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Byzantine and Sassanid Empires in 600 CE

The Sasanian Empire (/səˈs/ or /səˈs/), also known as the Sassanian, Sasanid, Sassanid or Neo-Persian Empire,[1] known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr[fn 1][2] in Middle Persian,[fn 2] was the last period of the Persian Empire (Iran) before the rise of Islam, named after the House of Sasan who ruled from 224 to 651.[2][4] The Sasanian Empire, which succeeded the Parthian Empire, was recognised as one of the leading world powers alongside its neighbouring arch-rival the Roman-Byzantine Empire, for a period of more than 400 years.[5][6][7]

Iranian empire[]

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Sassanid was the third Iranian dynasty and succeeding empire to Parthia. It was founded by Ardashir I after defeating the last Parthian (Arsacid) king, Artabanus IV Ardavan). Sassanid ended when the last Sassanid Shahanshah (King of Kings), Yazdegerd III (632-651), lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the expanding Islamic empires. The Empire's territory encompassed all of what is now Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, eastern parts of Turkey, and parts of Syria, Pakistan, Caucasia, Central Asia and Arabia. The Sassanids called their empire Eranshahr "Empire of the Aryans (Persians)". The Sassanid era is considered to be one of Iran's most important and influential historical periods. In many ways the Sassanid period witnessed the highest achievement of Persian civilization, constituting the last great Iranian Empire before the Muslim conquest. Persia influenced Roman civilization considerably during the Sassanids' times, and the Romans reserved for the Sassanid Persians alone the status of equals.

Persian-sassanid-emperor-hormizd-ii-with-a-roman-prisoner

Notes[]

  1. Book Pahlavi spelling: File:Eranshahr.svg (ʾylʾnštr')
    Inscriptional Pahlavi spelling: 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭𐭱𐭲𐭥𐭩 (ʾyrʾnštry), 𐭠𐭩𐭫𐭠𐭭𐭱𐭲𐭥𐭩 (ʾylʾnštry)
    Modern Persian: ایرانشهر
  2. Ērānshahr— root of New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran.[3]

References[]

  1. Fattah, Hala Mundhir (2009). A Brief History Of Iraq. Infobase Publishing, 49. ISBN 978-0-8160-5767-2. “Historians have also referred to the Sassanian Empire as the Neo-Persian Empire.” 
  2. 2.0 2.1 (Wiesehofer 1996)
  3. MacKenzie, D. N. (2005), A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary, London & New York: Routledge Curzon, p. 120, ISBN 0-19-713559-5 
  4. A Brief History. Culture of Iran. Retrieved on 11 September 2009.
  5. (Shapur Shahbazi 2005)
  6. Norman A. Stillman The Jews of Arab Lands pp 22 Jewish Publication Society, 1979 ISBN 0827611552
  7. International Congress of Byzantine Studies Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London, 21–26 August 2006, Volumes 1-3 pp 29. Ashgate Pub Co, 30 sep. 2006 ISBN 075465740X
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