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23-658: Adhur Gushnasp (also spelled Arderveshnasp ) was the marzban (" margrave ") of the Sasanian province of Armenia from 465 to 482. He was killed during the Armenian rebellion of 482–484, and replaced by Sahak II Bagratuni . Adhur Gushnasp is first mentioned in 465, when he was appointed as the marzban (" margrave ") of the province of Armenia by the King of Kings ( shahanshah ) Peroz I ( r.  459–484 ), thus replacing its previous marzban Adhur-Hormizd. The country

46-504: A class of Iranian nobles. They are probably identical to the eleutheroi ('the free ones') mentioned in Greek sources to refer to a group of Parthian nobles. According to the 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian Josephus (died 100 AD), the Parthian army led by prince Pacorus I during the invasion of Judea consisted of members of the eleutheroi . The Kingdom of Armenia adopted

69-523: Is cognate with Avestan and Old Persian pat "protector". The word was borrowed from New Persian into Arabic as مرزبان marzubān (plural مرازبة marāziba ). " Al-Marzubani " ( المرزباني ) has been used as a nisba (family title) for some Iranian families whose ancestor was a marzbān. The prominent Islamic scholar Abu Hanifa , whose formal name is given in Islamic sources as Nu'man ibn Thabit ibn Zuta ibn Marzubān ( نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان ),

92-409: The aspet Sahak II Bagratuni as the new marzban of Armenia. Raising a force of 7,000 troops from Adurbadagan and its surroundings, Adhur Gushnasp returned to Armenia. He soon clashed with a force of 400 men led by Vasak Mamikonian and Babgen Siwni near Akori, but was defeated and killed. Marzban The Persian word marz is derived from Avestan marəza "frontier, border"; pān/pāvan

115-654: The Greater Khorasan . Some regions enjoyed considerable autonomy while other were militarily more important, for example the Adurbadagan facing the Caucasus was special military frontier. Marzbāns were granted the administration of the border provinces and were responsible for maintaining the security of the trade routes , fighting the encroaching nomadic tribes such as Bedouin Arabs , White Huns and Oghuz Turks , and holding

138-601: The Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) the existence of a proper classification of ranks is unknown, in comparison to the Sasanian royal inscriptions from the 3rd century AD when the aristocracy was divided into four or five ranks; šahrdārān (kings, landholders), vāspuhrān (princes; the seven great noble families ), wuzurgān (magnates; "great ones" ), lower nobility āzādān (feudal nobles; freemen), and kadag-xwadāy (householders). The Sasanian military organization

161-424: The marzbān was a provincional function practiced for a single or multiple provinces, but there is no evidence for a "quarter of the empire", as al-Masudi entitled Šahrwarāz (629 AD). The rank of marzbān , like most imperial administration, was mostly patrimonial, and was passed down through a single family for generations. The marzbāns of greatest seniority were permitted a silver throne, while marzbāns of

184-468: The bulk of the cavalry ( aswaran ), which in turn formed the backbone of the Sasanian army . The azadan were analogous to the knights of Medieval Europe . The azadan are first attested in the bilingual Hajjiabad inscription of the King of Kings ( shahanshah ) Shapur I ( r.  240–270 ): This is the range of the arrow shot by Us, the Mazda-worshipping god Shapur,

207-485: The exact relationship between titles marzbān , spāhbed , kanārang , pāygōsbān (Parthian ptykwspn , Sasanian paygospān or padhospān ) and ostāndār . The historical sources blur the distinction between the marzbān and spāhbed (army general or military governor), implying marzbān was a military title strictly limited to the frontier marches and provinces. The least clear is the distinction with kanārang , apparently an East-Iranian derivation of marzbān in

230-413: The first line of defense against settled enemies such as Romans and Kushans . During the reign of Khosrow I (531–579 AD) were held military reforms by which were created four frontier regions ( Khwarasan , Khwarwaran , Nemroz, Adurbadagan) with spāhbed in charge, sometimes still called as marzbān , but now generally considered for more central provinces. Also, the previous gentry rank dihqānān

253-479: The fortress of Ani , where he briefly stayed for a day, and then fled to the city of Artaxata whilst being chased by the rebels. They soon besieged the city, but Adhur Gushnasp managed to escape by night and reached the neighbouring province of Adurbadagan . At the same time, discord was occurring amongst the rebels, with a certain Varaz-Narseh, prince of Urts , pillaging the city of Brhnavezh. The rebels installed

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276-413: The impact of the rebellion was still felt, and tensions continued to grow. In 482, a secret meeting took place between a group of Christian Armenians, who prepared to rebel under the leadership of Vahan Mamikonian , a nephew of Vardan. Varaz-Shapur Amatuni, who was present in the meeting, informed Adhur Gushnasp of the impending uprising, which made him abandon the Armenian capital of Dvin and leave for

299-427: 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

322-536: The king. The title marzbān can be dated to the Parthian Empire, where in the frontier areas such as Nisa (1st century BC ) are found titles mrzwpn (marzban), probably an officier in charge of the frontier troops, and dyzpty , an officier in charge of a fort. Some scholars consider that marzbāns existed during the reign of Darius I (550–486 BC) of the Achaemenid Empire. There is some uncertainty for

345-598: The most strategic border provinces, such as the province of Armenia, were allowed a golden throne. In military campaigns the regional marzbāns could be regarded as field marshals, while lesser spāhbeds could command a field army. The function of marzbān changed over the years, with smaller territorial units being part of the civil administration. In the early years the main marzbān regions were Armenia , Beth Aramaye , Pars , Kirman , Spahan , Adurbadagan , Tabaristan , Nishapur , Tus , Sakastan , Mazun , Harev , Marv and Sarakhs , several mentioned belonging to

368-463: The province Abarshahr in Central Asia . The pāygōsbān , meaning "guardian of the district", is an uncertain title, seemingly provincial military commanders or governors, while the marzbān meant "guardian of the borders, provinces". Perhaps the pāygōsbān lacked civilian duties. The ostāndār was the governor of an ostān (province or district within a province). The primary sources imply

391-488: The same divisions of the nobility as their predecessor. Under the Sasanians, the azadan 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). The azadan and wuzurgan formed

414-581: The same hierarchy as that of the Parthians, which included the azadan class ( azat ), which was used to label the Armenian middle and lower nobility. The name of the Georgian nobility, Aznauri , also corresponded to that of azadan . A class of azadan are also attested in Sogdia , an Iranian civilization located in Central Asia . The Sasanians , who supplanted the Parthians in 224, maintained

437-523: Was at the time dissatisfied with Zoroastrian Sasanian rule. The policies of the previous shahanshah Yazdegerd II ( r.  438–457 ) of integrating the Christian nobility into the bureaucracy by forcing them to convert to Zoroastrianism had resulted in a large-scale rebellion in 451, led by the Armenian military leader Vardan Mamikonian . Although the Sasanians defeated the rebels at the Battle of Avarayr ,

460-511: Was descended from the marzbāns of Kabul , where his father came from. The Bavand (651–1349 AD) and Sallarid (919–1062 AD) dynasty rulers also used marzubān in their name. The word marzban was borrowed into Armenian as marzpan (մարզպան) and into Georgian as marzapani (მარზაპანი). The ranks tradition (primarily of vāspuhrān and āzādān ) can be traced to the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC), but due to lack of sources even in

483-592: Was inherited by the Medieval Islamic civilization, however, the marzbāns steadily disappeared depending on the region, as such in Iraq diminished and were replaced by Muslim frontier warriors muqātila , while in Khorasan still had special privileges. In generally were replaced by the title dihqānān . Azadan The Azadan ( Middle Persian : āzādān , Parthian : āzātān ; meaning 'free' and 'noble') were

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506-587: Was more sophisticated than the inherited Parthian system. The caste system wasn't rigid as in India, but the ruling officiers were mostly from wuzurgān caste. There's a possibility that the Late Sasanian marzbānān also originated from the āzādān , who mostly were lords of villages ( dihqānān ), supplied the cavalry with young riders ( asbārān ), or were bodyguards and security forces with titles bandagān , ayyārān or jānbāzān , all signifying association with

529-506: Was moulded into influential "nobility of service" which became the backbone of the Sasanian state. However, this measures of centralization caused the transfer of the power to the military (the dihqānān gradually became more independent from the government, while the four large spāhbed territories quasi-independent fiefs), and led to the eventual disintegration of the Empire. The Sasanian social, administrative and military structure and system

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