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111-602: The city was refounded by the Sasanian emperor Kavad I and continued to develop in the Islamic period. Having fertile soil and supplies of water and integrated into a major road system, this small province flourished and reached its peak in the 10th century. It declined by the 11th century as a result of an earthquake and military conflicts. The archaeological site of Arrajan covers an area of about 3.75 km (1.45 sq mi), with only scattered traces of buildings, walls,

222-522: A mobad (priest) named Mazdak caught Kavad's attention. Mazdak was the chief representative of a religious and philosophical movement called Mazdakism . Not only did it consist of theological teachings, but it also advocated for political and social reforms that would impact the nobility and clergy. The Mazdak movement was nonviolent and called for the sharing of wealth, women and property, an archaic form of communism . According to modern historians Touraj Daryaee and Matthew Canepa , 'sharing women'

333-490: A "warrior nobility" ( arteshtaran ), it still had a significantly smaller population, was more impoverished, and was a less centralized state compared to the Roman Empire . As a result, the Sasanian shahs had access to fewer full-time fighters, and depended on recruits from the nobility instead. Some exceptions were the royal cavalry bodyguard, garrison soldiers, and units recruited from places outside Iran. The bulk of

444-470: A barbarian. In the end the negotiations did not reach a consensus. Khosrow reportedly felt insulted by the Byzantines, and his attitude towards them deteriorated. Mahbod, who with Siyawush, had acted as the diplomats in the negotiations accused him of purposely sabotaging them. Further accusations were made against Siyawush, which included his reverence for new deities, and having his dead wife buried,

555-749: A bastion of Iranian presence in the Caucasus. The Sasanians exerted considerable influence on trade in the region under Kavad. By using the strategic location of the Persian Gulf , the Sasanians interfered to prevent Byzantine traders from taking take part in the India trade. They accomplished this either by bargaining with trade associates in the Indian subcontinent —ranging from the Gupta Empire in

666-578: A castle, a qanat , a dam, and a bridge across the nearby Marun river . Arjan, or Argan / Arigan is the ancient name of Behbahan . Which belongs to the Elamite / Khuzi period, in Iran.in 1982 there was a big discovery in the ruins of the ancient Arjan a bronze coffin discovered inside there was some preciously ancient artifacts. The remains of the city ruins is located on both sides of the Maroon River

777-476: A declining empire where the authority and status of the Sasanian kings had largely ended, Kavad tried to reorganize his empire by introducing many reforms whose implementation was completed by his son and successor, Khosrow I . They were made possible by Kavad's use of the Mazdakite preacher Mazdak , leading to a social revolution that weakened the authority of the nobility and the clergy. Because of this, and

888-473: A dictionary called Words of Scientific Association ( لغت انجمن علمی ), which was completed in the future and renamed Katouzian Dictionary ( فرهنگ کاتوزیان ). The first academy for the Persian language was founded on 20 May 1935, under the name Academy of Iran . It was established by the initiative of Reza Shah Pahlavi , and mainly by Hekmat e Shirazi and Mohammad Ali Foroughi , all prominent names in

999-402: A dispute over Lazica . Although Kavad's forces suffered two notable losses at the battles of Dara and Satala , the war was largely indecisive, with both sides suffering heavy losses. In 531, while the Sasanian army was besieging Martyropolis , Kavad died from an illness. He was succeeded by Khosrow I, who inherited a reinvigorated and mighty empire equal to that of the Byzantines. Because of

1110-453: A key role in Balash's deposition, appointed Kavad as the new shah of Iran. According to Miskawayh (d. 1030), Sukhra was Kavad's maternal uncle. Kavad ascended the throne in 488 at the age of 15. His youth is emphasized on his coins, which show him with short whiskers. He inherited an empire that had reached its lowest ebb. The nobility and clergy exerted great influence and authority over

1221-417: A literary language considerably different from the spoken Persian of the time. This became the basis of what is now known as "Contemporary Standard Persian". There are three standard varieties of modern Persian: All these three varieties are based on the classic Persian literature and its literary tradition. There are also several local dialects from Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan which slightly differ from

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1332-761: A member of the Parthian House of Karen , one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran , quickly raised a new force and stopped the Hephthalites from achieving further success. Peroz' brother, Balash , was elected as shah by the Iranian magnates, most notably Sukhra and the Mihranid general Shapur Mihran . However, Balash proved unpopular among the nobility and clergy who had him blinded and deposed after just four years in 488. Sukhra, who had played

1443-449: A poll-tax on his subjects, and thus secured the release of Kavad before he mounted his third campaign in 484. There, Peroz was defeated and killed by a Hephthalite army, possibly near Balkh . His army was completely destroyed, and his body was never found. Four of his sons and brothers had also died. The main Sasanian cities of the eastern region of Khorasan − Nishapur , Herat and Marw were now under Hephthalite rule. Sukhra ,

1554-530: A province, Arrajan, which is recorded as Kūra Qubāḏ-kurra or Kūra Qubāḏ in New Persian , was situated in an important position; it was integrated into a road system that connected Mesopotamia, Susa , Shiraz , Isfahan , and the ports of Mahruban and Basra at Persian Gulf to each other. Arrajan's economy was based on agricultural production and trade with India , the Far East , and Iraq through

1665-399: A result, the siege was lifted and peace was made between Kavad's successor Khosrow I and Justinian. The provinces of Gorgan, Khuzestan, and Asoristan provided the most Sasanian coinage for Kavad during his reign. His reign marks the introduction of distinctive traits on the obverse sides of the coin which includes astral symbols, particularly, a crescent on both of his shoulders, and

1776-563: A site of about 500 hectares. According to Islamic sources, the city was established by the Sasanian king Kavadh I (r. 484, 488–497 and 499–531), who in his third period of his rule launched a campaign as part of the Anastasian War against northern Roman Mesopotamia , and deported 80,000 prisoners from Amida , Theodosiopolis , and possibly Martyropolis to Pars and Khuzestan provinces, some of whom are thought to have built

1887-482: A star in the left corner. The reverse side shows the traditional fire altar flanked by two attendants facing it in veneration. Kavad used the title of kay ( Kayanian ) on his coins, a title that had been used since the reign of his grandfather Yazdegerd II ( r.  438–457 ). Kavad was, however, the last Sasanian shah to have kay inscribed on his coins—the last one issued in 513. The regular obverse inscription on his coins simply has his name; in 504, however,

1998-406: A violation of Iranian law. Siyawush was thus most likely a Mazdakite, the religious sect that Kavad had originally, but now no longer, supported. Although Siyawush was a close friend of Kavad and had helped him escape imprisonment, Kavad did not try to prevent his execution. Seemingly his purpose was to restrict Siyawush's immense authority as the head of the Sasanian army, a post which was disliked by

2109-420: A vision of Jesus whilst besieging Amida, which encouraged him to remain resolute in his effort. Jesus guaranteed to give him Amida within three days, which happened. Kavad's forces then sacked the city, taking much booty. The city's church was spared, however, due to the relationship between Kavad and Jesus. Kavad was even thought to have venerated a figure of Jesus. According to modern historian Richard Payne,

2220-517: A year after the new Byzantine emperor Justinian I ( r.  527–565 ) had been crowned. This was supposedly the result of the Byzantines not acknowledging Khosrow as Kavad's heir. According to the Greek chronicler John Malalas , military clashes first took place in Lazica , which had been disputed between the two empires since 522. Not long after this the battles also spread down to Mesopotamia, where

2331-904: Is a name given to the New Persian language since the 10th century , widely used in Arabic (see Istakhri , al-Maqdisi and ibn Hawqal ) and Persian texts. Since 1964, Dari has been the official name in Afghanistan for the Persian spoken there. New Persian is a member of the Western Iranian group of the Iranian languages , which make up a branch of the Indo-European languages in their Indo-Iranian subdivision . The Western Iranian languages themselves are divided into two subgroups: Southwestern Iranian languages, of which Persian

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2442-477: Is also erroneously recorded as Abar-Qubādh ( أبرقباذ ) and Abaz-Qubādh ( أبزقباذ ) in Arabic sources. The more common name Arrajān comes from an older town that was populated before the foundation of this new one. The name of Arrajan ( Argān ) can be found on a Sasanian clay bulla. The Pahlavi abbreviation WHYC found on Sasanian and Arab-Sasanian coins is considered by some to refer to Arrajan. However, it

2553-543: Is different. He says that Kavad's sister helped him to escape by rolling him in a carpet, which she made the guard believe was soaked with her menstrual blood. The guard did not object or investigate the carpet, "fearing lest he become polluted by it". One of the authors of the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire , John Robert Martindale, proposes she may have been Sambice , Kavad's sister-wife, who

2664-399: Is emphasized by al-Tabari , who states that Sukhra "was in charge of government of the kingdom and the management of affairs ... [T]he people came to Sukhra and undertook all their dealings with him, treating Kavad as a person of no importance and regarding his commands with contempt." Numerous regions and the representatives of the elite paid tribute to Sukhra not to Kavad. Sukhra controlled

2775-558: Is given in a notice attributed to Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (cited by Ibn al-Nadim in Al-Fehrest ). According to him, " Pārsī was the language spoken by priests, scholars, and the like; it is the language of Fars ." This language refers to the Middle Persian . As for Dari , he says, "it is the language of the cities of Madā'en; it is spoken by those who are at the king's court. [Its name] is connected with presence at court. Among

2886-615: Is more likely that the abbreviation refers to two places; it refers to Arrajan in the coins of Kavad I, and refers to a place in al-Mada'in in later coins; because it is unlikely that a small settlement continued to mint coins for all of these kings. Other Sasanian cities located in the Arrajan province and recorded by Islamic sources include: There are remains of Sasanian buildings in Patāva (a bridge over Khersan river ) and Chahartaqi of Kheyrabad . Arrajan's development continued even after

2997-690: Is said to have founded the city Eran-asan-kerd-Kawad in Media ; Fahraj in Spahan ; and Weh-Kawad, Eran-win(n)ard-Kawad, Kawad-khwarrah, and Arrajan in Pars . He rebuilt Kirmanshah in Media, which he also used as one of his residences. He is also said to have founded a township in Meybod , which was named Haft-adhar ("seven fires"), because of a Zoroastrian fire temple being established there. Its original fire

3108-584: Is the most widely spoken, and Northwestern Iranian languages, of which Kurdish is the most widely spoken. "New Persian" is the name given to the final stage of development of Persian language. The term Persian is an English derivation of Latin Persiānus , the adjectival form of Persia , itself deriving from Greek Persís ( Περσίς ), a Hellenized form of Old Persian Pārsa ( 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 ), which means " Persia " (a region in southwestern Iran corresponding to modern-day Fars province ). According to

3219-619: Is transliterated in Greek as Kabates , Chü-he-to in Chinese , and Qubādh in Arabic . The son of the Sasanian shah Peroz I ( r.  459–484 ), Kavad was born in 473. The Sasanian family had been the monarchs of Iran since 224 after the triumph of the first Sasanian shah Ardashir I ( r.  224–242 ) over the Parthian (Arsacid) Empire . Although Iranian society was greatly militarised and its elite designated themselves as

3330-521: The Denkard , and the Zand-i Wahman yasn . Later Islamic-era sources, particularly al-Tabari , also mention Mazdak. These later writings were perhaps corrupted by Iranian oral folklore, given that blame put on Mazdak for the redistribution of aristocratic properties to the people, is a topic repeated in Iranian oral history. Other 'villains' in pre-Islamic Iranian history, namely Gaumata in

3441-551: The Encyclopædia Iranica notes that the Iranian, Afghan and Tajiki varieties comprise distinct branches of the Persian language, and within each branch a wide variety of local dialects exist. The following are some languages closely related to Persian, or in some cases are considered dialects: Standard Persian is the standard variety of Persian that is the official language of the Iran and Tajikistan and one of

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3552-459: The Kalila wa Dimna . The language spread geographically from the 11th century on and was the medium through which among others, Central Asian Turks became familiar with Islam and urban culture. New Persian was widely used as a trans-regional lingua franca , a task for which it was particularly suitable due to its relatively simple morphological structure and this situation persisted until at least

3663-531: The Oxford English Dictionary , the term Persian as a language name is first attested in English in the mid-16th century. There are different opinions about the origin of the word Dari . The majority of scholars believes Dari refers to the Persian word dar or darbār "court" ( دربار ) as it was the formal language of the Sasanian dynasty . The original meaning of the word dari

3774-704: The Behistun Inscription of the Achaemenid king Darius the Great ( r.  522 – 486 BC ), and Wahnam in the Paikuli inscription of the Sasanian king Narseh ( r.  293–302 ) are frequently accused of similar misdeeds. The nobility deposed Kavad in 496 for his support of the Mazdakites and his execution of Sukhra. They installed his more impressionable brother Jamasp on

3885-630: The Byzantine emperor Anastasius I . The Byzantines had originally paid the Iranians voluntarily to maintain the defense of the Caucasus against attacks from the north. Anastasius refused the subsidies, which led Kavad to invade his domains, thus starting the Anastasian War . Kavad first seized Theodosiopolis and Martyropolis respectively, and then Amida after holding the city under siege for three months. The two empires made peace in 506, with

3996-740: The Iranologist Ehsan Yarshater . Khosrow's mother was in reality a noblewoman from the House of Ispahbudhan , one of the Seven Great Houses. At the Hephthalite court in Bactria , Kavad gained the support of the Hephthalite king, and also married his daughter, who was Kavad's niece. During his stay, Kavad might have witnessed the rise of the Hephthalites to a better position than that of their former suzerains ,

4107-521: The Islamic conquest of Persia , reaching its peak in the 11th century. Medieval Islamic sources provide details about the city in that period, depicting it as a large and beautiful city. It featured six gates, an administrative building, and a citadel. The Great Mosque was located roughly at the city's center, and the bazaar was located nearby. Ashlar was used in the construction of the buildings. The houses featured cool apartments below ground level, as

4218-641: The Kidarites , a Hun dynasty. The present-day district of Qobadian (the Arabicized form of Kavadian) near Balkh, which was then under Hephthalite rule, was perhaps founded by Kavad and possibly served as his source of revenue. In 498 (or 499), Kavad returned to Iran with a Hephthalite army. When he crossed the domains of the Kanarangiyan in Khorasan, he was met by Adergoudounbades , a member of

4329-630: The Sultanate of Rum , Delhi Sultanate , the Shirvanshahs , Safavids , Afsharids , Zands , Qajars , Khanate of Bukhara , Khanate of Kokand , Emirate of Bukhara , Khanate of Khiva , Ottomans and also many Mughal successors such as the Nizam of Hyderabad . Persian was the only non-European language known and used by Marco Polo at the Court of Kublai Khan and in his journeys through China. In

4440-597: The " Persianized " Turko-Mongol dynasties during the 12th to 15th centuries, and under restored Persian rule during the 16th to 19th centuries. Persian during this time served as lingua franca of Greater Persia and of much of the Indian subcontinent . It was also the official and cultural language of many Islamic dynasties, including the Samanids, Buyids , Tahirids , Ziyarids , the Mughal Empire , Timurids , Ghaznavids , Karakhanids , Seljuqs , Khwarazmians ,

4551-582: The 19th century, under the Qajar dynasty , the dialect that is spoken in Tehran rose to prominence. There was still substantial Arabic vocabulary, but many of these words have been integrated into Persian phonology and grammar. In addition, under the Qajar rule numerous Russian , French , and English terms entered the Persian language, especially vocabulary related to technology. The first official attentions to

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4662-474: The 19th century. In the late Middle Ages, new Islamic literary languages were created on the Persian model: Ottoman Turkish , Chagatai , Dobhashi and Urdu, which are regarded as "structural daughter languages" of Persian. "Classical Persian" loosely refers to the standardized language of medieval Persia used in literature and poetry . This is the language of the 10th to 12th centuries, which continued to be used as literary language and lingua franca under

4773-534: The 2020 Summer Olympics is the Arjan tray. [2] .[] [5] Kavad I Kavad I ( Middle Persian : 𐭪𐭥𐭠𐭲 Kawād ; 473 – 13 September 531) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 488 to 531, with a two or three-year interruption. A son of Peroz I ( r.  459–484 ), he was crowned by the nobles to replace his deposed and unpopular uncle Balash ( r. 484–488 ). Inheriting

4884-532: The 9th-century. The language is a direct descendant of Middle Persian, the official, religious and literary language of the Sasanian Empire (224–651). However, it is not descended from the literary form of Middle Persian (known as pārsīk , commonly called Pahlavi), which was spoken by the people of Fars and used in Zoroastrian religious writings. Instead, it is descended from the dialect spoken by

4995-515: The Armenian Taurus , and reached Martyropolis , where its governor Theodore, surrendered without any resistance and gave Kavad two years worth of taxes collected from the province of Sophene . Because of this, Kavad let Theodore keep his position as governor of the city. Kavad then besieged the fortress-city of Amida through the autumn and winter (502–503). The siege proved to be a far more difficult enterprise than Kavad had expected;

5106-419: The Arrajan city declines, the province name "Arrajan" also disappears. Mahrūbān later became the most important center of the maritime trade, marginalizing Jannāba. In 1982, the remains of a tomb belonging to the second millennium BC were discovered near the Arjan ancient site, which opened a new chapter in the archeology of this historical site and the region. The tomb contained a large bronze coffin. Along with

5217-794: The Byzantine city of Antioch in 540, conquered Yemen in the 570s, and under the Parthian military commander Bahram Chobin defeated the Hephthalites and their allies, the Western Turkic Khaganate , in the Perso-Turkic war of 588–589 . Although the reforms were beneficial for the Empire, they may also have resulted in the decline of the traditional links between the aristocracy and the crown under Hormizd IV ( r.  579–590 ) and Khosrow II ( r.  590–628 ), to

5328-411: The Byzantine emperor Justin I , Kavad proposed that he adopt Khosrow. This proposal was greeted initially with enthusiasm by the Byzantine emperor and his nephew, Justinian . However, Justinian's quaestor , Proclus, opposed the move concerned over the possibility that Khosrow might attempt to take over the Byzantine throne. The Byzantines made a counter-proposal to adopt Khosrow not as a Roman but as

5439-447: The Byzantine province of Commagene . When the Byzantine army under Belisarius approached, Azarethes and his men withdrew east, halting at Callinicum . In the ensuing battle the Byzantines suffered a heavy defeat, but Iranian losses were so great Kavad was displeased with Azarethes, and relieved him of his command. In 531, the Iranians besieged Martyropolis . During the siege, however, Kavad became ill and died on 13 September. As

5550-532: The Byzantines agreeing to pay subsidies to Kavad for the maintenance of the fortifications on the Caucasus in return for Amida. Around this time, Kavad also fought a lengthy war against his former allies, the Hephthalites; by 513 he had re-taken the region of Khorasan from them. In 528, the Iberian War erupted between the Sasanians and Byzantines in what is now eastern Georgia because the Byzantines refused to acknowledge Khosrow as Kavad's heir and because of

5661-461: The Byzantines did not end with a decisive winner, the conquest of Amida was the greatest accomplishment achieved by a Sasanian force since 359, when the same city had been captured by Shapur II. Kavad's relationship with his Christian subjects is unclear. In Christian Iberia, where the Sasanians had earlier tried to spread Zoroastrianism, Kavad represented himself as an advocate of orthodox Zoroastrianism. In Armenia, however, he settled disputes with

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5772-400: The Byzantines suffered a heavy defeat near the border. In 530, one of the famous open-field battles took place between the Byzantine and Sasanian troops at Dara . The Sasanian army led by Perozes , Pityaxes and Baresmanas suffered a severe defeat. The battle did not, however, bring an end to the conflict. The following year Kavad raised an army, which he sent under Azarethes to invade

5883-667: The Christians and appears to have continued Balash's peaceful approach. The Christians of Mesopotamia and Iran proper practised their religion without any persecution, despite the punishment of Christians in Iran proper being briefly mentioned in c.  512/3 . Like Jamasp, Kavad also supported the patriarch of the Church of the East , Babai , and Christians served in high offices at the Sasanian court. According to Eberhard Sauer, Sasanian monarchs only persecuted other religions when it

5994-594: The Church of the East. His work was then translated from Syriac to Middle Persian and presented to Kavad. This work has since been lost . Kavad's reign marked a new turn in Sasanian–Christian relations; before his reign, Jesus had been seen solely as the defender of the Byzantines. This changed under Kavad. According to an apocryphal account in the Chronicle of Pseudo–Zachariah of Mytilene , written by an anonymous West Syrian monk at Amida in 569, Kavad saw

6105-475: The Parthian nobility worked for the Sasanian shah for personal benefit, personal oath, and, conceivably, a common awareness of the "Aryan" (Iranian) kinship they shared with their Persian overlords. Another vital component of the army was the Armenian cavalry, which was recruited from outside the ranks of the Parthian wuzurgan . However, the revolt of Armenia in 451 and the loss of its cavalry had weakened

6216-480: The Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon . Even in prison, Sukhra was considered too powerful and was executed. This caused displeasure among some prominent members of the nobility weakening Kavad's status as shah. It also marked the temporary loss of authority of the House of Karen, whose members were exiled in the regions of Tabaristan and Zabulistan , which was away from the Sasanian court in Ctesiphon. According to classical sources, not long after Sukhra's execution,

6327-429: The Sasanian's attempts to keep the Hunnic tribes (i.e. the Hephthalites , Kidarites , Chionites and Alkhans ) of the northeastern border in check. Indeed, Kavad's grandfather Yazdegerd II ( r.  438–457 ) had managed to hold off the Kidarites during his wars against them, which had occupied him throughout most of his reign. Now, however, Sasanian authority in Central Asia began to decay. In 474 and

6438-441: The Sasanians could now be viewed as adherents of Jesus and his saints, if not Christianity itself. Not much is known about Kavad's wars in the east. According to Procopius, Kavad was forced to leave for the eastern frontier in 503 to deal with an attack by "hostile Huns", one of the many clashes in a reportedly lengthy war. After the Sasanian disaster in 484, all of Khorasan was seized by the Hephthalites; no Sasanian coins minted in

6549-504: The Zoroastrian priesthood but also Christian and Jewish leaders slandered Mazdak and his followers. According to the Shahnameh , written several centuries later by the medieval Persian poet Ferdowsi , Kavad had Mazdak and his supporters sent to Khosrow. His supporters were killed in a walled orchard, buried head first with only their feet visible. Khosrow then summoned Mazdak to look at his garden, saying: "You will find trees there that no-one has ever seen and no-one ever heard of even from

6660-405: The area (Nishapur, Herat, Marw) have been found from his first reign. The increase in the number of coins minted at Gorgan (which was now the northernmost Sasanian point) during his first reign may indicate a yearly tribute he paid to the Hephthalites. During his second reign, his fortunes changed. A Sasanian campaign in 508 led to the conquest of the Zundaber (Zumdaber) Castellum, associated with

6771-446: The city featured a "hot but tolerable" climate. There were subterranean canals supplying water to all houses in the town. Two bridges were constructed across the Kordestan river (Tāb [ طاب ]) nearby. Islamic sources mention 47 place names and/or districts located in the Arrajan province, including Jūma ( جومة ) (capital of the Bilād-Shābūr [ بلاد شابور ] district), Junbadh-Mallaghān ( جنبذ ملغان ), and Mahrūbān ( مهروبان ). As

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6882-564: The city of Arrajan. The people of the Amida region were experts in linen production, and Arrajan quickly became a center of this product. Kavadh allegedly renamed the city as Weh-az-Amid Kavād ( Middle Persian : wyḥcʾmtˈ kwʾtˈ ; literally "Better than Amida, Kavadh [built this]") or Bih-az-Āmid-i Kavād ( Persian : به از آمد کواد ). This name is Arabized in medieval Islamic sources (including coins) as Wāmqubādh ( وامقباذ ), Bizāmqubādh ( بزامقباذ ), Rām-Qubādh ( رامقباذ ), Birām-Qubādh ( برامقباذ ), and Āmid-Qubādh ( آمدقباذ ). It

6993-410: The city. Kavad then tried unsuccessfully to capture Edessa in Osroene . In 505 an invasion of Armenia by the Huns from the Caucasus led to an armistice; the Byzantines paid subsidies to the Iranians for the maintenance of the fortifications on the Caucasus, in return for Amida. The peace treaty was signed by the Ispahbudhan aristocrat Bawi , Kavad's brother-in-law. Although Kavad's first war with

7104-399: The coffin were found a golden ring, ninety-eight golden buttons, ten cylindrical vessels, a dagger, a silver bar, a bronze tray with various images. it is called Arjan Bowl or Hotran Korlosh It is more than three thousand years old. Arjan tray drawings include 5 painting circles in its center a sixteen-pointed flower (similar to a sunflower and a type of chrysanthemum). This flower symbolizes

7215-417: The commander of the prison. They came to an understanding that she would be allowed to see Kavad in exchange for sleeping with him. Kavad's friend, Siyawush , who was regularly in the same area as the prison, planned his friend's escape by preparing horses near the prison. Kavad changed clothes with his wife to disguise himself as a woman, and escaped from the prison and fled with Siyawush. Tabari's account

7326-448: The continuation of their authority despite the efforts by Kavad and Khosrow. A new priestly office was also created known as the "advocate and judge of the poor" ( driyōšān jādag-gōw ud dādwar ), which assisted the clergy to help the poor and underprivileged, which they had possibly ignored previously. The power of the dehqan , a class of small land-owning magnates, increased substantially (and possibly even led to their establishment in

7437-491: The court of the Sasanian capital Ctesiphon and the northeastern Iranian region of Khorasan , known as Dari. Khorasan, which was the homeland of the Parthians, was Persianized under the Sasanians. Dari Persian thus supplanted the Parthian language , which by the end of the Sasanian era had fallen out of use. New Persian has incorporated many foreign words, including from eastern northern and northern Iranian languages such as Sogdian and especially Parthian. The mastery of

7548-419: The defenders, although unsupported by troops, repelled the Iranian assaults for three months before they were finally defeated. He had its inhabitants deported to a city in southern Iran, which he named "Kavad's Better Amida" ( Weh-az-Amid-Kawad ). He left a garrison in Amida which included his general Glon, two marzbans ( margraves ) and 3,000 soldiers. The Byzantines failed in their attempt to recapture

7659-410: The degree that many belonging to the wuzurgan class, notably Bahram Chobin of the Mihran family, and later Shahrbaraz of the same family, were bold enough to dispute the legitimacy of the Sasanian family and lay claims to the throne. With his reforms under way by the 520s, Kavad no longer had any use for Mazdak and he officially stopped supporting the Mazdakites. A debate was arranged where not only

7770-467: The execution of the powerful king-maker Sukhra , Kavad was imprisoned in the Castle of Oblivion ending his reign. He was replaced by his brother Jamasp . However, with the aid of his sister and an officer named Siyawush , Kavad and some of his followers fled east to the territory of the Hephthalite king who provided him with an army. This enabled Kavad to restore himself to the throne in 498/9. Bankrupted by this hiatus, Kavad applied for subsidies from

7881-518: The family, who agreed to help him. Another noble who supported Kavad was Zarmihr Karen , a son of Sukhra. Jamasp and the nobility and clergy did not resist as they wanted to prevent another civil war. They agreed that he would be king again with the understanding that he would not hurt Jamasp or the elite. Jamasp was spared, albeit probably blinded, while Gushnaspdad and other nobles who had plotted against Kavad were executed. Generally, however, Kavad secured his position by lenience. Adergoudounbades

7992-433: The first place). A group of these dehqans was enlisted into a group of cavalry men, who were managed directly by the shah and earned steady wages. This was done to decrease the reliance on the Parthian cavalry. Soldiers were also enlisted from Sasanian allies, such as the Hephthalites, Arabs , and Daylamites . As a result, the newly rejuvenated Sasanian army proved successful in its efforts in subsequent decades. It sacked

8103-672: The founder of the dynasty, Mardavij ( r.  930–935 ), was descended from Kavad. New Persian New Persian ( Persian : فارسی نو , romanized :  Fārsī-ye No ), also known as Modern Persian ( فارسی نوین ) is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into three stages: Early New Persian (8th/9th centuries), Classical Persian (10th–18th centuries), and Contemporary Persian (19th century to present). Dari

8214-400: The high nobility included the powerful Parthian noble families (known as the wuzurgan ) that were centered on the Iranian plateau . They served as the backbone of the Sasanian feudal army and were largely autonomous. The Sasanian shahs had noticeably little control over the wuzurgan ; attempts to restrict their self-determination usually resulted in the murder of the shah. Ultimately,

8325-428: The languages of the people of Khorasan and the east, the language of the people of Balkh is predominant." New Persian is conventionally divided into three stages: Early New Persian remains largely intelligible to speakers of Contemporary Persian, as the morphology and, to a lesser extent, the lexicon of the language have remained relatively stable. New Persian texts written in the Arabic script first appear in

8436-406: The late 470s/early 480s, Peroz was defeated and captured twice by the Hephthalites respectively. In his second defeat, he offered to pay thirty mule packs of silver drachms in ransom, but could only pay twenty. Unable to pay the other ten, he sent Kavad in 482 as a hostage to the Hephthalite court until he could pay the rest. He eventually managed to gain the ten mule packs of silver by imposing

8547-517: The lower classes. The historicity of the persona of Mazdak has been questioned. He may have been a fabrication to take the blame away from Kavad. Contemporary historians, including Procopius and Joshua the Stylite make no mention of Mazdak naming Kavad as the figure behind the movement. Mention of Mazdak only emerges in later Middle Persian Zoroastrian documents, namely the Bundahishn ,

8658-517: The manpower to do so, however, as the army was controlled by Sukhra and the Sasanians relied mainly on the military of the Seven Great Houses of Iran. He found his solution in Shapur of Ray , a powerful nobleman from the House of Mihran, and a resolute opponent of Sukhra. Shapur, at the head of an army of his own men and disgruntled nobles, marched to Shiraz, defeated Sukhra's forces, and imprisoned him in

8769-561: The many challenges and issues Kavad successfully overcame, he is considered one of the most effective and successful kings to rule the Sasanian Empire. In the words of the Iranologist Nikolaus Schindel, he was "a genius in his own right, even if of a somewhat Machiavellian type." Due to increased Sasanian interest in Kayanian history, Kavad was named after the mythological Kayanian king Kavi Kavata . The name

8880-421: The money by force. In 502, Kavad invaded Byzantine Armenia with a force that included Hephthalite soldiers. He captured Theodosiopolis , perhaps with local support; in any case, the city was undefended by troops and weakly fortified. He then marched through southwestern Armenia, reportedly without facing any resistance, and entrusted local governor with the administration of the area. He proceeded to cross

8991-505: The mouth of the ancient sages." Mazdak, seeing his followers' corpses, screamed and passed out. He was executed afterwards by Khosrow, who had his feet fastened on a gallows and had his men shoot arrows at Mazdak. The validity of the story is uncertain; Ferdowsi used much earlier reports of events to write the Shahnameh , and thus the story may report some form of contemporary memory. Many places were founded or re-built under Kavad. He

9102-410: The nation, and were able to act as king-makers, as seen by their choice to depose Balash. Economically, the empire was not doing well either, the result of drought, famine, and the crushing defeats delivered by the Hephthalites. They had not only seized large parts of its eastern provinces, but had also forced the Sasanians to pay vast amounts of tribute to them, which had depleted the royal treasury of

9213-467: The nationalist movement of the time. The academy was a key institution in the struggle to re-build Iran as a nation-state after the collapse of the Qajar dynasty. During the 1930s and 1940s, the academy led massive campaigns to replace the many Arabic , Russian , French , and Greek loanwords whose widespread use in Persian during the centuries preceding the foundation of the Pahlavi dynasty had created

9324-499: The necessity of protecting the Persian language against foreign words, and to the standardization of Persian orthography , were under the reign of Naser ed Din Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1871. After Naser ed Din Shah, Mozaffar ed Din Shah ordered the establishment of the first Persian association in 1903. This association officially declared that it used Persian and Arabic as acceptable sources for coining words. The ultimate goal

9435-479: The newer speech having now been transformed from Middle into New Persian was already complete by the era of the three princely dynasties of Iranian origin, the Tahirid dynasty (820–872), Saffarid dynasty (860–903) and Samanid Empire (874–999), and could develop only in range and power of expression. Abbas of Merv is mentioned as being the earliest minstrel to chant verse in the newer Persian tongue and after him

9546-422: The nobility and clergy weakened by the Mazdakites. They would not be completed under his reign but were continued by his son, Khosrow I. The serious blows the Sasanians had suffered at the hands of the Hephthalites in the last quarter of the 5th century was a key reason behind the reforms the two made. Tax reform was implemented, a poll tax was created, and a review of taxable land was undertaken to ensure taxation

9657-521: The north to the Anuradhapura monarchs of Sri Lanka in the south—or by attacking the Byzantine boats. Iranian traders were also able to seize Indian vessels well before they could make contact with Byzantine traders. These advantages resulted in the Iranian traders establishing something resembling a monopoly over the India trade. The Sasanians and Byzantines had kept peace since the brief Byzantine–Sasanian War of 440 . The last major war between

9768-409: The other nobles. Siyawush was executed, and his office was abolished. Despite the breakdown of the negotiations, it was not until 530 that full-scale warfare on the main western frontier broke out. In the intervening years, the two sides preferred waging war by proxy, through Arab allies in the south and Huns in the north. Hostility between the two powers erupted into conflict once again in 528, just

9879-603: The poems of Hanzala Badghisi were among the most famous between the Persian-speakers of the time. The first poems of the Persian language, a language historically called Dari, emerged in Afghanistan. The first significant Persian poet was Rudaki . He flourished in the 10th century, when the Samanids were at the height of their power. His reputation as a court poet and as an accomplished musician and singer has survived, although little of his poetry has been preserved. Among his lost works are versified fables collected in

9990-529: The ports of Jannāba, Sīnīz, and Mahrūbān. Exporting goods included various cloths , dates , date syrup , grapes , grape syrup , olives , olive oil , soap , cactus figs , corn , nuts , oranges , and lemons . Arrajan's decline began during Buyid period. In 1052, the sons of the Buyid Abu Kalijar fought against each other for possession of Arrajan city and it changed hands several times between 1053 and 1057. The number of male inhabitants

10101-537: The reign of Peroz I and named Perozabad ("the city of Peroz"), was fortified by Kavad and called Perozkavad ("victorious Kavad"). The Albanian former capital of Kabala , a large urban area that included the headquarters of one of the Albanian bishops, was also fortified by Kavad. He founded the city of Baylakan , which by most researchers is identified with the ruins of Oren-kala. Ultimately, these extensive buildings and fortifications transformed Caucasian Albania into

10212-435: The royal treasury and the Iranian military. In 493, Kavad, having reached adulthood, wanted to put an end to Sukhra's dominance, and had him exiled to his native Shiraz in southwestern Iran. Even in exile, however, Sukhra was in control of everything except the kingly crown. He bragged about having put Kavad on the throne. Alarmed by the thought that Sukhra might rebel, Kavad wanted to get rid of him completely. He lacked

10323-413: The shah. Rebellions were occurring in the western provinces including Armenia and Iberia . Simultaneously, the country's peasant class was growing more and more uneasy and alienated from the elite. The young and inexperienced Kavad was tutored by Sukhra during his first five years as shah. During this period, Kavad was a mere figurehead , whilst Sukhra was the de facto ruler of the empire. This

10434-428: The slogan abzōn ("may he prosper/increase") was added. According to Procopius and other historians, Kavad had written a succession plan that favoured Khosrow just before his death. Historian John Malalas stated that Kavad crowned Khosrow himself. However, at the beginning of Khosrow's reign in 531, Bawi, and other members of the Iranian aristocracy, became involved in a conspiracy to overthrow Khosrow and make Kavad,

10545-434: The son of Kavad's second eldest son Jamasp , the shah of Iran. Upon learning of the plot, Khosrow executed all of his brothers and their offspring, as well as Bawi and the other nobles who were involved. Khosrow also ordered the execution of Kavad, who was still a child, and was away from the court, being raised by Adergoudounbades. He sent orders to kill Kavad, but Adergoudounbades disobeyed and secretly raised him until he

10656-717: The standard Persian. The Hazaragi dialect (in Central Afghanistan and Pakistan), Herati (in Western Afghanistan), Darwazi (in Afghanistan and Tajikistan), Basseri (in Southern Iran), and the Tehrani accent (in Iran, the basis of standard Iranian Persian) are examples of these dialects. Persian-speaking peoples of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan can understand one another with a relatively high degree of mutual intelligibility . Nevertheless,

10767-547: The sun and the spinning wheel or wheel of destiny. A row of lions, and cattle, and birds are associated with various rituals, and seven circles or rings represent the sacred number 7. The number 7 is sacred in Judaism and many other religions. The origin of this sanctity is not clear, but like many symbols of famous religions it has a history in ancient primitives religions. The logo of the Iranian Olympic Iran at

10878-555: The temple of az-Zunin in the area of ad-Dawar, situated between Bust and Kandahar . A Sasanian coin dating to 512/3 has been found in Marw. This indicates the Sasanians under Kavad had managed to re-conquer Khorasan after successfully dealing with the Hephthalites. Around 520 to secure the succession of his youngest son Khosrow, whose position was threatened by rival brothers and the Mazdakite sect, and to improve his relationship with

10989-529: The throne. A council soon took place among the nobility to discuss what to do with Kavad. Gushnaspdad , a member of the Kanarangiyan, the family that held the important title of kanarang (military leader of Abarshahr ), proposed Kavad be executed. His suggestion was overruled and Kavad was imprisoned instead in the Castle of Oblivion in Khuzestan . According to Procopius' account, Kavad's wife approached

11100-570: The two empires had been during the reign of Shapur II ( r.  309–379 ). However, war finally erupted in 502. Bankrupted by his hiatus in 496–498/9, Kavad applied for subsidies to the Byzantine Empire , who originally had paid the Iranians voluntarily to maintain the defense of the Caucasus against attacks from the north. The Iranians seemingly saw the money as a debt due to them. But now Emperor Anastasius I ( r.  491–518 ) refused subsidies forcing Kavad to attempt to obtain

11211-451: The two official languages of Afghanistan . It is a set of spoken and written formal varieties used by the educated persophones of several nations around the world. As Persian is a pluricentric language , Standard Persian encompasses various linguistic norms (consisting of prescribed usage ). Standard Persian practically has three standard varieties with official status in Iran , Afghanistan , and Tajikistan . The standard forms of

11322-537: The words of Iranologist Nikolaus Schindel he was "a genius in his own right, even if of a somewhat Machiavellian type." He was successful in his efforts to reinvigorate his declining empire paving the way for a smooth transition to his son Khosrow I, who inherited a powerful empire. Khosrow improved it further during his reign, becoming one of the most popular shahs of Iran earning the epithet Anushirvan ("the immortal soul"). The Ziyarid dynasty , which mainly ruled over Tabaristan and Gorgan between 931–1090, claimed that

11433-592: Was allegedly 20,000 in 1052 AD. In 1085, Arrajan was destroyed by an earthquake and never recovered; the new settlement, Behbahan , later arose nearby. The activities of the Nizari Ismailis in the region, who launched raids from the nearby strongholds of Qal'at al-Jiss ( قلعة الجص ), Qal'at Halādhān ( Dez Kelāt , دز کلات ), and Qal'at al-Nazir ( قلعة الناظر ) further harmed Arrajan and Juma. They eventually captured Arrajan, but were eventually repulsed during Muhammad Tapar's anti-Nizari campaign . As

11544-446: Was appointed the new kanarang, while Siyawush was appointed the head of the Sasanian army ( arteshtaran-salar ). Another of Sukhra's sons, Bozorgmehr , was made Kavad's great minister ( wuzurg framadar ). Kavad's reclamation of his throne displays the troubled circumstances of the empire; a small force was able to overwhelm the nobility-clergy alliance. Kavad's reign is noteworthy for his reforms, which he had been able to make with

11655-471: Was betrayed to the shah in 541 by his own son, Bahram. Khosrow had him executed, but Kavad, or someone claiming to be him, managed to flee to the Byzantine Empire. Kavad's reign is considered a turning point in Sasanian history. As a result of the many challenges and issues Kavad successfully handled, he is considered one of the most effective and successful kings to rule the Sasanian Empire. In

11766-538: Was created by fire brought from seven other temples in Pars, Balkh, Adurbadagan , Nisa , Spahan , Ghazni , and Ctesiphon. In the Caucasus , Kavad had new fortifications built at Derbent , and ordered the construction of the Apzut Kawat wall ( Middle Persian : *Abzūd Kawād , "Kavad increased [in glory]" or "has prospered"). The prominent Caucasian Albanian capital of P'artaw , which had been rebuilt during

11877-480: Was fair. The empire was divided into four frontier regions ( kust in Middle Persian), with a spāhbed (military commander) in charge of each district; a chancery was also added to keep the soldiers equipped. Before Kavad and Khosrow's reforms, the Iranians' general ( Eran-spahbed ) managed the empire's army. Many of these military commanders were notably from the wuzurgan class of Parthia , indicating

11988-533: Was in their urgent political interests to do so. According to the Chronicle of Seert and the historian Mari ibn Sulayman , Kavad ordered all the religious communities in the empire to submit written descriptions of their beliefs. This took place sometime before 496. In response to this command, the Patriarch Aqaq commissioned Elishaʿ bar Quzbaye , interpreter of the school of Nisibis , to write for

12099-399: Was most likely an overstatement and defamation deriving from Mazdak's decree that loosened marriage laws to help the lower classes. Powerful families saw this as a tactic to weaken their lineage and advantages, which was most likely the case. Kavad used the movement as a political tool to curb the power of the nobility and clergy. Royal granaries were distributed, and land was shared among

12210-441: Was the mother of his eldest son, Kawus . Regardless, Kavad managed to escape imprisonment and fled to the court of the Hephthalite king, where he took refuge. According to the narratives included in the history of al-Tabari, during his flight Kavad met a peasant girl from Nishapur, named Niwandukht, who became pregnant with his child, who would ascend the throne as Khosrow I . However, the story has been dismissed as "fable" by

12321-492: Was to prevent books from being printed with wrong use of words. According to the executive guarantee of this association, the government was responsible for wrongfully printed books. Words coined by this association, such as rāh-āhan ( راه‌آهن ) for "railway", were printed in Soltani Newspaper ; but the association was eventually closed due to inattention. A scientific association was founded in 1911, resulting in

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