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109-541: During the Arab conquest of Iran , Istakhr was noted for its stiff resistance, which resulted in the death of many of its inhabitants. Istakhr remained a stronghold of Zoroastrianism long after the conquests, and remained relatively important in the early Islamic era. It went into gradual decline after the founding of nearby Shiraz , before being destroyed and abandoned under the Buyids . Cursorily explored by Ernst Herzfeld and

218-535: A coinage culture had already existing before their arrival. The Seleucid were the first one to strike coins in the area of Persis. It is during their rule that the Greek words "drachma" and "denanos" entered the Persian language, to become today's " dirham " and " denar ". The Fratarakas essentially followed the example of their Seleucid overlords in striking coins. Several of their coins were further struck on issues of

327-473: A grandson of Khosrau II and was said to be a mere child aged 8 years. After the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah in 628, Islamic tradition holds that Muhammad sent many letters to the princes, kings, and chiefs of the various tribes and kingdoms of the time, exhorting them to convert to Islam and bow to the order of God. These letters were carried by ambassadors to Persia , Byzantium , Ethiopia , Egypt , Yemen , and

436-600: A lengthy period during his struggle against Caliph Muawiyah I ( r.   661–680). Following the ascension of the Abbasids, the political center of Fars shifted gradually to Shiraz . This contributed heavily to the decline of Istakhr. However, the city is still mentioned in the wars between the Saffarids and the caliphal governors in Fars. On 11 April 890, Saffarid ruler Amr ibn al-Layth ( r.   879-901) defeated

545-569: A major offence in the Levant, Yazdegerd ordered the concentration of massive armies to push the Muslims out of Mesopotamia for good through a series of well-coordinated attacks on two fronts. Umar ordered his army to retreat to the Arabian border and began raising armies at Medina for another campaign into Mesopotamia. Owing to the critical situation, Umar wished to command the army personally, but

654-414: A native), described it as a medium-sized town. The geographer Al-Maqdisi , writing some thirty years later, in 985, lauded the bridge over the river at Istakhr and its "fine park". He also noted the town's chief mosque was decorated with bull capitals . According to Boyce and Streck & Miles, this mosque was originally the same Sasanian temple where the ādur ī anāhīd ardaxšīr ("fire of Anahid-Ardashir")

763-530: A prime target for the Muslims. Sasanian society was divided into four classes: priests, warriors, secretaries, and commoners. The latter formed the bulk of the population, served as its sole tax base, and remained its poorest class. At the climax of Khosrau II's ambitious Byzantine territory conquests in the Levant and much of Asia Minor , taxes rose dramatically, and most people could not pay. Years of Sassanid-Byzantine wars had ruined trade routes and industry,

872-586: A subordinate to a Satrap, equivalent to a "prefect, governor" who would have own his position to the Seleucids. The rulers are depicted wearing a short jacket over tunic and trousers, and they wear the satrapal tiara that had been in use on the coinage of the satraps of the Achaemenid Empire, and in addition they wear the Hellenic diadem of a ruler. There are many controversies and debates about

981-764: A team from the University of Chicago in the first half of the 20th century, much of Sasanian Istakhr remains unexcavated. "Istakhr" (also spelled Estakhr ) is the New Persian form of the Middle Persian Stakhr (also spelled Staxr ), and is believed to mean "strong(hold)". According to the Iranologist Ernst Herzfeld , who based his arguments on coins of the Persian Frataraka governors and Kings of Persis ,

1090-443: A twofold trophy on the same spot, in honour of Jupiter and Neptune" During an apparent transitional period, corresponding to the reigns of Vādfradād II and another uncertain king, no titles of authority appeared on the reverse of their coins. The earlier title prtrk' zy alhaya (Frataraka) had disappeared. Under Dārēv I however, the new title of mlk , or king, appeared, sometimes with the mention of prs (Persis), suggesting that

1199-496: A valuer. The gold medal of Adud al-Dawla, dated 969/70, which depicts him wearing a Sasanian-style crown, may have been created at Istakhr. The last numismatic evidence of Istakhr, denoting its castle rather than the city itself, dates to 1063. The coin in question was minted on the order of Rasultegin, an obscure Seljuq prince of Fars. However, Bivar notes that some coins attributed to other areas of Fars may in fact be coins from Istakhr. According to Bivar, who bases his arguments on

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1308-471: A year later when he tried to escape. In later periods, the castle was often used "as a state prison for high officials and princes". In c.  1590 , the castle of Istakhr was reportedly still in good condition and inhabited. Some time later, a rebel Safavid general took refuge in the castle. It was subsequently besieged by Safavid Shah ("King") Abbas the Great ( r.   1588–1629), resulting in

1417-538: Is His servant and Prophet. Under the Command of God, I invite you to Him. He has sent me for the guidance of all people so that I may warn them all of His wrath and may present the unbelievers with an ultimatum. Embrace Islam so that you may remain safe. And if you refuse to accept Islam, you will be responsible for the sins of the Magi. There are differing accounts of the reaction of Khosrau II . Years of warfare between

1526-814: Is attested in Syriac as Istahr and in Armenian as Stahr . It probably appears in the Talmud as Istahar . Istakhr is located in Iran's southwestern province of Fars , historically known as Parsa (Old Persian), Pars (Middle Persian) and Persis (Greek), whence Persia. It lies in the valley of the Polvar River, between the Kuh-e Rahmat and the Naqsh-e Rostam , where the Polvar River valley opens into

1635-487: Is now Iraq was under Islamic control. Khalid received a call for aid from northern Arabia at Dawmat al-Jandal, where another Muslim Arab general, Iyad ibn Ghanm , was trapped among the rebel tribes. Khalid went there and defeated the rebels in the Battle of Dawmat al-Jandal in the last week of August. Upon his return, he received news of the assembling of a large Persian army. He decided to defeat them all separately to avoid

1744-738: Is now widely believed that the annexation of the Lakhmid kingdom was one of the main factors behind the fall of the Sasanian Empire and the subsequent Islamic conquest of Persia, as the Lakhmids agreed to act as spies for the Muslims after being defeated in the Battle of Hira by Khalid ibn al-Walid . The Persian ruler Khosrau II (Parviz) defeated a dangerous rebellion within his own empire, Bahram Chobin 's rebellion. He then turned his focus to his traditional Byzantine enemies, leading to

1853-552: Is plenty of evidence produced by researchers pointing to it. First, there are couple of hoards discovered by Herzfeld since 1930s, which until now are showing the existence of Frataraka coins with Seleucus I victories and trophy coins which were issued by him during 305-301 BC. If we take the circulation average of 20 years, we reach to 285-280 BC and that year coincides with his death, and his replacement by his co-regent and son Antiochus I. There were no other coins from other Seleucid rulers discovered with Frataraka hoards suggesting

1962-666: Is uncertain. The root word for this title has been interpreted as coming from *frat ("fire"), on the basis of the Armenian word hrat , which probably entered Iranian as a loanword. This interpretation suggest that the rulers in question were priest-kings, whose role was mainly to maintain the sacred fire in Persepolis . Alternatively the title may be derived from the Aramaic prlrk , used to designate an Achaemenid official in Egypt,

2071-537: Is unknown which one he is referring to. This event is often used to describe some kind of adversary relationship between the ruler of Persis and the Seleucid Empire during the 3rd or 2nd centuries BCE, and possibly a fight for independence. The rulers of Persis may have gained independence between 205 BCE, when Antiochos III visited Antiochia in Persis in peace, and 190-189 BCE, the latest possible date for

2180-508: The Arab governor installed there. In 648/9, General Abdallah ibn Amir , governor of Basra, conducted another campaign which once again forced Istakhr to surrender after heavy fighting. The suppression of subsequent revolts resulted in the death of many Persians . However, the restive people of Istakhr revolted once again, which prompted the Arabs to undertake yet another campaign against Istakhr, in 649. This final campaign once again resulted in

2289-542: The Arab conquest of Iran , was a major military campaign undertaken by the Rashidun Caliphate between 632 and 654. As part of the early Muslim conquests , which had begun under Muhammad in 622, it led to the fall of the Sasanian Empire and the eventual decline of Zoroastrianism , which had been predominant throughout Persia as the nation's official religion. The persecution of Zoroastrians by

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2398-726: The Aramaic on their coins suggest, depending on interpretation, that they served either deities such as Ahura Mazda or god-like kings such as the Achaemenids or Seleucids . The evidence for the quasi-autonomous local governors that were the Fratarakas is almost exclusively coming from their coinage. The Achaemenids only struck coins in the western parts of the Achaemenid Empire , mostly in Asia Minor where

2507-535: The Battle of Ullais , fought in mid-May. The Persian court, already disturbed by internal problems, was thrown into chaos. In the last week of May, the important city of Al-Hirah fell to the Muslims . After resting his armies, in June, Khalid laid siege to the city of al-Anbar , which surrendered in July. Khalid then moved south, and conquered the city of Ayn al-Tamr in the last week of July. At this point, most of what

2616-548: The Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602–628 . For a few years, he succeeded. From 612 to 622, he extended the Persian borders almost to the same extent that they were under the Achaemenid dynasty (550–330 BC), capturing Western states as far as Egypt , Palestine (the conquest of the latter being assisted by a Jewish army), and more. The Byzantines regrouped and pushed back in 622 under Heraclius . Khosrau

2725-615: The Euphrates River. The border was constantly contested. Most battles, and thus most fortifications, were concentrated in the hilly regions of the north, as the vast Arabian or Syrian Desert (Roman Arabia) separated the rival empires in the south. The only dangers expected from the south were occasional raids by nomadic Arab tribesmen. Both empires therefore allied themselves with small, semi-independent Arab principalities, which served as buffer states and protected Byzantium and Persia from Bedouin attacks. The Byzantine clients were

2834-597: The Ghassanids ; the Persian clients were the Lakhmids . The Ghassanids and Lakhmids feuded constantly, which kept them occupied, but that did not greatly affect the Byzantines or the Persians. In the 6th and 7th centuries, various factors destroyed the balance of power that had held for so many centuries. The conflict with the Byzantines greatly contributed to its weakness, by draining Sassanid resources, leaving it

2943-470: The Maysan region, which the Muslims seized later as well. Frataraka Frataraka ( Aramaic : Prtkr’𐡐𐡓𐡕𐡊𐡓’ , "governor", or more specifically "sub-satrapal governor") is an ancient Persian title, interpreted variously as “leader, governor, forerunner”. It is an epithet or title of a series of rulers in Persis from 3rd to mid 2nd century BC, or alternatively between 295 and 220 BC, at

3052-624: The Muslim armies. Moreover, the powerful northern and eastern Parthian families, the kust-i khwarasan and kust-i adurbadagan, withdrew to their respective strongholds and made peace with the Arabs, refusing to fight alongside the Sassanians. Another important theme of Pourshariati's study is a re-evaluation of the traditional timeline. Pourshariati argues that the Arab conquest of Mesopotamia "took place, not, as has been conventionally believed, in

3161-646: The Muslim conquest of Persia , they relied solely on the accounts of the Armenian Christian bishop Sebeos , and accounts in Arabic written some time after the events they describe. The most significant work was probably that of Arthur Christensen , and his L’Iran sous les Sassanides , published in Copenhagen and Paris in 1944. Recent scholarship has begun to question the traditional narrative: Parvaneh Pourshariati , in her Decline and Fall of

3270-451: The Muslim conquest of Pars , as part of the Arab conquest of Iran , the invaders first established headquarters at Beyza . The citizens of Istakhr firmly resisted the Arabs. The first attempt, in 640, led by Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami was a complete failure. In 643, the Arabs conducted a new campaign led by Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and Uthman ibn Abu al-As which forced Istakhr to surrender. The people of Istakhr, however, quickly revolted and killed

3379-604: The Qal-e ye Oshkonvan , the city's armory. Though the locations of these fortresses appear to be relatively distant from Istakhr's inner core, in the Medieval era they were "regarded as within the greater city" of Istakhr. In the closing years of the Buyid Abu Kalijar, a vizier engaged in a dispute with a local landowner of Istakhr. Abu Kalijar, in turn, sent an army to Istakhr under Qutulmish who destroyed and pillaged

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3488-631: The Safavids forcefully converted Iran to Shia Islam in the 18th century. This was the first time since the collapse of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 BC with the Battle of Opis , that Mesopotamia was ruled again by Semitic -speaking people, after centuries of Persian ( Achaemenid , Parthian and Sasanian empires), and Roman-Greek ( Macedonian , Seleucid the Roman empires) ruling periods. When Western academics first investigated

3597-551: The early Muslims during and after this conflict prompted many of them to flee eastward to India , where they were granted refuge by various kings. While Arabia was experiencing the rise of Islam in the 7th century, Persia was struggling with unprecedented levels of political, social, economic, and military weakness; the Sasanian army had greatly exhausted itself in the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 . Following

3706-528: The 3rd century BC to the early 3rd century AD. Sasan , the eponymous ancestor of the later Sasanian dynasty , hailed from Istakhr and originally served as the warden of the important Anahid fire-temple within the city. According to tradition, Sasan married a woman of the Bazrangi dynasty, who ruled in Istakhr as Parthian vassals in the early 3rd century. In 205/6, Sasan's son Papak dethroned Gochihr ,

3815-550: The 3rd century BC. It seems however that they were rather representatives of the Seleucids in the region of Fārs . They ruled from the end of the 3rd century BC to the beginning of the 2nd century BC, and Vahbarz or Vādfradād obtained independence circa 150 BC, when Seleucid power waned in the areas of southwestern Persia and the Persian Gulf region. Alternatively, they may have ruled between circa 295 and 220 BC, until

3924-614: The Arabs managed to maintain their presence in the area. Later on, the Persians defeated Abu Ubaid in the Battle of the Bridge . Muthanna bin Haritha was later victorious in the Battle of Buwayb . In 635 Yazdgerd III sought an alliance with Emperor Heraclius of the Eastern Roman Empire , marrying the latter's daughter (or, by some traditions, his granddaughter) in order to seal the arrangement. While Heraclius prepared for

4033-519: The Byzantines with Persian support. Umar, allegedly aware of this alliance and not wanting to risk a battle with two great powers simultaneously, quickly reinforced the Muslim army at Yarmouk to engage and defeat the Byzantines. Meanwhile, he ordered Saad to enter into peace negotiations with Yazdegerd III and invite him to convert to Islam to prevent Persian forces from taking the field. Heraclius instructed his general Vahan not to engage in battle with

4142-630: The Caliphal governor Musa Muflehi at Istakhr. According to the Iranologist Adrian David Hugh Bivar , the last coin attributed to Istakhr is a coin supposedly minted by the Dulafids in 895/6. The area became part of the Buyids in the first half of the 10th century. At the turn of the millennium, numerous travel writers and geographers wrote about Istakhr. In the mid-10th century, the travel writer Istakhri (himself

4251-459: The Frataraka got became semi-independent and started to strike their coins instead. The significant number of undertype of Seleucus I on coins of Frataraka rulers also point out to their closeness to first the first Seleucid king and some early Seleucid influences both in iconography and typology of their coins shows they were ruling Persis earlier than 2nd BC. Some authors have dated the rule of

4360-669: The Fratarakas to the 3rd century BCE, with a starting point circa 280 BCE under ruler Bagadates corresponding to a supposed Persian uprising leading to the destruction of the Tall-e Takht citadel of Pasargadae that same year. According to B. Kritt in The Early Seleucid Mint of Susa (1997), the coinage of the Fratrakas was issued in Susa , rather than Persepolis as traditionally held. He also attributed them to

4469-484: The French duo Eugène Flandin and Pascal Coste in late 1840. Sasanian Istakhr remains largely unexcavated. Arab conquest of Iran Khuzestan Central Persia Caucasus Pars Khorasan Other geographies Byzantine Empire Sassanid Persia Caucasus Other regions The Muslim conquest of Persia , also called the Muslim conquest of Iran , the Arab conquest of Persia , or

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4578-604: The Middle Persian word in turn derives from Old Persian *Parsa-staxra ("stronghold of Pars"), owing to the city's close connections with the nearby Persepolis platform. Herzfeld interpreted the Aramaic characters "PR BR" inscribed on these coins as an abbreviation of Aramaic prsʾ byrtʾ ("the Fortress of Parsa"), which in turn may be the equivalent of the aforementioned Old Persian words. The abbreviation "ST", denoting Istakhr, also appears on Sasanian coins . Istakhr

4687-611: The Muslims before receiving explicit orders. Fearing more Arab reinforcements, Vahan attacked the Muslim army in the Battle of Yarmouk in August 636, and was routed. With the Byzantine threat ended, the Sasanian Empire was still a formidable power with vast manpower reserves, and the Arabs soon found themselves confronting a huge Persian army with troops drawn from every corner of the empire, including war elephants, and commanded by its foremost generals. Within three months, Saad defeated

4796-591: The Parthians: The Persians have kings who are subject to other kings, formerly of the kings of Macedonia, but now to the kings of the Parthians. Pliny relates a battle between Noumenios , a Seleucid general and satrap of the Province of Mesene ( Characene ), and the Persians sometime in the 3rd or the 2nd century BCE. Pliny describes the current Seleucid ruler as being "Antiochos", but it

4905-451: The Persian army in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah , effectively ending Sasanian rule west of Persia proper. This victory is largely regarded as a decisive turning point in Islam's growth: with the bulk of Persian forces defeated, Saad with his companions later conquered Babylon ( Battle of Babylon (636) ), Kūthā , Sābāṭ ( Valashabad ) and Bahurasīr ( Veh-Ardashir ). Ctesiphon , the capital of

5014-481: The Persians decided to take back their lost territory. The Muslim army was forced to leave the conquered areas and concentrate on the border. Umar immediately sent reinforcements to aid Muthanna ibn Haritha in Mesopotamia under the command of Abu Ubaid al-Thaqafi . At that time, a series of battles between the Persians and Arabs occurred in the region of Sawad , such as Namaraq , Kaskar and Baqusiatha, in which

5123-579: The Roman forces, it was too slow and regimented to act with full force against the agile and unpredictable lightly armed Arab cavalry and foot archers. The Persian army had a few initial successes. War elephants temporarily halted the Arab army, but when Arab veterans returned from the Syrian fronts, where they had been fighting against Byzantine forces, they provided crucial instruction on how to effectively counter

5232-439: The Sasanian Empire. In 642, Umar ibn al-Khattab , eight years into his reign as Islam's second caliph , ordered a full-scale invasion of the rest of the Sasanian Empire. Directing the war from the city of Medina in Arabia, Umar's quick conquest of Persia in a series of coordinated and multi-pronged attacks became his greatest triumph, contributing to his reputation as a great military and political strategist. In 644, however, he

5341-412: The Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran , published in 2008, provides both a detailed overview of the problematic nature of trying to establish exactly what happened, and a great deal of original research that questions fundamental facts of the traditional narrative, including the timeline and specific dates. Pourshariati's central thesis is that contrary to what

5450-412: The Sasanian towns in Mesopotamia , actions that generated a considerable amount of booty was collected. Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha went to Medina to inform Abu Bakr about his success and was appointed commander of his people, after which he began to raid deeper into Mesopotamia. Using the mobility of his light cavalry , he could easily raid any town near the desert and disappear again into the desert, beyond

5559-448: The Sasanians and the Byzantines, as well as the strain of the Khazar invasion of Transcaucasia , had exhausted the army. No effective ruler followed Khosrau II , causing chaos in society and problems in the provincial administration, until Yazdegerd III rose to power. All these factors undermined the strength of the Persian army. Yazdegerd III was merely 8 years old when he came to the throne and, lacking experience, did not try to rebuild

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5668-406: The Sassanid Empire, fell in March 637 after a siege of three months. In December 636, Umar ordered Utbah ibn Ghazwan to head south to capture al-Ubulla (known as "port of Apologos" in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea ) and Basra , in order to cut ties between the Persian garrison there and Ctesiphon . Utbah ibn Ghazwan arrived in April 637, and captured the region. The Persians withdrew to

5777-411: The Seleucid briefly took back direct control of the region of Persis under the Seleucid satrap Alexander , circa 220 BC. Some authors consider that Persis remained under the control of the Seleucids throughout the 3rd century. Antiochus III is known to have visited Antiochia in Persis in 205 BC. Strabo relates that Persian rulers were tributaries to the Greeks, before falling under the control of

5886-402: The Seleucid usurper Molon , was in the meantime satrap of Media . However, the coinage of the Fratarakas is very close to that of the Kings of Persis , which suggest the 2nd century BCE as a more probable period, after the rule of the Satrap of Persis Alexander . There is also no mention of a Persian uprising in the sources for the 3rd century BCE. On the contrary, various sources, such as

5995-405: The Seleucid weight standard, and some of their symbolism is related to the Seleucids, such as the holding of a Seuleucid scepter rather than an Achaemenid one), before obtaining some kind of independence from the time of Vahbarz or Vadfradad I (when their coinage starts to show a depiction of Khvarnah or Ahura Mazda on the reverse, on top of the fire temple). The Fratarakas were succeeded by

6104-460: The Seleucids, or posthumous issues of Alexander the Great . It seems that the coinage of the Fratarakas was mainly issued for purposes of prestige, rather than just monetary circulation, which was actually very limited. The honorific "of the gods" (Aramaic zy Thy ) on their coinage may be related to the Seleucid practice of deifying their kings. The coinage of the Fratrakas combines Seleucid and Achaemenid iconography. The language used in

6213-411: The account of the visit of Antiochus III to the city of Antiochia in Persis in 205 BCE, as well as archaeological evidence, seem to suggest continuous Seleucid rule in the region. It seems that the area became independent from Seuleucid power between 200-150 BCE, before the Parthian conquest of the area. The first ruler of the Fratarakas would have been subordinate to the Seleucids (their coins are in

6322-403: The army. The Sasanian Empire was highly decentralized, and was in fact a "confederation" with the Parthians , who themselves retained a high level of independence. After the last Sasanian-Byzantine war, the Parthians wanted to withdraw from the confederation, and the Sasanians were thus ill-prepared and ill-equipped to mount an effective and cohesive defense against the Muslim armies. Moreover,

6431-404: The battle led by Noumenios if the Antiochos in question is indeed Antiochos III, since the latter was defeated at the Battle of Magnesia at that time. Pliny writes: " Noumenios , who was made governor of Mesene by king Antiochos, while fighting against the Persians, defeated them at sea, and at low water, by land, with an army of cavalry, on the same day; in memory of which event he erected

6540-408: The city of Al-Hirah in Iraq on the same day. This assertion has been brought under scrutiny by some modern historians of Islam—notably Grimme and Caetani. Particularly in dispute is the assertion that Khosrau II received a letter from Muhammad, as the Sassanid court ceremony was notoriously intricate, and it is unlikely that a letter from what at the time was a minor regional power would have reached

6649-405: The city. Istakhr never recovered and became a village with "no more than a hundred inhabitants". In 1074, during Seljuq rule, a rebel named Fadluya had gained control over the province of Fars and had entrenched himself in Istakhr's castle. Nizam al-Mulk , the renowned vizier of the Seljuq Empire, subsequently besieged the fortress. Fadluya was captured and imprisoned in the fortress and executed

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6758-424: The construction of a statue of Anahid and a temple near what would become Istakhr. This temple may be identified with the ruins of the temple mentioned by the 10th-century geographer al-Masudi as being located c.  one parasang from Istakhr. According to the Iranologist Mary Boyce , the ruins of this temple probably belonged to the original Achaemenid building, which had been destroyed and pillaged by

6867-451: The death of 40,000 of its inhabitants. Istakhr's Sasanian fortress, located on the Marvdasht 's "easternmost outcrop", became the location of the last resistance to the Arab conquest of Pars. Istakhr remained a stronghold of Zoroastrianism long after the fall of the Sasanians. Many Arab-Sasanian coins and Reformed Umayyad coins were minted at Istakhr during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods. Istakhr remained "a fairly important place" in

6976-401: The destruction of the castle. According to the Italian traveler Pietro della Valle , who visited Istakhr in 1621, it was in ruins. In the first half of the 20th century, Istakhr was cursorily explored by Ernst Herzfeld followed by a team from the University of Chicago led by Erich Schmidt . The most detailed account of the ruins of Istakhr predating the 20th century excavations was made by

7085-421: The early Islamic period. It was the site of an important fortress, which in Islamic times, "as no doubt earlier", often functioned as the treasury of the rulers of the city. The fortress is variously known as Qal-e-ye Estakhr ("Castle of Estakhr") or Estakhr-Yar ("Friend of Estakhr"). Under the Umayyad Caliphate, governors often resided at the castle; for instance, Ziyad ibn Abih resided at Istakhr's castle for

7194-432: The entirety of the Arab Peninsula under the authority of the Caliph at Medina. Abu Bakr set in motion a historical trajectory (continued later by Umar and Uthman) that in a few decades led to one of the largest empires in history , beginning with a confrontation with the Sassanid Empire under the general Khalid ibn al-Walid . After the Ridda wars , a tribal chief of northeastern Arabia, Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha , raided

7303-416: The execution of Sasanian shah Khosrow II in 628, Persia's internal political stability began deteriorating at a rapid pace. Subsequently, ten new royal claimants were enthroned within the next four years. Shortly afterwards, Persia was further devastated by the Sasanian Interregnum , a large-scale civil war that began in 628 and resulted in the government's decentralization by 632. Amidst Persia's turmoil,

7412-409: The first Rashidun invasion of Sasanian territory took place in 633, when the Rashidun army conquered parts of Asoristan , which was the Sasanians' political and economic centre in Mesopotamia . Later, the regional Rashidun army commander Khalid ibn al-Walid was transferred to oversee the Muslim conquest of the Levant , and as the Rashidun army became increasingly focused on the Byzantine Empire ,

7521-402: The first epidemic was brought by the Sasanian armies from its campaigns in Constantinople , Syria , and Armenia . It caused the death of many Aryan and therefore contributed to the fall of the Sasanian Empire. Khosrau II was executed in 628 and, as a result, there were numerous claimants to the throne; from 628 to 632 there were ten kings and queens of Persia. The last, Yazdegerd III , was

7630-580: The hands of the Shahanshah. With regards to Persia, Muslim histories further recount that at the beginning of the seventh year of migration, Muhammad appointed one of his officers, Abdullah Huzafah Sahmi Qarashi, to carry his letter to Khosrau II inviting him to convert: In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad, the Messenger of God, to the great Kisra of Persia. Peace be upon him, who seeks truth and expresses belief in God and in His Prophet and testifies that there are no gods but one God whom has no partners, and who believes that Muhammad

7739-451: The heresy, alienating the Ghassanids and sparking rebellions on their desert frontiers. The Lakhmids also revolted against the Persian king Khusrau II. Nu'man III (son of Al-Monder IV), the first Christian Lakhmid king, was deposed and killed by Khusrau II in 602, because of his attempt to throw off Persian suzerainty. After Khusrau's assassination in 628, the Persian Empire fractured and the Lakhmids were effectively semi-independent. It

7848-494: The high-ranking status of Kartir, the appointment of these posts signify that the sacred fires at Istakhr were held in very high regard. Istakhr would reach its apex during the Sasanian era, serving as principal city, region, and religious centre of the Sasanian province of Pars . A center of major economic activity, Istakhr hosted an important Sasanian mint, abbreviated with the initials "ST" ( Staxr ) which produced coins from

7957-554: The invaders. When the main Arab army reached the Persian borders, Yazdegerd III procrastinated in dispatching an army against the Arabs. Even Rostam-e Farokhzad , who was both Eran Spahbod and Viceroy , did not see the Arabs as a threat. Without opposition, the Arabs had time to consolidate and fortify their positions. When hostilities between the Sasanians and the Arabs finally began, the Persian army faced fundamental problems. While their heavy cavalry had proved effective against

8066-531: The invading Macedonians led by Alexander the Great ( r.   336–323). Istakhr's foundation as a separate city took place very shortly after the decline of nearby Persepolis by Alexander. It appears that much of Persepolis' rubble was used for the building of Istakhr. When Seleucus I ( r.   305–280) died in 280 BC, the local Persians of Persis began to reassert their independence. The center of resistance appears to have been Istakhr, which with its surrounding hills provided better protection than

8175-518: The kings of Persis had become independent rulers. When the Parthian Arsacid king Mithridates I (ca. 171-138 BC) took control of Persis , he left the Persian dynasts in office and they were allowed to continue minting coins with the title of mlk ("King"). With the reign of Šāpuhr , the son of Pāpag , the kingdom of Persis then became a part of the Sasanian Empire . Šābuhr's brother and successor, Ardaxšir (Artaxerxes) V, defeated

8284-531: The last legitimate Parthian king, Artabanos V in 224 CE, and was crowned at Ctesiphon as Ardaxšir I (Ardashir I), šāhanšāh ī Ērān , becoming the first king of the new Sasanian Empire . During the Achaemenid Empire , frataraka was a title given to the head of a district or province in Egypt , who was junior in hierarchy to the satrap in Memphis, Egypt . During the time of Seleucid and Parthian Empires,

8393-645: The last major battle of the Sassanids. The Sassanid dynasty came to an end with the death of Yazdegerd III in 651. Muhammad died in June 632, and Abu Bakr took the title of Caliph and political successor at Medina . Soon after Abu Bakr 's succession, several Arab tribes revolted, in the Ridda Wars ( Arabic for the Wars of Apostasy). The Ridda Wars preoccupied the Caliphate until March 633, and ended with

8502-419: The legends on the coins is Aramaic , one of the official languages of the Achaemenid Empire, rather than Greek. This, as well as the clearly Zoroastrian iconography of the coins, shows that these coins had a role as "Persid religio-political propaganda". The Aramaic script used in the coins is quite unclear, which brings uncertainties to their reading. Even the title used by the Fratarakas prtkr* or prtdr’

8611-532: The members of Majlis ash-Shura demurred, claiming that the two-front war required Umar's presence in Medina. Accordingly, Umar appointed Saad ibn Abi Waqqas , a respected senior officer, even though Saad was suffering from sciatica. Saad left Medina with his army in May 636 and arrived at Qadisiyyah in June. While Heraclius launched his offensive in May 636, Yazdegerd was unable to muster his armies in time to provide

8720-603: The month of November. These devastating defeats ended Persian control over Mesopotamia, and left the Persian capital Ctesiphon vulnerable. Before attacking Ctesiphon, Khalid decided to eliminate all Persian forces in the south and west. He accordingly marched against the border city of Firaz , where he defeated the combined forces of the Sasanian Persians , the Byzantines and Christian Arabs in December. This

8829-534: The most venerated of Zoroastrian fires". The identification of this temple at Istakhr with Anahid persisted, and the historian al-Tabari (died 923) stated that it was known as "the house of Anahid's fire". The influential Zoroastrian priest Kartir was, amongst other posts, appointed as warden ( pādixšāy ) of "fire(s) at Stakhr of Anahid-Ardashir and Anahid the Lady" ( ādur ī anāhīd ardaxšīr ud anāhīd ī bānūg ) by Bahram II ( r.   274–293). Boyce notes that given

8938-399: The nearby former Achaemenid ceremonial capital of Persepolis. Furthermore, an important road, known as the "winter road", extended across Istakhr, leading from Persis to Isfahan through Pasargadae and Abada . The core of Istakhr as a city was located on the south and east side of the Polvar River. It flourished as the capital of the Persian Frataraka governors and Kings of Persis from

9047-543: The newly conquered Mesopotamian territories were retaken by the Sasanian army. The second Rashidun invasion began in 636, under Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas , when a key victory at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah permanently ended all Sasanian control to the west of modern-day Iran . For the next six years, the Zagros Mountains , a natural barrier, marked the political boundary between the Rashidun Caliphate and

9156-707: The notable exception of the provinces along the Caspian Sea (i.e., in Tabaristan and Transoxiana ), had come under Muslim domination. Many localities fought against the invaders; although the Rashidun army had established hegemony over most of the country, many cities rose in rebellion by killing their Arab governors or attacking their garrisons. Eventually, military reinforcements quashed the Iranian insurgencies and imposed complete control. The Islamization of Iran

9265-556: The objective of Khalid, Abu Bakr sent reinforcements and ordered the tribal chiefs of northeastern Arabia, Al-Muthanna ibn Haritha, Mazhur bin Adi, Harmala and Sulma to operate under Khalid's command. Around the third week of March 633 (first week of Muharram 12th Hijrah) Khalid set out from Al-Yamama with an army of 10,000. The tribal chiefs, with 2,000 warriors each, joined him, swelling his ranks to 18,000. After entering Mesopotamia, he dispatched messages to every governor and deputy who ruled

9374-643: The origin, datings and sequence of the Frataraka rulers. Hill was the first to catalog and study them and he opted for the same dates as Herzfeld, namely to early 3rd BC. But Alram and historian Wiesehofer all pointed to later dating iconographically and epigraphically, and also based on the seamless continuation of their coinage from the first series to second and so on. They argued that they ruled by late 2nd century BC and ended by mid 2nd century BC after Parthia conquered Persia . Some scholars such as Museler, Sarkhosh Curtis, Hoover, Engles and Mahdi TF Ahrabi believe they have started ruling by 3rd century BC, and there

9483-587: The period circa 295 - circa 220 BCE, and considers them as independent rulers by divine right, rather than administrators for the Seleukids. The first date of 295 BCE corresponds to the destruction of Pasargadae , which marks the end of Seleucid coinage in Susa. The end date of 220 BCE corresponds to the time when, according to Polybius , the Seleucid satrap Alexander became satrap of satrap of Persis. His brother,

9592-405: The period from 628 to 632." An important consequence of this change in timeline means that the Arab conquest started precisely when the Sasanians and Parthians were engaged in internecine warfare over who was to succeed the Sasanian throne. When Arab squadrons made their first raids into Sasanian territory, Yazdegerd III did not consider them a threat, and he refused to send an army to encounter

9701-413: The plain of Marvdasht . This plain stretches near the platform of Persepolis. In all likelihood, what became Istakhr was originally part of the settlements which surrounded the Achaemenid royal residences. Its religious importance as a Zoroastrian center was signified as early as the 4th century BC during the reign of Achaemenid King Artaxerxes II ( r.   404-358). During his reign, he ordered

9810-482: The population's main income sources. The existing Sassanid administrative structure proved inadequate when faced with the combined demands of a suddenly expanded empire, economy, and population. Rapid turnover of rulers and increasing provincial landholder ( dehqan ) power further diminished the Sasanians. Over a period of fourteen years and twelve successive kings, the Sassanid Empire weakened considerably, and

9919-588: The power of the central authority passed into the hands of its generals. Even when a strong king emerged following a series of coups, the Sassanids never completely recovered. The Byzantine clients, the Arab Ghassanids , converted to the Monophysite form of Christianity , which was regarded as heretical by the established Byzantine Eastern Orthodox Church . The Byzantines attempted to suppress

10028-564: The powerful northern and eastern Parthian families, the Kust-i Khwarasan and Kust-i Adurbadagan, withdrew to their respective strongholds and made peace with the Arabs, refusing to fight alongside the Sasanians . Pourshariati argues that the Arab conquest of Mesopotamia "took place, not, as has been conventionally believed, in the years 632–634, after the accession of the last Sasanian king Yazdgerd III (632–651) to power, but in

10137-479: The provinces calling on them to either embrace Islam or pay tribute. Khalid did not receive any responses and continued with his tactical plans. Khalid went on to win decisive victories in four consecutive battles: the Battle of Chains , fought in April; the Battle of River , fought in the third week of April; the Battle of Walaja the following month (where he successfully used a double envelopment manoeuvre), and

10246-425: The reach of the Sasanian army . Al-Muthanna's acts made Abu Bakr think about the expansion of the Rashidun Caliphate . To ensure victory, Abu Bakr used a volunteer army and put his best general, Khalid ibn al-Walid , in command. After defeating the self-proclaimed prophet Musaylimah in the Battle of Yamama , Khalid was still at Al-Yamama when Abu Bakr ordered him to invade the Sasanian Empire. Making Al-Hirah

10355-571: The reign of Bahram V ( r.   420-438) until the fall of the dynasty, as well as the Sasanian royal treasury ( ganj ī šāhīgān ). This treasury is frequently mentioned in the Denkard and the Madayān i hazar dadestan . The treasury also held one of the limited copies of the Great Avesta , probably one of the very same copies from which the modern-day extant Avestan manuscript derives. During

10464-418: The risk of being defeated by a large unified Persian army. Four divisions of Persian and Christian Arab auxiliaries were present at Hanafiz, Zumiel, Sanni and Muzieh. Khalid divided his army into three units, and employed them in well-coordinated attacks against the Persians from three different sides at night, in the Battle of Muzayyah , then the Battle of Saniyy , and finally the Battle of Zumail , all during

10573-506: The ruler of Istakhr. In turn, Papak's sons, Shapur and Ardashir V, ruled as the last two Kings of Persis. In 224, Ardashir V of Persis founded the Sasanian Empire and became regnally known as Ardashir I ( r.   224–242). Boyce states that the temple, which had been destroyed by the Macedonians centuries earlier, was restored under the Sasanians. She adds that according to Al-Masudi, who in turn based his writings on tradition,

10682-520: The temple had "originally been an 'idol-temple', which was subsequently turned into a fire temple by Homay , the legendary predecessor of the Achaemenid dynasty". It appears that in the early Sasanian period, or perhaps a bit before that, the Zoroastrian iconoclastic movement had resulted in the cult-image of Anahid being replaced by a sacred fire. Al-Masudi identified this sacred fire as "one of

10791-656: The time of the Seleucid Empire , prior to the Parthian conquest of West Asia and Iran. Studies of frataraka coins are important to historians of this period. Several rulers have been identified as belonging to Fratarakā dynasty (from the title prtrk' zy alhaya , or "governor of the gods" on their coins): bgdt ( Baydād ), rtḥštry (Ardaxšīr I), whwbrz ( Vahbarz , who is called Oborzos in Polyenus 7.40), and wtprdt ( Vādfradād I ). Traditionally, they used to be considered as independent, anti-Seleucid rulers of Persis in

10900-547: The top of the castle of Istakhr, which in turn melted into a cistern contained by a dam. This dam was founded by the Buyid 'Adud al-Dawla ( r.   949-983) to create a proper water reservoir for the castle's garrison. According to a contemporaneous source, the Buyid Abu Kalijar ( r.   1024–1048) found enormous quantities of silver and costly gems stored in the castle when he ascended it with his son and

11009-468: The war elephants. These factors contributed to the decisive Sassanid defeat at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah. The Persians, who had only one generation before conquered Egypt and Asia Minor, lost decisive battles when nimble, lightly armed Arabs accustomed to skirmishes and desert warfare attacked them. The Arab squadrons defeated the Persian army in several more battles culminating in the Battle of Nahāvand ,

11118-419: The writings of Ibn al-Athir , the treasury of Istakhr held the treasures of earlier dynasties. Ibn al-Athir wrote that when Seljuq Sultan Alp Arslan ( r.   1063-1072) conquered the castle of Istakhr in 1066/7, its governor handed him a valuable cup inscribed with the name of the mythical Iranian king Jamshid . Istakhr also held the Qal-e ye Shekaste , which functioned as the city's textile store, and

11227-538: The years 632–634, after the accession of the last Sasanian king Yazdgerd III (632–651) to power, but in the period from 628 to 632." An important consequence of this change in timeline means that the Arab conquest started precisely when the Sassanians and Parthians were engaged in internecine warfare over succession to the Sassanian throne. Since the 1st century BC , the border between the Roman (later Byzantine ) and Parthian (later Sasanian ) empires had been

11336-405: Was assassinated by the Persian craftsman Abu Lu'lu'a Firuz , who had been captured by Rashidun troops and brought to Arabia as a slave. Some Iranian historians have defended their forebears by using Arab sources to illustrate that "contrary to the claims of some historians, Iranians, in fact, fought long and hard against the invading Arabs." By 651, most of the urban centres in Iranian lands, with

11445-598: Was commonly assumed, the Sassanian Empire was highly decentralized, and was in fact a "confederation" with the Parthians , who themselves retained a high level of independence. Despite their recent victories over the Byzantine Empire , the Parthians unexpectedly withdrew from the confederation, and the Sassanians were thus ill-prepared and ill-equipped to mount an effective and cohesive defense against

11554-421: Was defeated at the Battle of Nineveh in 627, and the Byzantines recaptured all of Syria and penetrated far into the Persian provinces of Mesopotamia . In 629, Khosrau's general Shahrbaraz agreed to peace, and the border between the two empires was once again the same as it had been in 602. The Plague of Sheroe (627–628) was one of several epidemics that occurred in or close to Iran within two centuries after

11663-513: Was gradual and incentivized in various ways over a period of centuries, though some Iranians never converted and there is widespread evidence of Zoroastrian scriptures and all other pre-Islamic being systematically burnt and Zoroastrian priests being executed, particularly in areas that were centers of resistance. Islam had become Iran's predominant religion by the Late Middle Ages ; the majority of Iranians were Sunni Muslims until

11772-527: Was located and where Yazdegerd III ( r.   632–651) the last Sasanian King was crowned. However, according to the modern art historian Matthew Canepa , archaeological evidence shows that the mosque was built in the 7th century during Arab overlordship, and was, therefore, not a converted Sasanian temple. Al-Maqdisi also noted it was assumed that the mosque had originally been a fire temple , in which "pieces of carving from Persepolis had been used". The region's cold climate created accumulations of snow at

11881-655: Was the last battle in his conquest of Mesopotamia. While Khalid was on his way to attack Qadissiyah (a key fort en route to Ctesiphon), Abu Bakr ordered him to the Roman front in Syria to assume command there. According to the will of Abu Bakr, Umar was to continue the conquest of Syria and Mesopotamia. On the northeastern borders of the Empire, in Mesopotamia, the situation was rapidly deteriorating. During Abu Bakr 's era, Khalid ibn al-Walid had left Mesopotamia with half his army of 9000 soldiers to assume command in Syria, whereupon

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