Jump to content

Azadan

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by HistoryofIran (talk | contribs) at 01:12, 6 November 2020. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the village in Isfahan Province Iran, see Azadan, Isfahan.
Sasanian-era rock relief in Bishapur depicting cavalrymen, who were generally drawn from the ranks of the azadan and wuzurgan

The Azadan (Middle Persian: āzādān, Parthian: āzātān) were members of the lower nobility and the last class-rank of the four types of the Sasanian nobility. The four ranks consisted of the shahrdaran (vassal kings and dynasts), the wispuhran (princes of royal blood), the wuzurgan (grandees) and the azadan (lower nobility).[1][2][3] The cavalry (aswaran) of the Sasanian army, which generally consisted of members of the wuzurgan and azadan, formed the backbone of the Sasanian army.[4][5] The azadan were identical to the knights of Medieval Europe.[6]

The azadan are first attested in the bilingual Hajjiabad inscription of the King of Kings (shahanshah) Shapur I (r. 240–270):[7][1]

This is the range of the arrow shot by Us, the Mazda-worshipping god Shapur, the king of kings of Eran and Aneran, whose origin is from the gods, the son of the Mazda-worshipping god Ardashir, the king of kings of Eran, whose origin is from the gods, the grandson of the god Pabag, the king. And when we shot this arrow, we were shooting before the kings [landholders; shahrdaran], the princes [wispuhran], the grandees [wuzurgan] and the nobles (azadan).

They are later mentioned in the Paikuli inscription of Shapur I's grandson Narseh (r. 271–293) along with other groups of the nobility.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiesehöfer 2001, p. 171.
  2. ^ Daryaee 2014, p. 10.
  3. ^ Shaki 1992, pp. 652–658.
  4. ^ McDonough 2013, p. 604.
  5. ^ Daryaee 2014, p. 45.
  6. ^ Daryaee 2014, p. 121.
  7. ^ a b Toumanoff & Chaumont 1987, pp. 169–170.

Sources

  • Daryaee, Touraj (2014). Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–240. ISBN 978-0857716668. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • McDonough, Scott (2013). "Military and Society in Sasanian Iran". In Campbell, Brian; Tritle, Lawrence A. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World. Oxford University Press. pp. 1–783. ISBN 9780195304657. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Shaki, Mansour (1992). "Class System iii. In the Parthian and Sasanian Periods". Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. V, online edition, Fasc. 6. New York. pp. 652–658. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Syvanne, Ilkka (2015). Military History of Late Rome 284–361. Pen & Sword. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Waters, Matt (2014). Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550–330 BCE. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–272. ISBN 9781107652729.
  • Toumanoff, C.; Chaumont, M. L. (1987). "Āzād (Iranian Nobility)". Encyclopædia Iranica, Vol. III, online edition, Fasc. 2. New York. pp. 169–170. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Wiesehöfer, Josef (2001). Ancient Persia. Translated by Azodi, Azizeh. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-86064-675-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Azadan&oldid=987281676"