Global InformationSasanian Empire information
Empire of Iranians Ērānšahr[a][2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 224–651 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Derafsh Kaviani
(royal standard)  Simurgh
(imperial emblem) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The Sasanian Empire at its greatest extent c. 620, under Khosrow II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capital |
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| Common languages | Middle Persian (official)[4] Other languages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion |
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| Government | Feudal monarchy[5] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shahanshah | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 224–241 | Ardashir I (first) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 632–651 | Yazdegerd III (last) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Late Antiquity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Battle of Hormozdgan | 28 April 224 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• The Iberian War | 526–532 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Climactic Roman–Persian War of 602–628 | 602–628 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Civil war[6] | 628–632 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Arab conquest | 633–651 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Empire collapses | 651 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 550[7][8] | 3,500,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| History of Iran |
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Timeline Iran portal |
The Sasanian[b] Empire or Sassanid Empire, also known as the Second Persian Empire[9][10] or Neo-Persian Empire,[11][c] was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th to 8th centuries. Named after the House of Sasan, it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651, making it the second longest-lived Persian imperial dynasty after the Arsacids of the Parthian Empire.[2][12]
The Sasanian Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire and re-established the Persians as a major power in late antiquity alongside its arch-rival, the Roman Empire (after 395 the Byzantine Empire).[13][14][15] The empire ended with the Muslim conquest of Persia. It was founded by Ardashir I, a ruler who rose to power as Parthia weakened as a result of internal strife and wars with the Romans. After defeating the last Parthian King of Kings, Artabanus IV, at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224, he established the Sasanian Empire and set out to restore the legacy of the Achaemenid Empire by expanding Persia's dominions.
At its greatest territorial extent, the Sasanian Empire encompassed all of present-day Iran and Iraq, and stretched from the Levant to the Indian subcontinent and from South Arabia to the Caucasus and Central Asia.
The period of Sasanian rule was a high point in Iranian civilization,[16] characterized by a complex and centralized government bureaucracy, and revitalized Zoroastrianism as a legitimizing and unifying force of their rule.[17] They also built grand monuments, public works, and patronized cultural and educational institutions. The empire's cultural influence extended far beyond its territorial borders, including Western Europe,[18] Africa,[19] China, and India[20]—and helped shape European and Asian medieval art.[21]
Following the early Muslim conquests, the influence of Sasanian art, architecture, music, literature and philosophy on Islamic culture ensured the spread of Iranian culture, knowledge and ideas throughout the Muslim world.[22]
- ^ MacKenzie, D. N. (2005), A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary, London & New York: Routledge Curzon, p. 120, ISBN 978-0-19-713559-4
- ^ a b (Wiesehöfer 1996)
- ^ "Ctesiphon – Encyclopaedia Iranica". Iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ Daryaee 2008, pp. 99–100.
- ^ First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913–1936. Brill. 1993. p. 179.
- ^ Pourshariati 2008, p. 4.
- ^ Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of Historical Empires". Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2): 223. ISSN 1076-156X. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- ^ Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.". Social Science History. 3 (3/4). p. 122. doi:10.2307/1170959. JSTOR 1170959.
- ^ Canepa 2018, p. 9.
- ^ Daryaee 2018, p. 1.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "A Brief History". Culture of Iran. Archived from the original on 21 November 2001. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
- ^ (Shahbazi 2005)
- ^ Norman A. Stillman The Jews of Arab Lands p. 22 Jewish Publication Society, 1979 ISBN 0827611552
- ^ International Congress of Byzantine Studies Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London, 21–26 August 2006, Volumes 1–3 p. 29. Ashgate Pub Co, 2006 ISBN 075465740X
- ^ Hourani, p. 87.
- ^ Eiland, Murray (2004). "West Asia 300 BC–AD 600". In Onians, John (ed.). Atlas of World Art. Oxford University Press. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-0195215830.
- ^ Durant, Will (1950). The Age of Faith. p. 150.
Repaying its debt, Sasanian art exported its forms and motives eastward into India, Turkestan, and China, westward into Syria, Asia Minor, Constantinople, the Balkans, Egypt, and Spain.
- ^ "Transoxiana 04: Sasanians in Africa". Transoxiana.com.ar. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ Sarfaraz, pp. 329–330
- ^ "Iransaga: The art of Sassanians". Artarena.force9.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ Abdolhossein Zarinkoob: Ruzgaran: tarikh-i Iran az aghz ta saqut saltnat Pahlvi, p. 305
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