Sistan
Sistān (Persian: سیستان), also known as Sakastān (Persian: سَكاستان "the land of the Saka") and Sijistan, is a historical region in present-day south-eastern Iran, south-western Afghanistan and north-western Pakistan.[2] Largely desert, the region is bisected by the Helmand River, the largest river in Afghanistan, which empties into the Hamun Lake that forms part of the border between Iran and Afghanistan.
Etymology
Sistan derives its name from Sakastan ("the land of the
In the Shahnameh, Sistan is also referred to as Zabulistan, after the region in the eastern part of present-day Afghanistan. In Ferdowsi's epic, Zabulistan is in turn described to be the homeland of the mythological hero Rostam.
History
Early history
In prehistoric times, the
Earlier the area was occupied by
Alexander's empire fragmented after his death, and Arachosia came under the control of the
After the mid 2nd century BC, much of the Indo-Greek Kingdom was overrun by tribes known as the Indo-Scythians or Saka, from which Sistan (from Sakastan) eventually derived its name.
Around 100 BC, the Indo-Scythians were defeated by Mithridates II of Parthia (r. c. 124–91 BCE) and the region of Sakastan was incorporated into the Parthian Empire.[6] Parthian governors such as Tanlismaidates ruled the land.[7]
The Parthian Empire then briefly lost the region to its
The
Sasanian era
The province was formed in ca. 240, during the reign of
During his early reign, Shapur II (r. 309–379) 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.[9]
Islamic conquest
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 ended this support when he demanded tax money that he had failed to pay.[10][11][12]
In 650,
One year later, Abd-Allah ibn Amir sent an army under
Caliphate rule
However, only two years later, the people of Zarang rebelled and defeated Rabi ibn Ziyad Harithi's lieutenant and Muslim garrison of the city. Abd-Allah ibn Amir then sent 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura to Sistan, where he managed to suppress the rebellion. Furthermore, he also defeated the
During the First Fitna (656–661), the people of Zarang rebelled and defeated the Muslim garrison of the city.[11] In 658, Yazdegerd III's son Peroz III reclaimed Sistan and established a kingdom there, known in Chinese sources as the "Persian Area Command".[14] However, in 663, he was forced to leave the region after suffering a defeat to newly established Umayyad Caliphate, who had succeeded the Rashiduns.[14]
Saffarid dynasty
Sistan became a province of the
A year later in 1003, Sistan revolted. In response, Mahmud brought an army to suppress the revolt. Mahmud's Hindu troops sacked the mosques and churches of
Nasrid dynasty
In 1029, Tadj al-Din I Abu l-Fadl Nasr founded the
Mihrabanid dynasty and its successors
In 1236,
Safavid rule lasted until 1717 except during Uzbek rule between 1524-1528 and 1578-1598 when the
The border was defined more precisely with the Second Sistan Boundary Commission (1903-1905) headed by Arthur Mac Mahon, who had a difficult task due to lack of natural boundaries. The part assigned Persia was included in the province of Balochistan (which took the name of Sistan and Baluchistan in 1986) being the capital Zahedan. In Afghanistan it was part of the Sistan province of Farah-Chakansur that was abolished in the administrative reorganization of 1964 to form the province of Nimruz, with capital Zaranj.[citation needed]
Significance for Zoroastrians
Sistan has a very strong connection with
Archaeology
The most famous archaeological sites in Sistan are
See also
References
- ^ UNESCO. Asbads (windmill) of Iran.
- ISBN 978-3-11-021558-8.
- ^ Frye 1984, p. 193.
- ^ a b Bosworth 1997, pp. 681–685.
- ^ Brunner 1983, p. 750.
- ^ Bivar 1983, pp. 40–41, Katouzian 2009, p. 42
- ^ Rezakhani 2017, p. 32.
- ISBN 978-0-85773-308-5.
- ^ a b Christensen 1993, p. 229.
- ^ Pourshariati 2008, p. 222.
- ^ a b c Morony 1986, pp. 203–210.
- ^ a b c d Zarrinkub 1975, p. 24.
- ^ Marshak & Negmatov 1996, p. 449.
- ^ a b Daryaee 2009, p. 37.
- ^ C.E. Bosworth, The Ghaznavids 994-1040, (Edinburgh University Press, 1963), 89.
- ^ Prakash, Buddha (1971). Evolution of Heroic Tradition in Ancient Panjab. Punjabi University. p. 147.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0857716668.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bosworth, C. E. (2011). "SISTĀN ii. In the Islamic period". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- Barthold, W. (1986). "ʿAmr b. al-Layth". The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume I: A–B. Leiden and New York: BRILL. pp. 452–453. ISBN 90-04-08114-3.
- ISBN 9780521200936.
- ISBN 0-521-20093-8.
- Benseval, R. and H.-P. Francfort (1994), “The Nad-i Ali ‘Surkh Dagh’: A Bronze Age Monumental Platform in Central Asia.” In From Sumer to Meluhha: Contributions to the Archaeology of South and West Asia in Memory of George F. Dales, Jr. Ed. J.M. Kenoyer. (Madison: Wisconsin Archaeological Reports 4)
- Bivar, A.D.H. (1983). "The Political History of Iran Under the Arsacids". In ISBN 0-521-20092-X..
- Katouzian, Homa (2009), The Persians: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Iran, New Haven & London: ISBN 978-0-300-12118-6.
- Marshak, B.I.; Negmatov, N.N. (1996). "Sogdiana". In B.A. Litvinsky, Zhang Guang-da and R. Shabani Samghabadi (ed.). History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume III: The Crossroads of Civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. UNESCO. ISBN 92-3-103211-9.
- 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.
Further reading
- Gnoli, Gherardo (1967). Ricerche storiche sul Sīstān antico [Historical research on the ancient Sīstān]. Centro Studi e Scavi Archeologici in Asia Roma: Reports and memoirs (in Italian). ISBN 978-88-6323-123-6.