House of Suren or Surenas[1][2] (Parthian: đđ đđđ SurÄn, Middle Persian: đźđ„đ«đ©đ) is one of two[c] Parthian noble families explicitly mentioned by name in sources dateable to the Arsacid period. They held considerable influence within the Parthian Empire and were the rulers of Sistan.[3][4]
| House of Suren | |
|---|---|
| Country | Sakastan |
| Current head | None, extinct |
| Members | Surena, Gregory the Illuminator, Chihor-Vishnasp, Mehr Narseh, Mahbod |
| Estate | Sakastan |
| Cadet branches | Gondopharids |
History
editThe head of Suren family had the privilege to crown the first Parthian king in the 3rd century BC, which founded a tradition that was continued by his descendants.[5][3][a] Following the 3rd century AD defeat of the Arsacids and the subsequent rise of the Sassanids, the Surenas then switched sides and began to serve the Sassanids,[6][7] at whose court they were identified as one of the so-called "Parthian clans." The last attested scion of the family was a military commander active in northern China during the 9th century.[8]
It is probable[6] that the Surenas were landowners in Sakastan, that is, in the region between Arachosia and Drangiana in present-day southeast Iran and Southern Afghanistan. The Surenas appear to have governed Sistan (which derives its name from 'Sakastan' and was once a much larger region than the present day province) as their personal fiefdom.[6]
Notable members of the family include the 1st century BC cavalry commander Surena, Gregory the Illuminator,[9][10][11] and Chihor-Vishnasp, a 6th-century AD governor of Armenia who attempted to establish Zoroastrianism in that country.[12]
Mehr Narseh, the minister of four Sasanian kings, was from the House of Suren,[13] as was Mahbod, who was ambassador during the reigns of Khosrow I (r.â531â579) and Hormizd IV (r.â579â590).[14]
Gondopharids
editThe ruling dynasty of the Indo-Parthian kingdom may have belonged to the house of Suren.[15] "Ernst Herzfeld maintained that the dynasty of [the Indo-Parthian emperor] Gondophares represented the House of Suren."[16]
References
edit- â Bivar 1983, p. 41.
- â Herzfeld 1929, p. 70.
- 1 2 Lukonin 1983, p. 704.
- â dabrowa, edward (2014). "6, THE ARSACID EMPIRE". In Daryaee, Touraj (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. p. 182. ISBN 978-0199390427.
- â Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, Sarah Stewart (2007). THE AGE OF THE PARTHIANS. I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-84511-406-0.
- 1 2 3 Lendering 2006.
- â Frye 1983, p. 130.
- â Perikanian 1983, p. 683.
- â Terian, Patriotism And Piety In Armenian Christianity: The Early Panegyrics On Saint Gregory, p. 106
- â Lang, David Marshall (1980). Armenia, cradle of civilization. Allen & Unwin. p. 155. ISBN 9780049560093.
- â Russell, James R. (2004). Armenian and Iranian Studies. Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University. p. 358. ISBN 9780935411195.
- â Frye 1983, p. 159.
- â Pourshariati 2008, p. 60
- â Martindale 1992, p. 868.
- â Gazerani 2015, p. 26.
- â Bivar 2003 cf. Bivar 1983, p. 51.
Bibliography
edit- Bivar, A. D. H. (1983), "The Political History of Iran under the Arsacids", in Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.), Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3, London: Cambridge UP, pp. 21â100
- Bivar, A. D. H. (2003), "Gondophares", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 11, Costa Mesa: Mazda, archived from the original on 2008-09-08, retrieved 2013-05-25
- Frye, R. N. (1983), "The Political History of Iran under the Sassanians", in Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.), Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3, London: Cambridge UP, pp. 116â181
- Gazerani, Saghi (2015). The Sistani Cycle of Epics and Iran's National History: On the Margins of Historiography. BRILL. pp. 1â250. ISBN 9789004282964.
- Herzfeld, Ernst Emil, ed. (1929), "Das Haus SĆ«rÄn von Sakastan-->", ArchĂŠologische Mitteilungen aus Iran, vol. I, Berlin: Dietrich Reimer, pp. 70â80
- Justi, Ferdinand (1895), "SĆ«rÄn", Iranisches Namenbuch, Leipzig/Marburg: Elwert, pp. 316â317.
- Lang, David M. (1983), "Iran, Armenia and Georgia", in Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.), Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3, London: Cambridge UP, pp. 505â537
- Lendering, Jona (2006), Surena, Amsterdam: livius.org, archived from the original on 2012-10-12, retrieved 2020-03-26
- Lukonin, V. G. (1983), "Political, Social and Administrative Institutions", in Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.), Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3, London: Cambridge UP, pp. 681â747
- Martindale, John R., ed. (1992). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume III, AD 527â641. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBNÂ 0-521-20160-8.
- Plutarch, "Marcus Crassus", in Langhorne, John; Langhorne, William, eds. (1934), Plutarch's Lives, London: J. Crissy
- 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. ISBNÂ 978-1-84511-645-3.
- Rawlinson, George (1901), The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, vol. 6, London: Dodd, Mead & Company
- Perikanian, A. (1983), "Iranian Society and Law", in Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.), Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3, London: Cambridge UP, pp. 627â681
- Schippmann, K. (1987), "Arsacid ii: The Arsacid Dynasty", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 2, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 525â536, archived from the original on 2009-12-19, retrieved 2013-05-25