Life under the Sasanians

Sasanian society was based on the Zoroastrian values. The basic institutions of the society were controlled and set y the class in which the people were in. On the top of the pyramid of Sasanian Iran, were the royal family and the seven “noble” families. Each family had a privilege and a set duty in the country. All commander in chiefs of the Sasanian armies were from the family of Mehran, as Sukhras were in charge of finance. Next came the clergy, followed by the military, the merchant, and the farmer class. Social mobility was possible, but greatly monitored. We can seldom mention a great achievement from the lower classes, maybe the greatest of them being Bozorgmehr, coming from a merchant class and becoming the farzin (prime minister) of the country.

Religion of the Sasanian state was Zoroastrianism. This ancient monotheistic religion, after undergoing a thousand years of change, was finally chosen as the official religion of the Iranian people. The Zoroastrianism of Sasanian state was not exactly what was suggested in the Avesta, the holy book of the religion. Sasanian Zoroastrian clergy modified the religion in a way to serve themselves the best, thus causing great uneasiness over the religion. As mentioned before, this Zoroastrian dominance set the ground for many religious reform movements, most important one of them being religions of Maani and Mazdak. Other than Zoroastrianism, other religions, particularly Christianity were existent in the Sasanian society, and they were free to practice and preach their belief, sometimes with bits of limitation. Christians of Iran, belonging mainly to the Nestorian and Jacobite branches, kept close relations with the Byzantine, and in occasions, helped the Byzantine armies in their manoeuvres against Iran. Most of the Christians in the Sasanian empire lived on the western edge of the empire, mainly in Antioch and Amidia. Armenians, previously Zoroastrians, were the first people in Iran to convert to Christianity.

In the foreign policy, Sasanians always had uneasy relations with the Romans, their wars lasting for generations. Armenians, an autonomous kingdom ruled by a descendant of Ashkani emperors, were a great cause of disagreement between two mighty empires. Romans claimed them on basis of their conversion to Christianity under Tigran the Great in 100’s AD, and Sasanians claiming them on basis of their long-time alliance with Iran and the fact that their ruler was an Iranian prince. On the other side of the empire, Huns were the greatest trouble makers. After almost 200 years of fighting, Sasanian emperors finally reached peaceful terms with Huns only a short time before the Arab invasion. India and China, on the other hand, kept their ancient friendly relations with Iran throughout the Sasanian era.

In terms of trade, Iran continued to play its important role as the cross-roads of major trade roots. Iranian cities of Herat, Marv, Balkh, Zarang, Estakhr, Raga, and Jey continued to grow. Many new cities were established which became major trade ports in the Islamic era, cities such as Nishapour and Ardashir Khvra. Ctesiphon, the mighty capital of Sasanian empire, grew so large as a result of Sasanian prosperity that in late 500’s, it included 4 cities, causing it to be known as “Shatraan” (Cities!). It is estimated that Ctesiphone had a population of over 2 millions and was the largest city in that time in the sense of area. Palaces and gardens of Ctesiphone were among the most beautiful in the world. After the sacking of the city by Arab armies, Ctesiphone continued its life as a half ruined city, until it was completely destroyed by the second Abbasid Caliph, Al Mansour, and its material were used to build the city of Baghdad. Today, only one of Ctesiphone’s 50 palaces stand witness to the Sasanian glory.

In general, Sasanian society and civilisation was among the highest of its time, being only matched by the Byzantine civilisation. The amount of exchange of scientific and intellectual exchange between the two empires is a witness to the competition and co-operation of these ancient cradles of civilisation.

Sasanian intellect and achievements was not destroyed and forgotten by the Arab invasion. Although destroying many places of learning, Arab invaders could not avoid using the more experienced and knowledgeable Iranian bureaucrats in their empire. The first 100 years of Islamic empire is so much under the influence of Sasanian administrative system that we can simply call it a continuation of Sasanian rule. Iranian scholars and scientists like Ebn Moghafa, Avicena, Razi, Borooni, Kharazmi, and Yaaghoot contributed a large amount of knowledge to the Islamic civilisation, causing it to grow and prosper like no other civilisation before. An Iranian scribe created the Arab-Persian alphabet, the grammar of Arabic was first written by an Iranian, and the list goes on. In short, Iranians mixed themselves in the Islamic civilisation and gave it an Iranian flavour without which it could not have achieved what it did.