Re: [ Iran & Iranians ] Farsinameh - the Sassanian glory

[molod nemati]

salam man zabanam engadr khob nist shoma iran animationiha hame zabanaton enghadr khobe?

Arash Monzavi-Kia <arash-mo...@hotmail.com> wrote:

After 100 years of the Macedonian (Seleucid) rule and 400 years of the Parthian (Arsacid) dynasties, the Sassanians revived the Achaemenid Persian Empire and traditions. Sassanians despised the Greek-loving Arsacids and their feudal and decentralized kingdoms. Ardashir Babakan, the ambitious Persian governor of Fars rebelled against the weakened Parthian king (Ardavan) and defeated him in 224 CE, capturing Ctesiphon in 226 and crowning as the new ShahanShah.

Figure 19: Zoroastrian fire temple in Yazd

 

ArdashirâEURO(tm)s son (Shahpor) who came to power in the year 240; even excelled his glorious father in statesmanship and military prowess. He defeated the by then corrupt Rome, and quite incredibly killed or captured three Roman Emperors! ArdashirâEURO(tm)s victories revived the legendary Persian rule from Asia Minor to India and from Arabia to Armenia.

Figure 20: Shahpor captures Roman emperor

 

Like Cyrus the great, Shahpor was considerate towards his new subjects and the Roman captives, who were settled in different parts of the empire and were encouraged to build new cities and buildings, based on the more advanced Roman techniques. ShahporâEURO(tm)s religious toleration even led to the proliferation of Christianity and Manichaeism in Iran. Unfortunately, after ShahporâEURO(tm)s death, there was a bloody power struggle among his sons. In 274, the victorious son (Bahram) who had the backing of the chief Zoroastrian priest (Kartir), executed many Christians and the Persian prophet of peace (Mani).

Figure 21: Manichean priests

 

Over the next half century, the preponderance of Zoroastrian priests and the privileged nobility, created a very wealthy upper class (caste) and a very disadvantaged populace. Moreover, the institute of monarchy was often shaken through the wars of succession and numerous priestly conspiracies. Ultimately, in the year 310, there was no male successor (son, brother or cousin) to the dying Sassanian king. Hence, an unborn royal child was crowned in the womb, with his mother as the viceroy. Good fortune was that the child (Shahpor II) was of great aptitude and revived the Persian rule through his long kingship (to 379). Shahpor II defeated the Arab tribes who had captured the Western half of the empire and its capital (Ctesiphon); and was nicknamed Zol-a-Ketaf (binder of arms), by his Arab captives.

Figure 22: Shahpor II

 

The great boost provided by Shahpor II lasted for about 100 years, but by then the major foreign threat had moved from West (Romans and Arabs) to East (Mongols and Turks). The Mongol raids broke the Sassanian army and treasury, and reduced the Persian kings to weak vassals. The loss of man power and cash caused a decline in agriculture and several years of chronic famines. The destitute masses turned to the radicalized poor priests, who lead by Mazdak, advocated the confiscation of land and properties from the rich priests and the nobility. The ensuing revolutionary riots caused the king (Ghobad) to relinquish his riches and even free his slaves and concubines. For forty yeas, the Persian king lived like a hostage to his external (Mongol) and internal (Mazdak) enemies. Ghobad, openly showed obedience to his captors, but his son (Khosrau) began to scheme against them!

Figure 23: The formidable Sassanian heavy cavalry

 

In 531, Khosrau (Noshirvan) came to power and started with a brutal suppression of Mazdak and his followers. However, despite eliminating thousands of the Mazdak socialists, Khosrau did not return the confiscated lands and riches to the defunct nobility. Instead, he instituted a new class (Dehghan) of the numerous landowners who now each had a small property. Khosrau then made peace with the Turks and jointly invaded and captured the Mongol territories. During the 40 years of his reign, Noshirvan behaved like a typical âEURO~benevolent-dictatorâEURO(tm), both brutish and constructive.

Figure 24: Khosrau in a hunting scene

 

Sadly, like so many other dictators, Khosrau could not escape the corrupting influence of absolute power, and near the end, turned neurotic and suspicious. He abolished his grand vizier and trusted deputies, and left the succession in the incapable hands of a murderous son. The ensuing decade of mayhem and unrest, led to a major uprising by the prominent Parthian tribes of Khorasan. Their leader (Bahram Chobin) toppled the Sassanian prince (Khosrau II), and for a short time re-established the Arsacid dynasty.

Figure 25: Khosrau II gold coin

 

Khosrau II (Parviz) fled to the Byzantine court, which had inherited the Eastern Roman empire after the collapse of the mainland Rome (todayâEURO(tm)s Italy) at the hands of the barbaric Anglo-Germanic tribes. He even converted to Christianity and married one of the Byzantine princes, to prove his allegiance to the Western way of life. In return the Roman emperor Maurice supported him with army and funds, which enabled Khosrau Parviz to successfully fight the Parthians and revive his kingship, in 591. This led to a decade of Roman-Persian friendship and religious toleration that unfortunately ended with a coup that toppled Maurice.

Figure 26: Eastern Roman Empire, circa 500 CE

 

Khosrau Parviz saw a great opportunity during the ensuing power struggle in Byzantine, and attacked and pillaged their Asia Minor, Mesopotamian, Eastern Mediterranean and even Egyptian territories! In reply, the Romans united behind their new emperor (Heracles) and attacked the Persian capital of Ctesiphon, through their allies (Armenians) terrain. The direct attack on the capital caused a great deal of mayhem, and the rebellious Sassanian court conspired and assassinated the king, in 628 CE. The new king signed a hastily and humiliating truce with the Romans, while relinquishing all the territorial gains and paying an exorbitant amount of land and gold in damages!

Figure 27: Khosrau II defeated by Heracles

 

The half century of murderous court conspiracies, civil wars and foreign wars, drained both the Sassanian dynasty of blood, and the country of men and resources. Between 628 and 632, five different kings and two queens came to power. The short reign of those two queens was due to the relentless royal bloodletting (brother against brother, father against son), which again had emptied the court of all the male Sassanians!

Figure 28: Queen Puran ruled Persia for two years.

 
At the same time in Arabia, a new prophet (Mohammad) had emerged, and soon the expanding Muslim army filled the power vacuum that was left by the battling and bleeding Roman and Persian empires. The new universal faith of Islam drew upon the strongest Jewish and Christian traditions, to build a spiritually vibrant and fanatically militant powerbase. In 636 CE, the Arab forces broke the resistance of the Sassanian army at Qadessieh, which led to the capture and pillaging of Ctesiphon, and subsequently the collapse of the Persian Empire.

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