Dad-windad (also spelled Dad-bendad) was a

Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

grandee, who served as the chief secretary ('' dabirbad'') of the last Arsacid monarch, Artabanus IV (). He took part in the climactic

battle of Hormozdgan The Battle of Hormozdgan (also spelled Hormizdagan and Hormozgan) was the climactic battle between the Arsacid and the Sasanian dynasties that took place on April 28, 224. The Sasanian victory broke the power of the Parthian dynasty, effectively e ...

in 224 between the Arsacid and

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

forces, which resulted in the defeat and death of Artabanus IV, with Dad-windad meeting his end shortly afterwards.

Biography

Dad-windad served as the chief secretary, which was a powerful post but also a risky one, with the possibility of a harsh penalty or even death. On April 28 224, Dad-Windad took part in the climactic battle of Hormozdgan between the Arsacid and

forces. The forces of the Sasanian king Ardashir I numbered 10,000 cavalry, with some of them wearing flexible chain armor akin to that of the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. Artabanus V led a greater number of soldiers, who, however, were less disposed, due to wearing the inconvenient

lamellar A ''lamella'' (plural ''lamellae'') is a small plate or flake, from the Latin, and may also be used to refer to collections of fine sheets of material held adjacent to one another, in a gill-shaped structure, often with fluid in between though s ...

armor. Ardashir's son and heir,

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardas ...

, as portrayed in the Sasanian

rock relief A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction with, ro ...

s, also took part in the battle. Artabanus V was defeated and killed during the battle, which marked the end of the Parthian era and the start of 427-years of Sasanian rule. Dad-windad was afterwards executed by Ardashir I. Ardashir I celebrated his victory in a relief sculptured at his previous capital, Ardashir-Khwarrah (present-day Firuzabad) in his homeland,

Pars Pars may refer to: * Fars Province of Iran, also known as Pars Province * Pars (Sasanian province), a province roughly corresponding to the present-day Fars, 224–651 * ''Pars'', for ''Persia'' or ''Iran'', in the Persian language * Pars News A ...

. On the relief, Ardashir I is portrayed as riding on a horse whilst ousting Artabanus V, who is also mounted. Ardashir I's son Shapur I, also on horseback, is portrayed as impaling Dad-windad with his lance.

References

Sources

* * * * {{cite encyclopedia , last = Shahbazi , first = A. Shapur , title = SASANIAN DYNASTY , url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sasanian-dynasty , year = 2005 , encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition 3rd-century Iranian people 224 deaths Year of birth unknown People from the Parthian Empire