The Persian Empire
Page 107
7. THE KINGS OF ELYMAIS
Kamnaskires I Soter (147 BCE)
Kamnaskires II Nicephorus (145–139 BCE)
Okkonapses (139 BCE)
Tigraios (138/137–133/132 BCE)
Kamnaskires III (82/81–75 BCE)
Kamnaskires IV (62/61 or 59/58–56/55 BCE)
Kamnaskires V and successors (36/35 BCE)
Orodes I (second half of first century CE)
Phraates (end of first century CE and beginning of second century CE)
Orodes II (first half of second century CE)
Kamnaskires-Orodes III (second half of second century CE)
Osroes (?) (second century CE)
Source: Josef Wiesehöfer, Ancient Persia, translated by Azizeh Azodi (London: I. B. Tauris, 2001), 318.
8. THE KINGS OF PERSIS
Baydad (end of third century and beginning of second century BCE)
Ardashir I (first half of second century BCE)
Vahbarz (first half of second century BCE)
Vadfradad I (mid-second century BCE)
Vadfradad II (ca. 140)
Unknown king (second half of second century BCE)
Darev I (end of second century BCE)
Vadfradad III (first half of first century BCE)
Darev II (first century CE)
Ardashir II (second half of first century CE)
Vahshir (second half of first century CE)
Pakor I (first half of first century CE)
Pakor II (first half of first century CE)
Nambed (mid-first century CE)
Napad (second half of first century CE)
Unknown king III (end of first century CE)
Vadfradad IV (first half of second century CE)
Manchihr I (first half of second century CE)
Ardashir III (first half of second century CE)
Manchihr II (mid-second century CE)
Unknown king (second half of second century CE)
Manchihr III (second half of second century CE)
Ardashir IV (end of second century CE)
Shapur (beginning of third century CE)
Source: Joseph Wiesehöfer, Ancient Persia. Translated by Azizeh Azodi. London: I. B. Tauris, 2001, 319.
9. THE SASANIANS (224–651 CE)
Ardashir I (224–239/240/241/242 CE)
Shapur I (239/240/241/242–270/272 CE)
Hormozd I (270/272–273 CE)
Bahram I (273–276 CE)
Bahram II (276–293 CE)
Bahram III (293 CE)
Narseh (293–302 CE)
Hormozd II (302–309 CE)
Shapur II (309–379 CE)
Ardashir II (379–383 CE)
Shapur III (383–388 CE)
Bahram IV (388–399 CE)
Yazdegerd I (399–421 CE)
Bahram V Gor (421–439 CE)
Yazdegerd II (439–457 CE)
Hormozd III (457–459 CE)
Peroz (459–484 CE)
Balash (Valakhsh) (484–488 CE)
Kavad I (488–496 CE)
Jamasp/Zamasp (496–498 CE)
Kavad I (499–531 CE)
Khosrow I Anushiravan (531–579 CE)
Hormozd IV (579–590 CE)
Bahram VI Chobin (590–591 CE)
Khosrow II Parvez (590–628 CE)
Kavad II Shiruya (628 CE)
Ardashir III (628–630 CE)
Shahrbaraz (630 CE)
Khosrow III (630 CE)
Boran (Puran) (630–631 CE)
Azarmidokht (631 CE)
Hormozd V (631–632 CE)
Khosrow IV (631–633 CE)
Yazdegerd III (633–651 CE)
10. THE KUSHANO-SASANIANS (233–370 CE)
Ardashir I Kushanshah (233–246 CE)
Ardashir II Kushanshah (233–246 CE)
Peroz I Kushanshah (246–285 CE)
Hormozd I Kushanshah (285–300 CE)
Hormozd II Kushanshah (300/302–309 CE)
Peroz II Kushanshah (309–335 CE)
Bahram (335–360/370 CE)
GLOSSARY OF SELECTED TERMS
āb: Water.
abākhtar spahbad (spahbed): Chief of the army of the north, a position created during the reign of the Sasanian monarch Khosrow I Anushiravan.
ābān: Waters, plural of Ab (Water), the name of a Zoroastrian month (Month of Waters).
Abānagān: A Zoroastrian feast dedicated to veneration of waters.
Ābān Niyāyesh: Zoroastrian hymn to water.
Ābān Yasht: The hymn in the Avesta dedicated to waters but in fact to the deity of water, Aredvi Sura Anahita.
Abarkāvān: Name of the present-day Iranian island of Qeshm during the Sasanian era.
Abar Shahr (Nēv Shapur): A district as well as a city in the northeastern Iranian province of Khorasan.
abarvez (parvez): Victorious, the title of the Sasanian king of kings Khosrow II.
Abna: Descendants of the Persians in Yemen.
Achaemenes: According to Darius I, the ancestor of the Achaemenid royal house whose name appears as Hakhamanish in Old Persian.
Achaemenids: The Iranian dynasty founded by Cyrus II the Great (r. 559/558–530 BCE), which ruled from 550 to 330 BCE.
adur: Fire (New Persian: azar).
Adur Borzen Mihr (New Persian: Azar Borzin Mehr): Fire of Borzen Mihr, one of the three sacred fires of Sasanian Iran, designated as the fire of the third estate or the laboring classes, which included peasant farmers and artisans.
Adur Farnbag (New Persian: Azar Farnbagh): Fire of Farnbag, one of the three sacred fires of Sasanian Iran designated as the fire of the first estate, or the priests.
Adur Gushnasp (New Persian: Azar-e Goshnasp): Fire of Gushnasp, one of the three sacred fires of Sasanian Iran designated as the fire of warriors.
Afrāsiyāb: The legendary Turanian king who fought Iran for 200 years beginning with the reign of Manuchehr and ending with the reign of Kay Khosrow.
afrin: Blessing, benediction, specific prayers of blessing in Zoroastrianism.
Ahriman: The evil spirit in Zoroastrianism.
Ahurā Mazdā (Middle Persian: Ohrmazd): The wise lord or lord of wisdom was the supreme god of ancient Iran as well as the uncreated god of Zoroastrianism, the creator of the universe and everything that is good and beautiful.
Airyanem Vaejāh (Ērānvēj): “The Aryan/Iranian Expanse,” the ancient home of the Aryans and the Avestan people.
Alborz/Alburz: A mountain range in northern Iran.
Ameretat (New Persian: Amordad, Mordad): One of the six holy immortals in Zoroastrianism associated with immortality, which acts as the protector of plants. It appears as Amordad or Mordad, the fifth month of the year in the Iranian calendar.
Amesha Spentas: Holy and beneficent immortals created by the god Ahura Mazda to assist him with the act of creation.
Amu Darya: Persian name for the Oxus River.
Anāhid-Ardashir: Temple in Istakhr (Estakhr) in Fars province in southern Iran.
Anāhitā (Anāhid, Nāhid): Iranian goddess of the waters.
Andarz: Collection of advice or moral instruction.
Angra Mainyu: The evil spirit in Zoroastrianism.
Aniran: Non-Iran, non-Iranians.
anjoman: Association.
Antiochus: Name of several kings of the Seleucid dynasty.
Anushirvan (Middle Persian: Anøshiravan): “Eternal Soul,” the title of the Sasanian monarch Khosrow I.
Anxi/Anshi: Chinese name for Parthia.
Aparni (Parni): A Scythian group within the Dahae confederacy whose members lived along the Ochus. Arsaces (Arshak), founder of the Arsacid (Parthian) state, hailed from the Parni who invaded and captured Parthia.
Arbela: City of Irbil in present-day northern Iraq.
Ardashir/Ardeshir: The name of several Achaemenid and Sasanian kings that appears as Artakhshacha in Old Persian, Ardakhshir in Middle Persian, and Artaxerxes in Greek.
Ardavan/Ardawan: The name of several A
rsacid kings that appears as Artabanus in the writings of the Greek and Roman authors.
Arda Viraf: A Zoroastrian priest of the Sasanian era who wrote a book in Pahlavi that describes his vision of heaven and hell.
Ardvahisht: See Asha Vahishta.
Aredvi Sura Anahita: Strong Immaculate Anahita, goddess of waters.
argbed: Fortress commander during the Sasanian period.
Aria (Old Persian: Haraiva): An Iranian province in the Achaemenid Empire corresponding with present-day northwestern Afghanistan.
Ariyaramnes (Old Persian: Ariyaramna): The great-grandfather of the Achaemenid king Darius I.
Arman Shah: King of Armenia.
Arsacids: Also known as the Parthians, an Iranian royal house founded by Arshak (Arsaces) in 247 BCE, ruling a vast and powerful empire until 224 CE.
Arsames (Old Persian: Arshama): Grandfather of the Achaemenid king Darius I.
Arshak (Arsaces): Founder of the Arsacid (Parthian) dynasty.
Artabanus (Ardavan): Name of several kings of the Arsacid (Parthian) dynasty.
Artaxerxes (Old Persian: Artakhshacha): The name of several kings of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty.
arteshtār: Warrior in Middle Persian.
arteshtārān: Warriors, estate of warriors, members of the army, members of the second estate.
arteshtārān salar: Head of the estate of warriors.
Aryan: Noble, Iranian.
arzbad/arzbed: Chief of the royal harem.
asabarā: Horseman, Persian cavalry, during the Achaemenid period.
ashā: Truth and justice as upheld by Ahura Mazda.
Ashā Vahishtā (Middle Persian: Ardvahisht): One of the six holy immortals associated with best truth/order/righteousness, which acts as the protector of fire. In New Persian it appears as Ordibehesht, the second month of the year in the Iranian calendar.
Astvihad: A demon of death in Zoroastrianism.
Astyages: According to Herodotus, the last king of the Median Empire.
Asura: Hindu god and the Indian counterpart of Ahura Mazda in the Hindu sacred hymns of the Rig Veda.
asvār/aswār: Cavalry, knight, in Middle Persian.
asvārān sālār/aswārān sālār: Commander of the cavalry.
ātash bahrām: Victorious fire, the highest grade of consecrated fire.
ātashkadeh: Zoroastrian fire temple.
athravān/asravān: Priest, clergyman, a member of the priestly caste.
Avesta: The holy book of Zoroastrianism.
Āz: Demon of greed.
āzādān/āzātān: Free, noble, noble estate.
Azhi Dahāka: A three-headed six-mouthed monster in the Avesta who appears as the tyrannical king Dahak or Zahhak in the legendary history of Greater Iran.
Bactria (Old Persian: Bakhtrish): Iranian province corresponding with present-day northern Afghanistan.
baga: A word for “god.” Also, Old Persian for lands given in fief during the Achaemenid period.
Bahman: A hero and a king of the legendary Kayanian dynasty of Greater Iran, son of Prince Esfandiyar and the grandson of King Goshtasp (Vishtaspa).
Bahram/Wahram/Wahran: “Victory,” name of a yazad, name of the 20th day of the month in the Zoroastrian calendar, and the name of several kings of the Sasanian dynasty.
baj: Tribute paid to the Persian kings during the Achaemenid period.
Bakhtrish: Called Bactria by Greek and Roman sources, an Iranian-populated region corresponding with present-day northern Afghanistan.
bandag/bandak: Slave.
Bardiya: The second son of Cyrus II the Great.
barsom: A bundle of sacred twigs or grass tied together with a date-palm cord, held by a priest during religious ceremonies.
bazm: Feast, royal banquet.
bidakhshan: Viceroys.
Bishapur: A Sasanian city in the Fars province of Iran.
Boran/Puran: A daughter of Khosrow II, Boran/Puran was the queen and the ruler of the Sasanian dynasty from 630 to 631 CE.
Bundahishn/Bundahish: Translated as “Primal Creation,” a ninth-century Zoroastrian religious book written in Pahlavi.
Būshyāstā/Bushyast: The demon of stupor, lethargy, and sleepiness in Zoroastrianism.
Cambyses I (Old Persian: Kambujiya): The king of Anshan and the father of Cyrus II the Great.
Cambyses II: The son of Cyrus the Great who ruled the Achaemenid Empire from 530 to 522 BCE.
Chao Chast: A mythical lake in Zoroastrianism.
chiliarchs: Commander of 1,000 during the reign of the Achaemenid dynasty.
Chinavat/Chinvat/Chinwad: A bridge that, according to Zoroastrian teachings, souls of the dead cross and where they are judged.
Chobin (New Persian: Chubin): Meaning “javelin,” the title of the Sasanian commander, Bahram, who seized the throne and ruled for a short time as Bahram VI.
Chorasmia (Old Persian: Uvārazmīy): Iranian-populated province on the lower reaches of the Oxus River (Amu Darya) south of the Aral Sea.
Ctesiphon: The capital of the Arsacid and Sasanian dynasties in present-day southern Iraq near Baghdad.
dādvarān: Judges during the Sasanian rule.
daēnā: The word for “religion.” In the Gathas, the term meant “the good vision.”
daeva/dev: Evil beings.
Dahāe (Daāe): A Scythian group from which the Parni or Aparni and eventually the Arsacid (Parthian) dynasty hailed.
Dahāk: Appears as the monster Azhi Dahaka in the Avesta and as the tyrant Zahhak in the legendary history of Iran.
dahyu: Meaning “people” or “nation” in Old Persian and used by Darius I in his inscription.
Daitya: A sacred river in Airyanem Vaejāh or Ērānvēj, the “Iranian expanse” and the ancient home of the Aryans.
Dakhmā: Also known as the Tower of Silence, a towerlike structure on which dead bodies were exposed to be devoured by wild birds.
Damāvand: The best-known mountain peak in the Alborz mountain range of northern Iran.
Dānu: A Scythian group living along the Jaxartes River (Syr Darya).
Dārayavaush: “Darius,” the Old Persian name of several kings of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty.
daric: Gold coin of Darius used during the Achaemenid period.
Darius (Old Persian: Dārayavaush): The name of several kings of the Achaemenid dynasty.
dashna: Gift paid to the Persian king during the Achaemenid period.
dastur: A high Zoroastrian priest.
dāvar: A judge.
Demetrius: The name of two kings of the Seleucid Empire.
Dēnkard: A ninth-century Pahlavi text that provides a survey of Zoroastrian teachings.
Dhu al-Aktaf: Meaning “the one who pierces shoulders,” the Arabic title for the Sasanian monarch Shapur II.
dibir/dipir: Scribe, secretary, a member of the bureaucracy during the Sasanian period.
dibiran/dipiran: Scribes, secretaries, members of the bureaucracy during the Sasanian era.
dibirbad/dibirbed/dipirbed: Chief scribe.
dibir wuzurg: Great scribe.
dihgān/dihqān: Class of landed magnates in the late Sasanian period.
Din Dabireh: Avestan alphabet, name of the traditional script used for writing the Avesta.
dizbed/dizbad: Fortress commander.
dozakh: Hell.
druj: Lie or untruth in Zoroastrianism, demon of the lie, embodiment of evil.
Dugdov: Mother of Zoroaster.
Ecbatana (Old Persian: Hagmatana): Summer capital of the Achaemenid and Arsacid dynasties, in present-day Hamedan (Hamadan) in western Iran.
Ērān dibirbad: Chief secretary of Iran.
Ērān drustbad: Chief physician of Iran.
Ērānshahr: Iran.
Ērān spahbad/spahbed: Commander in chief of Iran.
Esfandiyār: A son and crown prince of King Vishtaspa/Goshtasp, the patron of Zoroaster (Zarathustra), and a hero in Zoroastrianism and the legendary history of Greater Iran.
Farang
is: Daughter of Afrasiyab, the king of Turan, wife of Siyavash, and the mother of Kay Khosrow, in the legendary history of Greater Iran.
Fars (Parsa, Persis): A province in southern Iran, the birthplace of the Achaemenid and Sasanian dynasties.
Farsi: Persian.
Farvardin: Name of the first month as well as the name of the 19th day of the month.
Ferdowsi: The greatest epic poet of Greater Iran and the author of Shahnameh (Book of Kings).
Frahāta: Name of several kings of the Arsacid (Parthian) dynasty that appears as Phraates in the writings of Greek and Roman authors. New Persian: Farhād.
framadār: A steward of royal property during the Sasanian period.
Franghrasyān: A villain in the Avesta who appears as Afrasiyab, the king of Turan, in the legendary history of Greater Iran.
fratarakā: Governor, the title of the rulers in Parsa (Persis) during the Seleucid era and the early Arsacid period.
Fravardigan: A 10-day all-souls festival at the end of the year immediately prior to the celebration of the Persian New Year, Nowruz.
fravashi: Soul of a dead person as well as the inner power in every being that maintains it.
gahanbars: The high festivals or the six major seasonal festivals of Zoroastrianism.
gah namak: Charter of ranks.
Garsivaz: Brother of Afrasiyab, the legendary king of Turan.
Gathas: Sacred hymns or poems of the Iranian prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster) and the oldest section of the Avesta, the Zoroastrian holy scripture.
Gaumata: According to the inscription of Darius I at Bisotun, a pretender to the throne who claimed to be Bardiya, the second son of Cyrus II the Great.
Gaya Maretan/Gayomard: “Mortal Life,” the mythical first man in the Avesta and the first man as well as the first king in the legendary history of Greater Iran. His name appears as Kayumars and Kiyumars in New Persian.
Gondi Shāpur: A major Sasanian urban center with an important medical center located in Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran.
gor (New Persian: gur): Onager, the title of the Sasanian king Bahram V.
Goshtasp (Old Persian: Vishtaspa): King of the legendary Kayanian dynasty, the first king to convert to Zoroastrianism, son of King Lohrasp, and the father of Prince Esfandiyar, one of the greatest heroes of Iran’s legendary history.
Gotarzes (Middle Persian: Godarz): Name of several kings of the Arsacid (Parthian) dynasty, as well as a hero in the legendary history of Greater Iran.
Greater Iran: The Iranian populated regions, which in ancient times incorporated parts of Central Asia, the Caucasus, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and present-day Afghanistan and Iran.