What are the best books on history of sassanid empire and. The emphasis is on topics such as the society of the sasanian empire, the religions of the empire, the languages that were spoken, trade, and how the empire was administrated. The muslim conquest of persia, also known as the arab invasion of iran, led to the fall of the sasanian empire of iran in 651 and the eventual decline of the zoroastrian religion. The sasanian empire, a three panel multidisciplinary conference featured nine experts and scholars from various fields of study and drew upon ancient and classical history, persian and central asian studies and neareastern religious and confessional traditions. On the sassanid army part i 14052014 periklisdeligiannis. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the sassanid empire like never before. Sassanian persia by touraj daryaee this book is not very huge but still discusses almost all important aspects of the sassanian empire. The history and legacy of the neopersian empire before the.
This book documents the beginning of the persian empire. The sassanid persian empire also spelled sasanid empire, sassanian empire, or sasanian empire, known to its inhabitants as eranshahr and eran in middle persian and resulting in the new persian terms iranshahr and iran,was the last preislamic persian empire, ruled by the sasanian dynasty from ad 224 to ad 651. I am providing some links, but you may notice these are for texts belonging mainly to the crossover from the sassanid empire to being conquered and occupied by arabs. The rise and fall of an empire international library of iranian studies. From the midnineteenth century to the early twentieth century lithography became the preferred medium used to print persian books.
Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Ancient sasanian empire, the subject of the june 7th. The article iran contains a description of the geography and economy of the modern country and a short account of its history since the arab invasion of the 7th cent. Ardashir aimed at the revival of the persian empire, and to further this aim, he reformed the military by forming a standing army which was under his personal command and whose officers were separate from satraps, local princes and nobility. Olmsteads magisterial history of the persian empire is a corrective supplement to this perspective and one of the best, most wellwritten histories of the ancient world i have ever read. During khosrau is reign, many books were brought from india and translated into pahlavi, the language of the sassanid empire. I dont think persian rivalry with romans would have been significantly affected by sassanid conversion to christianity, since the romanpersian wars were mostly about geopolitical interests.
Was khosrow parviz responsible for the arab conquest of. The history and legacy of the neopersian empire before the arab conquest and rise of islam as want to read. According to a legend, the vexilloid of the sasanian empire was the derafsh kaviani. The sasanian empire during late antiquity is considered to have been one of irans most important, and influential historical periods and constituted the last great iranian empire before the muslim conquest of persia and the islamization of iran. Decline and fall of the sasanian empire has already been praised as one of the most intellectually exciting books about ancient persia to have been published for years. History of the sasanian empire by george rawlinson book read. The history and legacy of the neopersian empire before the arab conquest and rise of islam.
Its grammar is similar to that of many european languages. Umar who was the caliph at the time when the persian troops succumbed at nehavend was himself a rashidun. What are the best books on history of sassanid empire and persia of. This book tells the story of how and why the great empires of history came into being, operated and ultimately declined, and discusses the future of the empire in todays globalized world. This book deals with all the empires of ancient persia i. The sassanid empire also spelled sasanid empire, sassanian empire, or sasanian empire, known to its inhabitants as eranshahr and eran in middle persian and resulting in the new persian terms iranshahr and iran 4, was the last preislamic persian empire, ruled by the sasanian dynasty from 224 to 651. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. While the roman empire was busy with german intrusions, plague and a rapid turnover in emperors, the parthian empire disintegrated. The early years of sassanid empire and religious turmoil in persia during the war between marcus aurelius and the parthians, the great pestilence not only devastated the romans, it threw the economy of the parthian empire into decline.
The sassanid empire audiobook by charles river editors. But he failed miserably at the end and it was the course of his own history and his people that was changed instead. Iransassanid and persian historyzoroastrianism collection by tibet tenzin. The sasanian empire 224651 ce, also given as sassanian, sasanid or sassanid was the last preislamic persian empire, established in 224 ce. This article is concerned with the history of the ancient persian empire, in which presentday iran has its roots. The first persian empire, founded by cyrus the great around 550 b.
This force performed the dual roles of both imperial guard and standing army. What primary texts do we have from the sasanian empire. Starting from the achaemenid empire, through the parthian, sasanian and. With the byzantine threat ended, the sassanid empire was still a formidable power with vast manpower reserves, and the arabs soon found themselves confronting a huge persian army with troops drawn from every corner of the empire, including war elephants, and commanded by its foremost generals. Lost worlds investigates the very latest archaeological finds at three remote and hugely significant sites angkor wat, troy and persepolis. Sura was one of the greatest heroines of persian history, a strategical and military genius during the parthian dynasty. After giving a short abstract of the sasanian history it discusses topics like religion in. During the preislamic classical period of the parthian and sassanid persian empires 248. List of books and articles about ancient persia online. Before people decide to read this book, they need to understand a few things regarding sasanian studies and the historiography of iranian history. Iranian historyanarchy and downfall of the sassanian empire.
The rise of muslims coincided with an unprecedented political, social, economic, and military weakness in persia. To gain some modest supports from the persian empires old rival, the roman empire of the east, he sought an alliance with the emperor heraclius who then married off his young. Writing systems and scripts a thousand years of the persian book. The persian language is a continuation of middle persian, the official religious and literary language of the sasanian empire 224651 ce, itself a continuation of old persian, which was used in the achaemenid empire 550330 bc. The sasanian empire or neopersian empire, was the last period of the persian empire before the rise of islam. Now that parvez was inflamed with success, he had the tolerance that had once flourished within the persian empire since achaemenid times undone.
The empire lasted until 651 ce when it was overthrown by the arab caliphate. She was the daughter of ardavan the fifth, the last king of the parthian empire ashkanid empire. It originated in the region of fars in southwestern iran. Excellent book with great insight into a rarely covered period in persian history. It proposes a convincing contemporary answer answer to an agesold mystery and conundrum. The sasanian empire 224651 ce, also given as sassanian, sasanid or sassanid was the last preislamic persian empire, established in 224 ce by ardeshir i, son of papak, descendant of sasan. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. A captivating guide to the neopersian empire that ruled before the arab conquest of persia and the rise of islam captivating history 4. The history and legacy of the neopersian empire before the arab conquest and. Adoption of christianity would have certainly shaken the sassanid empire to its core, because the empire itself was based on the nationalistic concept of. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the sassanid empire like never beforemore. Uncategorized ancient warfare, arabs, byzantine, byzantium, iran, islam, medieval warfare, military history, persia, sassanian empire, sassanid 6 comments.
Like most other westerners interested in classical hisory, i had first learned of the persians in terms of the greeks. This article is an extract from the book atlas of empires, republished with permission. The sassanid empire was formed by an alliance between the persian house of sassan and the parthian noble houses, the latter. Iranian historythe umayyads wikibooks, open books for. Sassanid empire simple english wikipedia, the free. She is mentioned in the history books as her fathers right hand. The political history the individual kings, and the wars with rome and byzantium are covered in a total of only 38 pages. It is written by a greek general that was defeated by the persians. The sassanid empire or sassanian dynasty is the name used for the persian dynasty which lasted from 224 to 651 ad the sassanid empire, which succeeded the parthian empire, was recognized as one of the two main powers in western asia, alongside the roman empire and later the byzantine empire, for more than 400 years. The birth of the sassanid army dates back to the rise of ardashir i r. This book gives a good and readable overview about the sasanian empire. He ascended the throne in 632 or 633 at the age of 19. In jewish history, the sassanid empire is a very important chapter in the expansion of the jewish faith. The sassanid armies took dara, amida, edesa, hierapolis, aleppo, apamea, caesarea, damascus, and all of the surrounding cities all within eight years 6056.
Under his auspices, too, many books were brought from india and translated into pahlavi. You will learn about the sassanid empire like never before. The sasanian empire officially known as the empire of iranians. The fall of the sassanid empire was as much a result of the persian defeat in the final romanpersian war as it was an outcome of the gradual disintegration of the sociopolitical regime that had held the empire together. D or the church of the sassanid persian empire by w. The history and legacy of the neopersian empire before the arab conquest and rise of islam examines the history of one of the most important empires of the ancient world. The sassanid empire or sassanian dynasty is the name used for the persian dynasty which lasted from 224 to 651 ad the sassanid empire, which succeeded the parthian empire, was recognized as one of the two great powers in western asia, alongside the roman empire and later the byzantine empire, for more than 400 years. Some of these later found their way into the literature of the islamic world. Indoeuropean tribes and elam,median empire,achaemenid empire,seleucid empire,parthian empire, sassanid empire with maps, photos and mp3 lectures. An introduction to the history of the assyrian church 100640 a. Historical persian queens, empresses, warriors, generals. Explore our list of persian empires ancient history books at barnes. Persian empires ancient history, ancient history, books barnes. See the rise and fall of the sassanid empire, one of the most important persian empires.
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