House of Karen
| House of Karen | |
|---|---|
 Clasp with an eagle and its prey found in Nahavand, believed by Ernst Herzfeld to originally belong to the House of Karen[1] | |
| Parent house | Arsacids |
| Country | Parthian Empire, Sasanian Empire |
| Current head | None, extinct |
| Members | Sukhra, Karin, Alanda |
| Estate(s) | Nahavand |
| Cadet branches | Kamsarakan[2] Qarinvands Masmughans of Damavand |
The House of Karen (
Middle Persian: Kārēn; Parthian: 𐭊𐭓𐭍𐭉, romanized: Kārēn; Persian: کارن, romanized: Kārin or Kāren), also known as Karen-Pahlav (Kārēn-Pahlaw), was one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran during the rule of Parthian and Sassanian Empires. The seat of the dynasty was at Nahavand, about 65 km south of Ecbatana (present-day Hamadan
, Iran). Members of House of Karen were of notable rank in the administrative structure of the Sassanian empire in multiple periods of its four century-long history.
Origin and history
The Karens, Karan-Vands,
Arsacids.[3] According to Movses Khorenatsi, this descent was via one of the three sons of Phraates IV, also named Karen.[4] The fact that Karen may also have been among the family names of the Arsacid dynasty may give credence to this theory.[5]
: 12
The use of the name Karen might also be found earlier in Iranian history. A possible early member of the family was a certain Vishtaspa krny (krny being a variation of Karen) who lived in Bactria during the later Achaemenid period.[6] This figure has been identified with Hystaspes, a member of the Achaemenid royal family who fought under Darius III during Alexander the Great's invasion of Persia. Hystaspes' wife, a granddaughter of Artaxerxes III, fell into Macedonian hands following the Battle of Gaugamela, though he was later reunited with her as well as being raised to a high position under Alexander's command.[7]
However the first verified reference to the Karenas was during the
Following the defeat of the
Savadkuh region, some of the lands of the Karenas appear to have remained independent until the 11th century, after which the House of Karen is no longer attested. Other notable members of the family include Maziar, the grandson of Vandad Hormozd, and whose devotion to Zoroastrianism
and defiance of the Arabs brought him great fame.
Karen Spahbeds
- Sukhra (r. 525–550)
- Karin (r. 550–600)
- Alanda (r. 600–635)
- Valash (r. 650–673)
- Several Karen princes (r. 673–765)
- Vandad Hormozd(r. 765–815)
- Vandad Safan (r. 765–800)
- Karin ibn Vandad Hormozd (r. 815–816)
- Mazyar (r. 817)
- Vinda-Umid (r. 800–820)
- Bavand rule (r. 817)
- Quhyar (r. 817–823)
- Mazyar (r. 823-839/840)
- Quhyar (r. 839)
See also
- Seven Parthian clans
References
- ^ Herzfeld 1928, pp. 21–22.
- ^ a b Toumanoff 2010, pp. 453–455.
- ^ Arthur George Warner, Edmond Warner, The Shahnama of Firdausi:, Volume 7 (2013), p. 185
- ^ Movses Khorenatsi (trans. by R. W. Thompson), History of the Armenians (1978), p. 166
- ^ Shayegan, M. Rahim (2016). "The Arsacids and Commagne". In Pendleton, Elizabeth; Alram, Michael; Daryaee, Touraj; Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh (eds.). The Parthian and Early Sasanian Empires: Adaptation and Expansion. Conference held in Vienna 14–16 June 2012. British Institute of Persian Studies. pp. 8–22.
- ^ J. Naveh, S. Shaked, Aramaic Documents from Ancient Bactria (2012), p. 191
- ^ Shayegan (2012, p. 12)
- ^ Pourshariati 2017.
Sources
- Schindel, Nikolaus (2013). "KAWĀD I i. Reign". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XVI, Fasc. 2. pp. 136–141.
- 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.
- Al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir(1985–2007). Ehsan Yar-Shater (ed.). The History of Al-Ṭabarī. Vol. 40 vols. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
- Toumanoff, C. (2010). "KAMSARAKAN". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XV, Fasc. 5. pp. 453–455.
- ISBN 0-521-06936-X.
- Frye, R. N. (1986). "Bāwand". The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume I: A–B. Leiden and New York: BRILL. p. 1110. ISBN 90-04-08114-3.
- ISBN 978-0-521-20093-6.
- ISBN 90-04-08114-3.
- Rekaya, M. (1997). "Ḳārinids". The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume IV: Iran–Kha. Leiden and New York: BRILL. pp. 644–647. ISBN 90-04-05745-5.
- ISBN 978-0-521-20093-6.
- Ibn Isfandiyar, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (1905). An Abridged Translation of the History of Tabaristan, Compiled About A.H. 613 (A.D. 1216). Trans. Edward G. Browne. Leyden: E.J. Brill.
- Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2017). "KĀRIN". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- Herzfeld, Ernst (1928). "The Hoard of the Kâren Pahlavs". The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs. 52 (298). Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 52, no. 298: 21–27. JSTOR 863510.