Spahan (province)

Spāhān
Province of the Sassanian Empire
← 224–642 →
Capital		Spahan
Historical era		Antiquity
•	Established	224
•	Annexed by the Rashidun Caliphate	642
Today part of		Iran

Spahan, also known as Parthau was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity, that lay within central Iran, almost corresponding to the present-day Isfahan Province in Iran.

Etymology

Spahān is attested in various Middle Persian seals and inscriptions, including that of Zoroastrian priest Kartir.^[1] The present-day name (Isfahan) is the Arabicized form of Ispahan (unlike Middle Persian, New Persian does not allow initial consonant clusters such as sp^[2]). The region appears with the abbreviation GD (Gay, Southern Media) on Sasanian numismatics. In Ptolemy's Geographia it appears as Aspadana, translating to "place of gathering for the army". It is believed that Spahān derives from spādānām 'the armies', Old Persian plural of spāda (from which derives spāh 'army' in Middle Persian).

History

Spahan became a part of the Sasanian Empire in 224, after Ardashir I (r. r. 224–242) seized its capital and killed its ruler, Shadh-Shapur. During the reign of Ardashir's son and successor Shapur I (r. 240-270), a certain Varzin was appointed as the governor of the province.^[1][3]

References

1. Hansman 2006, pp. 635-638.
2. Strazny, P. (2005). Encyclopedia of linguistics (p. 325). New York: Fitzroy Dearborn.
3. Frye 1984, p. 299.

Sources

• Hansman, J. (2006). "ISFAHAN iv. PRE-ISLAMIC PERIOD". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XIII, Fasc. 6. pp. 635–638.
• Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2008). Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-645-3.
• Frye, Richard Nelson (1984). The History of Ancient Iran. C.H.Beck. pp. 1–411. ISBN 9783406093975.