The Sasanian Empire | ScienceGate

This chapter investigates the archaeological landscapes of the frontiers of the Sasanian Empire. Drawing on evidence from current and archived archaeological surveys, in combination with high-resolution remote sensing datasets such as CORONA spy photography, we compare the organisation of settlements and defensive structures of the Sasanian frontier zones in response to a variety of external pressures. These varied from the Roman Empire in the west to less centralised entities, including nomadic groups, in the south-west and north-east. Following a general discussion of the multiple manifestations of Sasanian frontiers drawn from southern Mesopotamia (Iraq), northern Syria and north-eastern Iran, the main focus of the chapter is on the complex frontier landscape of the southern Caucasus, particularly the area of modern Azerbaijan, Georgia and Daghestan. We discuss the role of linear barriers, including the Gorgan Wall in north-eastern Iran and the Ghilghilchay and Derbent Walls in the Caucasus, irrigation systems, and alignments of fortifications and settlements in shaping their local landscapes. By placing the archaeological remains of the Sasanian Empire in a wider context we are able to examine the relationships between military installations, settlement patterns, infrastructure and geographical features such as mountain ranges and rivers. Comparing the different case studies allows us to conclude with some general statements on the nature of Sasanian power in the frontier territories of the empire.

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Zoroastrian Religious Polemics and Their Contexts: lnterconfessional Relations in the Sasanian Empire

10.1163/9789004495302_007 ◽

2005 ◽

pp. 48-63

Keyword(s):

Sasanian Empire ◽

Religious Polemics

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‘Very great are your words’

Rhetoric and Religious Identity in Late Antiquity ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198813194.003.0008 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 114-127

Author(s):

Nicholas Baker-Brian

Keyword(s):

Religious Identity ◽

Late Antique ◽

Close Attention ◽

Sasanian Empire ◽

Literature And Philosophy ◽

Ancient Literature ◽

Recent Developments

This chapter evaluates the Manichaean Kephalaia-collections from the perspective of recent developments in the study of late-antique rhetoric, specifically the role and context of dialogue in ancient literature and philosophy. It pays close attention to the recently edited material from the Coptic text, The Chapters of the Wisdom of my Lord Mani, by analysing the engagements between Mani and a number of teachers associated with the court of the Sasanian monarch, Shapur I. The chapter highlights the importance of Mani’s dialogues with competitor figures from the Sasanian Empire to the development of the religious identity of Manichaeans in late-antique Persia and Egypt.

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On the Celebrated Lands of Iran and the Kayanid HouseOn the Celebrated Lands of Iran and the Kayanid House

The Bundahišn ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190879044.003.0057 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 162-165

Author(s):

Domenico Agostini ◽

Samuel Thrope

Keyword(s):

Central Asia ◽

Sasanian Empire

Chapter 31 describes the sixteen lands of Iran and the adversary that Ahriman sent against each one. The Bundahišn’s list is modeled on the first chapter of the Vidēvdād, which describes Ērānwēz and fifteen adjacent countries, most of which are located in today’s northeastern Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. As is often the case in Sasanian reimaginings of Avestan geography, the chapter reascribes originally eastern toponyms to the southwestern districts that were the heartland of the Sasanian Empire as a form of mythic relocation.

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Mani's Last Journey

Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies ◽

10.1017/s0041977x00090133 ◽

1942 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 941-953 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

W. B. Henning

Keyword(s):

Detailed Account ◽

Sasanian Empire ◽

The North ◽

North Eastern ◽

The Way

The most detailed account of Mani's last days is contained in the Coptic “Narrative on the Crucifixion” (Polotsky, Man. Hom., pp. 42 sqq.). As I had occasion to point out before, this “Narrative” had been quoted by the Christian Jibrā'īl b. Nūḥ in his anti-Alanichaean book which was still available to al-Bērūnī (Chronology, 20819–22).During the brief reign of King Hormizd Mani went to Babylonia, where he stayed until the accession of Bahram I. After some time he left Babylonia and slowly travelled down the River Tigris, visiting his communities on the way. He reached Hormizd-Ardašīr (Ahwāz, Sūq al-Ahwāz), one of the four chief towns of Susiana, from where he started on a journey to the north-eastern provinces of the Sasanian empire. But he was forbidden to go there and compelled to turn back to Susiana. From Hormizd-Ardašīr he journeyed to Mesene, thence up the River Tigris in a boat to Ctesiphon. From the capital he went to “the Pargalia”, where he was joined by Bαατ. He travelled to Kholassar, and from this town he reached Belapat, where he was destined to die. The route taken by him on the journey from Kholassar to Belapat is not known, as there is a gap in the manuscript. While the situation of “the Pargalia” remains unsettled, that of Kholassar (Khalasar) is well defined by a comparison of the itinerary given by Isidorus Kharacenus with the Arab geographers (journey from Ctesiphon to Holwan):—

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