Ērānšahr 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭𐭱𐭲𐭥𐭩 (Middle Persian) | |
---|---|
224–651 | |
Derafsh Kaviani
(royal standard) Simurgh
(imperial emblem) | |
![]() The Sasanian Empire at its greatest extent c. 620, under Khosrow II | |
Capital | |
Common languages | Middle Persian (official)[2] Other languages |
Religion | |
Government | Feudal monarchy[3] |
Shahanshah | |
• 224–241 | Ardashir I (first) |
• 632–651 | Yazdegerd III (last) |
Historical era | Late Antiquity |
28 April 224 | |
• The Iberian War | 526–532 |
602–628 | |
628–632 | |
633–651 | |
651 | |
Area | |
550[5][6] | 3,500,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi) |
History of Iran |
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Timeline![]() |
The Sasanian Empire (/səˈsɑːniən, səˈseɪniən/) or Sassanid Empire, also the Second Persian Empire,[7][8] and officially known as Ērānšahr ("Land/Empire of the Iranians"),[9][10][a] was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th to 8th centuries. Named after the House of Sasan, it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651, making it the second longest-lived Persian imperial dynasty after the Arsacids of the Parthian Empire.[12][13]
The Sasanian Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire and re-established the Persians as a major power in late antiquity alongside its arch-rival, the Roman Empire (after 395 the Byzantine Empire).[14][15][16] The empire ended with the Muslim conquest of Persia. It was founded by Ardashir I, a ruler who rose to power as Parthia weakened as a result of internal strife and wars with the Romans. After defeating the last Parthian King of Kings, Artabanus IV, at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224, he established the Sasanian Empire and set out to restore the legacy of the Achaemenid Empire by expanding Persia's dominions.
At its greatest territorial extent, the Sasanian Empire encompassed all of present-day Iran and Iraq, and stretched from the Levant to the Indian subcontinent and from South Arabia to the Caucasus and Central Asia.
The period of Sasanian rule was a high point in Iranian civilization,[17] characterized by a complex and centralized government bureaucracy, and revitalized Zoroastrianism as a legitimizing and unifying ideal.[18] They also built grand monuments, public works, and patronized cultural and educational institutions. The empire's cultural influence extended far beyond its territorial borders, including Western Europe,[19] Africa,[20] China, and India[21]—and helped shape European and Asian medieval art.[22]
Following the early Muslim conquests, the influence of Sasanian art, architecture, music, literature and philosophy on Islamic culture ensured the spread of Iranian culture, knowledge and ideas throughout the Muslim world.[23]
Control of Southwest Asia passed from the Seleucids to the Parthian Empire, then to the Second Persian Empire (aka Sassanid Empire).
The second Persian Empire began with Ardashir I, son of Papak, a descendant of the priests of Anahita in Istakhr in Fars.
Repaying its debt, Sasanian art exported its forms and motives eastward into India, Turkestan, and China, westward into Syria, Asia Minor, Constantinople, the Balkans, Egypt, and Spain.
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