Sakastan

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Sakastan
Sagistān
Province of the Sasanian Empire
← Blank.png
c. 240–650/1 Black flag.svg →
Location of Sakastan Sakastan Sasanian era.png
Location of Sakastan
Map of Sakastan and its surroundings
Capital Zrang
Historical era Late Antiquity
 • Establishedc. 240
 •  Annexed by the Rashidun Caliphate 650/1
Today part ofFlag of Afghanistan.svg  Afghanistan
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan

Sakastan (also known as Sagestān, Sagistan, Seyanish, Segistan, Sistan, and Sijistan) was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity, that lay within the kust of Nemroz. The province bordered Kirman in the west, Spahan in the north west, Kushanshahr in the north east, and Turan in the south east. The governor of the province held the title of marzban. The governor also held the title of "Sakanshah" (king of the Saka) until the title was abolished in ca. 459/60.

Sasanian Empire last Persian empire before the rise of Islam

The Sasanian Empire, also known as the Sassanian, Sasanid, Sassanid or Neo-Persian Empire, was the last kingdom of the Persian Empire before the rise of Islam. Named after the House of Sasan, it ruled from 224 to 651 AD. The Sasanian Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire and was recognised as one of the leading world powers alongside its neighbouring arch-rival the Roman-Byzantine Empire for a period of more than 400 years.

Kirman (Sasanian province)

Kirman was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity, which almost corresponded to the present-day province of Kerman. The province bordered Pars in the west, Abarshahr and Sakastan in the northeast, Paradan in the east, Spahan in the north, and Mazun in the south. The capital of the province of Shiragan.

Kushanshahr

Kushanshahr was a province of the Sasanian Empire comprising the region between Kabul Valley and Peshawar Valley. The Kushanshar territory centered on Tukharistan, and covered the area from Tirmidh to Peshawar. The establishment of Sasanian rule in Kushanshar permitted the control of Central Asian trade routes. The Kushano-Sasanids were in charge of the area. They issued coinage which was following the Kushan standard, due to the traditional importance of trade links with India.

Contents

Etymology

The word "Sakastan" means "the land of the Saka", a Scythian group which from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century migrated to the Iranian Plateau and India, where they carved a kingdom known as the Indo-Scythian Kingdom. [1] [2] In the Bundahishn, a Zoroastrian scripture written in Pahlavi, the province is written as "Seyansih". [3] After the Arab conquest of Iran, the province became known as "Sijistan" and later as "Sistan", which still remains a province to this day in Iran (Sistan and Baluchestan Province). [2]

Saka historic ethnic group

Saka, Śaka, Shaka or Saca(Persian: oldSakā,mod. ساکا; Sanskrit: Śaka; Ancient Greek: Σάκαι, Sákai; Latin: Sacae; Chinese: 塞, old *Sək, mod. Sāi) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who historically inhabited the northern and eastern Eurasian Steppe and the Tarim Basin.

Scythians historical ethnical group

The Scythians, also known as Scyth, Saka, Sakae, Sai, Iskuzai, or Askuzai, were Eurasian nomads, probably mostly using Eastern Iranian languages, who were mentioned by the literate peoples to their south as inhabiting large areas of the western and central Eurasian Steppe from about the 9th century BC up until the 4th century AD. The "classical Scythians" known to ancient Greek historians, agreed to be mainly Iranian in origin, were located in the northern Black Sea and fore-Caucasus region. Other Scythian groups documented by Assyrian, Achaemenid and Chinese sources show that they also existed in Central Asia, where they were referred to as the Iskuzai/Askuzai, Saka, and Sai, respectively.

Iranian Plateau plateau

The Iranian Plateau or the Persian Plateau is a geological feature in Western Asia and Central Asia. It is the part of the Eurasian Plate wedged between the Arabian and Indian plates, situated between the Zagros Mountains to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Kopet Dag to the north, the Armenian Highlands and the Caucasus Mountains in the northwest, the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf to the south and the Indus River to the east in Pakistan.

History

The province was formed in ca. 240, during the reign of Shapur I (r. 240–270), as part of his intention to centralise his empire - before that, the province was under the rule of the Parthian Suren Kingdom, whose ruler Ardashir Sakanshah became a Sasanian vassal during the reign of Shapur's father Ardashir I (r. 224–242), who also had the ancient city Zrang rebuilt, which became the capital of the province. [4] Shapur's son Narseh was the first to be appointed as the governor of the province, which he would govern until 271, when the Sasanian prince Hormizd was appointed as the new governor.

Shapur I Shah of Persia

Shapur I, also known as Shapur the Great, was the second shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire. The dates of his reign are commonly given as 240/42 – 270, but it is likely that he also reigned as co-regent prior to his father's death in 242.

Parthia region of north-eastern Iran

Parthia is a historical region located in north-eastern Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC, and formed part of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire following the 4th-century-BC conquests of Alexander the Great. The region later served as the political and cultural base of the Eastern-Iranian Parni people and Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire. The Sasanian Empire, the last state of pre-Islamic Persia, also held the region and maintained the Seven Parthian clans as part of their feudal aristocracy.

Ardashir I Founder of the Sassanid Empire

Ardashir I or Ardeshir I, also known as Ardashir the Unifier, was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the dynasty of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new empire. After defeating the last Parthian shahanshah Artabanus V on the Hormozdgan plain in 224, he overthrew the Parthian dynasty and established the Sasanian dynasty. Afterwards, Ardashir called himself "shahanshah" and began conquering the land that he called Iran.

Later in ca. 281, Hormizd revolted against his cousin Bahram II (r. 274–293). During the revolt, the people of Sakastan was one of his supporters. Nevertheless, Bahram II managed to suppress the revolt in 283, and appointed his son Bahram III as the governor of the province. During the early reign of Shapur II (r. 309-379), he appointed his brother Shapur Sakanshah as the governor of Sakastan. Peroz I (r. 459–484), during his early reign, put an end to dynastic rule in province by appointing a Karenid as its governor. The reason behind the appointment was to avoid further family conflict in the province, and in order to gain more direct control of the province. [4]

Bahram II fifth Sassanid King of Persia

Bahram II was the fifth king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire from 274 to 293. He was the son of Bahram I.

Bahram III Sassanid king

Bahram III, was the sixth king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire. He was son and successor of Bahram II. He was appointed viceroy to the province of Sakastan after Bahram II's re-conquest of it sometime in the 280s.

Shapur II Shah of Persia

Shapur II, also known as Shapur II the Great, was the tenth Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reigned for his entire 70-year life from 309 to 379. He was the son of Hormizd II.

During the Muslim conquest of Persia, the last Sasanian king Yazdegerd III fled to Sakastan in the mid-640s, where its governor Aparviz (who was more or less independent), helped him. However, Yazdegerd III quickly ended this support when he demanded tax money that he had failed to pay. [5] [6] [7] In 650/1, Abd-Allah ibn Amir, who had recently conquered Kirman, sent Rabi ibn Ziyad Harithi to an expedition in Sakastan. After some time, he reached Zaliq, a border town between Kirman and Sakastan, where he forced the dehqan of the town to acknowledge Rashidun authority. He then did the same at the fortress of Karkuya, which had a famous fire temple, which is mentioned in the Tarikh-i Sistan. [7]

Muslim conquest of Persia historical event

The Muslim conquest of Persia, also known as the Arab conquest of Iran, led to the end of the Sasanian Empire of Persia in 651 and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion.

Yazdegerd III Sasanian king of Iran

Yazdegerd III, was the last king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire from 632 to 651. His father was Shahriyar and his grandfather was Khosrow II.

Aparviz was an Iranian aristocrat, who served as the marzban of Sakastan in the 7th-century.

He then continued to seize more land in the province. He thereafter besieged Zrang, and after a heavy battle outside the city, Aparviz and his men surrendered. When Aparviz went to Rabi to discuss about the conditions of a treaty, he saw that he was using the bodies of two dead soldiers as a chair. This horrified Aparviz, who in order to spare the inhabitants of Sakastan from the Arabs, made peace with the Arabs in return for heavy tribute, which included a tribute of 1,000 slave boys bearing 1,000 golden vessels. [7] [6] Sakastan was thus under the control of the Rashidun Caliphate.

Zaranj Place in Nimruz Province, Afghanistan

Zaranj or Zarang is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, near the border with Iran, which has a population of 160,902 people as of 2015. It is the capital of Nimruz province and is linked by highways with Lashkar Gah to the east, Farah to the north and the Iranian city of Zabol to the west. Zaranj is a major border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran, which is of significant importance to the trade-route between Central Asia and South Asia with the Middle East.

Population and religion

During the Achaemenid period, Sakastan (then known as Drangiana), was populated by a Persianized east Iranian group known as the Drangians. [8] [9] From the 2nd century BC to the 1st century, Sakastan saw a huge influx of Saka tribesmen and also some Parthians, which, in the words of Brunner, "reshaped the region's older population pattern". [10]

The inhabitants of Sakastan were mainly Zoroastrian, while a minority of them were Nestorian Christians. [2]

House of Suren

The House of Suren, a Parthian noble family that served the Parthian and later the Sasanian Empire, was part of the seven Parthian clans of the Sasanian Empire—each family owned land in different parts of the empire, the Surens owning land in parts of Sakastan. [11]

List of known governors

Related Research Articles

Saffarid dynasty dynasty

The Saffarid dynasty was a Muslim Persianate dynasty from Sistan that ruled over parts of eastern Iran, with its capital at Zaranj. Khorasan, Afghanistan and Sistan from 861 to 1003. The dynasty, of Persian origin, was founded by Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, born in 840 in a small town called Karnin (Qarnin), which was located east of Zaranj and west of Bost, in what is now Afghanistan - a native of Sistan and a local ayyar, who worked as a coppersmith (ṣaffār) before becoming a warlord. He seized control of the Sistan region and began conquering most of Iran and Afghanistan, as well as parts of Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

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Margiana satrapy of the Sassanian Empire

Margiana is a historical region centred on the oasis of Merv and was a minor satrapy within the Achaemenid satrapy of Bactria, and a province within its successors, the Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian empires.

Sakastan (Sasanian province) province of Sasanian Empire

Sakastan was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity, that lay within the kust of Nemroz. The province bordered Kirman in the west, Spahan in the north west, Kushanshahr in the north east, and Turan in the south east. The governor of the province held the title of marzban. The governor also held the title of "Sakanshah" until the title was abolished in ca. 459/60.

Mazun

Mazun was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity, which corresponded to modern day Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and the northern half of Oman. The province served as a Sasanian outpost, and played an important role in the Sasanian efforts to gain control over the Indian Ocean trade, and to establish their dominance in the wealthy regions of Hadramaut and Yemen.

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Meshan

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Abarshahr satrapy of the Sassanian Empire

Abarshahr was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity, that lay within the kust of Khorasan. The province bordered Media in the west, Hyrcania in the north west, Margiana in the north east, and Harev in the south east. The governor of Abarshahr is attested to have held the unique title of kanarang, distinguished from the title of marzban given to governors of frontier provinces.

House of Suren or Surenas are one of two Parthian noble families explicitly mentioned by name in sources dateable to the Arsacid period.

Ganzak

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Padishkhwargar province of Sassanian empire

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Muslim conquest of Khorasan was the last phase of the heavy war between the Rashidun caliphate against Sassanid Empire.

Harev (province)

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Pars (Sasanian province) former Sasanian province in Late Antiquity

Pars was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity, which almost corresponded to the present-day province of Fars. The province bordered Khuzestan in the west, Kirman in the east, Spahan in the north, and Mazun in the south.

References

  1. ↑ Frye 1984, p. 193.
  2. 1 2 3 Bosworth 1997, pp. 681-685.
  3. ↑ Brunner 1983, p. 750.
  4. 1 2 Christensen 1993, p. 229.
  5. ↑ Pourshariati 2008, p. 222.
  6. 1 2 Morony 1986, pp. 203-210.
  7. 1 2 3 Zarrinkub 1975, p. 24.
  8. ↑ Schmitt 1995, pp. 534–537.
  9. ↑ Brunner 2004, pp. 326-336, 337-344.
  10. ↑ Brunner 1983, p. 773.
  11. ↑ Brunner 1983, p. 705.

Sources

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