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56-651: Pars (also known as Persis ), a region in the southwestern Iranian plateau , was the homeland of a southwestern branch of the Iranian people , the Persians . It was also the birthplace of the first Iranian Empire, the Achaemenids . The region served as the center of the empire until its conquest by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great ( r.  336–323 BC ). Since the end of

112-447: A certain amount of them were to guard the main caravan routes; many were settled around Āspās and other villages along the old Isfahan - Shiraz road. By now the vast majority Caucasians that were settled in Fars have lost their cultural, linguistic, and religious identity, having mostly been assimilated into the population. At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population

168-424: A few years, as the result of the disastrous earthquake of 551 , the students were transferred to Sidon . The dating of the event to 551: as a law student, Agathias could be in his early twenties, which would place his birth to c.  530 . He mentions leaving Alexandria for Constantinople shortly following the earthquake. Agathias visited the island of Kos , where "he witnessed the devastation caused by

224-534: A hundred epigrams , which he published together with epigrams by friends and contemporaries in a Cycle of New Epigrams or Cycle of Agathias , probably early in the reign of emperor Justin II (r. 565–578). This work largely survives in the Greek Anthology —the edition by Maximus Planudes preserves examples not found elsewhere. Agathias's poems exhibit considerable taste and elegance. He also wrote marginal notes on

280-846: A leading power in the known world, only this time along with its arch-rival and successor to Persia's earlier opponents (the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire ); the Byzantine Empire . The Sassanids ruled for 425 years, until the Muslim armies conquered the empire . Afterwards, the Persians started to convert to Islam , this making it much easier for the new Muslim empire to continue the expansion of Islam. Persis then passed hand to hand through numerous dynasties , leaving behind numerous historical and ancient monuments; each of which has its own values as

336-517: A majority of the population. The main ethnic group in the province consists of Persians (including Larestani people and the Basseri ), while Qashqai , Lurs , Arabs , Kurds , Georgians , and Circassians constitute minorities. Due to the geographical characteristics of Fars and its proximity to the Persian Gulf , Fars has long been a residing area for various peoples and rulers of Iran. However,

392-459: A natural death sometime between 207–210 and was succeeded by Shapur. After his death, both Ardashir and Shapur started minted coins with the title of "king" and the portrait of Pabag. The obverse of Shapur's coins had the inscription "His Majesty, King Shapur" and the reverse had "son of (His) Majesty, King Pabag". Shapur's reign, however, proved short; he died under obscure conditions in 211 or 212. Ardashir thus succeeded Shapur, and went on to conquer

448-552: A son of Ardashir I and grandson of Pabag. Although various figures named "Sasan" are mentioned in the inscription, none of them are associated with the House of Sasan. The Paikuli inscription of Shapur I's son Narseh ( r.  293–303 ), however, makes direct references to the House of Sasan, such as the phrase "since the gods gave glory and rulership to the family of Sasan", which indicates that Narseh saw Sasan as his ancestor. The modern historian Marek Jan Olbrycht suggests that Sasan

504-507: A source of information about pre-Islamic Iran, providing—in summary form—"our earliest substantial evidence for the Khvadhaynamagh tradition", that later formed the basis of Ferdowsi 's Shahname and provided much of the Iranian material for al-Tabari 's History . Agathias recorded the earliest description of the rules of backgammon , which he calls τάβλη (tabula) as it

560-515: A valuable authority for the period he describes." According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition , "The author prides himself on his honesty and impartiality, but he is lacking in judgment and knowledge of facts; the work, however, is valuable from the importance of the events of which it treats". Christian commentators note the superficiality of Agathias' Christianity : "There are reasons for doubting that he

616-416: A world heritage, reflecting the history of the province, Iran , and West Asia . The ruins of Bishapur , Persepolis , and Firouzabad are all reminders of this. The Arab invaders brought about an end to centuries Zoroastrian political and cultural dominance over the region; supplanted as the faith of the ruling class in the 7th century by Islam, which and over the next 200 years gradually expanded to include

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672-427: Is known to have erected statues to honor Agathias, his father Memnonius, and Agathias' unnamed brother. He seems to have been known to his contemporaries more as an advocatus and a poet. There are few mentions of Agathias as a historian. Few details survive of his personal life – mainly in his extant poems. One of them tells the story of his pet cat eating his partridge . Another (Gr.Anth. 7.220) responds to his seeing

728-538: Is never mentioned, suggesting that Agathias was dead by 582. Menander Protector continued the history of Agathias, covering the period from 558 to 582. Evagrius Scholasticus alludes to Agathias' work, but he doesn't seem to have had access to the full History. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia , Agathias's Histories "abound in philosophic reflection. He is able and reliable, though he gathered his information from eye-witnesses, and not, as Procopius, in

784-573: Is sometimes cited as the closing date of " Antiquity ". The dispersed neo-Platonists, with as much of their library as could be transported, found temporary refuge in the Persian capital of Ctesiphon , and afterwards— under treaty guarantees of security that form a document in the history of freedom of thought — at Edessa , which just a century later became one of the places where Muslim thinkers encountered ancient Greek culture and took an interest in its science and medicine. Agathias's Histories are also

840-486: Is still called in Greece, in a story relating an unlucky game played by the emperor Zeno . Zeno had a stack of seven checkers, three stacks of two checkers and two blots , checkers that stand alone on a point and are therefore in danger of being put outside the board by an incoming opponent checker. Zeno threw the three dice with which the game was played and obtained 2, 5 and 6. The white and black checkers were so distributed on

896-563: Is the historical homeland of the Persian people . It was the homeland of the Achaemenid and Sasanian Persian dynasties of Iran, who reigned on the throne by the time of the ancient Persian Empires . The ruins of the Achaemenid capitals Pasargadae and Persepolis , among others, demonstrate the ancient history of the region. Due to the historical importance of this region, the entire country has historically been also referred to as Persia in

952-572: The Shahnameh ("The Book of Kings") by the medieval Persian poet Ferdowsi (d. 1020), Sasan was a descendant of the mythological Kayanian rulers Dara II , Dara I , Kay Bahman , Esfandiyar , and Vishtaspa . The claim of Sasan belonging to the Kayanian family was designed in order to justify that Ardashir was descended from the ancient Kayanian kings, who reflected memories of the Achaemenids. Dara II,

1008-479: The Description of Greece ( Ἑλλάδος περιήγησις ) of Pausanias . Almost equally valued are Agathias's Histories , which he started in the reign of Justin II. He explains his own motivation in writing it, as simply being unwilling to let "the momentous events of his own times" go unrecorded. He credits his friends with encouraging him to start this endeavor, particularly one Eutychianus. This work in five books, On

1064-654: The Kings of Persis , most likely at the accession of the Arsacid monarch Phraates II ( r.  132–127 BC ). Unlike the fratarakas , the Kings of Persis used the title of shah ("king") and laid the foundations for a new dynasty, which may be labelled the Darayanids. There are various different sources regarding the relationship between Pabag, Sasan , and the first Sasanian monarch, Ardashir I ( r.  224–242 ). According to

1120-452: The Ramsar convention . Agriculture is of great importance in Fars. The major products include cereal (wheat and barley), citrus fruits, dates, sugar beets and cotton. Fars has major petrochemical facilities, along with an oil refinery, a factory for producing tires, a large electronics industry, and a sugar mill. Tourism is also a large industry in the province. UNESCO has designated an area in

1176-906: The UAE and Bahrain . Shiraz is along the main route from Tehran to southern Iran. The Fars province is home to many higher education institutes and universities. The main universities of the province include Shiraz University , Shiraz University of Arts , Shiraz University of Medical Sciences , Shiraz University of Technology , Salman Farsi University of Kazerun , Jahrom University , Jahrom University of Medical Sciences , Fasa University of Medical Sciences , Islamic Azad University of Shiraz , and Islamic Azad University of Jahrom . [REDACTED] Media related to Fars Province at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] Fars travel guide from Wikivoyage [REDACTED] Iran portal Agathias Agathias Scholasticus ( Ancient Greek : Ἀγαθίας σχολαστικός ; c.  AD 530  – 582 /594)

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1232-639: The 3rd or the beginning of the 2nd century BCE, Pars has been ruled by local dynasties subject to the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire . These dynasts held the ancient Persian title of frataraka ("leader, governor, forerunner"), which is also attested in the Achaemenid-era. Later, under the frataraka Wadfradad II (fl. 138 BC), Pars was made a vassal of the Iranian Parthian (Arsacid) Empire . The frataraka were shortly afterwards replaced by

1288-554: The Deeds of Ardashir, son of Pabag"), says the following regarding the ancestry of Ardashir: "Ardashir, the Kayanian, son of Pabag from the parentage of Sasan and from the lineage of King Dara". Another Middle Persian text, the Bundahishn , however, gives the genealogy of Ardashir as follows: "Ardashir son of Pabag whose mother was the daughter of Sasan son of Weh-afrid". This demonstrates the inconsistencies between Middle Persian texts regarding

1344-571: The Iranian goddess. The Arsacid Empire, then ruled by Vologases V ( r.  191–208 ), was at this time in decline, due to wars with the Romans, civil wars, and regional revolts. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus ( r.  193–211 ) invaded the Arsacid domains in 196, and two years later he did the same, this time sacking the Arsacid capital of Ctesiphon. At the same time, revolts occurred in Media and Pars. The Iranologist Touraj Daryaee argues that

1400-555: The Reign of Justinian , continues the history of Procopius , whose style it imitates, and is the chief authority for the period 552–558. It deals chiefly with the struggles of the Imperial army, under the command of general Narses , against the Goths , Vandals , Franks and Persians . The work survives, but seems incomplete. Passages of his history indicate that Agathias had planned to cover both

1456-450: The West. Prior to caliphate rule, this region was known as Pars . The ancient Persians were present in the region from about the 10th century BC, and became the rulers of the largest empire the world had yet seen under the Achaemenid dynasty which was established in the mid 6th century BC, at its peak stretching from Thrace - Macedonia , Bulgaria - Paeonia and Eastern Europe proper in

1512-539: The capital. Evagrius Scholasticus and Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos describe Agathias as a rhetor ("public speaker"). The Suda and a passage of John of Nikiû call him "Agathias the scholastic". He is known to have served as pater civitatis ("Father of the City", effectively a magistrate ) of Smyrna . He is credited with constructing public latrines for the city. While Agathias mentions these buildings, he fails to mention his own role in constructing them. Myrina

1568-403: The central regions, with relatively rainy mild winters, and hot dry summers. The third region located in the south and southeast has cold winters with hot summers. The average temperature of Shiraz is 16.8 °C, ranging between 4.7 °C and 29.2 °C. The geographical and climatic variation of the province causes varieties of plants; consequently, variation of wildlife has been formed in

1624-493: The earthquake". At the fourth year of his legal studies, Agathias and fellow students Aemilianus, John and Rufinus are mentioned making a joint offering to Michael the Archangel at Sosthenium, where they prayed for a "prosperous future". He returned to Constantinople in 554 to finish his training, and practised as an advocatus ( scholasticus ) in the courts. John of Epiphania reports that Agathias practiced his profession in

1680-458: The exercise of high military and political offices. He delights in depicting the manners, customs, and religion of the foreign peoples of whom he writes; the great disturbances of his time, earthquakes, plagues, famines, attract his attention, and he does not fail to insert "many incidental notices of cities, forts, and rivers, philosophers, and subordinate commanders." Many of his facts are not to be found elsewhere, and he has always been looked on as

1736-550: The family for four generations". A descendant of the family, likewise named Sasan, worked for Pabag, who was a local ruler in Pars. Pabag's daughter married Sasan and bore him a son named Ardashir. Following this, Sasan is no longer mentioned. The Shahnameh thus indicates that the ancestors of Sasan resided in India following Alexander's conquests. This report has been used by scholars to point out Sasan's Indo-Parthian connection. According to

Pabag - Misplaced Pages Continue

1792-586: The father of Ardashir. However, they do not make any mention of Pabag. A Greek variant of Agathangelos' work calls Ardashir "son of Sasanus, which is the origin of the Sasanian name of the Persian kings descended from him". Ardashir, in his coin engravings and inscription on Naqsh-e Rostam , claims to be the son of "divine Pabag, the king". His son and successor, Shapur I ( r.  240–270 ), on his inscriptions at Naqsh-e Rajab and Ka'ba-ye Zartosht , calls himself

1848-539: The final years of Justin II and the fall of the Huns but the work in its known form includes neither. Menander Protector implies that Agathias died before having a chance to complete his history. The latest event mentioned in the Histories is the death of the Persian king Khosrau I (r. 531–579); which indicates that Agathias was still alive in the reign of Tiberius II Constantine (r. 578–582). The emperor Maurice (r. 582–602)

1904-535: The following table. According to the 2016 census, 3,401,675 people (over 70% of the population of Fars province) live in the following cities: The following sorted table lists the most populous cities in Fars according to the 2016 census results announced by the Statistical Center of Iran . There are three distinct climatic regions in the Fars province. First, the mountainous area of the north and northwest with moderate cold winters and mild summers. Secondly,

1960-411: The last Kayanian king to rule before Alexander, is partly based on the last Achaemenid King of Kings, Darius III ( r.  336–330 BC ), whose empire was indeed conquered by Alexander's forces. A son of Dara II named Sasan (called "the elder") fled to India and lived there in exile until his death. He was survived by a son who was likewise named Sasan (called "the younger"), "which continued in

2016-503: The medieval Iranian historian Al-Tabari (d. 923), Pabag was the son of Sasan and a princess named Rambihisht, who was from the Bazrangid family, a dynasty of rulers in Pars. He presents Pabag as the father of Ardashir. Like Ferdowsi in his Shahnameh , Al-Tabari also describes Sasan as a foreigner in Pars; however, unlike him, he does not mention Sasan's place of origins. The Middle Persian text Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan ("Book of

2072-518: The neighboring provinces of Kerman , Isfahan , Susiana , and Mesene. Artabanus marched a second time against Ardashir I in 224. Their armies clashed at Hormizdegan , where Artabanus IV was killed. Ardashir was crowned in 226 at Ctesiphon as the sole ruler of Persia, bringing the 400-year-old Parthian Empire to an end, and starting the virtually equally long rule of the Sassanian Empire , over an even larger territory, once again making Persia

2128-495: The origins of the Sasanian dynasty. Both sources regard Pabag as the father of Ardashir, while Sasan is presented as the latter's grandfather or ancestor. In Roman and Armenian sources, a different account appears. According to the Roman historians Agathias and George Syncellus , Sasan was the biological father of Ardashir, while Pabag was his stepfather. The Armenian writers Movses Khorenatsi and Agathangelos likewise call Sasan

2184-441: The province, called Arzhan (known as Dasht e Arjan ) as a biosphere reserve. Shiraz, provincial capital of Fars, is the namesake of Shirazi wine . A large number of wine factories existed in the city. Shiraz Airport is the main international airport of the province and the second in the country. The cities of Jahrom, Lar and Lamerd also have airports linking them with Shiraz and Tehran and nearby Persian Gulf countries such as

2240-722: The province. Additional to the native animals of the province, many kinds of birds migrate to the province every year. Many kinds of ducks, storks and swallows migrate to this province in an annual parade. The main native animals of the province are gazelle, deer, mountain wild goat, ram, ewe and many kinds of birds. In the past, like in Khuzestan Plain , the Persian lion had occurred here. The province of Fars includes many protected wildlife zones. The most important protected zones are: Arjan Meadow 22 km (8.5 sq mi) and Lake Parishan 40 km (15 sq mi) are designated Wetlands of International Importance under

2296-534: The provinces of Bushehr to the west; Hormozgan to the south; Kerman and Yazd to the east; Isfahan to the north; and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad to the northwest. The Persian word Fârs ( فارس ), derived from the earlier form Pârs ( پارس ), which is in turn derived from Pârsâ ( 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 ), the Old Persian name for the Persis region. The names Parsa and Persia originate from this region. Fars

Pabag - Misplaced Pages Continue

2352-516: The reign of Antiochus I or possibly later Persis emerged as an independent state that minted its own coins. The Seleucid Empire was subsequently defeated by the Parthians in 238 BC, but by 205 BC, the Seleucid king Antiochus III had extended his authority into Persis and it ceased to be an independent state. Babak was the ruler of a small town called Kheir. Babak's efforts in gaining local power at

2408-436: The reign of Vologases V was "the turning point in Arsacid history, in that the dynasty lost much of its prestige." The kings of Persis were now unable to depend on their weakened Arsacid overlords. Indeed, in 205 or 206, Pabag rebelled and overthrew Gochihr, taking Istakhr for himself. According to al-Tabari, it was at the urging of Ardashir that Pabag rebelled. However, Daryaee considers this statement unlikely, and states that it

2464-571: The rest of Iran, establishing the Sasanian Empire in 224. Pabag was also survived by a daughter named Denag , who married Ardashir. Fars Province Fars province ( Persian : استان فارس ; / f ɑːr s / ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran . Its capital is the city of Shiraz . The province has an area of 122,400 km and is located in Iran's southwest, in Region 2 . Fars neighbours

2520-499: The time escaped the attention of Artabanus IV , the Parthian Arsacid Emperor of the time. Babak and his eldest son Shapur I managed to expand their power over all of Persis. The subsequent events are unclear. Following the death of Babak around 220, Ardashir who at the time was the governor of Darabgird, got involved in a power struggle of his own with his elder brother Shapur . The sources tell us that in 222, Shapur

2576-418: The tomb of the courtesan Lais of Corinth , implying a visit to that city, which he refers to using the poetic name Ephyra. No full account of his life survives. Literature, however, was Agathias' favorite pursuit, and he remains best known as a poet. Of his Daphniaca , a collection of short poems in hexameter on 'love and romance' in nine books, only the introduction has survived. But he also composed over

2632-455: The tribes of Fars including, Mamasani Lurs , Khamseh and Kohkiluyeh have kept their native and unique cultures and lifestyles which constitute part of the cultural heritage of Iran attracting many tourists . Kurdish tribes include Uriad, Zangana , Chegini , Kordshuli and Kuruni . Among the hundreds of thousands of Georgians and Circassians that were transplanted to Persia under Shah Abbas I , his predecessors, and successors,

2688-591: The west, to the Indus Valley in its far east. The ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae , two of the four capitals of the Achaemenid Empire , are located in Fars. The Achaemenid Empire was defeated by Alexander the Great in 333 BC, incorporating most of their vast empire. Shortly after this the Seleucid Empire was established. However, it never extended its power in Fars beyond the main trade routes, and by

2744-510: Was 4,220,721 people in 1,014,690 households. The following census in 2011 counted 4,596,658 people in 1,250,135 households, of whom 67.6% were registered as urban dwellers (urban/suburbs), 32.1% villagers (small town/rural), and 0.3% nomad tribes . The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 4,851,274 people in 1,443,027 households. [REDACTED] The population history and structural changes of Fars province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in

2800-447: Was a Greek poet and the principal historian of part of the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian I between 552 and 558. Agathias was a native of Myrina (Mysia) , an Aeolian city in western Asia Minor . His father was Memnonius. His mother was presumably Pericleia. A brother of Agathias is mentioned in primary sources, but his name has not survived. Their probable sister Eugenia is known by name. The Suda clarifies that Agathias

2856-509: Was a Christian, though it seems improbable that he could have been at that late date a genuine pagan" ( Catholic Encyclopedia ). "No overt pagan could expect a public career during the reign of Justinian, yet the depth and breadth of Agathias' culture was not Christian" ( Kaldellis ). Agathias ( Histories 2.31) is the only authority for the story of Justinian's closing of the re-founded Platonic (actually neoplatonic ) Academy in Athens (529), which

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2912-573: Was a vassal of Gochihr , the Bazrangid king of the Persian capital of Istakhr , who was in turn a vassal of the Arsacid King of Kings. With the permission of Gochihr, Pabag sent Ardashir to the fortress of Darabgerd to serve under its commander, Tiri. Pabag reportedly served as a priest of the fire-temple of Anahita in Istakhr, which served as a rallying point for the local Persian soldiers, who worshipped

2968-516: Was active in the reign of the Roman emperor Justinian I , mentioning him as a contemporary of Paul the Silentiary , Macedonius of Thessalonica and Tribonian . Agathias mentions being present in Alexandria as a law student at the time when an earthquake destroyed Berytus ( Beirut ). The law school of Berytus had been recognized as one of the three official law schools of the empire (533). Within

3024-403: Was an Indo-Parthian prince who married a Persian princess and gave birth to Ardashir. In order to not be seen as a foreign dynasty, however, Ardashir and Shapur I minimized the role of Sasan. Pabag was seemingly the father-in-law and possibly adoptive father of Ardashir. This story doesnt have much merit though. Pabag ruled a small principality in the area of Khir , south of Bakhtegan Lake . He

3080-471: Was in reality the eldest son Shapur who helped Pabag capture Istakhr, as demonstrated by the latter's coinage, which has portraits of both of them. Pabag subsequently appointed Shapur as his heir. This was much to the dislike of Ardashir, who had become the commander of Darabgerd after the death of Tiri. In an act of defiance, Ardashir left for Ardashir-Khwarrah , where he fortified himself, preparing to attack his brother Shapur after Pabag's death. Pabag died

3136-412: Was killed when the roof of a building collapsed on him. At this point, Ardashir moved his capital further to the south of Persis and founded a capital at Ardashir-Khwarrah (formerly Gur, modern day Firouzabad ). After establishing his rule over Persis, Ardashir I rapidly extended the territory of his Sassanid Persian Empire, demanding fealty from the local princes of Fars, and gaining control over

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