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Ardashir I
𐭠𐭄đ­Č𐭧𐭱đ­Č𐭄
King of Kings of Iran
Coin of Ardashir I, minted at Hamadan between 233–239
King of Pars
Reign211/2–242
PredecessorShapur (Kings of Persis)
SuccessorOffice abolished
Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire
Reign224–242
Coronation226
Ctesiphon
PredecessorArtabanus IV (Arsacid Empire)
SuccessorShapur I
Co-rulerShapur I (240–242)
BornUnknown
Tiruda, Khir, Pars
DiedFebruary 242
SpouseDenag
IssueShapur I
HouseHouse of Sasan
FatherPabag or Sasan
ReligionZoroastrianism

Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭄đ­Č𐭧𐭱đ­Č𐭄, Modern Persian: Ű§Ű±ŰŻŰŽÛŒŰ± ŰšŰ§ŰšÚ©Ű§Ù†), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire of Iran, ruling as its King of Kings from 224 to 242.

Name

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Ardashir is the Middle Persian form of the Old Persian áčštaxĆĄira (also spelled ArtaxĆĄaçā, meaning "whose reign is through truth").[1][2] The Latin variant of the name is Artaxerxes.[1] Three kings of the Achaemenid Empire were known to have the same name.[1]

Origins

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There are various different sources regarding the relationship between Pabag, Sasan, and the first Sasanian monarch Ardashir I (r. 224–242).[3] According to the Shahnameh ("The Book of Kings") by the Persian poet Ferdowsi (d. 1020), Sasan is a descendant of the Kayanian rulers Dara II, Dara I, Kay Bahman, Esfandiyar and Vishtaspa.[3] The claim of Sasan belonging to the Kayanian family was designed in order to justify that Ardashir was descended from the ancient Kayanian kings, who reflected memories of the Achaemenids.[3]

Dara II, the last Kayanian king to rule before Alexander, is partly based on the last Achaemenid King of Kings, Darius III (r. 336–330 BC), whose empire was indeed conquered by Alexander's forces.[3] A son of Dara II, named Sasan (called "the elder") fled to India and lived there in exile until his death.[3] He was survived by a son who was likewise named Sasan (called "the younger"), "which continued in the family for four generations".[3] A descendant of the family, likewise named Sasan, worked for Pabag, who was a local ruler in Pars.[3] Pabag's daughter married Sasan, and bore him a son named Ardashir.[3][4] Following this, Sasan is no longer mentioned.[3] The Shahnameh thus indicates that the ancestors of Sasan resided in India following Alexander's conquests.[3] This report has been used by scholars to point out Sasan's Indo-Parthian connection.[3]

The Middle Persian text Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan ("Book of the Deeds of Ardashir, son of Pabag"), says the following regarding the ancestry of Ardashir: ardaxĆĄÄ«r Ä« kay Ä« pābāgān Ä« az tohmag Ä« sāsān ud nāf Ä« dārāy ƥāh ("Ardashir, the Kayanian, son of Pabag from the parentage of Sasan and from the lineage of King Dara").[3] Another Middle Persian text, the Bundahishn, however, gives the genealogy of Ardashir as following: ArtaxĆĄahr Ä« Pābagān kē-ĆĄ mād duxt Ä« Sāsān Ä« Weh-āfrÄ«d ("Ardashir son of Pabag whose mother (was) the daughter of Sasan son of Weh-afrid").[3] This demonstrates the inconsistencies between Middle Persian texts regarding the origins of the Sasanian dynasty.[3] Both sources regard Pabag as the father of Ardashir, whilst Sasan is presented as the latters grandfather or ancestor.[3]

In Roman and Armenian sources, a different account appears. According to the Roman historians Agathias and George Syncellus, Sasan was the biological father of Ardashir, whilst Pabag was his stepfather.[5] The Armenian writers Movses Khorenatsi and Agathangelos likewise call Sasan the father of Ardashir. However, they do not make any mention of Pabag.[5] A Greek variant of Agathangelos' work, calls Ardashir "son of Sasanus, which is the origin of the Sasanian name of the Persian kings descended from him".[5]

Background and state of Pars

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Pars (also known as Persis), a region in the southwestern Iranian plateau, was the homeland of the southwestern branch of the Iranian peoples, the Persians.[6] It also was also the birthplace of the first Iranian Empire, the Achaemenids.[6] The region served as the center of the empire until its conquest by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great (r. 336–323 BC).[6] Since the end of the 3rd or the beginning of the 2nd century BCE, Pars was ruled by local dynasts subject to the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire.[7] These dynasts held the ancient Persian title of frataraka ("leader, governor, forerunner"), which is also attested in the Achaemenid-era.[8] Later under the frataraka Wadfradad II (fl. 138 BC) was made a vassal of the Iranian Parthian (Arsacid) Empire.[7] The frataraka were shortly afterwards replaced by the Kings of Persis, most likely at the accession of the Arsacid monarch Phraates II (r. 132–127 BC).[9] Unlike the fratarakas, the Kings of Persis used the title of shah ("king"), and laid foundations to a new dynasty, which may be labelled the Darayanids.[9]

Consolidation of Pars

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Pabag ruled a small principality in the area of Khir, south of the Bakhtegan Lake.[10] He was a vassal of Gochihr, the Bazrangid king of the Persian capital of Istakhr, who was in turn a vassal of the Arsacid King of Kings.[11][12] With the permission of Gochihr, Pabag sent Ardashir to the fortress of Darabgerd to serve under its commander, Tiri.[2] Pabag reportedly served as a priest of the fire-temple of Anahita in Istakhr, which served as a rallying point of the local Persian soldiers, who worshipped the Iranian goddess.[12] The Arsacid Empire, then ruled by Vologases V (r. 191–208), was at this time in decline, due to wars with the Romans, civil wars and regional revolts.[13] The Roman emperor Septimius Severus (r. 193–211) had invaded the Arsacid domains in 196, and two years later did the same, this time sacking the Arsacid capital of Ctesiphon.[13] At the same time, revolts occurred in Media and Pars.[13]

The Iranologist Touraj Daryaee argues that the reign of Vologases V was "the turning point in Arsacid history, in that the dynasty lost much of its prestige."[13] The kings of Persis were now unable to depend on their weakened Arsacid overlords.[13] Indeed, in 205/6, Pabag rebelled and overthrew Gochihr, taking Istakhr for himself.[12][13] According to al-Tabari, it was at the urging of Ardashir that Pabag rebelled. However, Daryaee considers this statement unlikely, and states that it was in reality Shapur that helped Pabag to capture Istakhr, as demonstrated by the latter's coinage which has portraits of both them.[10]

There he appointed his eldest son Shapur as his heir.[13] This was much to the dislike of Ardashir, who had become the commander of Darabgerd after the death of Tiri.[13][2] Ardashir in an act of defiance, left for Ardashir-Khwarrah, where he fortified himself, preparing to attack his brother Shapur after Pabag's death.[13][a] Pabag died a natural death sometime between 207–10 and was succeeded by Shapur.[15] After his death, both Ardashir and Shapur started minted coins with the title of "king" and the portrait of Pabag.[16] Shapur's reign, however, proved short; he died under obscure conditions in 211/2.[17][13]

War with Artabanus IV

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Coin of Ardashir I as king of Pars

The location of the battle has not been found. The Arabic chronicle Nihayat al-arab states that the battle took place in bÊŸdrjÊŸan or bÊŸdjÊŸn, which Widengren translated as *Jurbadhijan (Golpayegan).[18] This is however improbable, due to Ardashir I operating around Kashkar before the battle.[18] According to an unfinished work by Bal'ami, the battle took place at Khosh-Hormoz, which is another name for the notable city of Ram-Hormoz, situated near Arrajan and Ahvaz.[18] This implies that Ram-Hormoz was perhaps another word for Hormozdgan, and also clarifies why the latter is not mentioned by Islamic geographers whilst the former is reported in detail.[18] The town of Ram-Hormoz still endures today, and is 65 km east of Ahvaz, "in a wide plain just at the foot of the hills that form the northeastern tail of the Bengestan Mountain of the Zagros chain."[18] According to Shahbazi, "the plain nearby is admirably suited for a cavalry engagement."[18]

Coin of Artabanus IV (r. 213–224)

According to al-Tabari, whose work was probably based off Sasanian sources,[2] Ardashir I and Artabanus IV agreed to meet in Hormozdgan at the end of the month of Mihr (April).[19] Nonetheless, Ardashir I went to the place before due time to occupy a advantageous spot on the plain.[19] There he dug out a ditch to defend himself and his forces. He also took over a spring at the place.[19] Ardashir I's forces numbered 10,000 cavalry, with some of them wearing flexible chain armor akin to that of the Romans.[18] Artabanus IV led a greater number of soldiers, who, however, were less disposed, due to wearing the inconvenient lamellar armor.[18] Ardashir I's son and heir, Shapur, as portrayed in the Sasanian rock reliefs, also took part in the battle.[20] The battle was fought on 28 April 224, with Artabanus IV being defeated and killed, marking the end of the Arsacid era and the start of 427-years of Sasanian rule.[18]

Coronation

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Coin of Ardashir I as King of Kings (r. 224–242)

The chief secretary of the deceased Arsacid king, Dad-windad, was afterwards executed by Ardashir I.[21] Thenceforth, Ardashir I assumed the title of shahanshah ("King of Kings") and started the conquest of an area which would be called Iranshahr (Ērānshahr).[22] He celebrated his victory by having two rock reliefs sculptured at the Sasanian royal city of Ardashir-Khwarrah (present-day Firuzabad) in his homeland, Pars.[23][24] The first relief portrays three scenes of personal fighting; starting from the left, a Persian aristocrat seizing a Parthian soldier; Shapur impaling the Parthian minister Dad-windad with his lance; and Ardashir I ousting Artabanus IV.[24][18] The second relief, conceivably intented to portray the aftermath of the battle, displays the triumphant Ardashir I being given the badge of kingship over a fire shrine from the Zoroastrian supreme god Ahura Mazda, while Shapur and two other princes are watching from behind.[24][23]

Vologases VI was driven out of Mesopotamia by Ardashir I's forces soon after 228.[25][26] The leading Parthian noble-families (known as the Seven Great Houses of Iran) continued to hold power in Iran, now with the Sasanians as their new overlords.[23][2] The early Sasanian army (spah) was identical to the Parthian one.[27] Indeed, the majority of the Sasanian cavalry composed of the very Parthian nobles the had once served the Arsacids.[27] This demonstrates that the Sasanians built up their empire thanks to the support of other Parthian houses, and has due to this has been called the "the empire of the Persians and Parthians".[28] However, memories of the Arsacid Empire never completely vanished, with efforts trying to restore the empire in the late 6th-century made by the Parthian dynasts Bahram Chobin and Vistahm, which ultimately proved unsuccessful.[29][30]

  • The rock relief of Ardashir I's triumph over Artabanus IV
    The rock relief of Ardashir I's triumph over Artabanus IV
  • Ardashir I receiving the badge of kingship over a fire shrine from the Zoroastrian supreme god Ahura Mazda
    Ardashir I receiving the badge of kingship over a fire shrine from the Zoroastrian supreme god Ahura Mazda

Notes

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  1. ^ Physical evidence demonstrates that it was not from Darabgerd, as stated by al-Tabari, that Ardashir started expanding his domains, but from Ardashir-Khwarrah.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Schmitt 1986b, pp. 654–655.
  2. ^ a b c d e Wiesehöfer 1986, pp. 371–376. sfn error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREFWiesehöfer1986 (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Olbrycht 2016, p. 26. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFOlbrycht2016 (help)
  4. ^ Frye 1988, pp. 298–299.
  5. ^ a b c Olbrycht 2016, p. 27. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFOlbrycht2016 (help)
  6. ^ a b c Wiesehöfer 2000a, p. 195.
  7. ^ a b Wiesehöfer 2009. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFWiesehöfer2009 (help)
  8. ^ Wiesehöfer 2000b, p. 195.
  9. ^ a b Shayegan 2011, p. 178. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFShayegan2011 (help)
  10. ^ a b Daryaee 2010, p. 245.
  11. ^ Kia 2016, p. 224.
  12. ^ a b c Daryaee 2012, p. 187.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Daryaee 2010, p. 249.
  14. ^ Daryaee 2010, p. 247.
  15. ^ Frye 1988, pp. 298–299; Daryaee 2010, p. 252; Curtis & Stewart 2008, p. 34
  16. ^ Daryaee 2010, p. 250.
  17. ^ Daryaee 2014, p. 4. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFDaryaee2014 (help)
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Shahbazi 2004, pp. 469–470.
  19. ^ a b c Al-Tabari 1985–2007, v. 5: p. 13.
  20. ^ Shahbazi 2002.
  21. ^ Rajabzadeh 1993, pp. 534–539.
  22. ^ Daryaee 2014, pp. 2–3. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFDaryaee2014 (help)
  23. ^ a b c Shahbazi 2005.
  24. ^ a b c McDonough 2013, p. 601. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFMcDonough2013 (help)
  25. ^ Chaumont & Schippmann 1988, pp. 574–580.
  26. ^ Schippmann 1986a, pp. 647–650.
  27. ^ a b McDonough 2013, p. 603. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFMcDonough2013 (help)
  28. ^ Olbrycht 2016, p. 32. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFOlbrycht2016 (help)
  29. ^ Shahbazi 1988, pp. 514–522.
  30. ^ Shapur Shahbazi 1989, pp. 180–182.

Sources

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  • Daryaee, Touraj (2014). Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–240. ISBN 978-0857716668.
  • Daryaee, Touraj (2010). "Ardashir and the Sasanians' Rise to Power". University of California: 236–255. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) Free access icon
  • Frye, R. N. (1988). "Bābak (1)". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 3. pp. 298–299.
  • McDonough, Scott (2013). "Military and Society in Sasanian Iran". In Campbell, Brian; Tritle, Lawrence A. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World. Oxford University Press. pp. 1–783. ISBN 9780195304657.
  • Olbrycht, Marek Jan (2016). "Dynastic Connections in the Arsacid Empire and the Origins of the House of Sāsān". In Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Pendleton, Elizabeth J.; Alram, Michael; Daryaee, Touraj (eds.). The Parthian and Early Sasanian Empires: Adaptation and Expansion. Oxbow Books. ISBN 9781785702082.
  • Shayegan, M. Rahim (2011). Arsacids and Sasanians: Political Ideology in Post-Hellenistic and Late Antique Persia. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–539. ISBN 9780521766418.
  • Rezakhani, Khodadad (2017). "East Iran in Late Antiquity". ReOrienting the Sasanians: East Iran in Late Antiquity. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 1–256. ISBN 9781474400305. JSTOR 10.3366/j.ctt1g04zr8. (registration required)
  • Wiesehöfer, Joseph (1986). "ArdaĆĄÄ«r I i. History". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 4. pp. 371–376.
  • Wiesehöfer, Josef (2000b). "Frataraka". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 2. p. 195.
  • Wiesehöfer, Joseph (2000a). "Fārs ii. History in the Pre-Islamic Period". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  • Wiesehöfer, Josef (2009). "Persis, Kings of". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  • Al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir (1985–2007). Ehsan Yar-Shater (ed.). The History of Al-áčŹabarÄ«. Vol. 40 vols. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
  • Chaumont, M. L.; Schippmann, K. (1988). "Balāƥ VI". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 6. pp. 574–580.
  • Daryaee, Touraj (2014). Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–240. ISBN 978-0857716668.
  • McDonough, Scott (2013). "Military and Society in Sasanian Iran". In Campbell, Brian; Tritle, Lawrence A. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World. Oxford University Press. pp. 1–783. ISBN 9780195304657.
  • Olbrycht, Marek Jan (2016). "Dynastic Connections in the Arsacid Empire and the Origins of the House of Sāsān". In Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Pendleton, Elizabeth J.; Alram, Michael; Daryaee, Touraj (eds.). The Parthian and Early Sasanian Empires: Adaptation and Expansion. Oxbow Books. ISBN 9781785702082.
  • Rajabzadeh, Hashem (1993). "DabÄ«r". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VI, Fasc. 5. pp. 534–539.
  • Schippmann, K. (1986a). "Artabanus (Arsacid kings)". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 6. pp. 647–650.
  • Schippmann, K. (1986b). "Arsacids ii. The Arsacid dynasty". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 5. pp. 525–536.
  • Shahbazi, A. Shapur (2004). "Hormozdgān". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XII, Fasc. 5. pp. 469–470.
  • Shahbazi, A. Shapur (2005). "Sasanian Dynasty". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition.
  • Shahbazi, A. Shapur (2002). "Ơāpur I". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  • Shahbazi, A. Shapur (1989). "BESáčŹÄ€M O BENDƌY". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 2. pp. 180–182. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  • Shahbazi, A. Shapur (1988). "Bahrām VI ČƍbÄ«n". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 5. London et al. pp. 514–522.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Wiesehöfer, Joseph (1986). "ArdaĆĄÄ«r I i. History". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 4. pp. 371–376.
  • Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh (2007), "The Iranian Revival in the Parthian Period", in Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh and Sarah Stewart (ed.), The Age of the Parthians: The Ideas of Iran, vol. 2, London & New York: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd., in association with the London Middle East Institute at SOAS and the British Museum, pp. 7–25, ISBN 978-1-84511-406-0.
  • Schmitt, R. (1986b). "Artaxerxes". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 6. pp. 654–655.
  • Shayegan, M. Rahim (2011). Arsacids and Sasanians: Political Ideology in Post-Hellenistic and Late Antique Persia. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–539. ISBN 9780521766418.
  • Sellwood, David (1983), "Minor States in Southern Iran", in Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.), Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3, London: Cambridge UP, pp. 299–322
  • Shahbazi, A. Sh. (1986). "Arsacids i. Origins". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 5. p. 525.
  • Wiesehöfer, Joseph (1986). "ArdaĆĄÄ«r I i. History". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 4. pp. 371–376.
  • Wiesehöfer, Josef (2000). "Frataraka". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 2. p. 195.
  • Wiesehöfer, Josef (2009). "Persis, Kings of". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
HistoryofIran/Media (region)
Preceded by Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire
399–420 		Succeeded by
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