Thanks! And if I were you I’d be more concerned about the Romans. Even though I’ve already spoiled that they get better, it might not look the same as OTL. Who knows what kind of ripple effects losing so much territory could have, especially since I’ve already hinted at a certain pirate who could cause some trouble 😉
The Two Eyes of the World: A bigger Sassanid Persia
- Thread starter Collondi
- Start date
Very nice! Always love to see another Persian TL!
This is very interesting.
Just wondering but will this inspire the Goths to attack the Eastern half of the Empire, now that it's in dire straits?
The Islamic invasions of OTL are still centuries away, a lot can happen until then
Definitely, word gets around and tribes beyond the Rhine and Danube are going to hear about Rome’s defeats, and many of them will want to take advantage.
So far the focus has been on the Persian Empire, but the Romans are very much also a “main character” in this story. I intend to focus quite heavily on both their perspectives
Map of the Sasanian Empire
A map of the Sasanian Empire around 40 S.E. (265 C.E.). In green is land directly controlled by the Sasanian monarchy, while other colors are used for vassals, tributaries, and dependencies. In the next update I'll go more in depth about how the kingdom works and look at each of these regions
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Beautiful, may the House of Sassan make the empire stretch from the Bosporus towards the Aral Sea
Lords and Caesars of Eran and Aneran
Before we begin, I wanted to give a quick note that I felt was too important to shove into the footnotes, which is about sources. You may have noticed that my narrative has been based on the kind of information that would be available to scholars ITTL. By far my biggest primary source so far has been Shapur’s own inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht (SKZ for short), where he details his own court and campaign against the Romans. Besides that, it’s mostly accounts from the Romans and the occasional Islamic scholar. We don’t have many sources IOTL.
Why? Well, it’s because of the Muslims. The Persians had a deep oral tradition which is how they preserved most of their history. Much of that was lost in the Islamic conquests. However, we know they did keep written historical records, such as the “Book of Kings” commissioned by Khosrow I. The reason we don’t have those is also because of the Muslims. They didn’t bother preserving texts they saw as Zoroastrian heathenry.
ITTL, they have most of the same sources as OTL, but the Book of Kings and others are better preserved, giving us a Sasanian account of their own history, albeit riddled with propaganda and historical revisionism. We also have Syrian chroniclers recording Sasanian history, albeit with their own biases. While historiography is still fragmented and with problems, it’s a lot better than OTL.
What this means for this TL is that even if I’m describing info from before the POD, that doesn’t mean it’s OTL, and my interpretations of OTL figures shouldn’t be taken as a historical record. A lot of it is made up or extrapolated from shaky-at-best evidence. I didn’t want to make dozens of footnotes explaining each one, so if you have any questions about where an idea came from, please ask and I’ll explain.
Anyways, this will be a tour, where we’ll look at each territory not directly controlled by Shapur, AKA all the non-green regions on the map (except Cyprus and Cyrenaica, which aren’t part of the empire but are more like dependencies/tributaries. Also, the Kushano-Sassanian empire, which is a whole other can of worms I won’t open yet. They’ll be looked at more in the future). I realized I needed to pause the narrative and lay some groundwork, otherwise things would have gotten confusing. I recommend having the map I made in another tab or something while reading this. Enjoy!
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Chapter 4: Lords and Caesars of Eran and Aneran
Between 35 S.E. (260) and 45 S.E. (270), Shahanshah Shapur I presided over what had become the world’s largest kingdom in only a few decades. His full title became “King of Kings and Caesars of Iran and Not-Iran.” The new Sasanian Empire differed from its Arsacid predecessors in several ways. Most importantly, it was more centralized, with more territory under the direct control of the Shahanshah or by appointed Satraps, essentially governors. However, it wasn’t far removed from its decentralized Parthian roots. It continued to be a hodgepodge of vassals.
Though later chronicles always claim there were seven great houses of Iran due to the number seven’s Zoroastrian religious significance, there were at this point five autonomous vassal kingdoms, the houses of Waraz, Suren, Andegan (Espahbad), Karin, and Mihran, in order of best to worst relations with the Shahanshah. Some of these houses were well established for centuries, others came into existence during the turbulent fall of Parthia, others have mysterious origins. These kings were functionally independent, with their own taxes, laws, and trade policies, and their combined army was far larger than the Sasanians’. What bound them to the Shahanshah was the need for a higher authority to mediate disputes, the need for a common military leader to defend Iran, and most importantly, their culture and religion. Zoroastrian tradition is steeped in ideas of the dichotomy between order and chaos, and the eternal war between the two. The king of kings was an arbiter of order, and to revolt against him was to be an agent of chaos, something that was literally sacrilegious. If they disapproved of the reigning Shahanshah, they would support the claim of a rival from the same house who promised to align with their interests. Only in periods of severe crisis did they consider deposing the reigning house. This didn’t change much in the transition from Parthian to Sasanian, as both Ardashir and Shapur sought to increase their own power without infringing on the rights and privileges of the houses. How much favoritism each house enjoyed in this period depended entirely on what role they played in the rise of Ardashir.
House Suren was one of the oldest houses in Iran and an honored house in Parthia, one of the prestigious houses of Parthian times. They originated in Sakastan and had once held a vast, nearly autonomous region to the east, making them the most powerful and respected of the families. Since then, their power and territory had waned, but their legacy remained, and they still had a little more respect and territory than most houses. Of course, they kept their pretentiousness. Suren was one of the very first allies of the Sasanians, back when they controlled only Persis. In fact, some scholars argue the house of Sasan was originally an offshoot of Suren. Because they played a crucial role in elevating Ardashir, they were the second most favored house. Their domain was also a major supplier of tin.
House Varaz/Waraz was the second house to ally Ardashir. Their family name meant “wild boar,” a symbol of warfare and military victory in Iranian society. During the civil wars in the fall of the Parthian empire they were likely a minor noble house which, through skilled generalship, was able to conquer its own fiefdom and become a royal house. They very quickly gained a reputation for military prowess. Their king Dehen, who submitted to Ardashir, was an extremely capable and valuable commander, and he was critical in helping conquer the Kushan empire. Because of this house Waraz would be the favorites of the Sasanians, with numerous family members being given important positions, especially as military commanders, and each Warazid commander would reinforce their reputation, creating a cycle. Being on the northeastern frontier, they also played an important role in defending Persia from steppe nomads. Their land was also quite fertile and produced high-quality wine.
Moving west, House Karin was another house known to have been well established and respected in Parthia, and was, according to legend, an offshoot of the Arsacids. During the Sasanian rise, the Karinids were divided between the brothers Peroz and Gog, who were too busy fighting each other for control to get involved, making them one of the only two known houses that didn’t support Ardashir. Still, they continued to be respected. Media, the territory they controlled, was in the center of overland trade routes and the location of several ancient cities, making them quite rich. Partly because of this, they were very politically powerful. The Karin had a reputation for being very well connected politically, with their finger in every pie. Ardashir, lord of house Karin (no relation to the Shahanshah Ardashir), was reported in Syrian chronicles to have poisoned several of his enemies, including his own father Gog. Unequivocally they were the most politically influential house.
The other house that didn’t support Ardashir was Mihran, formerly house Esfandiar. Esfandiar was one of the prestigious houses of the Parthian era. During Ardashir’s rise, they were a staunch opponent, refusing to give up their support of the Arsacids. We don’t know how many other houses opposed Ardashir, because his policy towards them was simple: not only did he eliminate them and take their land, but he completely erased them from the historical record. Mihran was no exception, and they were destroyed. However, the other houses were highly offended by this callous destruction of a prestigious centuries-old house. Caving to pressure, Shapur eventually granted Ashstad, lord of Esfandiar, back most of his family’s former territory. He also forced them to change their name to Mihran, probably to try and erase their history. They were still hated by the Shahanshah and left significantly weakened, and with their territory on the coast of the Caspian Sea now ruled by the lords of Andegan. Most of their territory was the arid plains and desert of central Iran, valuable for pastures and trade roads. During this period the house would lay low, biding its time and building alliances for when it can once again become a massive player in Persian politics.
The newest of the houses were the lords of Andegan. They would later become known as house Espahbad, meaning general, connecting themselves to old Parthian generals. Andegan was a town on the very eastern edge of Mihranid rule. During the war between the Sassanids and Mihranids, they revolted and conquered much of the Caspian Sea coast, heavily contributing to Ardashir’s victory. Because of this, despite not being a royal house, they were treated as such by the Sasanians, and would work to build their legitimacy for decades. Of all the houses, they were the poorest, as their land on the south coast of the Caspian Sea was some of the least valuable, most underdeveloped land in the empire. However, they would develop it themselves. With the founding of cities like Nishapur in the province of Parthia, they began to profit off a growing maritime trade between the Caucasus and the east, and founded port cities, where a fishing industry also developed.
All these houses still considered themselves Parthian, and exerted so much influence that the Sasanian empire is often referred to as a confederation rather than a single state. Each house would send representatives the city of Isfahan, on the border between Khuzestan and Media, to make collective decisions. The influence of these houses can be seen in later histories, where both houses Mihran and Espahbad would erase their defeat and illegitimacy, respectively, from the royal records completely. Fundamentally, the Persian Empire was still Parthian.
“Aneran” was the name of the conquered regions outside of the Persian heartland, Namely Kush, the Caucuses, the levant, and Egypt. These regions were seen as “second-class” among the Persian nobility. When Ardashir and Shapur conquered land, they almost always claimed it as their own royal domain to increase their house’s power. During his Roman wars, the Sasanian nobility grew uncomfortable at the idea of Shapur personally claiming all the new territory and expanding his power too much. They also weren’t interested in being given the land themselves, especially if they had to defend it militarily. They had no standing army to garrison cities with. A compromise was reached, where Shapur got to claim Armenia and Egypt, but each former Caucasian kingdom or Roman province would be ruled by an appointed king or “Caesar” (who was not allowed to claim the titles of Augustus or Imperator). Most of the Roman and Caucasian administration was kept intact.
In the kingdom of Iberia, king Hamazasp III “the Great” was propped up by the Sasanians, a member of the old Pharnavazid dynasty that had been replaced by the Arsacids. Georgia was not subdued easily. For centuries they had exploited a Roman-Parthian rivalry to maintain independence, now they were fully subdued. The last straw happened when he converted to Manichaeism, a new religion from the still-living prophet Mani, promoted by Shapur (more on that in the future), which intentionally combined aspects of other religions. He received a religious dream, compelling him to invite a Manichean to his court. He was said to have debated his own advisors on theology and was quite a learned man who impressed even the Manichaeans with his theological intellect. He eventually converted himself and promoted the religion throughout the empire. The nobility saw this as a blatant attempt to erase Iberian culture, and briefly overthrew him in 40 S.E. (265), only for him to regain power with Sasanian help, though crushing this rebellion would leave Iberia thoroughly devastated. Archaeology shows a quite thorough massacre of the elites who at any point had opposed the Persians. After the initial rebellion, the kingdom quickly became loyal. Hamazasp created a powerful Manichean church, which much of the former noble estates was donated to. He helped pave the way for Iberia to become a center of Manichaeism (1).
Colchis/Lazica was the most Romanized Caucasian kingdom. In the year 29 (254), Gothic naval raiders attacked Pityus, but a local commander named Successianus was able to inflict devastating defeats on them. Emperor Valerian noticed his effort and made him praetorian prefect. This was the highest position a Lazican had ever reached, making him popular among his people. However, in his absence, the Goths returned and thoroughly sacked the coast. When Shapur conquered it, it was a poor backwater, its economy dead from the sacks and collapse of black sea trade. Worse, Successianus had been promoted far above his capabilities, and he failed to juggle his many new responsibilities. He was among those captured along with Valerian. However, what puzzles historians is that Shapur appointed Successianus as the Lazican king. This may have been a sign of mercy towards the Romans, or he wanted to prevent a rebellion like in Iberia by appointing a popular king. Either way, he was more competent as king of Lazica, and helped to rebuild the damage.
In the former Roman territory, “The Persian Caesars,” as the Romans called them, were mostly independent. They appointed their own successors if the Shahanshah approved them, had their own laws, trade policies, and army. Essentially, though they were on a tighter leash, they were incorporated into the same “confederation” system as the Great Houses.
There’s a common misconception that the levant was disloyal and rebellious, for two reasons. The first is hindsight, as many look at later history and use it to make assumptions about earlier history. The second is that Roman chroniclers loved to describe how corrupt and debauched the Persian reign of terror was, with the Shahanshah beheading, torturing, and enjoying seeing Syrians wallow in their misery. In reality, Sasanian rule was generally accepted. They brought political and economic stability the Romans could no longer provide, plus more autonomous rule. However, what made the Persians nervous, and what would bring issues down the line, was that they didn’t have the same Zoroastrian belief in cosmic order that kept the Great Houses loyal. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Cilicia was the northernmost province, ruled by Diomedes. It had fertile plains to the east and rugged hills to the west, and was surrounded by mountains where the only passes were through the Cilician gates north of Tarsus and the thin coastline, making it ideal for geographic defense. It was economically closely tied to Armenia. Prince Hormizd invested heavily in Cilicia, recognizing its potential for trade. There was also a Zoroastrian community, a holdover from Achaemenid times, which experienced a renaissance in Roman territory with Hormizd’s support. However, like everywhere else in the Roman Empire, Cilicia was impacted by the Millenium Crisis. Because of the declining economy, bandits grew more powerful and took to hiding in the hills, and their numbers began growing with refugees fleeing the collapsing Cappadocia. Before the region could recover and grow, a long war had to be fought with bandits, especially in the west, where the Isaurians were establishing independence.
Syria was the largest Caesarian province, led by Maryada, or Mariades in Roman sources. It was the second most looted region besides Cappadocia, but recovery was fast. Maryada created a senate and government that mirrored the Principate of Rome. Despite centuries of Roman rule, the Syrians easily adapted from the Roman “first citizen” emperors back to the absolute monarchy of the Persians, showing that not much had changed since the Seleucid Empire. It had a rich economy, producing grain, wine, oil, fruit, and was the home of several large cities like Antioch that were centers of textile manufacturing. These products were increasingly exported to Persia rather than the Mediterranean. Most of this took place on the coast, with the population getting more nomadic the further inland you went. Maryada, in cooperation with the Persians, would begin constructing outposts along roads to Mesopotamia to defend the roads from Arabs, which promoted economic growth. This, plus population growth and climate change, would make Syria grow, prosper, and urbanize for centuries to come. Syria was both ethnically and religiously diverse. Thanks to Shapur bringing the prophet Mani with him on campaign, Manichaeism was starting to spread, as well as Zoroastrianism thanks to Hormizd. But one religion that had been around for a while in relative obscurity began to grow fast: Christianity, a religion centered around a Jewish prophet the Romans had crucified centuries ago. Christians now made up a sizeable minority in Syria, especially among the urban poor. In time, this religion would create massive problems for the Persians, but for now they didn’t care who their Roman subjects worshipped.
To the south, Phoenicia was Syria’s rival. They were ruled by Uranius, who unlike Maryada presented himself as a divine monarch, albeit subordinate to Shapur. He was celebrated for his victory against the Persians, which he attributed to divine support of the sun god Elagabal. The Phoenician religion, which would come to be known as Helicism, was enforced by Uranius and would spread rapidly throughout the levant partly due to his support. Though the black stone they prayed to had been taken, they still prayed east towards Persepolis where the stone was kept, and the most devout even made pilgrimages there. Monotheists, primarily Jews and Christians, were persecuted, but Uranius encouraged the growth of new sects that syncretized with Helicism, treating the sun as an extension of God/Yahweh. In fact, what made this cult so popular was its ability to syncretize with every religion, whether polytheistic or not. Among Christians, this new split was deeply controversial and led to intense bickering about God’s true nature, as monotheists tended to. Economically, Phoenicia wasn’t as strong as Syria, but they specialized in glass and dyes, especially the lucrative purple. They also enjoyed much of the same economic growth as Syria.
The city state of Palmyra, ruled by Odaenathus, also retained its independence for a little while. It was quite unique and impressive, a caravan city state on an oasis in the middle of a desert road. Its zenith was gone, however. The Sasanians preferred to direct trade north through Armenia or south around Arabia, weakening their only economic source. In addition, climate change and population growth meant the city could no longer support its own population, culminating in a large-scale riot in 47 S.E. (272), after which the city would shrink before being quietly absorbed into Phoenicia in 59 (284).
A century earlier, the province of Judea was thoroughly depopulated in Hadrian’s cultural genocide, as he forced the Jews into diaspora and repopulated it with Roman pagans. Under the Sasanians, Shapur created a Jewish vassal kingdom, with cities like Jerusalem reconstructed, including the Third Temple of Jerusalem. He was directly mirroring Cyrus the Great, and for his efforts he was the second non-jew to be declared Messiah. Not everyone supported this, as many remembered the massacre of Caesarea, and fiercely debated whether someone who had killed 12,000 jews could be a messiah. Appointed as king was Herod Alexander, descendant of Herod the Great and part of the Herodian dynasty. Despite their liberation, most of the diaspora’d Jews had made lives for themselves outside Judea, so only the more devout returned. Among those who didn’t return home, it became quite common to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to see the Third Temple at least once in their lives. Rebuilding the kingdom came with some problems. First, two thirds of the population were pagan Romans that had been settled there. Shapur explicitly forbade persecuting them, but they weren’t allowed in government positions and were given extra taxes, something that bred resentment. Second was the spread of Helicism, especially among syncretic Jews, which became far more of a problem with Uranius promoting the faith and persecuting orthodox Jews. Judea was deeply divided between Helic and Orthodox Jews, as well as pagans. All this led not only to deep internal tensions, but external tension with Phoenicia as well. Since founding the kingdom of Judea was Shapur’s PR project, he didn’t want violence breaking out, so he endorsed the orthodox Jews but ordered everyone to get along (2).
Last was the province of Arabia, where Timagenes was made Caesar as a reward for his help during the war. The fact that an Egyptian was made Caesar shows how closely this province was tied to Egypt, both politically and economically. In the Roman Empire, this province was integrated relatively late and was a peripheral province, mostly ignored and underdeveloped. Under the Persians, Arabia grew as a trading crossroads that connected Syria, Egypt, Arabia, and the Arabian Sea (OTL Red Sea). It benefitted from the growth of Arabian Sea trade. In particular, the city of Petra was renovated to become the administrative center of Arabia, as well as a major military base. This allowed it to grow quickly, and it soon became what Palmyra once was: a caravan metropolis in the desert, and a major trade hub among multiple roads. Its star rising fast. Its interconnectedness also made Arabia a religious and cultural melting pot, with a unique blend of Hellenic, Egyptian, and Arabian culture. It had a pantheon full of gods from each of those regions, as well as Christians, Jews, Manicheans, and others.
All these religious, economic, and political developments would intersect not only with each other, but with the emerging Persian Empire. The most impressive thing about it was not its size, but its ability to string these regions into a cohesive empire.
1. Hamazasp is an interesting but very obscure historical figure. All of this is OTL up until his overthrowal. To my knowledge he was the only king to have adopted Manichaeism besides a Lakhmid king and apparently Zenobia according to some sources.
2. This was a problem the Jews had OTL, though ITTL it’s worse. Also, I should note that these religions aren’t necessarily seen as rigid, exclusive, or intolerant of one another the same way we see religions today. The lines between them are very blurry.
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These updates have gotten longer than I initially planned them to be, but it generally feels unnatural trying to break them up into parts. Next update will tour the rest of the empire and Shapur’s economic development. Depending on how long it takes I might also talk about religion, the court, or the army.
As always, any thoughts, questions, comments, anything else, are appreciated!
Why? Well, it’s because of the Muslims. The Persians had a deep oral tradition which is how they preserved most of their history. Much of that was lost in the Islamic conquests. However, we know they did keep written historical records, such as the “Book of Kings” commissioned by Khosrow I. The reason we don’t have those is also because of the Muslims. They didn’t bother preserving texts they saw as Zoroastrian heathenry.
ITTL, they have most of the same sources as OTL, but the Book of Kings and others are better preserved, giving us a Sasanian account of their own history, albeit riddled with propaganda and historical revisionism. We also have Syrian chroniclers recording Sasanian history, albeit with their own biases. While historiography is still fragmented and with problems, it’s a lot better than OTL.
What this means for this TL is that even if I’m describing info from before the POD, that doesn’t mean it’s OTL, and my interpretations of OTL figures shouldn’t be taken as a historical record. A lot of it is made up or extrapolated from shaky-at-best evidence. I didn’t want to make dozens of footnotes explaining each one, so if you have any questions about where an idea came from, please ask and I’ll explain.
Anyways, this will be a tour, where we’ll look at each territory not directly controlled by Shapur, AKA all the non-green regions on the map (except Cyprus and Cyrenaica, which aren’t part of the empire but are more like dependencies/tributaries. Also, the Kushano-Sassanian empire, which is a whole other can of worms I won’t open yet. They’ll be looked at more in the future). I realized I needed to pause the narrative and lay some groundwork, otherwise things would have gotten confusing. I recommend having the map I made in another tab or something while reading this. Enjoy!
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Chapter 4: Lords and Caesars of Eran and Aneran
Between 35 S.E. (260) and 45 S.E. (270), Shahanshah Shapur I presided over what had become the world’s largest kingdom in only a few decades. His full title became “King of Kings and Caesars of Iran and Not-Iran.” The new Sasanian Empire differed from its Arsacid predecessors in several ways. Most importantly, it was more centralized, with more territory under the direct control of the Shahanshah or by appointed Satraps, essentially governors. However, it wasn’t far removed from its decentralized Parthian roots. It continued to be a hodgepodge of vassals.
Though later chronicles always claim there were seven great houses of Iran due to the number seven’s Zoroastrian religious significance, there were at this point five autonomous vassal kingdoms, the houses of Waraz, Suren, Andegan (Espahbad), Karin, and Mihran, in order of best to worst relations with the Shahanshah. Some of these houses were well established for centuries, others came into existence during the turbulent fall of Parthia, others have mysterious origins. These kings were functionally independent, with their own taxes, laws, and trade policies, and their combined army was far larger than the Sasanians’. What bound them to the Shahanshah was the need for a higher authority to mediate disputes, the need for a common military leader to defend Iran, and most importantly, their culture and religion. Zoroastrian tradition is steeped in ideas of the dichotomy between order and chaos, and the eternal war between the two. The king of kings was an arbiter of order, and to revolt against him was to be an agent of chaos, something that was literally sacrilegious. If they disapproved of the reigning Shahanshah, they would support the claim of a rival from the same house who promised to align with their interests. Only in periods of severe crisis did they consider deposing the reigning house. This didn’t change much in the transition from Parthian to Sasanian, as both Ardashir and Shapur sought to increase their own power without infringing on the rights and privileges of the houses. How much favoritism each house enjoyed in this period depended entirely on what role they played in the rise of Ardashir.
House Suren was one of the oldest houses in Iran and an honored house in Parthia, one of the prestigious houses of Parthian times. They originated in Sakastan and had once held a vast, nearly autonomous region to the east, making them the most powerful and respected of the families. Since then, their power and territory had waned, but their legacy remained, and they still had a little more respect and territory than most houses. Of course, they kept their pretentiousness. Suren was one of the very first allies of the Sasanians, back when they controlled only Persis. In fact, some scholars argue the house of Sasan was originally an offshoot of Suren. Because they played a crucial role in elevating Ardashir, they were the second most favored house. Their domain was also a major supplier of tin.
House Varaz/Waraz was the second house to ally Ardashir. Their family name meant “wild boar,” a symbol of warfare and military victory in Iranian society. During the civil wars in the fall of the Parthian empire they were likely a minor noble house which, through skilled generalship, was able to conquer its own fiefdom and become a royal house. They very quickly gained a reputation for military prowess. Their king Dehen, who submitted to Ardashir, was an extremely capable and valuable commander, and he was critical in helping conquer the Kushan empire. Because of this house Waraz would be the favorites of the Sasanians, with numerous family members being given important positions, especially as military commanders, and each Warazid commander would reinforce their reputation, creating a cycle. Being on the northeastern frontier, they also played an important role in defending Persia from steppe nomads. Their land was also quite fertile and produced high-quality wine.
Moving west, House Karin was another house known to have been well established and respected in Parthia, and was, according to legend, an offshoot of the Arsacids. During the Sasanian rise, the Karinids were divided between the brothers Peroz and Gog, who were too busy fighting each other for control to get involved, making them one of the only two known houses that didn’t support Ardashir. Still, they continued to be respected. Media, the territory they controlled, was in the center of overland trade routes and the location of several ancient cities, making them quite rich. Partly because of this, they were very politically powerful. The Karin had a reputation for being very well connected politically, with their finger in every pie. Ardashir, lord of house Karin (no relation to the Shahanshah Ardashir), was reported in Syrian chronicles to have poisoned several of his enemies, including his own father Gog. Unequivocally they were the most politically influential house.
The other house that didn’t support Ardashir was Mihran, formerly house Esfandiar. Esfandiar was one of the prestigious houses of the Parthian era. During Ardashir’s rise, they were a staunch opponent, refusing to give up their support of the Arsacids. We don’t know how many other houses opposed Ardashir, because his policy towards them was simple: not only did he eliminate them and take their land, but he completely erased them from the historical record. Mihran was no exception, and they were destroyed. However, the other houses were highly offended by this callous destruction of a prestigious centuries-old house. Caving to pressure, Shapur eventually granted Ashstad, lord of Esfandiar, back most of his family’s former territory. He also forced them to change their name to Mihran, probably to try and erase their history. They were still hated by the Shahanshah and left significantly weakened, and with their territory on the coast of the Caspian Sea now ruled by the lords of Andegan. Most of their territory was the arid plains and desert of central Iran, valuable for pastures and trade roads. During this period the house would lay low, biding its time and building alliances for when it can once again become a massive player in Persian politics.
The newest of the houses were the lords of Andegan. They would later become known as house Espahbad, meaning general, connecting themselves to old Parthian generals. Andegan was a town on the very eastern edge of Mihranid rule. During the war between the Sassanids and Mihranids, they revolted and conquered much of the Caspian Sea coast, heavily contributing to Ardashir’s victory. Because of this, despite not being a royal house, they were treated as such by the Sasanians, and would work to build their legitimacy for decades. Of all the houses, they were the poorest, as their land on the south coast of the Caspian Sea was some of the least valuable, most underdeveloped land in the empire. However, they would develop it themselves. With the founding of cities like Nishapur in the province of Parthia, they began to profit off a growing maritime trade between the Caucasus and the east, and founded port cities, where a fishing industry also developed.
All these houses still considered themselves Parthian, and exerted so much influence that the Sasanian empire is often referred to as a confederation rather than a single state. Each house would send representatives the city of Isfahan, on the border between Khuzestan and Media, to make collective decisions. The influence of these houses can be seen in later histories, where both houses Mihran and Espahbad would erase their defeat and illegitimacy, respectively, from the royal records completely. Fundamentally, the Persian Empire was still Parthian.
“Aneran” was the name of the conquered regions outside of the Persian heartland, Namely Kush, the Caucuses, the levant, and Egypt. These regions were seen as “second-class” among the Persian nobility. When Ardashir and Shapur conquered land, they almost always claimed it as their own royal domain to increase their house’s power. During his Roman wars, the Sasanian nobility grew uncomfortable at the idea of Shapur personally claiming all the new territory and expanding his power too much. They also weren’t interested in being given the land themselves, especially if they had to defend it militarily. They had no standing army to garrison cities with. A compromise was reached, where Shapur got to claim Armenia and Egypt, but each former Caucasian kingdom or Roman province would be ruled by an appointed king or “Caesar” (who was not allowed to claim the titles of Augustus or Imperator). Most of the Roman and Caucasian administration was kept intact.
In the kingdom of Iberia, king Hamazasp III “the Great” was propped up by the Sasanians, a member of the old Pharnavazid dynasty that had been replaced by the Arsacids. Georgia was not subdued easily. For centuries they had exploited a Roman-Parthian rivalry to maintain independence, now they were fully subdued. The last straw happened when he converted to Manichaeism, a new religion from the still-living prophet Mani, promoted by Shapur (more on that in the future), which intentionally combined aspects of other religions. He received a religious dream, compelling him to invite a Manichean to his court. He was said to have debated his own advisors on theology and was quite a learned man who impressed even the Manichaeans with his theological intellect. He eventually converted himself and promoted the religion throughout the empire. The nobility saw this as a blatant attempt to erase Iberian culture, and briefly overthrew him in 40 S.E. (265), only for him to regain power with Sasanian help, though crushing this rebellion would leave Iberia thoroughly devastated. Archaeology shows a quite thorough massacre of the elites who at any point had opposed the Persians. After the initial rebellion, the kingdom quickly became loyal. Hamazasp created a powerful Manichean church, which much of the former noble estates was donated to. He helped pave the way for Iberia to become a center of Manichaeism (1).
Colchis/Lazica was the most Romanized Caucasian kingdom. In the year 29 (254), Gothic naval raiders attacked Pityus, but a local commander named Successianus was able to inflict devastating defeats on them. Emperor Valerian noticed his effort and made him praetorian prefect. This was the highest position a Lazican had ever reached, making him popular among his people. However, in his absence, the Goths returned and thoroughly sacked the coast. When Shapur conquered it, it was a poor backwater, its economy dead from the sacks and collapse of black sea trade. Worse, Successianus had been promoted far above his capabilities, and he failed to juggle his many new responsibilities. He was among those captured along with Valerian. However, what puzzles historians is that Shapur appointed Successianus as the Lazican king. This may have been a sign of mercy towards the Romans, or he wanted to prevent a rebellion like in Iberia by appointing a popular king. Either way, he was more competent as king of Lazica, and helped to rebuild the damage.
In the former Roman territory, “The Persian Caesars,” as the Romans called them, were mostly independent. They appointed their own successors if the Shahanshah approved them, had their own laws, trade policies, and army. Essentially, though they were on a tighter leash, they were incorporated into the same “confederation” system as the Great Houses.
There’s a common misconception that the levant was disloyal and rebellious, for two reasons. The first is hindsight, as many look at later history and use it to make assumptions about earlier history. The second is that Roman chroniclers loved to describe how corrupt and debauched the Persian reign of terror was, with the Shahanshah beheading, torturing, and enjoying seeing Syrians wallow in their misery. In reality, Sasanian rule was generally accepted. They brought political and economic stability the Romans could no longer provide, plus more autonomous rule. However, what made the Persians nervous, and what would bring issues down the line, was that they didn’t have the same Zoroastrian belief in cosmic order that kept the Great Houses loyal. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Cilicia was the northernmost province, ruled by Diomedes. It had fertile plains to the east and rugged hills to the west, and was surrounded by mountains where the only passes were through the Cilician gates north of Tarsus and the thin coastline, making it ideal for geographic defense. It was economically closely tied to Armenia. Prince Hormizd invested heavily in Cilicia, recognizing its potential for trade. There was also a Zoroastrian community, a holdover from Achaemenid times, which experienced a renaissance in Roman territory with Hormizd’s support. However, like everywhere else in the Roman Empire, Cilicia was impacted by the Millenium Crisis. Because of the declining economy, bandits grew more powerful and took to hiding in the hills, and their numbers began growing with refugees fleeing the collapsing Cappadocia. Before the region could recover and grow, a long war had to be fought with bandits, especially in the west, where the Isaurians were establishing independence.
Syria was the largest Caesarian province, led by Maryada, or Mariades in Roman sources. It was the second most looted region besides Cappadocia, but recovery was fast. Maryada created a senate and government that mirrored the Principate of Rome. Despite centuries of Roman rule, the Syrians easily adapted from the Roman “first citizen” emperors back to the absolute monarchy of the Persians, showing that not much had changed since the Seleucid Empire. It had a rich economy, producing grain, wine, oil, fruit, and was the home of several large cities like Antioch that were centers of textile manufacturing. These products were increasingly exported to Persia rather than the Mediterranean. Most of this took place on the coast, with the population getting more nomadic the further inland you went. Maryada, in cooperation with the Persians, would begin constructing outposts along roads to Mesopotamia to defend the roads from Arabs, which promoted economic growth. This, plus population growth and climate change, would make Syria grow, prosper, and urbanize for centuries to come. Syria was both ethnically and religiously diverse. Thanks to Shapur bringing the prophet Mani with him on campaign, Manichaeism was starting to spread, as well as Zoroastrianism thanks to Hormizd. But one religion that had been around for a while in relative obscurity began to grow fast: Christianity, a religion centered around a Jewish prophet the Romans had crucified centuries ago. Christians now made up a sizeable minority in Syria, especially among the urban poor. In time, this religion would create massive problems for the Persians, but for now they didn’t care who their Roman subjects worshipped.
To the south, Phoenicia was Syria’s rival. They were ruled by Uranius, who unlike Maryada presented himself as a divine monarch, albeit subordinate to Shapur. He was celebrated for his victory against the Persians, which he attributed to divine support of the sun god Elagabal. The Phoenician religion, which would come to be known as Helicism, was enforced by Uranius and would spread rapidly throughout the levant partly due to his support. Though the black stone they prayed to had been taken, they still prayed east towards Persepolis where the stone was kept, and the most devout even made pilgrimages there. Monotheists, primarily Jews and Christians, were persecuted, but Uranius encouraged the growth of new sects that syncretized with Helicism, treating the sun as an extension of God/Yahweh. In fact, what made this cult so popular was its ability to syncretize with every religion, whether polytheistic or not. Among Christians, this new split was deeply controversial and led to intense bickering about God’s true nature, as monotheists tended to. Economically, Phoenicia wasn’t as strong as Syria, but they specialized in glass and dyes, especially the lucrative purple. They also enjoyed much of the same economic growth as Syria.
The city state of Palmyra, ruled by Odaenathus, also retained its independence for a little while. It was quite unique and impressive, a caravan city state on an oasis in the middle of a desert road. Its zenith was gone, however. The Sasanians preferred to direct trade north through Armenia or south around Arabia, weakening their only economic source. In addition, climate change and population growth meant the city could no longer support its own population, culminating in a large-scale riot in 47 S.E. (272), after which the city would shrink before being quietly absorbed into Phoenicia in 59 (284).
A century earlier, the province of Judea was thoroughly depopulated in Hadrian’s cultural genocide, as he forced the Jews into diaspora and repopulated it with Roman pagans. Under the Sasanians, Shapur created a Jewish vassal kingdom, with cities like Jerusalem reconstructed, including the Third Temple of Jerusalem. He was directly mirroring Cyrus the Great, and for his efforts he was the second non-jew to be declared Messiah. Not everyone supported this, as many remembered the massacre of Caesarea, and fiercely debated whether someone who had killed 12,000 jews could be a messiah. Appointed as king was Herod Alexander, descendant of Herod the Great and part of the Herodian dynasty. Despite their liberation, most of the diaspora’d Jews had made lives for themselves outside Judea, so only the more devout returned. Among those who didn’t return home, it became quite common to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to see the Third Temple at least once in their lives. Rebuilding the kingdom came with some problems. First, two thirds of the population were pagan Romans that had been settled there. Shapur explicitly forbade persecuting them, but they weren’t allowed in government positions and were given extra taxes, something that bred resentment. Second was the spread of Helicism, especially among syncretic Jews, which became far more of a problem with Uranius promoting the faith and persecuting orthodox Jews. Judea was deeply divided between Helic and Orthodox Jews, as well as pagans. All this led not only to deep internal tensions, but external tension with Phoenicia as well. Since founding the kingdom of Judea was Shapur’s PR project, he didn’t want violence breaking out, so he endorsed the orthodox Jews but ordered everyone to get along (2).
Last was the province of Arabia, where Timagenes was made Caesar as a reward for his help during the war. The fact that an Egyptian was made Caesar shows how closely this province was tied to Egypt, both politically and economically. In the Roman Empire, this province was integrated relatively late and was a peripheral province, mostly ignored and underdeveloped. Under the Persians, Arabia grew as a trading crossroads that connected Syria, Egypt, Arabia, and the Arabian Sea (OTL Red Sea). It benefitted from the growth of Arabian Sea trade. In particular, the city of Petra was renovated to become the administrative center of Arabia, as well as a major military base. This allowed it to grow quickly, and it soon became what Palmyra once was: a caravan metropolis in the desert, and a major trade hub among multiple roads. Its star rising fast. Its interconnectedness also made Arabia a religious and cultural melting pot, with a unique blend of Hellenic, Egyptian, and Arabian culture. It had a pantheon full of gods from each of those regions, as well as Christians, Jews, Manicheans, and others.
All these religious, economic, and political developments would intersect not only with each other, but with the emerging Persian Empire. The most impressive thing about it was not its size, but its ability to string these regions into a cohesive empire.
1. Hamazasp is an interesting but very obscure historical figure. All of this is OTL up until his overthrowal. To my knowledge he was the only king to have adopted Manichaeism besides a Lakhmid king and apparently Zenobia according to some sources.
2. This was a problem the Jews had OTL, though ITTL it’s worse. Also, I should note that these religions aren’t necessarily seen as rigid, exclusive, or intolerant of one another the same way we see religions today. The lines between them are very blurry.
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These updates have gotten longer than I initially planned them to be, but it generally feels unnatural trying to break them up into parts. Next update will tour the rest of the empire and Shapur’s economic development. Depending on how long it takes I might also talk about religion, the court, or the army.
As always, any thoughts, questions, comments, anything else, are appreciated!
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Loved the update, always a good day when you update!
I liked this little breakdown of the status quo of the new borders, shows that while war is easy, governing is hard and while Shapur has for now managed to keep things calm, there's several problems that can and will blow up in the future, all it depends is whoever succeeds him to see if they're up to task. Oh and, can't forget about the Romans, they'll probably want their lands back too.
I liked this little breakdown of the status quo of the new borders, shows that while war is easy, governing is hard and while Shapur has for now managed to keep things calm, there's several problems that can and will blow up in the future, all it depends is whoever succeeds him to see if they're up to task. Oh and, can't forget about the Romans, they'll probably want their lands back too.
The Persians definitely chose an interesting time to invade
Thank you so much! Glad I can give you something to look forward to.
This update was a lot of setup, no glorious battles or political intrigue, just sowing the seeds of things to come
Can't help but laugh at House KAREN
Guess their main contribution to the mighty Sassanid Empire is spawning a great deal of famous, well-known screeching, banshee KARENS
Given that the houses were almost completely autonomous under Parthia, just like IOTL under the Sasanians they’re going to fight hard to be as autonomous as possible, in a way that will get them portrayed in some sources as selfish, self-serving, and entitled. And right now house Karen/Karin (it’s spelled differently in different sources) is the most influential one.
So basically from a certain point of view that’s not entirely wrong
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