Anatolia,Syria,and northern Iran. It was part of an intense sequence of wars between these two empires which occupied the majority of the 6th and early 7th centuries. It was also the last of the many wars between them to follow a pattern in which fighting was largely confined to frontier provinces and neither side achieved any lasting occupation of enemy territory beyond this border zone. It preceded a much more wide-ranging and dramatic final conflict in the early 7th century.
The House of Mihrān or House of Mehrān,was a leading Iranian noble family (šahrdārān),one of the Seven Great Houses of the Sassanid Persian Empire which claimed descent from the earlier Arsacid dynasty. A branch of the family formed the Mihranid line of the kings of Caucasian Albania and the Chosroid Dynasty of Kartli.
Mushegh I Mamikonian was an Armenian military officer from the Mamikonian family,who occupied the hereditary office of sparapet (generalissimo) of the Kingdom of Armenia under the Arsacid kings Pap and Varazdat. He took part in the Armenian resistance against the forces of the Sasanian monarch Shapur II,notably taking part in the Battle of Bagavan,where the Iranian forces were defeated. He was the regent of Armenia under the young and inexperienced Varazdat,who eventually suspected him of posing a danger to his rule,and thus had him executed,in 377/8.
Golon Mihran,also known as Mihran Mihrevandak,was a Sasanian spahbed,and also the marzban of Persian Armenia from 572 to 574. Golon was mentioned by Sebeos as an Sasanian commander in Armenia. He was also a member of the House of Mihran.
Mihr-Narseh,was a powerful Iranian dignitary from the House of Suren,who served as minister of the Sasanian shahanshahs Yazdegerd I,Bahram V,Yazdegerd II and Peroz I. According to the Iranologist Richard N. Frye,Mihr-Narseh was the "prototype of the later Islamic grand vizier."
Vahan Mamikonian was an Armenian nobleman from the Mamikonian family. In 481 he rebelled against the Sasanian Empire that controlled the eastern part of Armenia known as Persian Armenia. He was appointed as marzban (governor) of Persian Armenia in 485 and remained in that post until his death around 503-510.
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Varsken was an Iranian prince from the Mihranid family of Gugark,who served as the bidaxsh (margrave) of the region from 470 to 482. He was the son and successor of Arshusha II.
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Mushkan Niusalavurt was a 5th-century Iranian military officer,who was active during the reign of the Sasanian King of Kings (shahanshah) Yazdegerd II. When the Christian Armenians rebelled in 450 under the leadership of Vardan Mamikonian,the wuzurg-framadar (minister) Mihr-Narseh appointed Mushkan as the head of Iranian forces. The following year (451),he took part in the Battle of Avarayr,where the insurgents were defeated,and nine of their generals killed,including Vardan. Mushken survived,but was heavily wounded.