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Drafsh-e-Kāveyān The Sassanid flag , Drafsh-e-Kāveyān
File:Map sassanid empire.jpg The Sassanid Empire in the time of Shapur I; the conquest of Cappadocia was temporary
Official language	Pahlavi (Middle Persian)
Dominant Religion	Zoroastrianism
Capital	Ctesiphon
Sovereigns	Shahanshah of the Iran (Eranshahr)
First Ruler	Ardashir I
Last Ruler	Yazdegerd III
Establishment	224 AD
Dissolution	651 AD
Faravahar, the symbol of the Zoroastrian faith
Part of the History of Iran

The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Empire (in Persian: ساسانیان Sassanian) was the name given to the kings of Persia (Iran), during the era of the third Persian Empire, from 224 until 651. The dynasty ended when the last Sassanid Shah, Yazdegerd III, lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the early Caliphate, the first of the Islamic empires. The empire's terrority encompassed parts of today's Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, eastern parts of Turkey, (during Khosrau II's rule Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon), eastern parts of Syria, north west India, Pakistan, Caucasia, Central Asia and Arabia. The Sassanids called their Empire Iran or Iranshahr.

The Sassanid era is considered to be one of the most important and influential historical periods in Iran. In many ways the Sassanid period witnessed the highest achievement of Persian civilization, and constituted the last great Persian Empire before the Muslim conquest and adoption of Islam. The Sassanid circle of influence affected cultures far beyond of its physicals borders, reaching as far as Western Europe, Africa, China and India. This influence carried forward to the early Islamic world. The dynasty's unique and aristocratic culture, under its virile monarchs, transformed the Islamic conquest of Iran into a Persian Renaissance. Much of what later became known as Islamic culture, architecture, writing and other skills, were taken mainly from the Sassanid Persians into the broad Muslim world.

Origin

The Sassanid Dynasty was established by Ardashir I, a descendant of a line of Zoroastrian priests who were also local governors of Persis. His father Papag, or Papak or Babak, ruled a small town called Kheir. His mother, Rodhaghwas the daughter of the provincial governor of Pars. Ardashir's paternal grandfather was Sassan, the great priest of Temple of Anahita. Taking the name from Sassan, later historians referred to Ardashir's dynasty, which ruled Persia between 226 to 651, as the Sassanid. At the time, Persians called their kingdom Eranshahr. The Romans did not recognize the Sassanids as a distinct kingdom for some time, using the word Parthian to describe events related to the Persian empire on its eastern borders.

Upon Sassan's death, Papak (Babak) deposed the previous king of Persis (Pars), Gochihr and took his throne. During his father's reign, Ardashir ruled the town of Darabjird and received the title of "argobadh". Upon Papag's death, Ardashir's elder brother Shapur ascended to the throne. However, Ardashir rebelled against his brother and took the kingship for himself in 208 AD.

Ardashir and his successors created a vast empire, based in Firouzabad, Pars. This included most of those lands of the old Achaemenid Persian empire east of the Euphrates River. The Sassanids wanted to recreate the glories of ancient Persia and claimed to Persianise the country. Sassanid records and carvings, however, did not recognize or refer to the Achaemenids. The Sassanid kings long sought to reunify all of the old Achaemenid territory. This ambition brought them into frequent wars against the Roman Empire and later the Byzantine Empire.

Sassanid emperors took Zoroastrianism as their state religion and claimed in inscriptions to have persecuted other faiths. These claims are not reflected in native Jewish and Christian sources of the time. Religious policy varied from ruler to ruler.

History

Early history (224-310)

After assuming his father's governorship, Ardashir rapidly extended his territory, demanding fealty from the local princes of Fars, and gaining control over the neighboring provinces of Kerman, Isfahan, Susiana, and Mesene. This expansion brought the attention of the Parthian Great King Artabanus IV, Ardashir's overlord. Artabanus marched against Ardashir in 224. Their armies clashed at Hormizdeghan, where Artabanus was killed. Ardashir went on to invade the western provinces of the now defunct Parthian Empire. Crowned in 226 as the sole ruler of Persia, he took the title Shahanshah "King of Kings" (his consort Adhur-Anahid took the title "Queen of Queens"), bringing the 400 year-old Parthian Empire to an end and beginning four centuries of Sassanid rule.

Over the next few years, Ardashir further expanded his new empire to the east and northwest, conquering the provinces of Sistan, Gorgan, Khorasan, Margiana (in modern Turkmenistan), Balkh, and Chorasmia. He also added Bahrain and Mosul to Sassanid possesions. Furthermore, the kings of Kushan, Turan, and Mekran recognized Ardashir as their overlord. In the West, assaults against Hatra, Armenia, and Adiabene met with less success.

Ardashir's son, Shapur I (241–272), continued this expansion, conquering Bactria and Kushan, while leading several campaigns against Rome. Penetrating deep into Roman territory, Shapur conquered and plundered Antiochia in Syria (253 or 256) and finally defeated the Roman emperors Gordian III, Philip the Arab, and Valerian. The latter was taken (259) into Persian imprisonment after the Battle of Edessa, a tremendous and hitherto unknown disgrace for the Romans. Shapur celebrated his victory by carving the impressive rock reliefs in Naqsh-e Rostam, for example with Bishapur, as well as a monumental inscription in Persian and Greek with Naqs i Rustam in the proximity of Persepolis.

Shapur I had intensive development plans. He founded many cities, some settled in part by emigrants from the Roman territories. These included Christians who could exercise their faith freely under Sassanid rule. Two cities, Bishapur and Nishapur, are named after him. Manichaeism in particular was favoured by Shapur. He protected Mani and sent many Manichaeist missionaries abroad. Shapur also befriended a Babylonian rabbi called Shmuel. This friendship was advantageous for the Jewish community and gave them a respite from the oppressive laws enacted against them.

Between 260 and 263, Shapur I lost some of these newly conquered territories to Odaenathus, an ally of the Romans.

Later kings reversed Shapur's policy of religious tolerance. Succeeding Shapur I, Bahram I (273-276) persecuted Mani and his followers under pressure from Magi. Under Bahram I, jailed Mani and ordered his execution. Mani died in jail waiting for his execution.

Bahram II (276-293) followed his father's religious policy. He was a weak ruler and lost some of Empire's western provinces to Roman Emperor Carus. During his weak rule, most of Armenia after half a century of Persian ruled was ceded to Diocletian.

Succeeding Bahram II, King Narseh (293-302) embarked on another war with the Romans. After an early success against the emperor Galerius near Callinicum on the Euphrates in 296, Narseh was decisively defeated in an ambush while he was with his harem in Armenia in year 297. In the truce following the battle, Tigris became the border and Sassanid kings were prohibited to interfere in internal affairs of Armenia and Georgia. Following the crushing defeat he suffered, Narseh resigned in year 301 and died in grief a year later. Narseh gave the throne to his son, Hormizd II (302-310). He suppressed revolts in Sistan and Kushan but he yet was another weak ruler, unable to control the nobilities. He was killed during hunting in an encounter with Bedouin Arabs in year 309.

Persia in the Sassanid dynasty witnessed two golden eras. The first was during the reign of Shapur II (310-379). The second, which was longer, lasted from 499 when Kavadh I became king again until 622 when emperor Heraclius started invading Assyria. In these eras the empire was at its greatest and the arts and science flourished. Because of effective central authority, the people were relatively prosperous and comfortable.

First Golden Era (310-379)

After the conquests of Shapur I, the Sassanids started to decline in authority and power. A series of weak monarchs caused the empire to lose many of its lands to its enemies. Follwing Hormizd II's death, Arabs from the south started to ravage and plunder the southern cities of the empire. They even attacked the province of Fars, the birthplace of the Sassanid kings, causing much destruction. Meanwhile the Persian magnates killed his eldest son, blinded the second, and imprisoned the third (Hormizd afterwards escaped to the Romans). The throne was reserved for the unborn child of one of the wives of Hormizd. It is said that Shapur may have been the only king in history to been crowned in utero: the crown was placed upon his mother's belly. This child, named Shapur, was therefore born king. The government was conducted by his mother and the magnates. When Shapur came of age, he turned out to be one of the greatest monarchs of the dynasty.

Shapur at first with a small but disciplined army attacked Arabs in the south and crushed their resistance and regained the control of those areas. He then started his first campaign against Romans in the west. Following the Siege of Singara, his conquests came to a halt in part due to raids by nomads in the eastern borders of the empire. These raids affected Transoxiana, an area of strategic importance for Sassanids due to the Silk road. In addition, his military forces were not sufficient to hold the captured cities. He arranged a peace treaty at the conclusion of his first campaign with Constantius II in which both sides agreed not to attack each other's territory for a limited period of time.

Shapur then marched east toward Transoxiana to encounter the eastern nomads. After defeating the White Huns, Shapur along with nomad king Grumbates, started his second campaign against the Romans in year 359, this time with full military force and support from nomads. The Siege of Amida marked the first success of a campaign that was overwhelmingly successful for the Sassanid Persians. A total of 5 Roman provinces were ceded to Persians after its completion.

Under Shapur's reign, the collection of the Avesta was completed, heresy and apostasy were punished, and the Christians were persecuted. This latter was a reaction against the Christianization of the Roman Empire by Constantine. Shapur II like Shapur I was amicable towards Jews, they lived in relative freedom and gained many advantages in his period (see also Raba (Talmud)).

At the time of Shapur's death, the Persian Empire was stronger than ever, with its enemies to the east pacified and Armenia under Persian control.

Intermediate Era (379-498)

From Shapur II's death untill Kavadh I's first coronation, Persia was more or less stable with few wars against the Byzantine Empire. Throughout this era Sassanid religious policy differed dramatically from king to king. After Shapur II died in 379, he left a powerful empire to his half-brother Ardashir II (379-383) (son of Vahram of Kushan) and his son Shapur III (383-388), neither of whom demonstrated their predecessor's talent. Ardeshir II, who was raised as“the half-brother” of the emperor, failed to fill his brother's shoes, and Shapur III was too much of a melancholy character to achieve anything. However, the the administrative system established during Shapur's reign remamined strong. Bahram IV (Vahram IV) (388-399), although not as inactive as his father, still failed to achieve anything important for the empire. During this time, Armenia was divided by treaty between the Roman and Sassanid empires. The Sassanids reestablished their rule over Greater Armenia while the Byzantine Empire held a small portion of western Armenia.

Bahram IV's son, Yazdgerd I (399-420), is often compared to Constantine the Great. Like him, he was powerful both physically and diplomatically. Much like his Roman counterpart, Yazdgerd was opportunistic. Like Constantine, Yazdgerd practiced religious tolerance and provided freedom for the rise of religious minorities. He stopped the persecution Christians and even punished nobles and priests who persecuted them. His reign marked a relatively peaceful era. He made lasting peace with the Romans and even took the young Theodosius II under his guardianship. He also married a Jewish princess who bore him a son called Narsi.

Yazdgerd I left the country to his son, Bahram V, one of the most well-known of Sassanian kings and the hero of many myths. These myths persisted even after the destruction of Sassanian empire by the Arabs. Bahram V, better known as Bahram-e Goor, symbolized a king in the height of a golden age. He won his crown by competing with his brother, spent time fighting with foreign enemies, but mostly kept himself amused by hunting and court parties with his famous band of ladies and courtiers. He embodied royal prosperity. During his time the best pieces of Sassanian literature were written, notable pieces of Sassanid music were composed, and sports such as polo became royal pastimes—a tradition that continues to this day in many kingdoms.

Bahram V's son, Yazdegerd II (438-457), in contrast to Yazdegerd I, practiced a harsh policy towards minority religions, particularly Christianity. He expelled all the Christians from the governing body and army. In order to establish Zoroastrianism in Armenia, although he crushed an Armenian Christian uprising at the Battle of Vartanantz, Armenians remained Christian. He was also engaged in a brief but successful campaign against Roman empire.

In the beginning of the 5th century, the Hephthalites (White Huns) along with different other nomadic groups, attacked Persia. At first Bahram V and Yazdegerd II inflicted decisive defeats against them and made them retreat eastward. The Huns returned at the end of 5th century and defeated Firuz (or Peroz) I (457-484) in 483. Following this victory, Huns invaded and plundered eastern parts of Persia for 2 years. They exacted heavy tribute for some years thereafter.

These attacks brought instability and chaos to the kingdom. Peroz I tried again to drive out Hephthalites, but on the way to Herat, he and his army were trapped by Huns in the desert; Peroz was killed along with his entire army. After this victory Hephthalites advanced forward to the city of Herat, throwing the Empire into chaos. Eventually, a noble Persian from the old family of Karen, Zarmihr (or Sokhra), restored some degree of order. He raised Balash, one of Peroz's brothers, to the throne. It was not until the reign of Khosroe (or Khosrau) I that the Hunnic threat was permanently removed.

Second Golden Era (498-622)

The second golden era began after second coronation of Kavadh I (Qobad I) with the help of Ephthalites. Kavadh joined the Ephthalites and began a war against the Romans. In 502 he took Theodosiopolis (Erzurum) in Armenia. In 503 he took Amida (Diarbekr) on the Tigris. In 505 an invasion of Armenia by the western Huns from the Caucasus led to an armistice during which the Romans paid subsidies to the Persians for the maintenance of the fortifications on the Caucasus. Although he could not free himself from the yoke of the Ephthalites, Kavadh succeeded in restoring order in the interior and fought with success against the Romans. founded several cities, some of which were named after him, and began to regulate the taxation.

After Kavadh I (Qobad I), his son Khosrau I, also known as Anushirvan ("with the immortal soul") (531-579), ascended to the throne. He is the most celebrated of the Sassanid rulers. He reformed the tax system and reorganized the army and the bureaucracy, tying the army more closely to the central government than to local lords. His reign witnessed the rise of the dihqans (literally, village lords), the petty landholding nobility who were the backbone of later Sassanid provincial administration and the tax collection system. Khosrau was a great builder, embellishing his capital, founding new towns, and constructing new buildings. He rebuilt the canals and restocked the farms destroyed in the wars. He built strong fortifications at the passes and placed subject tribes in carefully chosen towns on the frontiers to act as guardians against invaders.

Although Justinian had paid him 440,000 pieces of gold as a bribe to keep the peace, Khosrau broke the "eternal peace" of 532 in 540 and invaded Syria, where he collected money from the different cities. He was tolerant of all religions, though he decreed that Zoroastrianism should be the official state religion, and was not unduly disturbed when one of his sons became a Christian.

After Khosrau, Hormizd IV took the throne. Hormizd was also a vigorous ruler. However, during Bahram Chobin's crisis, the empire saw a short lived chaos. The crisis stabilized soon after Khosrau II's ascent. Following the civil wars in Byzantine Khosrau started a full scale invasion Byzantine empire. The Sassanid dream of restoring the Achaemenid boundaries was close to completion when Jerusalem and Damascus fell. Egypt fell soon after. Constantinople also found itself under siege in 626 by Slavic and Avar forces supported by the Persians. Persian art, music and architecture reached to their highest peak. The royal court was in a splendor that wasn't seen before.

Khosrau I's reforms

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Khosrau I is most famous for his reforms in the aging governing body of Sassanids. In his reforms he introduced a rational system of taxation, based upon a survey of landed possessions, which his father had begun and tried in every way to increase the welfare and the revenues of his empire. (For more about Khosrau I's reforms, see ).

Decline and fall (622-651)

• See also: Fall of Sassanid dynasty
• See also: Islamic conquest of Persia

Khosrau II launched an aggresive campaign against the Byzantine empire, but overextended his army and overtaxed the people. The Byzantine emperor Heraclius retaliated with a tactical move by abandoning his besieged capital and sailing up the Black Sea to attack Persia from the rear. During Heraclius's campaign in the Persian Empire in the 620s, mutual suspicion arose between Khosrau II and his general Shahrbaraz. Byzantine agents showed Shahbaraz letters indicating that Khosrau was planning the general's execution. This kept one of the main Persian armies and its best general neutral during this crucial period, speeding the end of the war in favour of the Byzantines. Heraclius acquired the assistance of the Khazars and other Turkic troops. In the absence of two of Sassanids' greatest Eran spahbods, Shahin and Shahrbaraz (who was away in Anatolia with the main Persian army, fearing that Khosrau wanted him dead), and due to the fact that 15 years of war had exhausted the Persians, Heraclius managed to defeat several Persian armies. These defeats culminated in the Battle of Nineveh, where the Byzantines (without the Khazars, who had left Heraclius) defeated the Persian army commanded by Rhahzadh. Heraclius then marched through Mesopotamia and Western Persia sacking Takht-e Soleyman and the Palace of Dastugerd, where he received the news of the murder of his rival Khosrau II.

Chaos and civil war followed this defeat. Over a period of fourteen years and twelve successive kings, the Sassanid Empire weakened considerably. The power of the central authority passed into the hands of the generals. It took years for a strong king to emerge from a series of coups, and the Sassanids never completely recovered.

In the spring of 632, a grandson of Khosrau, Yazdegerd III, ascended the throne. In that same year, the first Arab squadrons made their raids into Persian territory. Years of warfare had exhausted both the Byzantines and the Persians. The Sāssānids were further weakened by economic decline, heavy taxation, religious unrest, rigid social stratification, the increasing power of the provincial landholders, and a rapid turnover of rulers. These factors facilitated the Arab invasion.

The Arab invasion marked the beginning of the end. Yazdegerd was a boy at the mercy of his advisers and incapable of uniting a vast country crumbling into small feudal kingdoms. Rome no longer threatened. The Arab threat initially came from the small, disciplined armies of Khalid ibn Walid, once one of Muhammad's chosen companion-in-arms and leader of the Arab army. Under the Caliph `Umar ibn al-Khattāb, a Muslim army defeated a larger Persian force lead by general Rostam Farrokhzād at the plains of al-Qādisiyyah

Says Ferdowsi of their downfall, in commending the Sassanids:

کجا آن بزرگان ساسانیان
زبهرامیان تا بسامانیان

kujā ān buzurgān-i Sāsāniyān
zi Bahrāmiyān tā bi-Sāmāniyān?

"To where have the great Sassanids gone?
To the Bahrāmids and Samanids what has come upon?"

The Parsees

• Main article: Parsees

Following the collapse of Sassanids, Zoroastrians increasingly became a persecuted minority in Persia. A number of them migrated to Gujarat, India, where they were allowed greater freedom to observe their old customs and preserve the Zoroastrian faith. They still use the old Persian calendar, counting the years from the accession of Yazdegerd on June 16, 632 CE. Old dynastic calendars measured time by the reigns of various rulers. According to the Parsees, the reign of Yazdegerd has not ended.

Government

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The Sassanids established an empire roughly within the frontiers achieved by the Achaemenids, with the capital at Ctesiphon in the Khvarvaran province. The Sassanids system of social stratification reinforced by Zoroastrianism consciously sought to resuscitate Persian traditions and to obliterate Greek cultural influence. Their rule was characterized by considerable centralization, ambitious urban planning, agricultural development, and technological improvements.

Sassanid rulers adopted the title of Shāhanshāh (the King of Kings), as sovereigns over numerous petty rulers, known as shahrdars. Sassanid Queens had the title of Banebshenan banebshen (the Queen of Queens).

Sassanid rule and the system of social stratification were reinforced by Zoroastrianism, which became the dominant, but not official, religion. Other religions were permitted (this is a controversially discussed topic, see for example Wiesehöfer, Ancient Persia, or the Cambridge History of Iran, vol 3). The Zoroastrian priesthood became immensely powerful. The head of the priestly class, the Mobadan (Magi) موبدان, along with the military commander, the Iran (Eran) Spahbod ايران سپهد, and the head of the bureaucracy, the Vizier وزير, were the great men of the state.

Conflicts

• See also: Roman relations with the Parthians and Sassanians
• See also: Battles of the Sassanid Empire

Initially, Sassanids, like Parthians, were in constant hostility with the Roman Empire. Following the division of the Roman empire in year 395, Eastern Roman Empire, with its capital at Constantinople, replaced the Roman Empire as Persia's principal western enemy. Hostilities between the two empires became more frequent.

In the east, the Kushan Empire and different nomadic tribes such as White Huns were the empire's main enemies. These nomads constantly ravaged the province's eastern provinces. Tus citadel is one of the remaining Sassanid fortification in those regions.

In the south, in central Arabia, Bedouin Arab tribes occasionally raided the Sassanid empire. Kingdom of Al-Hirah, a Sassanid vassal kingdom, was established to form a buffer zone between the empire's mainland and the Bedouin tribes. Dissolution of Kingdom of Al-Hirah by Khosrau II in 602 contributed greatly to decisive defeats Sassanid suffered against Bedouin Arabs in later century. These defeats resulted in a sudden takeover of Sassanids by Bedouin tribes under the Islamic banner.

In the north, Khazars and other Turkic nomads frequently assaulted northern provinces of the empire. They plundered Medes in year 634. Shortly thereafter, the Persian army defeated and drove them out. Sassanid built many fortifications in Caucasus region to halt these attacks. Sassanid fortress in Derbent, southern Russia, is one of the few remaining fortifications in this region.

Iranian society under Sassanids

Sassanid society was very complex with many different people (including nomadic people) living inside the empire each having a separate organization. Historians believe that society was divided into four classes: Priests (Atorbanan in Persian:آتروبانان), Warriors (Arteshtaran in Persian:ارتشتاران), Secretaries (Dabiran in Persian:دبيران), and Commoners (Vasteryoshan-Hootkheshan in Persian: هوتخشان-واستريوشان). At the center of Sassanid caste system was Shahanshah (king of kings) ruling over all the nobilities.

Military wise, Sassanid society was divided into Aztan (Azadan) آزادان (freemen) who jealously guarded their status as descendants of ancient Aryan conquerors and the mass of origanlly non-Aryan peasantry. These Azatan formed a numerous minor aristocracy of lower ranking administrators, mostly living on their small estates and providing cavalry backbone of Sassanid army. Of most prestigious were the armoured "Aswaran" اسوران who normally decided the outcome of a battle. The royal princes, petty rulers, great landlords, and priests together constituted a privileged stratum, and the social system appears to have been fairly rigid. This caste system continued in the early Islamic period. During this time the higher classes were called Bozorgan.

Many new families had risen after dissolution of Parthian dynasty, even so some of the dominant Parthian clans from Seven Parthian clans remained important. At the court of the King of Kings Ardeshir I the founder of Sasanian dynasty, the Arsacid families of Suren-Pahlav and Karen-Pahlav, along with the Persian families of "Varazes" and "Andigans", held positions of great honor. Ardashir’s successor "King of Kings" Shapur I I, used the Gondophar’s crest (a circle surrounded by crescent). This may indicate his relationship through his mother to the House of Suren-Pahlav. However, there is a complete analogy with the appearance, at the court of the King of Kings of Iran and Aniran (non-Iranian) of the new dynasty, of the kings of Merv, Abarshahr, Carmania, Sakastan, Iberia, and Adiabene, who are mentioned in the ranks of the nobles holding the positions of highest honor. The extensive domains of the Surens, Karens, and Varazes had become part of the original Sasanian state as semi-independent states. The Suren-Pahlavs maintained their rule over the Sakastan, and one of their branches ruled the area around Nishapur.

But overall Bozorgan from Persian nobility had all the high-ranking positions. These included governors of border provinces (Marzban مرزبان). Most of these positions were patrimonial, and for generations they belonged to a specific family. Those Marzbans of greatest seniority were permitted a silver throne, while Marzbans of the most strategic border provinces like Caucasus provine were allowed a golden throne. In military campaigns, the regional Marzbans could be regarded as field marshals while lesser spahbods could command a field army.

Religion

• Main article: Zoroastrianism
  

The religion of the Sassanian state was Zoroastrianism. The Zoroastrianism of the Sasanian state was not exactly what was suggested in the Avesta, the holy book of the religion. Sassanid Zoroastrian clergy modified the religion in a way to serve themselves. This caused great uneasiness. The Zoroastrian dominance set the ground for many religious reform movements, the most important one of them being religions of Mani and Mazdak.

Dualism constituted the most noticeable feature of Zoroastrianism. Dualism professed was of the most extreme and pronounced kind. Ormazd and Ahriman, the principles of Good and Evil, were expressly declared to be "twins." They had "in the beginning come together to create Life and Death, and to settle how the world was to be." There was no priority of existence of the one over the other, and no decided superiority. The two, being coeval, had contended from all eternity, and would, it was almost certain, continue to contend to all eternity, neither being able to vanquish the other. Thus an eternal struggle was postulated between good and evil; and the issue was doubtful, neither side possessing any clear and manifest advantage.

The two principles were Persons. Ormazd was "the creator of life, the earthly and the spiritual," he who "made the celestial bodies, earth, water, and trees." He was "good," "holy," "pure," "true," "the Holy God," "the Holiest," "the Essence of Truth," "the father of all truth," "the being best of all," "the master of purity." He was supremely "happy," being possessed of every blessing, "health, wealth, virtue, wisdom, immortality." From him came every good gift enjoyed by man; on the pious and the righteous he bestowed, not only earthly advantages, but precious spiritual gifts, truth, devotion, "the good mind," and everlasting happiness; and, as he rewarded the good, so he also punished the bad, though this was an aspect in which he was but seldom represented.

In the purer times of the Zoroastrian religion it would seem that neither Ormazd nor Ahriman was represented by sculptured forms. A symbolism alone was permitted, which none could mistake for a real attempt to portray these august beings. But by the date of the Sassanian revival, the original spirit of the religion had suffered considerable modification; and it was no longer thought impious, or perilous, to exhibit the heads of the Pantheon, in the forms regarded as appropriate to them, upon public monuments. The great Artaxerxes, probably soon after his accession, set up a memorial of his exploits, in which he represented himself as receiving the insignia of royalty from Ormazd himself, while Ahriman, prostrate and seemingly, though of course not really, dead, lay at the feet of the steed on which Ormazd was mounted. In the form of Ormazd there is nothing very remarkable; he is attired like the king, has a long beard and flowing locks, and carries in his left hand a huge staff or baton, which he holds erect in a slanting position. The figure of Ahriman possesses more interest. The face wears an expression of pain and suffering; but the features are calm, and in no way disturbed. They are regular, and at least as handsome as those of Artaxerxes and his divine patron. He wears a band or diadem across the brow, above which we see a low cap or crown. From this escape the heads and necks of a number of vipers or snakes, fit emblems of the poisonous and "death−dealing" Evil One.

The Zoroastrian worship was intimately connected with fire−temples and fire−altars. A fire−temple was maintained in every important city throughout the empire; and in these a sacred flame, believed to have been lighted from heaven, was kept up perpetually, by the care of the priests, and was spoken of as "unextinguishable." Fire−altars probably also existed, independently of temples; and an erection of this kind maintained from first to last an honorable position on the Sassanian coins, being the main impress upon the reverse. It was represented with the flame rising from it, and sometimes with a head in the flame; its stem was ornamented with garlands or fillets; and on either side, as protectors or as worshippers, were represented two figures, sometimes watching the flame, sometimes turned from it, guarding it apparently from external enemies.

In addition to Zoroastrianism, other religions, Judaism and Christianity existed in the Sassanid society, and they were mostly free to practice and preach their belief.A very large Jewish flourished under Sassanid rule, with its own semi-autonomous Exilarchate leadership based in Iraq, a community that would flourish until the advent of Zionism.Jewish communities suffered only occasional persecution. They enjoyed a relative freedom of religion and advantages who were not granted to any other religious minorities. They had thriving communities in Isfahan , Babylon and Khorasan. Shapur I (Shvor Malka, which is the Aramaic form of the name) was friend to the Jews. His friendship with Shmuel gained many advantages for the Jewish community. Shapur II's mother was Jewish, and this gave Jews community a relative freedom of religion and many advantages. He was also friend of a Babylonian rabbi in the Talmud named Raba (Talmud), Raba's friendship with Shapur II enabled him to secure a relaxation of the oppressive laws enacted against the Jews in the Persian Empire. In addition, Raba sometimes refered to his top student Abaye with the term Shvur Malka meaning "Shaput King" because of his bright and quick intellect.

Christians of Iran belonging mainly to the Nestorian and Jacobite branches kept close relations with the Byzantine church. They occasionally helped the Byzantine armies in manoeuvres against Iran. Most of the Christians in the Sassanid empire lived on the western edge of the empire. Armenians, previously Zoroastrians, were the first people in the empire to convert to Christianity.

Relations with China

See Iran-China relations for main discussion

Sassanids like Parthians had an active relationship with Chinese Emperors and sent many ambassadors to China. On different occasions, Sassanid kings sent their most talented Persian musicians and dancers to the Chinese imperial court. Wealth brought from the Silk Road made both empires very protective of the road and tied them more closely to each other. They co-operated in guarding the road in the Central Asia region and built many outposts in the border areas to keep caravans safe from nomadic tribes and bandits. Following the invasion of Iran by Muslim Arabs, Pirooz, son of Yazdegerd III, along with a few Persian nobles escaped and took refuge in the Chinese imperial court.

Expansion to India

• Main article: Indo-Sassanian
  

After The Sassanids came to power in Persia in 226, the second emperor, Shapur I (240-270), extended his authority eastwards into what is today Pakistan and northwestern India. The previously autonomous Kushans were obliged to accept his suzerainty.

Successive Sassanid emperors were either tolerant of other religions or pursued policies of persecution, particularly against Christians. In India, the Kushans were generally tolerant of indigenous beliefs. Their traded goods such as silverware and textiles depicted the Sassanid emperors engaged in hunting or administering justice. This spread awareness of their imperial example in Kushan India. Kushan art honoring Persian styles facilitated the political relationship. Adopting Persian forms rather than Indian, also helped the Kushans maintain aloofness from their subjects.

Although the Kushan empire declined at the end of the 3rd century, leading to the rise to power of an indigenous Indian dynasty, the Guptas in the 4th century, it is clear that Sassanid influence remained relevant in India's north-west.

Numerous cultural exchanges took place between Persia and India in this period. For example, Persia imported Chess from India and changed the game's name to chatrang (see history of chess). In exchange, Persians introduced Backgammon to India.

Under Khosrau I's auspices, many books were brought from India and translated into Pahlavi. Some of these later found their way into the literature of the Islamic world. Khosrau's minister, Burzoe, translated Indian Panchatantra from Sanscrit into the middle Persian language of Pahlavi and named it Kelileh va Demneh. These translations later found their way to Arabia and Europe.

Important Persian figures in the Sassanid era

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• Mani the prophet : Founder of Manichaeism.
• Mazdak : Proto-socialist philosopher and founder of Mazdakism.
• Bozorgmehr : Physician and minister of Khosrau I.
• Purandokht (Boran) : Sassanid queen.
• Barbod the Great : Court musician of the king Khosrau II who created the first musical system in the Middle East, known as the Royal Khosravani and dedicated to the king himself.
• Nakisa : The court musician who collaborated with Barbod on his famous septet piece the Royal Khosravani.
• Rostam Farrokhzād : The last great general of Sassanids. While unsuccessful at repelling the Arab Muslim invaders, Iranian folklore and history consider him a hero.

Art and science

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• See also: Sassanid music
• See also: Science and medical academy of Gundishapur
• See also: Pahlavi literature
• See also: Sassanid architecture
• See also: Sassanid castles

Under Khosrau I, the college of Gundishapur, which had been founded in the fourth or fifth century, became "the greatest intellectual center of the time." Students and teachers came to it from every quarter of the world. Nestorian Christians were received there, and brought Syriac translations of Greek works in medicine and philosophy. Neoplatonists there planted the seeds of Sufi mysticism; there the medical lore of India, Persia, Syria, and Greece mingled to produce a flourishing school of therapy.

Artistically, Sassanian period (224-633) witnessed some of the highest achievements of Persian civilization. Much of what later became known as Muslim culture, architecture, writing and other skills, were taken mainly from the Persians into the broad Muslim world. According to Will Durant:

"Sasanian art exported its forms and motives eastward into India, Turkestan, and China, westward into Syria, Asia Minor, Constantinople, the Balkans, Egypt, and Spain. Probably its influence helped to change the emphasis in Greek art from classic representation to Byzantine ornament, and in Latin Christian art from wooden ceilings to brick or stone vaults and domes and buttressed walls. "

The Sassanian Dynasty, like the Achaemenian, originated in the province of Persis (Fars). They saw themselves as successors to the Achaemenians, after the Hellenistic and Parthian interlude, and perceived it as their role to restore the greatness of Persia.

At its peak, the Sassanian Empire stretched from Syria to north-west India, but its influence was felt far beyond these political boundaries. Sassanian motifs found their way into the art of central Asia and China, the Byzantine Empire, and even Merovingian France.

In reviving the glories of the Achaemenian past, the Sassanians were no mere imitators. The art of this period reveals an astonishing virility. In certain respects it anticipates features later developed during the Islamic period. The conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great inaugurated the spread of Hellenistic art into Western Asia. Though the East accepted the outward form of this art, it never really assimilated its spirit. Already in the Parthian period, Hellenistic art was being interpreted freely by the peoples of the Near East. Throughout the Sassanian period there was reaction against it. Sassanian art revived forms and traditions native to Persia, and in the Islamic period these reached the shores of the Mediterranean. According to Fergusson in his book "History of Architecture":

"With the accession of the Sassanians, Persia regained much of that power and stability to which she had been so long a stranger.... The improvement in the fine arts at home indicates returning prosperity, and a degree of security unknown since the fall of the Achaemenidae."

Surviving palaces illustrate the splendour in which the Sassanian monarchs lived. Examples in clude palaces at Firouzabad and Bishapur in Fars and the capital city of Ctesiphon in Khvarvaran province, Iraq. In addition to local traditions, Parthian architecture influenced Sassanian architectural characteristics. All are characterised by the barrel-vaulted iwans introduced in the Parthian period. During the Sassanian period, they reached massive proportions, particularly at Ctesiphon. The arch of the great vaulted hall at Ctesiphon, attributed to the reign of Shapur I (241-272), has a span of more than 80 feet and reaches a height of 118 feet. This magnificent structure fascinated architects in the centuries that followed and has been considered one of the most important examples of Persian architecture. Many of the palaces contain an inner audience hall constituting, as at Firuzabad, of a chamber surmounted by a dome. The Persians solved the problem of constructing a circular dome on a square building by the squinch. This is an arch built across each corner of the square, thereby converting it into an octagon on which it is simple to place the dome. The dome chamber in the palace of Firouzabad is the earliest surviving example of the use of the squinch and so there is good reason for regarding Persia as its place of invention.

The unique characteristic of Sassanian architecture was its distinctive use of space. The Sassanian architect conceived his building in terms of masses and surfaces; hence the use of massive walls of brick decorated with molded or carved stucco. Stucco wall decorations appear at Bishapur, but better examples are preserved from Chal Tarkhan near Rayy (late Sassanian or early Islamic in date), and from Ctesiphon and Kish in Mesopotamia. The panels show animal figures set in roundels, human busts, and geometric and floral motifs.

At Bishapur some of the floors were decorated with mosaics showing scenes of merrymaking as at a banquet. The Roman influence here is clear, and the mosaics may have been laid by Roman prisoners. Buildings were decorated with wall paintings. Particularly fine examples have been found at Kuh-i Khwaja in Sistan.

Studies on Sassanid remains show over 100 types of crowns being worn by Sassanid kings. The various Sassanid crowns demonstrate the cultural, economic, social, and historical situation in each period. The crowns also show the character traits of each king in this era.

There are different symbols and signs on the crowns of Sassanid kings including the moon, stars, eagle, and palm, each illustrating the wearer's religious faith and beliefs.

Sassanid army

• Main article: Sassanid Army

The backbone of the Persian army (Spah) in the Sassanid era was their heavy armoured cavalry. The Clibanarii cavalry of Shapur II is described by Greek historian Ammianus Marcellinus as follows:

All the companies were clad in iron, and all parts of their bodies were covered with thick plates, so fitted that the stiff-joints conformed with those of their limbs; and the forms of human faces were so skillfully fitted to their heads, that since their entire body was covered with metal, arrows that fell upon them could lodge only where they could see a little through tiny openings opposite the pupil of the eye, or where through the tip of their nose they were able to get a little breath. Of these some who were armed with pikes, stood so motionless that you would have thought them held fast by clamps of bronze.

Some of the Sassanid army units and their weaponry:

• Azadan nobility - (Asavaran (Aswaran) elite cavalry, the Persian knightly caste)
• War elephants
• Light cavalry (Nomad archers)
• Clibanarii cavalry (Heavy cavalry armed with maces and swords)
• Cataphract cavalry (Heavy cavalry armed with lances)
• Daylami and Soghdiana (Sughdian) heavy infantry
• Paygan (Medium infantry armed with spears and large shields)
• Kamandaran (Elite foot archers)

Sassanid Empire chronology

226-241: Reign of Ardashir I

• 224-226: Overthrow of Parthian Empire.
• 229-232: War with Rome
• Zoroastrianism is revived as official religion.
• The collection of texts known as the Zend Avesta is assembled.

241-271: Reign of Shapur I

• 241-244: First war with Rome.
• 258-260: Second war with Rome. Capture of Roman emperor Valerian in Battle of Edessa.
• 215-271: Mani, founder of Manicheanism.

271-301: A period of dynastic struggles

309-379: Reign of Shapur II "the Great"

• 337-350: First war with Rome with a relatively little success.
• 358-363: Second war with Rome. Great victories, extending eastern and western borders of empire.

399-420: Reign of Yazdegerd I "the Sinner"

• 409: Christian are permitted to publicly worship and to build churches.
• 416-420: Persecution of Christians as Yazdegerd revokes his earlier order.

420-438: Reign of Bahram V.

• 420-422: War with Rome.
• 424: Council of Dad-Ishu declares the Eastern Church independent of Constantinople.

438-457: Reign of Yazdegerd II.

• 441: War with Rome with success.
• 451: Armenian revolt crushed in Battle of Vartanantz.

483: Edict of Toleration granted to Christians

491: Armenian Church repudiates the Council of Chalcedon.

• Nestorian Christianity becomes dominant Christian sect in Sassanid Empire

531-579: Reign of Khosrau I, "with the immortal soul" (Anushirvan)

533: "Treaty of Endless Peace" with Rome.

540-562: War with Rome.

590-628: Reign of Khosrau II

603-628: War with Rome. Conquests in Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Anatolia, Persia nearly restored to boundaries of Achaemenid dynasty before being beaten back by Romans.

610: Arabs defeat a Sassanid army at Dhu-Qar.

626: Unsuccessful siege of Constantinople by Avars and Persians.

627: Roman Emperor Heraclius invades Assyria and Mesopotamia. Definitive defeat of Persian forces at the battle of Nineveh by the joint Byzantine force.

628-632: Chaotic period of multiple rulers.

632-642: Reign of Yazdgird III

636: Decisive Sassanid defeat at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah during the Islamic conquest of Iran.

642: Final victory of Arabs when Persian army destroyed at Nahavand (Nehavand).

651: Last Sassānid ruler Yazdgird III murdered at Merv, present-day Turkmenistan, ending the dynasty. His son Pirooz and many others went into exile in China.

In modern media

The Sassanid Empire is one of a number of factions in the 2005 PC game Rome Total War: Barbarian invasion.

Notes

• 651
• Ancient Roman enemies and allies
• Late Antiquity
• Sassanid dynasty
• Zoroastrianism
• History of Iran
• Empires