Pars (Sasanian province)

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Pars
Pārs
Province of the
Muslim conquest
651
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Parthian Empire
Kings of Persis
Rashidun Caliphate
Today part ofIran

Pars (

Fars. The province bordered Khuzestan in the west, Kirman in the east, Spahan in the north, and Mazun
in the south.

Name

The Middle Persian name of "Pārs" is derived from Pārsā (𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿), the Old Persian of the region. The English name Persia and Greek name Persis derives from this region.[2][3]

Administrative divisions

Ardashir-Khwarrah

mowbed (chief priest) and andarzbad
(councilor) of Pars.

It formed the southwestern administrative division of Pars, and consisted of a mountainous countryside of the southern

Terbal, which was similar to a Buddhist stupa. Furthermore, there was also a fire-temple which the 10th-century Arab historian al-Masudi reportedly visited.[4]

Istakhr

Anahid fire-temple
was the "ideological heart of the empire." It was also the home town of the Sasanians.

Darabgerd

Darab did it") was a town founded during the Parthian era, and was turned into an administrative division by Ardashir I after he took conquered it.[5]

Shapur-Khwarrah

Shapur-Khwarrah (Middle Persian: Šāpuhr-Xwarra, meaning "glory of Shapur") was founded by the second Sasanian king Shapur I (r. 240-270).

Arrajan (Veh-az-Amid-Kavadh)

prisoners of war from Amid and Martyropolis
in the place.

History

Establishment

Ghal'eh Dokhtar (or "The Maiden's Castle") a castle built by Ardashir I in Gor

Ardashir I's conquest of Pars started from the early 200s and ended in ca. 223; the province was originally divided between several local rulers, who were vassals of the Parthian Empire. Ardashir's conquest began when he succeeded Tiri as the

Papak to revolt and kill Gochihr, the powerful ruler of Istakhr
; Papak successfully managed to do that, but appointed his other son Shapur as his heir, which enraged Ardashir and made him fortify himself in another place in Pars, where he later founded Gor.

Papak died a few years later, which gave Ardashir the opportunity to rebel against Shapur, who died in 211/2 after an accident. Ardashir spent the rest of the following years fighting other local rulers of Pars and its surroundings, such as the Parthian dynast

Artabanus V
.

Early history

During the childhood of Shapur II (r. 309–379), Arab nomads made several incursions into Pars, where they raided Gor and its surroundings.[7]

Coin of Peroz I minted in Pars

Late history

In the early 5th century, a bridge was built in Gor by the Sasanian minister (

Estakhri visited, who stated that the fire-temple had an inscription that stated 30,000 dirhams was spent for its construction.[9] Sometime before 540, a diocese was established in Gor.[4]

Muslim conquest

First Muslim invasion and the successful Sasanian counter-attack

The Muslim invasion of Pars first began in 638/9, when the Rashidun governor of

al-'Ala' ibn al-Hadrami, who after having defeated some rebellious Arab tribes, seized an island in the Persian Gulf.[10] Although al-'Ala' and the rest of the Arabs had been ordered to not invade Pars or its surrounding islands, he and his men continued their raids into the province. Al-'Ala quickly prepared an army which was divided into three groups, one under al-Jarud ibn Mu'alla, the second under al-Sawwar ibn Hammam and the third under Khulayd ibn al-Mundhir ibn Sawa. When the first group entered Pars, it was quickly defeated and al-Jarud was killed.[10]

The same thing soon happened to the second group. However, things proved to be more fortunate with the third group; Khulayd managed to keep them on bay, but was unable to withdraw back to Bahrain due to the Sasanians blocking his way at the sea.

Utbah ibn Ghazwan to send reinforcements to Khulayd. When the reinforcements arrived, Khulayd and some of his men managed successfully to withdraw back to Bahrain, while the rest withdrew to Basra.[10]

Second and last Muslim invasion

In ca. 643, Uthman ibn Abi al-As seized Bishapur, and made a peace treaty with the inhabitants of the city. In 19/644, al-'Ala' once again attacked Pars from Bahrain, reaching as far as Istakhr, until he was repelled by the governor (

Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate on 11 November, the inhabitants of Bishapur under the leadership of Shahrag's brother declared independence, but were defeated.[12] However the date for this revolt mains disputed, as the Persian historian al-Baladhuri states that it occurred in 646.[13]

In 648,

Siraf, while Yazdegerd III fled to Kirman.[11] Thus ended the Muslim conquest of Pars, however, the inhabitants of the province would later several times rebel against the Arabs.[11]

Religion

Irano-Roman floor mosaic detail from the palace of Shapur I at Bishapur.

The majority of Pars' inhabitants were Zoroastrians, which is confirmed by the linguistic and historical evidence found in the region, such as the burial practices found in the region and "that the Avesta was canonized on the basis of the tradition of Pars." A large Christian community also lived in Pars, due to the large deportation of inhabitants from the Roman Empire by Shapur I to the province.

Trade importance

See also

References

  1. ^ New Persian: پارس pronounced [ˈpʰɒːɾs]
  2. ^ Wiesehöfer 2001, pp. 1–2, 21.
  3. ^ Axworthy 2008, p. xiii.
  4. ^ a b Bosworth 1986, pp. 384–385.
  5. ^ Miri 2009, pp. 11–12.
  6. ^ Miri 2009, pp. 44–45.
  7. ^ Daryaee 2009.
  8. ^ Perikhanian 1983, pp. 661–662.
  9. ^ Daryaee 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d Daryaee 1986, pp. 8–9.
  11. ^ a b c Morony 1986, pp. 203–210.
  12. ^ a b Daryaee 1986, p. 12.
  13. ^ Daryaee 1986, p. 17.

Sources

Further reading

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