Meshan
| Meshan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provinceof theSassanian Empire | |||||||||
| 224–637 | |||||||||
 Map of Meshan and its surrounding provinces | |||||||||
| Capital | Karkh Meshan (224–410) Vahman-Ardashir (410–637) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Late Antiquity | ||||||||
| 224 | |||||||||
| 637 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Iraq Kuwait | ||||||||
Meshan(Middle Persian:𐭬𐭩𐭱𐭠𐭭) was a province of theSasanian Empire.It consisted of theParthianvassal kingdom ofCharaceneand reached north along theShatt al-Arabriver and then the lowerTigristo Madhar and possibly further. Its inhabitants includedBabylonians,Arabs,Iranians,and even someIndiansandMalays(the Malays may have been slaves brought from the Indian sub-continent). The province was very fertile, the best place for barley according toStrabo,and contained many date palms. It was also an important trading province along thePersian Gulf.[1]
History
[edit]In, the first ruler of theSasanian dynasty,Ardashir I(r. 224–242) after having conquered his native province,Pars,invaded Meshan, killing its ruler, Bandu. Ardashir had a city named Karkh Meshan rebuilt, and had it renamed as Astarabad-Ardashir. According to a fragmentaryManicheanaccount found inTurfan,Mihr-šāh, a brother of the Sasnian kingShapur I(r. 240-270), ruled as the vassal-king of Meshan. According to thisManicheanaccount, Mihr-šāh was visited and converted byManihimself - some scholars, however, doubt the accuracy of this source.[2][3]Ardashir also built (or rebuilt) a town namedVahman-Ardashir,also known as Forat Meshan. A son of Shapur I,Shapur Mishanshah,is confirmed to have ruled Meshan from an unknown date until his death in 260, and was probably succeeded by his wifeDenag.
According to the inscription of kingNarseh(r. 293-302), known as thePaikuli inscription,Meshan was ruled by an Iranian aristocrat named Adurfarrobay, who would later rebel against Narseh and support a claimant to the Sasanian throne,Bahram III.
During the 5th century, Vahman-Ardashir had seemingly succeeded Karkh Meshan as the capital of Meshan, due to its mention as the chief city of Meshan bySyriacsources.
The port ofObolla(Apologos) was located in this province.[4]
Population
[edit]Like most of the other western Sasanian provinces such asAsoristan,Meshan was a province with various ethnic groups; TheAssyrians,the Mesenian Arabs, and the nomadic Arabs, formed theSemiticpopulation of the province along withNabataeanandPalmyrenemerchants.Iranianshad also begun to settle in the province, along with theZutt,who had been deported fromIndia.Other Indian[clarification needed]groups such as theMalaysmay also have been deported to Meshan, either as captives or recruited sailors.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3(2): The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian Periods, ed. Ehsan Yarshater (NY: Cambridge UP, 1983), 754-757.
- ^Sundermann, Werner."Manicheism v. Missionary Activity and Technique".Encyclopedia Iranica.Retrieved8 December2020.
- ^Boyce, Mary (1975).Textes et Mémoires Vol. II: A Reader in Manichaean Middle Persian and Parthian(Bibliothèque Pahlavi ed.). Leiden: Brill. pp. 37–38.ISBN90-04-03902-3.
- ^"OBOLLA – Encyclopaedia Iranica".iranicaonline.org.Retrieved22 May2019.
Sources
[edit]- Morony, M. (1988). "BAHMAN-ARDAŠĪR".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 5.p. 494.
- Houtsma, Martijn Theodoor(1993). "The Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 5".The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. V.Brill. pp. 1–578.ISBN90-04-09791-0.
- Bosworth, C. E.(1986). "ʿARAB i. Arabs and Iran in the pre-Islamic period".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 2.pp. 201–203.
- Hansman, John (1991). "CHARACENE and CHARAX".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. V, Fasc. 4.pp. 363–365.
- Fisher, William Bayne; Yarshater, Ehsan (1983).The Cambridge History of Iran: The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian periods.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-24693-4.
Provinces of theSasanian Empire | ||
|---|---|---|
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* indicates short living provinces | ||