Sakastan (Sasanian province)
Sakastan Sagistān | |||||||||
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Province of the Sasanian Empire | |||||||||
c. 240–650/1 | |||||||||
Map of the southeastern provinces of the Sasanian Empire. | |||||||||
Capital | Zrang | ||||||||
Historical era | Late Antiquity | ||||||||
• Established | c. 240 | ||||||||
• Annexed by the Rashidun Caliphate | 650/1 | ||||||||
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Today part of | Afghanistan Iran |
Sakastan (also known as Sagestān, Sagistan, Seyanish, Segistan, Sistan, and Sijistan) was a
Etymology
The word "Sakastan" means "the land of the
History
The province was formed in ca. 240, during the reign of
Shapur's son Narseh was the first to be appointed as the governor of the province, which he would govern until 271, when the Sasanian prince Hormizd was appointed as the new governor.
Later in ca. 281, Hormizd revolted against his cousin Bahram II (r. 274–293). During the revolt, the people of Sakastan was one of his supporters. Nevertheless, Bahram II managed to suppress the revolt in 283, and appointed his son Bahram III as the governor of the province. During the early reign of Shapur II (r. 309-379), he appointed his brother Shapur Sakanshah as the governor of Sakastan. Peroz I (r. 459–484), during his early reign, put an end to dynastic rule in province by appointing a Karenid as its governor. The reason behind the appointment was to avoid further family conflict in the province, and in order to gain more direct control of the province.[4]
During the Muslim conquest of Persia, the last Sasanian king Yazdegerd III fled to Sakastan in the mid-640s, where its governor Aparviz (who was more or less independent), helped him. However, Yazdegerd III quickly lost this support when he demanded tax money that Aparviz had failed to pay.[5][6][7]
Arab conquest
In 650/1,
He then continued to seize more land in the province. He thereafter besieged Zrang, and after a heavy battle outside the city, Aparviz and his men surrendered. When Aparviz went to Rabi to discuss about the conditions of a treaty, he saw that he was using the bodies of two dead soldiers as a chair. This horrified Aparviz, who in order to spare the inhabitants of Sakastan from the Arabs, made peace with the Arabs in return for heavy tribute, which included a tribute of 1,000 slave boys bearing 1,000 golden vessels.[7][6] Sakastan was thus under the control of the Rashidun Caliphate.
Population and religion
During the
The inhabitants of Sakastan were mainly
House of Suren
The
Mint
Under Shapur II, a Sasanian mint was established in Sakastan (mint-mark: SKSTN, S, SK). From the first reign of Kavad I (r. 488–496) onwards, this mint was located at the provincial capital Zrang (mint-mark: ZR, ZRN, ZRNG).[12]
List of known governors
- Narseh (240–271)
- Bahram II (271-274)
- Hormizd of Sakastan (274–283)
- Bahram III (283–293)
- Shapur Sakanshah (early 4th-century)
- Hormizd III (???–457)
- Unnamed Karen aristocrat (459/60-???)
- Sukhra (???-484)
- Khosrau II)
- Rostam of Sakastan (early 7th-century)
- Aparviz of Sakastan (???–650/1)
References
- ^ Frye 1984, p. 193.
- ^ a b c Bosworth 1997, pp. 681–685.
- ^ Brunner 1983, p. 750.
- ^ a b Christensen 1993, p. 229.
- ^ Pourshariati 2008, p. 222.
- ^ a b Morony 1986, pp. 203–210.
- ^ a b c Zarrinkub 1975, p. 24.
- ^ Schmitt 1995, pp. 534–537.
- ^ Brunner 1983, pp. 326–336, 337–344.
- ^ Brunner 1983, p. 773.
- ^ Brunner 1983, p. 705.
- ^ Potts 2018, p. 1319.
Sources
- Greatrex, Geoffrey; Lieu, Samuel N. C. (2002). The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II, 363–630 AD). New York, New York and London, United Kingdom: Routledge (Taylor & Francis). ISBN 0-415-14687-9.
- 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.
- 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.
- Morony, M. (1986). "ʿARAB ii. Arab conquest of Iran". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 2. pp. 203–210.
- Potts, Daniel (2018). "Sagastan". In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.). ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8.
- 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.
- Shapur Shahbazi, A. (2005). "SASANIAN DYNASTY". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ISBN 9783406093975.
The history of ancient iran.
- Schmitt, R. (1995). "DRANGIANA". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 5. pp. 534–537.
- Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1997). "Sīstān". The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume IX: San–Sze. Leiden, and New York: BRILL. pp. 681–685. ISBN 9789004082656.
- Gazerani, Saghi (2015). The Sistani Cycle of Epics and Iran's National History: On the Margins of Historiography. BRILL. pp. 1–250. ISBN 9789004282964.
- Brunner, Christopher (1983). "Geographical and Administrative divisions: Settlements and Economy". In ISBN 0-521-24693-8.