Abarshahr
Abarshahr | |||||||||||||
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Province of the Late Antiquity | |||||||||||||
• Established | c. 240 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 651 | ||||||||||||
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Today part of | Iran |
Abarshahr (
Etymology
Several etymologies have been put forward as to the origin of the name of the province. During the Middle Ages, for example, Arab geographers stated that the name meant "cloud city".[3] It has also been interpreted to mean "upper country".[4] A more recent etymology that suggests that Abarshahr derives from Aparn-xšahr, "land of the Aparni" is considered the most accurate.[5]
History
The province was formed during the reign of
Mar Ammo, a disciple of Mani, founder of Manichaeism, led a mission to Abarshahr accompanied by the Parthian prince Ardavan and several others during the 260s. It is suggested that Ardavan, as a Manichean member of the Parthian elite, helped Mar Ammo to preach amongst the Parthian nobility and spread Manichaeism.[9]
In 629, during the
Sawar then tried to make peace with Abdullah, and told him that he would open the gates of Nishapur if the latter pardoned him.[11] Abdullah agreed, however, when the gates were opened, he entered the gate with his army, and started to plunder the city and killing citizens, until Kanadbak said to him: "O amir, once you have been victorious and triumphant forgiveness is a higher [virtue] than revenge and retribution." Abdullah then did as the latter said and restored the city to Kanadbak, who continued to rule as a Rashidun vassal.[12]
References
- ^ Encyclopædia Iranica: BORZŪYA
- ^ H. Gaube (10 January 2014). "ABARŠAHR". Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 2011-04-29.
- ^ Walker, J. "Abarshahr." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online, 2015
- ^ Encyclopædia Iranica: ABARŠAHR
- ^ Daryaee, Touraj. "Abarshahr." Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Brill Online
- ISBN 9780521246934.
- ^ Honigmann, E.; Bosworth, C.E.. "Nīs̲h̲āpūr." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online, 2015
- ^ "stamp-seal; bezel British Museum". The British Museum.
- ^ Zsuzsanna Gulácsi, Mani's Pictures: The Didactic Images of the Manichaeans from Sasanian Mesopotamia to Uygur Central Asia and Tang-Ming China, pp. 74-75 [1]
- ^ Pourshariati (2008), p. 274
- ^ Pourshariati (2008), p. 273
- ^ Pourshariati (2008), pp. 272, 275–276
Sources
- Gaube, H. (1982). "ABARŠAHR". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 1. p. 67.
- Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2008). Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-645-3.