Chihr-Burzen | |
|---|---|
 Seal with an image of a horse and rider facing right, most likely Chihr-Burzen. | |
| Born | Ērānshahr |
| Died | 580-585 Ctesiphon |
| Allegiance |  Sasanian Empire |
| Service/ | Sasanian army |
| Rank | Spahbed |
Chihr-Burzen, also known as Simah-i Burzin, was an Iranian nobleman from the House of Karen, who served as the Sasanian spahbed of Khorasan.
Chihr-Burzen was the son of the powerful Sasanian noble Sukhra, and had 8 other brothers, which included the prominent nobleman Bozorgmehr. Chihr-Burzen is first mentioned during the reign of Khosrau I, as one of the elites and most prominent men of the Empire. He, along with two other powerful magnates named Izadgushasp and Bahram-i Mah Adhar, were asked by Khosrau I to choose his successor. [1] The family of Chihr-Burzen, including many other prominent aristocracy families, eventually elected Khosrau's son Hormizd as the heir of the Empire. In 579, Khosrau was succeeded by his son Hormizd IV, who removed Chihr-Burzen as the spahbed of Khorasan and replaced him with his brother Bozorgmehr. During the 580's, Hormizd ordered the death of 13,600 nobles and religious members, [2] which included Chihr-Burzen. [3]
Khosrow II, also known as Khosrow Parviz, is considered to be the last great Sasanian king (shah) of Iran, ruling from 590 to 628, with an interruption of one year.
Hormizd IV was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 579 to 590. He was the son and successor of Khosrow I and his mother was a Khazar princess.
Boran was Sasanian queen of Iran from 630 to 632, with an interruption of some months. She was the daughter of king Khosrow II and the Byzantine princess Maria. She is the second of only three women to rule in Iranian history, the others being Musa of Parthia, and Boran's sister Azarmidokht.
Bozorgmehr-e Bokhtagan, also known as Burzmihr, Dadmihr and Dadburzmihr, was an Iranian sage and dignitary from the Karen family, who served as minister of the Sasanian king (shah) Kavad I, and the latter's son and successor Khosrow I. He also served as the military commander (spahbed) of Khwarasan under Khosrow I and his successor Hormizd IV. According to Persian and Arabic sources, Bozorgmehr was a man of "exceptional wisdom and sage counsels" and later became a characterisation of the expression. His name appears in several important works in Persian literature, most notably in the Shahnameh. The historian Arthur Christensen has suggested that Bozorgmehr was the same person as Borzuya, but historigraphical studies of post-Sasanian Persian literature, as well as linguistic analysis show otherwise. However, the word "Borzuya" can sometimes be considered a shortened form of Bozorgmehr.
Rostam Farrokhzād was an Iranian dynast from the Ispahbudhan family, who served as the spahbed of the northwestern quarter (kust) of Adurbadagan during the reign of Boran and Yazdegerd III. Rostam is remembered as a historical figure, a character in the Persian epic poem Shahnameh, and as a touchstone of most Iranian nationalists.
Bahrām Chōbīn or Wahrām Chōbēn, also known by his epithet Mehrbandak, was a nobleman, general, and political leader of the late Sasanian Empire and briefly its ruler as Bahram VI.
Azarmidokht was Sasanian queen (banbishn) of Iran from 630 to 631. She was the daughter of king (shah) Khosrow II. She was the second Sasanian queen; her sister Boran ruled before and after her. Azarmidokht came to power in Iran after her cousin Shapur-i Shahrvaraz was deposed by the Parsig faction, led by Piruz Khosrow, who helped Azarmidokht ascend the throne. She was, however, the following year killed by Rostam Farrokhzad in retaliation for having his father killed. She was succeeded by Boran.
Farrukhzad, was an Iranian aristocrat from the House of Ispahbudhan and the founder of the Bavand dynasty, ruling from 651 to 665. Originally a powerful servant of the Sasanian king Khosrow II, he, along with several other powerful aristocrats made a conspiracy against the latter and ended his tyrannical rule. They thereafter put Khosrow's son Kavadh II on the throne, whose rule lasted only a few months, before he was killed by a plague, being succeeded by his son Ardashir III, who was only after one year murdered by the rebellious former Sasanian army chief (spahbed) Shahrbaraz, who usurped the throne.
Vistahm or Bistam, was a Parthian dynast of the Ispahbudhan house, and maternal uncle of the Sasanian king of kings of Iran, Khosrow II. Vistahm helped Khosrow regain his throne after the rebellion of another Parthian noble Bahram Chobin, of House of Mihran, but later led a revolt himself, and ruled independently over a region which encompassed the entire Iranian East until he was defeated by Khosrow and his allies.
The Sasanian civil war of 589–591 was a conflict that broke out in 589, due to the great deal of dissatisfaction among the nobles towards the rule of Hormizd IV. The civil war lasted until 591, ending with the overthrow of the Mihranid usurper Bahram Chobin and the restoration of the Sasanian family as the rulers of Iran.
Farrukh Hormizd or Farrokh Hormizd, also known as Hormizd V, was an Iranian prince, who was one of the leading figures in Sasanian Iran in the early 7th-century. He served as the military commander (spahbed) of northern Iran. He later came in conflict with the Iranian nobility, "dividing the resources of the country". He was later killed by Siyavakhsh in a palace plot on the orders of Azarmidokht after he proposed to her in an attempt to usurp the Sasanian throne. He had two children, Rostam Farrokhzad and Farrukhzad.
Piruz Khosrow, also known as Piruzan or Firuzan, was a powerful Persian aristocrat who was the leader of the Parsig (Persian) faction that controlled much of the affairs of the Sasanian Empire during the Sasanian civil war of 628-632. He was killed at the Battle of Nahāvand in 642.
The Sasanian civil war of 628–632, also known as the Sasanian Interregnum was a conflict that broke out after the execution of the Sasanian king Khosrau II between the nobles of different factions, notably the Parthian (Pahlav) faction, the Persian (Parsig) faction, the Nimruzi faction, and the faction of general Shahrbaraz. Rapid turnover of rulers and increasing provincial landholder power further diminished the empire. Over a period of four years and fourteen successive kings, the Sasanian Empire weakened considerably, and the power of the central authority passed into the hands of its generals, contributing to its fall.
Sukhra was an Iranian nobleman from the House of Karen, who was the de facto ruler of the Sasanian Empire from 484 to 493. He was active during the reign of shah Peroz I, Balash and Kavad I. He is often confused with his father Zarmihr Hazarwuxt and son Zarmihr Karen.
Mushegh II Mamikonian was an Armenian nobleman from the Mamikonian family. During his later life he was nominated as Marzban of Persian Armenia, ruling briefly in 591.
Mah-Adhur Gushnasp, also known by the Arabicized form of Mahadharjushnas, was an Iranian nobleman who served as the wuzurg framadār of the Sasanian Empire during the reign of the child ruler Ardashir III.
Narsi or Narse, was an Iranian nobleman who served as the Sasanian governor of Kashkar.
Kanadbak, also known as Kanara, was an Iranian nobleman, who was the kanarang during the reign of the Sasanian king Khosrau II, and various other Sasanian monarchs, which includes Yazdegerd III, the last Sasanian king.
Wuzurgan, also known by its Modern Persian form of Bozorgan (بزرگان), 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, they reappear under the Dabuyid dynasty.
Bahrām-i Māh Ādhar was a 6th-century Iranian aristocrat who held high military and civil offices under Khosrow I and Hormizd IV.