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58-618: In 293 Narses marched from Armenia in open revolt against his nephew with a host of supporters and allies, whose names are recorded on the Paikuli inscription. The Paikuli inscription of Narses shows that Asuristan ( Babylonia ) at least was in Persian hands, but says nothing of Nisibis and Singara . The fact of Amr ibn Adi 's vassalage to Narses was preserved by the latter in the Paikuli inscription. Paikuli inscription may be devoid of much historical information because it belongs to

116-519: A rock relief carved at Naqsh-e Rostam , between the burial site of the Achaemenid kings Darius the Great ( r.  522 – 486 BC ) and Xerxes I ( r.  486 – 465 BC ). The relief depicts an investiture scene, with Narseh, wearing a lamellar crown, surrounded by his family. Narseh is receiving the ring of kingship from a female figure that is frequently assumed to be

174-493: A candidate for succession of the throne by their father, probably due to having a mother of lowly origin, ascended the throne with the aid of the powerful Zoroastrian priest Kartir . He then made a settlement with Narseh to give up his entitlement to the throne in return for the governorship of the important frontier province of Armenia , which was constantly the source of war between the Roman and Sasanian Empires. Narseh held

232-457: A complete defeat and was forced to retreat. Galerius crossed the Euphrates into Syria to join his father-in-law Diocletian at Antioch . On his arrival at Antioch, Galerius was rebuked by Diocletian who disgraced him for his shameful defeat at the hands of Narseh. Vowing to take revenge, Galerius made preparations throughout the winter of 297 and invaded Armenia with 25,000 men. Supported by

290-522: A derivative of Proto-Indo-European language *ar-yo- , meaning "one who assembles (skilfully)". In the Iranic languages spoken on the plateau, the gentilic is attested as a self-identifier, included in ancient inscriptions and the literature of the Avesta , and remains also in other Iranian ethnic names Alan ( Ossetian : Ир Ir ) and Iron ( Ирон ). When used as a linguistic term Iranian

348-425: A reign of one year. Shapur I's eldest son Bahram I , who had never been considered as a candidate for succession to the throne by his father, ascended the throne with the aid of the powerful Zoroastrian priest Kartir . He then made a settlement with Narseh to give up his entitlement to the throne in return for the governorship of the important frontier province of Armenia , which was a persistent cause for war between

406-513: A third-century inscription at Naqsh-e Rostam , with the accompanying Parthian inscription using the term Aryān , in reference to the Iranian peoples . The Middle-Iranian ērān and aryān are oblique plural forms of gentilic nouns ēr- (Middle Persian) and ary- (Parthian), both deriving from Proto-Iranian language *arya- (meaning " Aryan ", i.e. "of the Iranians"), recognized as

464-443: Is applied to any language which descends from the ancestral Proto-Iranian language . Some scholars such as John R. Perry prefer the term Iranic as the anthropological name for the linguistic family and ethnic groups of this category, and Iranian for anything about the modern country of Iran . He uses the same analogue as in differentiating German from Germanic or differentiating Turkish and Turkic . This use of

522-463: Is best attested in one of the three languages of the Behistun inscription, composed c.  520 BCE , and which is the last inscription (and only inscription of significant length) in which Old Persian is still grammatically correct. Later inscriptions are comparatively brief, and typically simply copies of words and phrases from earlier ones, often with grammatical errors, which suggests that by

580-408: Is indistinguishable from effects due to other causes). In addition to Old Persian and Avestan, which are the only directly attested Old Iranian languages, all Middle Iranian languages must have had a predecessor "Old Iranian" form of that language, and thus can all be said to have had an (at least hypothetical) "Old" form. Such hypothetical Old Iranian languages include Old Parthian . Additionally,

638-451: Is not known where that dialect (or dialects) was spoken either. Certain is only that Avestan (all forms) and Old Persian are distinct, and since Old Persian is "western", and Avestan was not Old Persian, Avestan acquired a default assignment to "eastern". Further confusing the issue is the introduction of a western Iranian substrate in later Avestan compositions and redactions undertaken at the centers of imperial power in western Iran (either in

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696-581: Is only "Eastern Iranian" in the sense that it is not Western. The Iranian languages all descend from a common ancestor: Proto-Iranian , which itself evolved from Proto-Indo-Iranian . This ancestor language is speculated to have origins in Central Asia , and the Andronovo culture of the Bronze Age is suggested as a candidate for the common Indo-Iranian culture around 2000 BCE. The language

754-419: Is quoted in an inscription by his father Shapur I as the governor of the eastern Sasanian provinces of Hind , Sakastan and Turan . During his term as governor, he reportedly played an important role in the affairs of the eastern portion of the empire. Shapur I died in 270, and was succeeded by Hormizd I , whose rule only lasted one year due to death. Narseh's older brother Bahram I , who was never considered

812-527: Is the only Museum which displays relics of the Paikuli Tower. Narseh Narseh (also spelled Narses or Narseus ; Middle Persian : 𐭭𐭥𐭮𐭧𐭩 ) was the seventh Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 293 to 303. The youngest son of Shapur I ( r.  240–270 ), Narseh served as the governor of Sakastan , Hind and Turan under his father. Shapur I was eventually succeeded by his son Hormizd I ( r.  270–271 ), who died after

870-460: Is to suppose that our inferiors can never be of any service to us, and that therefore we had better get rid of them. Narseh, moreover, ought not to be accounted a weaker prince than other Persian kings; thou hast indeed conquered him, but then thou surpassest all other monarchs; and thus Narseh has of course been worsted by thee, though he is no whit inferior in merit to the best of his ancestors. The orders which my master has given me are to entrust all

928-614: Is used in Sasanian royal records. The inscription, along with Shapur I's inscription, demonstrates that the organization of the early Sasanian Empire did not contrast much to its predecessor, the Parthian Empire . Like the Parthian monarch, the Sasanian monarch used the title of Shahanshah (" King of Kings "), ruling as the overlord of other lesser kings, such as the king of Adiabene . While ruling as king of Iran, Narseh had

986-551: Is very archaic, and at roughly the same stage of development as Rigvedic Sanskrit . On the other hand, Younger Avestan is at about the same linguistic stage as Old Persian, but by virtue of its use as a sacred language retained its "old" characteristics long after the Old Iranian languages had yielded to their Middle Iranian stage. Unlike Old Persian, which has Middle Persian as its known successor, Avestan has no clearly identifiable Middle Iranian stage (the effect of Middle Iranian

1044-473: Is wearing a lamellar crown along with a different hairstyle. The Paikuli inscription in present-day Iraqi Kurdistan is the only source that describes the reign of Bahram III and the rise of Narseh to the throne. Unlike Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht , the Paikuli inscription omits the use of Greek , but still uses Parthian and Middle Persian . This, however, marks the last time that Parthian

1102-1129: The Achaemenid Empire ) and Old Avestan (the language of the Avesta ). Of the Middle Iranian languages, the better understood and recorded ones are Middle Persian (from the Sasanian Empire ), Parthian (from the Parthian Empire ), and Bactrian (from the Kushan and Hephthalite empires). As of 2000s , Ethnologue estimates that there are 86 languages in the group. Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European The term Iran derives directly from Middle Persian Ērān , first attested in

1160-658: The Iranic languages , are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples , predominantly in the Iranian Plateau . The Iranian languages are grouped in three stages: Old Iranian (until 400 BCE), Middle Iranian (400 BCE – 900 CE) and New Iranian (since 900 CE). The two directly-attested Old Iranian languages are Old Persian (from

1218-428: The 4th century BCE the transition from Old Persian to Middle Persian was already far advanced, but efforts were still being made to retain an "old" quality for official proclamations. The other directly attested Old Iranian dialects are the two forms of Avestan , which take their name from their use in the Avesta , the liturgical texts of indigenous Iranian religion that now goes by the name of Zoroastrianism but in

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1276-568: The Armenians, Galerius surprised Narseh in his camp at the Battle of Satala and inflicted a crushing defeat on the latter, forcing him to flee in haste. His wife, prisoners, his sisters and a number of his children were captured apart from his prodigious military chest. Eastern Mesopotamia was recovered by the Romans and Tiridates was reinstated as the monarch of Armenia. Anxious to make peace with

1334-464: The Avesta itself is simply known as vohu daena (later: behdin ). The language of the Avesta is subdivided into two dialects, conventionally known as "Old (or 'Gathic') Avestan", and "Younger Avestan". These terms, which date to the 19th century, are slightly misleading since 'Younger Avestan' is not only much younger than 'Old Avestan', but also from a different geographic region. The Old Avestan dialect

1392-610: The Eastern category. The two languages of the Western group were linguistically very close to each other, but quite distinct from their eastern counterparts. On the other hand, the Eastern group was an areal entity whose languages retained some similarity to Avestan. They were inscribed in various Aramaic -derived alphabets which had ultimately evolved from the Achaemenid Imperial Aramaic script , though Bactrian

1450-517: The Paikuli inscription is basically relating the traditional Near Eastern story of how a king achieves supremacy with the aid of the gods in the epic form. He also believes that the early Islamic texts, such as al-Tabarī are of little use for the history of the Sasanian period. The Sulaymaniyah Museum in Iraqi Kurdistan opened a new Gallery on June 10, 2019, dedicated to the Paikuli Tower, its inscription, and King Narseh. The Sulaymaniyah Museum

1508-402: The Paikuli inscription of Narses, a son of Papak called Shapur is mentioned as his successor, although the text of the inscription of Paikuli in which king Shapur appears is unclear because of long lacunae. Some suggest that Narses in the inscription sought to compare his succession to the throne with that of his grandfather Ardashir, just as Ardashir had succeeded Shapur. S. Mori contends that

1566-466: The Paikuli inscription; "And Caesar and the Romans were in gratitude (?) and peace and friendship with us." Contrary to the testimony, however, the two empires soon clashed with each other−in 296. From a Roman viewpoint, the mutual relations with Iran had been heavily strained due to the aggressive and expansionistic approach of Ardashir I and Shapur I. However, the conclusive causes for the Roman offensive

1624-406: The Roman and Sasanian Empires. Narseh held the title of Vazurg Šāh Arminān ("Great King of Armenia"), which was used by the heir to the throne in the early Sasanian times. Nevertheless, Narseh most likely still viewed Bahram I as a usurper. The succession of Bahram I's son, Bahram II ( r.  274–293 ) seemingly occurred without any issues. After Bahram II's death in 293, his son Bahram III

1682-445: The Romans, Narseh dispatched his envoy Aphraban to Galerius with the following message: "The whole human race knows that the Roman and Persian kingdoms resemble two great luminaries, and that, like a man's two eyes, they ought mutually to adorn and illustrate each other, and not in the extremity of their wrath to seek rather each other's destruction. So to act is not to act manfully, but is indicative rather of levity and weakness; for it

1740-702: The Sasanian-Roman border. Narseh is notable for returning to the religious tolerance policy of his father. The name of Narseh stems from the Old Iranian theophoric name of *naryasa(n)ha- , meaning "men's praise". Narseh's name is listed as nrshy in Middle Persian and nryshw in Parthian on the Paikuli inscription and Naqsh-e Rostam . The Greek version of his name is also listed in

1798-479: The Sasanians and Romans once again. In 296 or 297, Narseh's forces inflicted a defeat on the forces of Galerius at the Battle of Carrhae . The following year, however, Narseh suffered a major defeat at Satala ; his wives, children, and many Iranian nobles were taken as prisoners of war. Due to this ignominious defeat, Narseh was forced to accept a peace treaty prescribed by the Romans, ceding them several areas at

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1856-446: The ancient speakers of Iranian languages. Of that variety of languages/dialects, direct evidence of only two has survived. These are: Indirectly attested Old Iranian languages are discussed below . Old Persian was an Old Iranian dialect as it was spoken in southwestern Iran (the modern-day province of Fars ) by the inhabitants of Parsa , Persia, or Persis who also gave their name to their region and language. Genuine Old Persian

1914-534: The death of Bahram II in 293, his son Bahram III was unwillingly proclaimed shah in Pars by a group of nobles led by Wahnam and supported by Adurfarrobay, governor of Meshan . However, Bahram III was considered a weak ruler by the other nobles, who decided to pledge allegiance to Narseh, the last remaining son of Shapur, and someone who was perceived as being a stronger leader and one who would be able to bring glory to Iran. Four months into Bahram III's reign, Narseh

1972-413: The empire. His ancestry from the early Sasanian family probably also played a role. In order to avoid bloodshed, Narseh proposed to make peace with both Bahram III and Wahnam. Both seem to have agreed, as no accounts of battles have been made. The reason behind Bahram III and Wahnam's quick agreement to peace may have been due to desertion amongst many of Bahram III's men. Bahram III abdicated as shah and

2030-409: The existence of unattested languages can sometimes be inferred from the impact they had on neighbouring languages. Such transfer is known to have occurred for Old Persian, which has (what is called) a " Median " substrate in some of its vocabulary. Also, foreign references to languages can also provide a hint to the existence of otherwise unattested languages, for example through toponyms/ethnonyms or in

2088-698: The far northwest; and the hypothetical "Old Parthian" (the Old Iranian ancestor of Parthian) in the near northwest, where original *dw > *b (paralleling the development of *ćw). What is known in Iranian linguistic history as the "Middle Iranian" era is thought to begin around the 4th century BCE lasting through the 9th century. Linguistically the Middle Iranian languages are conventionally classified into two main groups, Western and Eastern . The Western family includes Parthian ( Arsacid Pahlavi) and Middle Persian , while Bactrian , Sogdian , Khwarezmian , Saka , and Old Ossetic ( Scytho - Sarmatian ) fall under

2146-458: The following branches: According to modern scholarship, the Avestan languages are not considered to fall under these categories, and are instead sometimes classified as Central Iranian, since they diverged from Proto-Iranian before the east-west division rose to prominence. It has traditionally been viewed as Eastern Iranian; however, it lacks a large number of Eastern Iranian features and thus

2204-409: The genre of epic literature composed since time immemorial in the ancient Near East. In the 19th century, when it was visited by several travelers, it consisted of the ruins of a large, square tower that had originally been covered on all sides by stone blocks, some contained inscriptions, but, at the time, lay scattered all around the monument. In Tabari and sources that follow his work, and also in

2262-539: The goddess Anahita . However, some scholars have suggested that this might be his queen, Shapurdukhtak . The figure standing behind Narseh is most likely the crown prince Hormizd , due to his cap being the form of that of an animal protome , which was typically worn by Sasanian heirs. Throughout his lifetime, Narseh is known to have had several titles, attested in contemporary chronicles, four inscriptions ( ŠKZ , NVŠ, NPi, ŠṬBn-I) and his coins. Iranian languages#Old Iranian The Iranian languages , also called

2320-472: The inscriptions, as Narsaiēs or Narsaios . However, other Greek sources generally spell his name as Narsēs . The name of Narseh is known in other languages as; Latin : Narseus ; Syriac ܢܪܣܝ Nrsy ; Arabic : نرسي Narsi ; Armenian Nerseh ; Coptic Narsaph , as well as Narseos . Narseh seems to have been the youngest son of Shapur I , being born between 228 and 233 during the reign of his grandfather Ardashir I ( r.  224–242 ). Narseh

2378-438: The kind treatment which he hears you have vouchsafed them, in that you have offered them no insult, but have behaved towards them as though on the point of giving them back to their kith and kin. He sees herein that you bear in mind the changes of fortune and the instability of all human affairs." But Galerius dismissed Aphraban without giving any definite answer, at the same time accusing the Iranians of ill-treating Valerian . In

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2436-435: The meantime, he consulted Diocletian at Nisibis, and he persuaded Galerius to offer terms of peace to the Iranians. Accordingly, terms of peace were agreed upon, and were ratified by a treaty concluded by Narseh with the Romans. According to this treaty, Narseh did not survive for long after the conclusion of this humiliating treaty. He died in 303 and was succeeded by his son, Hormizd II . The title of Narseh on his coins

2494-517: The reconstructed linguistic relationships of common Indo-European. Proto-Iranian thus dates to some time after the Proto-Indo-Iranian breakup, or the early-2nd millennium BCE, as the Old Iranian languages began to break off and evolve separately as the various Iranian tribes migrated and settled in vast areas of southeastern Europe , the Iranian Plateau , and Central Asia. Proto-Iranian innovations compared to Proto-Indo-Iranian include:

2552-472: The recording of vocabulary, as Herodotus did for what he called " Scythian " and in one instance, Median ( σπάκα "dog"). Conventionally, Iranian languages are grouped into "western" and "eastern" branches. These terms have little meaning with respect to Old Avestan as that stage of the language may predate the settling of the Iranian peoples into western and eastern groups. The geographic terms also have little meaning when applied to Younger Avestan since it

2610-456: The rights of Persia to the clemency of Rome; and I therefore do not even bring with me any conditions of peace, since it is for the emperor to determine everything. I have only to pray, on my master's behalf, for the restoration of his wives and male children; if he receives them at your hands, he will be forever beholden to you, and will be better pleased than if he recovered them by force of arms. Even now my master cannot sufficiently thank you for

2668-550: The south-west in Persia, or in the north-west in Nisa/Parthia and Ecbatana/Media). Two of the earliest dialectal divisions among Iranian indeed happen to not follow the later division into Western and Eastern blocks. These concern the fate of the Proto-Indo-Iranian first-series palatal consonants, *ć and *dź: As a common intermediate stage, it is possible to reconstruct depalatalized affricates: *c, *dz. (This coincides with

2726-454: The state of affairs in the neighboring Nuristani languages .) A further complication however concerns the consonant clusters *ćw and *dźw: A division of Iranian languages in at least three groups during the Old Iranian period is thus implied: It is possible that other distinct dialect groups were already in existence during this period. Good candidates are the hypothetical ancestor languages of Alanian/Scytho-Sarmatian subgroup of Scythian in

2784-456: The term for the Iranian language family was introduced in 1836 by Christian Lassen . Robert Needham Cust used the term Irano-Aryan in 1878, and Orientalists such as George Abraham Grierson and Max Müller contrasted Irano-Aryan ( Iranian ) and Indo-Aryan ( Indic ). Some recent scholarship, primarily in German, has revived this convention. The Iranian languages are divided into

2842-506: The title of Vazurg Šāh Arminān ("Great King of Armenia"), which was used by the heir to the throne. Nevertheless, Narseh still most likely viewed Bahram I as a usurper. Bahram I's reign however, lasted shortly, ending on September 274 with his death. His son Bahram II succeeded him as shah, seemingly without any issues; he may have been aided by Kartir to ascend the throne over Narseh. This most likely frustrated Narseh, who had now been neglected from succession several times. Following

2900-506: The turning of sibilant fricative *s into non-sibilant fricative glottal *h; the voiced aspirated plosives *bʰ, *dʰ, *gʰ yielding to the voiced unaspirated plosives *b, *d, *g resp.; the voiceless unaspirated stops *p, *t, *k before another consonant changing into fricatives *f, *θ, *x resp.; voiceless aspirated stops *pʰ, *tʰ, *kʰ turning into fricatives *f, *θ, *x, resp. The multitude of Middle Iranian languages and peoples indicate that great linguistic diversity must have existed among

2958-623: The western part of Armenia had been given to the Arsacid prince Tiridates III has been questioned. According to historian Ursula Weber, "It is quite certain" that the whole of Armenia continued to be a part of the Sasanian Empire in the 3rd century, until it was later ceded to the Romans in 298/9 after the Peace of Nisibis . The proposition of Narseh presumably following Shapur I's expansionistic approach does not match with his testimony in

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3016-527: Was decisively voted in favour by the majority, and guaranteed "to enter the throne of our father and our forefathers with the help of the Gods, in their name and that of our forefathers." Amongst those nobles who supported Narseh was the leading priest Kartir, which is attested in the Paikuli inscription . When Narseh ascended the throne, the eastern portion of Mesopotamia (since 244) and all of Armenia (since 252) were under Iranian rule. The traditional notion of

3074-511: Was possibly due to their territorial losses and the disadvantageous change in the sphere of authority and influence in the Mesopotamian-Armenian lands in the 240s and 250s. Galerius , Caesar under Emperor Diocletian , invaded Mesopotamia , which Narseh had occupied hoping to check his advance. Three battles were fought subsequently, the first two of which were indecisive. In the third fought at Callinicum , Galerius suffered

3132-415: Was probably spared, whilst Wahnam was executed when Narseh entered the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon . Narseh then summoned the aristocrats to take part in the royal referendum, a ritual which had been used since the first Sasanian shah, Ardashir I ( r.  224–242 ), and which Narseh now made use of in order to gain the approval of the aristocracy as a legitimate ruler instead that of a usurper. Narseh

3190-609: Was situated precisely in the western part of Central Asia that borders present-day Russia and Kazakhstan . It was thus in relative proximity to the other satem ethno-linguistic groups of the Indo-European family , such as Thracian , Balto-Slavic and others, and to common Indo-European's original homeland (more precisely, the Pontic-Caspian Steppe to the north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus ), according to

3248-495: Was summoned to Mesopotamia at the request of many members of the Iranian nobility. He met them in the passage of Paikuli in the province of Garmekan , where he was firmly approved and likely also declared shah for the first time. The reasons behind the nobles favour of Narseh might have been due to his jurisdiction as governor, his image as an advocate of the Zoroastrian religion and as an insurer for harmony and prosperity of

3306-479: Was the typical Mazdēsn bay Narsē šāhān šāh Ērān ud Anērān kēčihr az yazdān ("the Mazda-worshiping, divine Narseh, King of Kings of Iran(ians) and non-Iran(ians), whose image/brilliance is from the gods"). The iconography of Narseh's coins can be categorized into three phases. The first and second phases portray him wearing a palmette crown , albeit with two different hairstyles. In the third phase, he

3364-521: Was unwillingly crowned by a nobleman named Wahnam. The rest of the nobility did not support Bahram III's kingship, and asked Narseh to rule instead. Ultimately, Bahram III abdicated as shah, while Wahnam was executed. Narseh was the first Sasanian shah to not ascend the throne as a crown prince. The circumstances of his rise to power are detailed in the Paikuli inscription , which he made as his own Res Gestae Divi Augusti and to legitimize his rule. Three years after Narseh's accession, war erupted between

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