The Seven Great Houses of Iran , also known as the seven Parthian clans , were seven aristocracies of Parthian origin, who were allied with the Sasanian court. The Parthian clans all claimed ancestry from Achaemenid Persians.
8-790: The House of Ispahbudhan or the House of Aspahbadh was one of the Seven Great Houses of the Sasanian Empire . Like the Sasanian dynasty , they claimed descent from the Achaemenid dynasty . They also claimed descent from the legendary Kayanian figure Esfandiyār , who was the son of Vishtaspa , who according to Zoroastrian sources was one of Zoroaster 's early followers. The family traced its descent back to military marshals ( spahbed s) and occupied important offices in
16-658: Is known to have said that: "If you [were to] kill me all of Adurbadagan [will] rise in avenging my blood, and will wage war against you." The Arab general accepted Isfandyadh's advice and made peace with him. However, Bahram, the brother of Isfandyadh, refused to submit to the Arab forces and kept resisting them. However, he was quickly defeated and forced to flee from Adurbadagan. Adurbadagan thus came under Arab suzerainty. Seven Great Houses of Iran The seven Great Houses of Iran had played an active role in Iranian politics since
24-783: The House of Sasan such as Farrukh Hormizd , Farrukhzad , Rostam Farrokhzad , Vistahm , Isfandyadh etc. In 651, the Muslims invaded Adurbadagan , which was the domain of the Ispahbudhan brothers Isfandyadh and Bahram. Isfandyadh made a stand against the Arabs, where a battle was fought. He was, however, defeated and captured by the Arabs. While Isfandyadh was in captivity, he told the Arab general Bukayr ibn Abdallah , that if he sought to conquer Adurbadagan quickly and peacefully, he should make peace with him. According to Bal'ami , Isfandyadh
32-654: The Parthian Empire's major administrative divisions. Tabari in his History of the Prophets and Kings provides the following legend: Bištāsef (Vishtaspa) appointed seven persons to the highest ranks, and they were the magnates, [including] Nihābiδa, and his residence was Dihistān in the Land of Jurjān (Hyrcania); and Kārin the Parthian ( Qārin al-Fahlavi ) and his residence was Māh-Nihāvand (i.e., Media); and Sūrēn
40-560: The Sasanians, the Ispahbudhan enjoyed such a high status that they were acknowledged as "kin and partners of the Sasanians". Although the hereditary homeland of the Ispahbudhan seems to have been Khorasan, the family over time came to rule the northwestern quarter ( kust ) of Adurbadagan (not to be confused with the namesake province of Adurbadagan ). The family included many powerful men in the Sasanian Empire closely related to
48-559: The antiquity of their families." During Sasanian times, the seven feudal houses played a significant role at the Sasanian court. Bahram Chobin , a famed military commander of Hormizd IV (r. 579–590), was from the House of Mihran . The seven houses with their respective main fiefs and ruling-family seats were: Some of the later traditions pertaining to the Seven Great Houses have been interpreted as memories of
56-679: The days of the Arsacid Empire , which they continued to do under their successors, the Sasanians . Only two of the seven – the House of Suren and the House of Karen – however, are actually attested in sources date-able to the Parthian period. The seven houses claimed to have been confirmed as lords in Iran by the legendary Kayanian king Vishtaspa . "It may be that [...] members of them made up their own genealogies in order to emphasize
64-472: The realm. According to a romanticized legend about their origin, a daughter of the Parthian emperor Phraates IV ( r. 37–2 BC ), named Koshm, married a "general of all Iranians"; their offspring bore the title of "Aspahpet Pahlav", later forming the Ispahbudhan clan. Through their Arsacid lineage, the Ispahbudhan claimed to be descendants of the Kayanian kings Dara II and Esfandiyār . Under
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