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  Copyright © 2016 by ABC-CLIO, LLC

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Kia, Mehrdad, author.

  Title: The Persian empire : a historical encyclopedia / Mehrdad Kia.

  Description: Santa Barbara : ABC-CLIO, 2016. | Series: Empires of the world | Includes bibliographical references and index.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015039283 | ISBN 9781610693905 (hardback) | ISBN 9781610693912 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440845680 (vol 1) | ISBN 9781440845697 (vol 2)

  Subjects: LCSH: Iran—History—To 640—Encyclopedias. | Iran—Civilization—To 640—Encyclopedias. | BISAC: HISTORY / Europe / Eastern.

  Classification: LCC DS275 .K53 2016 | DDC 935/.7003—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015039283

  ISBN: 978-1-61069-390-5 (set)

  978-1-4408-4568-0 (vol. 1)

  978-1-4408-4569-7 (vol. 2)

  EISBN: 978-1-61069-391-2

  20 19 18 17 16 1 2 3 4 5

  This book is also available as an eBook.

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  This book is printed on acid-free paper

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Every reasonable effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright materials in this book, but in some instances this has proven impossible. The editors and publishers will be glad to receive information leading to more complete acknowledgments in subsequent printings of the book and in the meantime extend their apologies for any omissions.

  For my mother, Kiadokht Kia

  CONTENTS

  VOLUME 1

  Preface

  Introduction

  Chronology of Ancient Iran

  Ancient Cities, Historical Places, and Archaeological Sites

  Overview Essay

  Asaac

  Bibi Shahrbanu

  Bishapur

  Bisotun Inscription

  Bokhara

  Dura Europos

  Ecbatana

  Ganj Nameh

  Ka’ba of Zoroaster

  Kangavar and the Temple of Anahita (Anahid)

  Kuh-e Khwaja (Mount of Khwaja)

  Naqsh-e Rajab

  Naqsh-e Rostam

  Nisa

  Oxus Treasure

  Panjkand

  Pasargadae

  Persepolis

  Ray

  Samarqand

  Sar Mashhad

  Taq-e Bostan

  Ancient Provinces and Geographical Regions

  Overview Essay

  Abar Shahr

  Abarkavan

  Adiabene

  Alborz

  Anshan

  Arachosia

  Aria

  Azerbaijan

  Bactria

  Chorasmia

  Elymais

  Fars (Parsa, Persis)

  Hyrcania

  Parthia

  Sogdiana

  Transoxiana

  Cultures, Calendars, and Festivals

  Overview Essay

  Ab, Aban, Aban Mah

  Aparni

  Bahmanjaneh

  Chaharshanbeh Suri

  Education

  Iranian Cuisine

  Iranian Languages

  Iranian Months

  Middle Persian

  Nowruz

  Old Persian

  Parthian

  Persian Gardens

  Sadeh

  Saffron

  Sports

  Kings and Queens of the Achaemenid Dynasty

  Overview Essay

  Achaemenes

  Arsames

  Arses

  Artaxerxes I

  Artaxerxes II

  Artaxerxes III

  Cambyses I

  Cambyses II

  Cyrus II the Great

  Cyrus the Younger

  Darius I

  Darius II

  Darius III

  Sogdianos

  Teispes

  Vishtaspa (Father of Darius I)

  Xerxes I

  Xerxes II

  Kings and Queens of the Arsacid/Parthian Dynasty

  Overview Essay

  Arsaces I

  Arsaces II

  Artabanus I

  Artabanus II

  Artabanus III

  Artabanus IV

  Gotarzes I

  Gotarzes II

  Mithridates I

  Mithridates II

  Mithridates III

  Orodes I

  Orodes II

  Orodes III

  Pacorus

  Phraates I

  Phraates II

  Phraates III

  Phraates IV

  Phraates V

  Priapatius

  Sinatruces

  Vologeses I

  Vologeses II

  Vologeses III

  Vologeses IV

  Vologeses V

  Vologeses VI

  Vonones I

  Kings and Queens of the Median Dynasty

  Overview Essay

  Astyages

  Cyaxares/Huvakhshtra

  Deioces

  Mandane

  Phraortes

  Kings and Queens of the Sasanian Dynasty

  Overview Essay

  Ardashir I

  Ardashir II

  Ardashir III

  Azarmidokht

  Babak

  Bahram I, Bahram II, Bahram III

  Bahram IV

  Bahram V

  Bahram VI Chobin

  Balash

  Boran (Puran)

  Hormozd I

  Hormozd II

  Hormozd III

  Hormozd IV

  Jamasp

  Kavad I

  Kavad II Shiruya

  Khosrow I Anushiravan

  Khosrow II Parvez

  Narseh

  Peroz

  Shapur I

  Shapur II

  Shapur III

  Yazdegerd I

  Yazdegerd II

  Yazdegerd III

  Kings and Queens of the Seleucid Dynasty

  Overview Essay

  Alexander Balas

  Antiochus I Soter

  Antiochus II Theos

  Antiochus III

  Antiochus IV Epiphanes

  Antiochus V Eupator

  Antiochus VII Sidetes

  Apame/Apama

  Demetrius I Soter

  Demetrius II Nicator

  Seleucus I Nicator

  Seleucus II Callinicus

  Seleucus III Soter

  Seleucus IV Philopator

  Index

  VOLUME 2

  Legendary Kings, Heroes, and Villains

  Overview Essay

  Afrasiyab

  Arash

  Bahman

  Esfandiyar

  Faramarz

  Faranak

  Farangis

  Fereydun

  Gayomard

  Gēv

  Goshtasp

  Hushang

  Iraj

  Jamshid

  Katayun

  Kaveh

  Kay Kavus

  Kay Khosrow

  Kay Qobad

  Lohrasp

  Manuchehr

  Pishdadian

  Rostam

  Simorgh
>
  Siyavash

  Tahmures

  Zab/Zav

  Zahhak

  Zal

  Peoples, Empires, Administrations, and Military Organizations

  Overview Essay

  Achaemenid Army

  Achaemenid Empire

  Administration

  Alans

  Alexander of Macedon (the Great)

  Ariobarzanes

  Arsacid Army

  Arsacid (Parthian) Empire

  Arsacids

  Bessus

  Hephthalites

  Iranian Society and Power Structure (Arsacids/Parthians and Sasanians)

  Kushan Empire

  Media, Medes, and the Median Empire

  Parthian Stations

  Royal Road

  Sasanian Empire

  Scythians

  Seleucids

  Shahrestanha-ye Eranshahr

  Spitaman

  Prophets, Poets, Scientists, Historians, and Artists

  Overview Essay

  Agathias

  Barbad

  Borzuye

  Ctesias of Knidos

  Cyropaedia

  Ferdowsi

  Herodotus

  Kartir

  Mani

  Mazdak

  Xenophon

  Zarathustra (Zoroaster)

  Religion, Religious Beliefs, and Gods and Goddesses

  Overview Essay

  Adur

  Aeshma

  Ahriman

  Ahura Mazda

  Airyanem Vaejah

  Ameretat

  Amesha Spentas

  Anahita

  Asha and Asha Vahishta

  Ashi Vanguhi

  Astvihad

  Avesta

  Bahram

  Bushyasta

  Fravashis and Fravardigan

  Gathas

  Haoma

  Haurvatat

  Khshathra Vairya

  Khvarnah

  Magi

  Mithra

  Sacred Birds

  Saoshyant

  Spenta Armaiti

  Tishtrya

  Vayu

  Vendidad

  Vohu Manah

  Yazatas

  Zurvan

  Primary Documents

  1.The Gathas of Zarathustra from the Zoroastrian Avesta

  2.The Lands of the Ancient Iranians from the Avesta

  3.Veneration of Natural Forces: Hymn to the River Goddess Aredvi Sura Anahita

  4.Hymn to the Shining Sun

  5.Excerpt from Plutarch’s “Isis and Osiris” Describing the Teachings of Zarathustra

  6.Description of the Rise of Media during the Reign of King Cyaxares from Herodotus’s Histories

  7.Description from the Babylonian Chronicles of the Conquest of the Assyrian Capital, Nineveh, by the Medes and Babylonians

  8.A Neo-Babylonian Inscription Describing the Conquest of Babylon by Cyrus II the Great

  9.Excerpts from the Cyrus Cylinder Discovered in Babylon in 1879

  10.Cyrus II the Great in the Old Testament: Passages from the Books of Ezra and Isaiah

  11.Inscription of Darius I at Bisotun

  12.Inscription of Darius I at Naqsh-e Rostam

  13.Descriptions of the Administrative Structure of the Persian Achaemenid Empire from Xenophon’s Oeconomicus and Herodotus’s Histories

  14.Persian Engineering: Description of the Construction of the Royal Road from Herodotus’s Histories and of the Suez Canal from an Inscription of Darius I

  15.Inscription of Darius I at Susa

  16.Inscriptions of Xerxes at Persepolis

  17.Religion of the Achaemenid Kings from an Inscription of Artaxerxes II

  18.Plutarch’s Account of the Battle of Cunaxa between Artaxerxes II and Cyrus the Younger

  19.An Account from Quintus Curtius Rufus’s History of Alexander of the King and the Persian Army on the March

  20.Excerpts from Various Writers Describing the Women of the Achaemenid Royal House

  21.Excerpts from Various Writers Describing Iranian Customs and Practices

  22.Persian Menu and an Excerpt Relating to Persian Dining

  23.Parthia and the Rise of the Arsacid (Parthian) Dynasty According to Classical Sources

  24.Personality and Campaigns of the Arsacid King Mithridates I in Western Sources

  25.Diodorus Siculus’s Account of the Victory of Arsacid King Phraates II over the Seleucid King Antiochus VII

  26.Two Accounts of the Parthian Empire

  27.Excerpt from Parthian Stations by Isidore of Charax

  28.Plutarch’s Account of the Battle of Carrhae between the Romans Commanded by Crassus and the Parthians Commanded by Surena (Suren)

  29.Parthia, Rome, and Armenia: An Excerpt from Tacitus’s Annals of Imperial Rome

  30.Parthian Identity and Customs: An Excerpt from Tacitus’s Annals of Imperial Rome

  31.The Fall of the Arsacid (Parthian) Empire and the Rise of the Sasanian Dynasty in Cassius Dio’s Roman History

  32.Rise of the Sasanian Dynasty under Ardashir I and the Onset of the Persian-Roman Wars: An Excerpt from Herodian’s History of the Roman Empire

  33.Excerpt from Nameh-ye Tansar [Letter of Tansar]

  34.Inscription of the Zoroastrian High Priest Kartir at Naqsh-e Rostam on the Ka’ba-ye Zardosht (Ka’ba of Zoroaster)

  35.Descriptions of Shapur II as a Leader and a Diplomat

  36.The Reign of Khosrow Anushiravan (531–579 CE): Excerpts from The History of Tabari

  37.Superpower Diplomacy on the Silk Road: Sogdian Merchants and the Sasanian, Byzantine, and Turk Empires in Menander’s History of Menander the Guardsman

  38.Bahram Chobin: An Excerpt from The History of Theophylact Simocatta

  Appendix: Dynasties of Pre-Islamic Greater Iran

  Glossary of Selected Terms

  Selected Bibliography

  About the Author

  Index

  PREFACE

  The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia is primarily focused on the great dynasties of pre-Islamic Iran, namely the Medes, the Achaemenids, the Seleucids, the Arsacids (Parthians), and the Sasanians. Also included are entries on the legendary royal houses of Greater Iran, specifically the Pishdadian and the Kayanian dynasties, as well as on the important personages who served and fought for them. Throughout this two-volume encyclopedia, the terms “Iran” and “Greater Iran” are used as equivalent to the term “Persia” to refer to the ancient culture and society that produced the Median, Achaemenid, Arsacid, and Sasanian Empires. The reason for this is simple. In antiquity as today, the term “Persia” merely referred to a province within Greater Iran, namely the southern Iranian province of Parsa (Persis in Greek) and not the entire Iranian world, which contained a variety of Iranian- and non-Iranian-speaking peoples. Persians were one group among numerous Iranian groups, which included the non-Persian-speaking Medes, Parthians, Chorasmians, Bactrians, Sogdians, Scythians, and many others. These groups were Iranian by culture, and language, but they were not Persian. Thus, the word “Persia” is not equivalent to the word “Iran” but only refers to a province and a subculture within the Iranian universe. Two of Greater Iran’s ancient dynasties—the Medes and the Arsacids—were Iranian but not Persian, while the Achaemenids and the Sasanians were Persian in their origin and language.

  It is important to note that when speaking of Iran we are not referring to the present-day country of Iran. In ancient times, Iran constituted a vast political and cultural domain, and Iranian-speaking people inhabited a much larger territory. Present-day Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Azerbaijan as well as parts of Mesopotamia and Asia Minor served as the home for this rich civilization and culture. In other words, the Greater Iran of ancient times incorporated modern Iran but was not confined to it.

  All of the Iranian empires of the pre-Islamic era contained a mosaic of ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. Each group possessed its own history,
culture, language, religious customs, and traditions. The Iranian groups included the Persians, the Medes, the Parthians, the Hyrcanians, the Arians, the Chorasmians, the Sogdians, the Bactrians, the Arachosians, the Drangians, and others, while non-Iranian groups included Armenians, Assyrians, Arabs, Greeks, Jews, Babylonians, and others. No account of ancient Iran can therefore claim to be comprehensive unless it covers the history and cultures of all peoples and communities who contributed to the diversity, growth, and prosperity of Greater Iran’s pre-Islamic empires. The present volumes make no pretense of providing a thorough and all-inclusive synopsis of ancient Iran’s history and culture. Far from it, this encyclopedia, comprising 241 individual entries, is designed as an introductory outline, providing high school and college students as well as general readers who might not have prior knowledge or expertise on the subject with a broad overview and a general understanding of some of the main ideas, religious concepts, personages, and events in the rich history of ancient Iran.

  The Persian Empire is designed as a research tool dedicated to the study of the pre-Islamic civilization of Greater Iran. Because no other encyclopedia of ancient Iran has been written for the exclusive use of high school and university undergraduate students, this reference source will fill a significant gap presently encountered by those who plan to study or research the history of the ancient Near East. The Persian Empire will benefit not only high school and university students but also the general reader interested in Iranian life and culture. Now more than ever, it is critical for us to understand the history of this ancient civilization and teach our students its place and role in world history. This encyclopedia will therefore provide a timely resource for understanding the history and culture of the Iranian-speaking peoples. The geographical focus of this encyclopedia will be limited to regions that were populated by ancient Iranians in antiquity as well as to countries and territories ruled by the empires of the Medes, Achaemenids, Seleucids, Arsacids (Parthians), and Sasanians. The time span covered extends from the arrival of ancient Iranians on the Eurasian steppes and the Iranian plateau in antiquity to the fall of the Sasanian Empire in 651 CE. The text has been supplemented with photographs, maps, and cross-references as well as a chronology of major events, a glossary, a bibliography of print and electronic resources suitable for both university undergraduate and high school student research, a selection of primary document excerpts, an appendix listing the dynasties of pre-Islamic Iran, and a detailed subject index, making this encyclopedia a useful addition to existing reference collections.

  INTRODUCTION

  The Persian Empire, compared with what preceded it, was a miracle. It brought peace, … from outside attack. … It brought justice; though the famously just Royal Judges make no appearance in our book. … It brought prosperity, for the Persians devoted themselves (as Xenophon in the Oeconomicus stresses) to the improvement of agriculture. The Persians were the great gardeners of antiquity. Cyrus [the Younger] declared to an astounded Lysander that he gardened daily when not on campaign and had himself laid out a park at Sardis, his “paradise” (to give the Greek version of the Old Persian word for a garden, firdu). In similar spirit they attended to agriculture in general, both maintaining carefully the ancient canals of Babylonia … and making improvements in irrigation throughout the empire, as the prophet of Isaiah XL–LV foretold. Likewise with communications. The great roads they built were for the movement of armies, … but they served the purposes of peace as well. The Suez canal was built by Darius I purely for trade; the whole of empire from India to the Aegean was to be linked by sea as well as by land. All in all, Persia was one of the chief civilizing forces of history, and the Greeks in calling them “barbarians,” as they called all who did not speak Greek, have greatly misled posterity.