House of Karen
| House of Karen | |
|---|---|
 Clasp with an eagle and its prey found inNahavand,believed byErnst Herzfeldto originally belong to the House of Karen[1] | |
| Parent house | Arsacids |
| Country | Parthian Empire,Sasanian Empire |
| Current head | None, extinct |
| Members | Sukhra,Karin, Alanda |
| Estate(s) | Nahavand |
| Cadet branches | Kamsarakan[2] Qarinvands Masmughans of Damavand |
TheHouse of Karen(Middle Persian:Kārēn;Parthian:𐭊𐭓𐭍𐭉,romanized:Kārēn;Persian:کارن,romanized:KārinorKāren), also known asKaren-Pahlav(Kārēn-Pahlaw), was one of theSeven Great Houses of Iranduring the rule ofParthianandSassanian Empires.The seat of the dynasty was atNahavand,about 65 km south ofEcbatana(present-dayHamadan,Iran). Members of the House of Karen were of notable rank in the administrative structure of the Sassanian empire in multiple periods of its four century-long history.
Origin and history[edit]
The Karens, Karan-Vands,Qarinvand dynastyor Karen-Pahlevi, as they are also called, claimed descent from Karen, a figure of folklore and son of the equally mythicalKaveh the Blacksmith.Their historical origin however may be that the Karens, along with theHouse of Mihran,were descended from theArsacids.[3]According toMovses Khorenatsi,this descent was via one of the three sons ofPhraates IV,also namedKaren.[4]The fact thatKarenmay also have been among the family names of the Arsacid dynasty may give credence to this theory.[5]: 12
The use of the name Karen might also be found earlier in Iranian history. A possible early member of the family was a certain Vishtaspa krny (krnybeing a variation of Karen) who lived inBactriaduring the laterAchaemenid period.[6]This figure has been identified with Hystaspes, a member of the Achaemenid royal family who fought underDarius IIIduringAlexander the Great's invasion of Persia. Hystaspes' wife, a granddaughter ofArtaxerxes III,fell intoMacedonianhands following theBattle of Gaugamela,though he was later reunited with her as well as being raised to a high position under Alexander's command.[7]
However the first verified reference to the Karenas was during theArsacidera, specifically as one of the feudal houses affiliated with the Parthian court. In this they were similar to theHouse of Suren,the only other attested feudal house of the Parthian period. Following the conquest of the Parthians, the Karenas allied themselves with theSassanids,at whose court they were identified as one of the so-called "Parthian clans".The ArmenianKamsarakanfamily was a branch of the House of Karen.[2][8]
Following the defeat of theSasaniansby the army ofRashidunat theBattle of Badghis,the Karenas pledged allegiance to the Caliphate. In 783 however, underVandad Hormozdand allied with theBavands,the Karenas proclaimed independence and refused to continue to pay tribute. Notwithstanding repeated (and some temporarily successful) attempts to conquer the Karenas, during which the family had withdrawn further eastwards to theSavadkuhregion, some of the lands of the Karenas appear to have remained independent until the 11th century, after which the House of Karen is no longer attested. Other notable members of the family includeMaziar,the grandson of Vandad Hormozd, whose devotion toZoroastrianismand defiance of the Arabs brought him great fame.
Karen Spahbeds[edit]
- Sukhra(r. 525–550)
- Karin (r. 550–600)
- Alanda (r. 600–635)
- Valash(r. 650–673)
- Several Karen princes (r. 673–765)
- Vandad Hormozd(r. 765–815)
- Vandad Safan (r. 765–800)
- Karin ibn Vandad Hormozd (r. 815–816)
- Mazyar(r. 817)
- Vinda-Umid (r. 800–820)
- Bavandrule (r. 817)
- Quhyar (r. 817–823)
- Mazyar(r. 823-839/840)
- Quhyar(r. 839)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Herzfeld 1928,pp. 21–22.
- ^abToumanoff 2010,pp. 453–455.
- ^Arthur George Warner, Edmond Warner,The Shahnama of Firdausi:, Volume 7(2013), p. 185
- ^Movses Khorenatsi (trans. by R. W. Thompson),History of the Armenians(1978), p. 166
- ^Shayegan, M. Rahim (2016)."The Arsacids and Commagne".In Pendleton, Elizabeth; Alram, Michael; Daryaee, Touraj; Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh (eds.).The Parthian and Early Sasanian Empires: Adaptation and Expansion.Conference held in Vienna 14–16 June 2012. British Institute of Persian Studies. pp. 8–22.
- ^J. Naveh, S. Shaked,Aramaic Documents from Ancient Bactria(2012), p. 191
- ^Shayegan (2012,p. 12)
- ^Pourshariati 2017.
Sources[edit]
- Schindel, Nikolaus (2013). "KAWĀD I i. Reign".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XVI, Fasc. 2.pp. 136–141.
- 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.ISBN978-1-84511-645-3.
- Al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir(1985–2007). Ehsan Yar-Shater (ed.).The History of Al-Ṭabarī.Vol. 40 vols. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
- Toumanoff, C. (2010). "KAMSARAKAN".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XV, Fasc. 5.pp. 453–455.
- Bosworth, C. E.(1968). "The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000–1217)". In Frye, R. N. (ed.).The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Saljuq and Mongol periods.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–202.ISBN0-521-06936-X.
- Frye, R. N. (1986). "Bāwand".The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume I: A–B.Leiden and New York: BRILL. p. 1110.ISBN90-04-08114-3.
- Madelung, W.(1975)."The Minor Dynasties of Northern Iran".In Frye, R. N. (ed.).The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 198–249.ISBN978-0-521-20093-6.
- Madelung, W.(1984). "ĀL-E BĀVAND (BAVANDIDS)".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 7.London u.a.: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 747–753.ISBN90-04-08114-3.
- Rekaya, M. (1997). "Ḳārinids".The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume IV: Iran–Kha.Leiden and New York: BRILL. pp. 644–647.ISBN90-04-05745-5.
- Mottahedeh, Roy(1975)."The ʿAbbāsid Caliphate in Iran".In Frye, R. N. (ed.).The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 57–90.ISBN978-0-521-20093-6.
- Ibn Isfandiyar, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan(1905).An Abridged Translation of the History of Tabaristan, Compiled About A.H. 613 (A.D. 1216).Trans. Edward G. Browne. Leyden: E.J. Brill.
- Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2017). "KĀRIN".Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- Herzfeld, Ernst (1928). "The Hoard of the Kâren Pahlavs".The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs.52(298). Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 52, no. 298: 21–27.JSTOR863510.