Caucasian Albania (Sasanian province)
Caucasian Albania Arān, Ardān | |||||||||||
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252–636 | |||||||||||
Partav (488–636) | |||||||||||
Common languages | Caucasian Albanian, Armenian, Parthian, Middle Persian[1][2] | ||||||||||
Religion | Christianity, Zoroastrianism | ||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||
Historical era | Late antiquity | ||||||||||
• Established | 252 | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 636 | ||||||||||
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Caucasian Albania (Middle Persian: Arān, Ardān, Armenian: Ałuank) was a kingdom in the Caucasus, which was under the suzerainty of the Sasanian Empire from 252 to 636.[3][4]
History
In 252/3 Albania, along with Iberia and Armenia, was conquered and annexed by the Sasanian king Shapur I (r. 240–270). Albania retained its monarchy, although the king had no real power and most civil, religious, and military authority lay with the Sasanian marzban ("margrave") of the territory. In 297 the Treaty of Nisibis stipulated the re-establishment of the Roman protectorate over Iberia, but Albania remained an integral part of the Sasanian Empire.[3] In the middle of the 4th century the king of Albania, Urnayr, arrived in Armenia and was baptized by Gregory the Illuminator, but Christianity spread in Albania slowly, and the Albanian king remained loyal to the Sasanians. After the partition of Armenia between Byzantium and Iran (387), Albania with Sasanian help was able to seize from Armenia the entire right bank of the river Kura up to the river Araxes, including Artsakh and Utik.[3]
The Sasanian king
By the end of the 5th century, the ancient ruling dynasty of Albania was replaced by princes of the Parthian Mihranid family, who claimed descent from the Sasanians. They assumed the title of "Arranshah" (i.e. shah of Arran, the Iranian name of Albania).[7] The ruling dynasty was named after its founder Mihran, who was a distant relative of the Sasanians.[8] The Mihranid dynasty survived under Muslim suzerainty until 821-2.[9]
In the late 6th – early 7th centuries AD the territory of Albania became an arena of wars between Sassanian Iran,
Politics and organization
The king of Albania was a vassal of the Sasanian empire, although the monarchy did not exercise much control. The king was accountable to the marzban, who held the real authority in civil, religious, and military power. The capital of the province was P'artaw (no connection to Parthia), where they minted coins in the 5th and 6th centuries. The Albanian court was probably modeled on the Armenian court with borrowings from Parthian Iran. Albania also had the Sassanian equivalent of a wuzurg framandar (prime minister) however what his role was is not known, but, as in Sasanian Armenia, it is possible that he was subordinate to the marzban.[3]
Cities and fortifications
P'artaw was established as the capital in 448.[11] It was later named Perozabad when Peroz rebuilt the city. The city underwent another name change when Kavad I fortified the city and called it Perozkavad ("victorious Kavad").[3] At this time P'artaw was highly prosperous and a powerful stronghold sometime in the 5th century. Kabala, the former capital, still maintained some importance, and it later became a see of a bishop. Excavations have revealed a fortress and walls, probably from the 5th or 6th centuries. Xalxal, a city situated in Uti but close to Iberia, became the winter residence of the Albanian kings. Diwatakan, also in Uti, became the summer residence.
The Sassanian kings, such as Yazdegerd II, Kavad I, and Khosrow I also built many fortifications in the Caucasus and Caspian coastline, the most famous being the one at Darband (modern-day Dagestan, North Caucasus). Movses Kalantuaci speaks of "magnificent walls built at great expense by the kings of Persia".[3]
See also
References
- ^ Benjamin W. Fortson, "Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction", John Wiley and Sons, 2009. pg 242: " Middle Persian was the official language of the Sassanian dynasty"
- ^ Shnirelman, V.A.(2001), 'The value of the Past: Myths, Identity and Politics in Transcaucasia', Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology. pp 79: "Yet, even at the time of Caucasian Albania and later on, as well, the region was greatly affected by Iran and Persian enjoyed even more success than the Albanian language".
- ^ a b c d e f g Chaumont 1985, pp. 806–810.
- ^ Wiesehöfer 2001, pp. 184.
- ^ Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of Albania. Book 1, Chapter XV
- ^ Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of Albania. Book 2, Chapter VI
- ^ Encyclopedia Iranica. C. E. Bosworth. Arran Archived 2008-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Moses Kalankatuatsi. History of the country of Aluank. Chapter XVII. About the tribe of Mihran, hailing from the family of Khosrow the Sassanian, who became the ruler of the country of Aluank
- ISBN 0-521-20093-8
- ISBN 3-447-03274-X(retrieved 8 June 2006), p. 385–386.
- ^ Gadjiev 2017, p. 124.
Sources
- Chaumont, M. L. (1985). "Albania". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 8. pp. 806–810.
- Gadjiev, Murtazali (2017). "Construction Activities of Kavād I in Caucasian Albania". Iran and the Caucasus. 21 (2). Brill: 121–131. .
- Gadjiev, Murtazali (2020). "The Chronology of the Arsacid Albanians". Gorgias Press: 29–35.
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(help) - Toumanoff, C. (1986). "Arsacids vii. The Arsacid dynasty of Armenia". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 5. pp. 543–546.
- ISBN 978-1-86064-675-1.