Kirman (Sasanian province)
Kirman Kirmān | |||||||||
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Province of the Sasanian Empire | |||||||||
224 – 650 | |||||||||
Map of Kirman | |||||||||
Capital | Kármana (224–480s) Shiragan (480s–650) | ||||||||
Historical era | Late Antiquity | ||||||||
• Established | 224 | ||||||||
650 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Today part of | Iran |
Kirman (
The province allegedly functioned as some kind of vassal kingdom, being mostly ruled by princes from the royal family, who bore the title of Kirmanshah ("King of Kirman"). The non-royal governors of the province bore the title of marzban.
Name
The name of the province is derived from Old Persian Karmāna; the etymology of the name is debated, a popular theory is that it is related to Old Iranian *kṛma- and Middle Persian kerm ("worm").[1]
History
The province was originally part of the
Shapur II (r. 309–379), after a successful campaign against several Arab tribes in Arabia, resettled some of them in different parts of his empire, such as Kirman, where he settled some Arabs in Aban.[3] During the reign of Shapur III (r. 383–388), his son Bahram IV governed Kirman, where he built the town of Shiragan, which would serve as the capital of the province for the remainder of the Sasanian period.[5][4] The town played an important economic role, as it served as a mint city and had a great agricultural importance to the province.[6] Khosrow I (r. 531–579) had a large part of the turbulent Pariz tribe massacred and deported. Furthermore, during his reign Kirman was brought under a huge cultivation, where many large qanats were built. According to a legend, extensive planting of trees was also made.[3] He also divided his empire into four military districts, known as kusts—Kirman became part of the Nemroz (southeastern) kust.
During the
Geography, trade and administration
In terms of commerce, Kirman was oriented toward Pars and
A single āmārgar (chief fiscal officer) was assigned to the whole province of Kirman, which meant that the person who served as the āmārgar of the province was of high importance.[11]
Population
Kirman was mostly inhabited by
A part of the Iranian population of Kirman was nomadic, such as the Baloch who lived in the western mountains. There were also indigenous, non-Iranian nomads in the province, such as the Jut, who were descendants of the Yutiya (Outii), who lived under the Achaemenid Empire. The Pariz tribe lived in the mountains north to Rudbar, while Arabs lived in some parts of Kirman's coast. The Kofchi, a nomadic people of obscure origins that spoke an Iranian language, inhabited the Bashagird range and its western surroundings.[6]
List of known governors
- Ardashir Kirmanshah (ca. 224 - mid 3rd-century)
- Adhar Mahan (???-???)
- Bahram Kirmanshah (???-388)
- Unnamed marzban (???-650)
References
- ^ Schmitt 1990, pp. 822–823.
- ^ a b c d e Planhol & Hourcade 2014.
- ^ a b c Christensen 1993, p. 179.
- ^ a b Christensen 1993, p. 182.
- ^ Al-Tabari 1985–2007, v. 5: p. 69.
- ^ a b c Brunner 1983, pp. 771–772.
- ^ Morony 1986, pp. 203–210.
- ^ Daryaee 2011, p. 214.
- ^ Elfenbein 1988, pp. 633–644.
- ^ Brunner 1983, pp. 771–773.
- ^ MacKenzie & Chaumont 1989, pp. 925–926.
Sources
- Bosworth, C. Edmund (2013). "KERMAN v. From the Islamic Conquest to the Coming of the Mongols". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- Bosworth, C. Edmund (2011). "QOFṢ". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- Brunner, Christopher (1983). "Geographical and Administrative divisions: Settlements and Economy". The Cambridge History of Iran: The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods (2). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 747–778. ISBN 978-0-521-24693-4.
- Christensen, Peter (1993). The Decline of Iranshahr: Irrigation and Environments in the History of the Middle East, 500 B.C. to A.D. 1500. Museum Tusculanum Press. pp. 1–351. ISBN 9788772892597.
- ISBN 978-0199875757. Archived from the originalon 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
- MacKenzie, D. N.; Chaumont, M. L. (1989). "ĀMĀRGAR". Encyclopaedia Iranica. pp. 925–926.
- Morony, M. (1986). "ʿARAB ii. Arab conquest of Iran". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 2. pp. 203–210.
- Morony, Michael (1989). "BEH-ARDAŠĪR". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 1. pp. 93–94.
- Planhol, Xavier de; Hourcade, Bernard (2014). "KERMAN ii. Historical Geography". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- 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.
- Zarrinkub, Abd al-Husain (1975). "The Arab conquest of Iran and its aftermath". The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–57. ISBN 978-0-521-20093-6.
- Schmitt, Rüdiger (1990). "CARMANIA". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 7. pp. 822–823.
- Elfenbein, J. (1988). "BALUCHISTAN iii. Baluchi Language and Literature". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 6. pp. 633–644.