43 Facts About Sassanid Empire

1.

Sassanid Empire was founded by Ardashir I, an Iranian ruler who rose to power as Parthia weakened from internal strife and wars with the Romans.

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2.

At its greatest territorial extent, the Sasanian Sassanid Empire encompassed all of present-day Iran and Iraq, and stretched from the eastern Mediterranean to parts of modern-day Pakistan as well as from parts of southern Arabia to the Caucasus and Central Asia.

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3.

Sassanid Empire'storians have referred to the Sasanian Empire as the Neo-Persian Empire, since it was the second Iranian empire that rose from Pars; while the Achaemenid Empire was the first one.

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4.

Sassanid Empire added Bahrain and Mosul to the Sassanid possessions.

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5.

Sassanid Empire exploited his success by advancing into Anatolia, but withdrew in disarray after defeats at the hands of the Romans and their Palmyrene ally Odaenathus, suffering the capture of his harem and the loss of all the Roman territories he had occupied.

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6.

Sassanid Empire ordered the construction of the first dam bridge in Iran and founded many cities, some settled in part by emigrants from the Roman territories, including Christians who could exercise their faith freely under Sassanid rule.

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7.

Sassanid Empire particularly favoured Manichaeism, protecting Mani and sent many Manichaean missionaries abroad.

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8.

Sassanid Empire first led his small but disciplined army south against the Arabs, whom he defeated, securing the southern areas of the empire.

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9.

Sassanid Empire then began his first campaign against the Romans in the west, where Persian forces won a series of battles but were unable to make territorial gains due to the failure of repeated sieges of the key frontier city of Nisibis, and Roman success in retaking the cities of Singara and Amida after they had previously fallen to the Persians.

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10.

Sassanid Empire crushed the Central Asian tribes, and annexed the area as a new province.

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11.

Sassanid Empire failed to take the capital, however, and was killed while trying to retreat to Roman territory.

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12.

At the time of his death, the Persian Sassanid Empire was stronger than ever, with its enemies to the east pacified and Armenia under Persian control.

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13.

Sassanid Empire's reign marked a relatively peaceful era with the Romans, and he even took the young Theodosius II under his guardianship.

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14.

Sassanid Empire was better known as Bahram-e Gur, Gur meaning onager, on account of his love for hunting and, in particular, hunting onagers.

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15.

Sassanid Empire symbolised a king at the height of a golden age, embodying royal prosperity.

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16.

Sassanid Empire had won his crown by competing with his brother and spent much time fighting foreign enemies, but mostly he kept himself amused by hunting, holding court parties and entertaining a famous band of ladies and courtiers.

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17.

Sassanid Empire then gathered his forces in Nishapur in 443 and launched a prolonged campaign against the Kidarites.

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18.

Sassanid Empire then persecuted the Christians in his land, and, to a much lesser extent, the Jews.

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19.

Sassanid Empire's army was completely destroyed, and his body was never found.

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20.

Sassanid Empire gave his support to the sect founded by Mazdak, son of Bamdad, who demanded that the rich should divide their wives and their wealth with the poor.

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21.

Sassanid Empire was a good and kind king; he reduced taxes in order to improve the condition of the peasants and the poor.

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22.

Sassanid Empire was an adherent of the mainstream Zoroastrian religion, diversions from which had cost Kavad I his throne and freedom.

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23.

Sassanid Empire introduced a rational system of taxation based upon a survey of landed possessions, which his father had begun, and he tried in every way to increase the welfare and the revenues of his empire.

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24.

Sassanid Empire rebuilt the canals and restocked the farms destroyed in the wars.

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25.

Sassanid Empire built strong fortifications at the passes and placed subject tribes in carefully chosen towns on the frontiers to act as guardians against invaders.

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26.

Sassanid Empire was tolerant of all religions, though he decreed that Zoroastrianism should be the official state religion, and was not unduly disturbed when one of his sons became a Christian.

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27.

Sassanid Empire was prevented from attacking Ctesiphon by the destruction of the bridges on the Nahrawan Canal and conducted further raids before withdrawing up the Diyala into north-western Iran.

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28.

Abrupt fall of the Sassanid Empire was completed in a period of just five years, and most of its territory was absorbed into the Islamic caliphate; however, many Iranian cities resisted and fought against the invaders several times.

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29.

Thus, the noble families that attended at the court of the Sassanid empire continued to be ruling lines in their own right, although subordinate to the shahanshah.

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30.

Active army of the Sassanid Empire originated from Ardashir I, the first shahanshah of the empire.

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31.

Cavalry used during the Sassanid Empire were two types of heavy cavalry units: Clibanarii and Cataphracts.

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32.

The Sassanid Empire army was much like the preceding Parthian army, although some of the Sassanid Empire's heavy cavalry were equipped with lances, while Parthian armies were heavily equipped with bows.

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33.

The dissolution of the Kingdom of Al-Hirah by Khosrau II in 602 contributed greatly to decisive Sassanid Empire defeats suffered against Bedouin Arabs later in the century.

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34.

Large numbers of Sassanid Empire coins have been found in southern China, confirming maritime trade.

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35.

On different occasions, Sassanid Empire kings sent their most talented Persian musicians and dancers to the Chinese imperial court at Luoyang during the Jin and Northern Wei dynasties, and to Chang'an during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

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36.

Sassanid Empire told Borzuya of a book, the remedy of ignorance, called the Kalila, which was kept in a treasure chamber.

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37.

In Sassanid Empire theory, the ideal society could maintain stability and justice, and the necessary instrument for this was a strong monarch.

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38.

At its peak, the Sasanian Sassanid Empire stretched from western Anatolia to northwest India, but its influence was felt far beyond these political boundaries.

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39.

Christians in the Sasanian Sassanid Empire belonged mainly to the Nestorian Church and the Jacobite Church (Syriac Orthodox Church) branches of Christianity.

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40.

Sassanid Empire even offered the Jews in the Sasanian empire a fine white Nisaean horse, just in case the Messiah, who was thought to ride a donkey or a mule, would come.

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41.

Furthermore, many of the Parthian aristocrats who had entered into Sasanian service after the fall of the Parthian Sassanid Empire still spoke Parthian, such as the seven Parthian clans, who possessed much power within the empire.

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42.

The Sasanian Sassanid Empire appears to have stopped using the Parthian language in their official inscriptions during the reign of Narseh.

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43.

Collapse of the Sasanian Sassanid Empire led to Islam slowly replacing Zoroastrianism as the primary religion of Iran.

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