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32-453: The Persian word marz is derived from Avestan marəza "frontier, border"; pān/pāvan is cognate with Avestan and Old Persian pat "protector". The word was borrowed from New Persian into Arabic as مرزبان marzubān (plural مرازبة marāziba ). " Al-Marzubani " ( المرزباني ) has been used as a nisba (family title) for some Iranian families whose ancestor was a marzbān. The prominent Islamic scholar Abu Hanifa , whose formal name

64-542: Is given in Islamic sources as Nu'man ibn Thabit ibn Zuta ibn Marzubān ( نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان ), was descended from the marzbāns of Kabul , where his father came from. The Bavand (651–1349 AD) and Sallarid (919–1062 AD) dynasty rulers also used marzubān in their name. The word marzban was borrowed into Armenian as marzpan (մարզպան) and into Georgian as marzapani (მარზაპანი). The ranks tradition (primarily of vāspuhrān and āzādān ) can be traced to

96-746: The Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC), but due to lack of sources even in the Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) the existence of a proper classification of ranks is unknown, in comparison to the Sasanian royal inscriptions from the 3rd century AD when the aristocracy was divided into four or five ranks; šahrdārān (kings, landholders), vāspuhrān (princes; the seven great noble families ), wuzurgān (magnates; "great ones"), lower nobility āzādān (feudal nobles; freemen), and kadag-xwadāy (householders). The Sasanian military organization

128-677: The Eastern Roman Empire . The former established control in Eastern Armenia after the fall of the Arshakuni Armenian Kingdom in 428. In 428, Armenian nobles, nakharar , dissatisfied with the rule of Artaxias IV petitioned emperor Bahram V to depose him. Bahram V abolished the Kingdom of Armenia and appointed Veh Mihr Shapur as marzban (governor of a frontier province, " margrave ") of

160-675: The Greater Khorasan . Some regions enjoyed considerable autonomy while other were militarily more important, for example the Adurbadagan facing the Caucasus was special military frontier. Marzbāns were granted the administration of the border provinces and were responsible for maintaining the security of the trade routes , fighting the encroaching nomadic tribes such as Bedouin Arabs , White Huns and Oghuz Turks , and holding

192-634: The Huns and the Armenian nobles, citing solidarity between Christians. After carefully weighing the decision, the Mamikonian prince Vahan Mamikonian agreed to revolt against the Sasanians. He defeated and killed Adhur Gushnasp, and thereafter declared Sahak II Bagratuni as the new marzban . He also kept repelling several Sasanian counter-attacks. In 482, Shapur Mihran began to become a big threat to

224-421: The marzbān was a provincional function practiced for a single or multiple provinces, but there is no evidence for a "quarter of the empire", as al-Masudi entitled Šahrwarāz (629 AD). The rank of marzbān , like most imperial administration, was mostly patrimonial, and was passed down through a single family for generations. The marzbāns of greatest seniority were permitted a silver throne, while marzbāns of

256-525: The nakharar . Vahan was also recognized as sparapet and the property of the Mamikonian family and its allies were returned. Between 515-516, several Hunnic tribes kept making incursions into Armenia—the Armenian nobleman Mjej I Gnuni then decided to organize a counter-attack, where he successfully managed to repel them. As a reward, Kavadh I appointed him as the marzban of Armenia in 518. During this governorship, Mjej maintained religious peace. In 527, he repelled several other Hunnic invasions. In 548, he

288-636: The Armenian rebels seized Dvin, and had Chihor-Vishnasp killed. Sasanian king Yazdegerd II began to view Christianity in the Northern lands as a political threat to the cohesiveness of the Iranian empire. The dispute appears to be based on Iranian military considerations of the time given that according to Acts 2:9 in the Acts of the Apostles there were Persians, Parthians and Medes (all Iranian tribes) among

320-592: The Armenians, and managed to capture several of them, including noblemen from the Kamsarakan family. Zarmihr shortly delivered the Armenian captives to Shapur Mihran, who delivered them to Izad Gushnasp , promising the Armenian captives to make Peroz spare them. However, an unexpected event changed the course of events: the death of the Sasanian king Peroz I in 484 in war against the Hephthalites , causing

352-672: The Christian Armenians who were suspected of secretly siding with the Byzantines, and he also did the same with the rest of the Christian Armenian population. Claiming to exploit on the command of the king, he persecuted the Christian Armenians and even built a fire-temple in Dvin. These actions soon resulted in a massive uprising in late 571 or early 572, which was led by Vardan III Mamikonian . On 23 February 572,

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384-462: The Kingdom of Armenia and appointed Veh Mihr Shapur as marzban (governor of a frontier province, " margrave ") of the country, which marked the start of a new era known as the Marzpanate period ( Armenian : Մարզպանական Հայաստան – Marzpanakan Hayastan ), a period when marzbans , nominated by the Sasanian emperor, governed eastern Armenia, as opposed to the western Byzantine Armenia which

416-510: The Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon . Vahan quickly used the opportunity to regain control of Armenia. In the spring of 484, however, Shapur Mihran returned as the head of a new army and forced Vahan to flee to refuge near the Byzantine frontier, at Tao and Taron . During the same period, the Sasanian noble Zarmihr Karen from the Karenid family, was successful in another campaign against

448-509: The age-long privileges of the Armenian nakharars . The country as a whole enjoyed considerable autonomy. The office of Hazarapet , corresponding to that of Minister of the Interior, public works and finance, was mostly entrusted to an Armenian, while the post of Sparapet (commander-in-chief) was entrusted only to an Armenian. Each nakharar had his own army, according to the extent of his domain. The "National Cavalry", or "Royal Force",

480-574: The country. In 465, Adhur Gushnasp was appointed by the Sasanian emperor Peroz I (r. 459–484) as the marzban of Armenia, replacing Adhur Hormizd. In 475, the Mamikonian princess Shushanik , was murdered by her husband Prince Varsken , a recent convert to Zoroastrianism , because she refused to convert and wanted to stay Christian . Varsken was then executed by Vakhtang I , king of Iberia . Peroz I, eager to avenge Varsken, sent his general Shapur Mihran to Iberia. Vakhtang then appealed to

512-427: The details below. Request from 172.68.168.236 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 972241028 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 10:58:25 GMT Persian Armenia Sasanian Armenia , also known as Persian Armenia and Persarmenia ( Armenian : Պարսկահայաստան – Parskahayastan ), may either refer to the periods in which Armenia ( Middle Persian : 𐭠𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩 – Armin )

544-481: The exact relationship between titles marzbān , spāhbed , kanārang , pāygōsbān (Parthian ptykwspn , Sasanian paygospān or padhospān ) and ostāndār . The historical sources blur the distinction between the marzbān and spāhbed (army general or military governor), implying marzbān was a military title strictly limited to the frontier marches and provinces. The least clear is the distinction with kanārang , apparently an East-Iranian derivation of marzbān in

576-411: The first line of defense against settled enemies such as Romans and Kushans . During the reign of Khosrow I (531–579 AD) were held military reforms by which were created four frontier regions ( Khwarasan , Khwarwaran , Nemroz, Adurbadagan) with spāhbed in charge, sometimes still called as marzbān , but now generally considered for more central provinces. Also, the previous gentry rank dihqānān

608-692: The first new Christian converts at Pentecost and Christianity has had a long history in Iran as a minority religion, dating back to the very early years of the faith. Nevertheless, the conversion to Christianity by Armenians in the North was of particular concern to Yazdegerd II. After a successful invasion of the Eastern Roman Empire, Yazdegerd began summoning Armenian nobles to Ctesiphon and reconverted them to Zoroastrianism (a faith many Armenians shared with Iranians prior to Christianity). This upset

640-532: The invention of the Armenian alphabet and the founding of schools, which they thought would encourage the spiritual separation of Armenia from the Byzantines, but on the contrary, the new cultural movement among the Armenians proved to be conducive to closer relations with Byzantium. Christianity became the state religion of Armenia in 301. In 387, Armenia was divided between the Sasanian Empire and

672-547: The king. The title marzbān can be dated to the Parthian Empire, where in the frontier areas such as Nisa (1st century BC) are found titles mrzwpn (marzban), probably an officier in charge of the frontier troops, and dyzpty , an officier in charge of a fort. Some scholars consider that marzbāns existed during the reign of Darius I (550–486 BC) of the Achaemenid Empire. There is some uncertainty for

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704-594: The most strategic border provinces, such as the province of Armenia, were allowed a golden throne. In military campaigns the regional marzbāns could be regarded as field marshals, while lesser spāhbeds could command a field army. The function of marzbān changed over the years, with smaller territorial units being part of the civil administration. In the early years the main marzbān regions were Armenia , Beth Aramaye , Pars , Kirman , Spahan , Adurbadagan , Tabaristan , Nishapur , Tus , Sakastan , Mazun , Harev , Marv and Sarakhs , several mentioned belonging to

736-462: The province Abarshahr in Central Asia . The pāygōsbān , meaning "guardian of the district", is an uncertain title, seemingly provincial military commanders or governors, while the marzbān meant "guardian of the borders, provinces". Perhaps the pāygōsbān lacked civilian duties. The ostāndār was the governor of an ostān (province or district within a province). The primary sources imply

768-478: The security of Iberia, which made Vakhtang request Armenian aid. Vahan and Sahak shortly arrived to Iberia at the head of a big army, but were defeated in Akesga, where Sahak was killed. Vahan fled with the remnants of the Armenian army into the mountains, where he led guerrilla actions against the Sasanians, while Shapur Mihran managed to regain control of Armenia. However, Shapur Mihran was shortly ordered to return to

800-661: The withdrawal of the Sasanians in Armenia and recovery of Dvin and Vagharshapat . Struggling to suppress the revolt of his brother Zarir , Peroz's successor, Balash (r. 484-488), needed the help of the Armenians: in exchange for military support, he agreed to sign the Nvarsak Treaty , which granted religious freedom to the Christians and the prohibition of Zoroastrianism in Armenia, including much greater autonomy for

832-686: Was inherited by the Medieval Islamic civilization, however, the marzbāns steadily disappeared depending on the region, as such in Iraq diminished and were replaced by Muslim frontier warriors muqātila , while in Khorasan still had special privileges. In generally were replaced by the title dihqānān . Avestan Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

864-594: Was more sophisticated than the inherited Parthian system. The caste system wasn't rigid as in India, but the ruling officiers were mostly from wuzurgān caste. There's a possibility that the Late Sasanian marzbānān also originated from the āzādān , who mostly were lords of villages ( dihqānān ), supplied the cavalry with young riders ( asbārān ), or were bodyguards and security forces with titles bandagān , ayyārān or jānbāzān , all signifying association with

896-508: Was moulded into influential "nobility of service" which became the backbone of the Sasanian state. However, this measures of centralization caused the transfer of the power to the military (the dihqānān gradually became more independent from the government, while the four large spāhbed territories quasi-independent fiefs), and led to the eventual disintegration of the Empire. The Sasanian social, administrative and military structure and system

928-542: Was ruled by several princes, and later governors, under Byzantine suzerainty. The Marzpanate period ended with the Arab conquest of Armenia in the 7th century, when the Principality of Armenia was established. An estimated 3,000,000 Armenians were under the influence of the Sasanian marzpans during this period. The marzban was invested with supreme power, even imposing death sentences; but he could not interfere with

960-525: Was succeeded by Gushnasp Bahram . Chihor-Vishnasp , a member of the Suren family and a relative of Khosrow I himself, was in 564 appointed as marzban . During this period, the Armenian aristocracy was split between two parties, the national one which was headed by a member of the Mamikonian family, and a pro-Sasanian one, which was headed by a member of the Siunia family. Chihor Vishnasp harshly treated

992-447: Was under the suzerainty of the Sasanian Empire or specifically to the parts of Armenia under its control such as after the partition of 387 when parts of western Armenia were incorporated into the Eastern Roman Empire while the rest of Armenia came under Sasanian suzerainty but maintained its existing kingdom until 428. In 428, Armenian nobles petitioned Bahram V to depose Artaxias IV (r. 422); Bahram V (r. 420–438) abolished

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1024-539: Was under the commander-in-chief. The tax collectors were all Armenians. The courts of justice and the schools were directed by the Armenian clergy. Several times, an Armenian nakharar became marzpan , as did Vahan Mamikonian in 485 after a period of rebellion against the Iranians. Three times during the Marzpanic period, Iranian kings launched persecutions against Christianity in Armenia. The Iranians had tolerated

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