Meshan (
Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭩𐭱𐭠𐭭) was a province of the
Sasanian Empire. It consisted of the
Parthian vassal kingdom of
Characene
Characene ( Ancient Greek: Χαρακηνή), also known as Mesene (Μεσσήνη) or Meshan, was a kingdom founded by the Iranian Hyspaosines located at the head of the Persian Gulf mostly within modern day Iraq. Its capital, Charax Spasinou ( ...
and reached north along the
Shatt al-Arab river and then the lower
Tigris
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the P ...
to Madhar and possibly further. Its inhabitants included
Babylonians
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
,
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
,
Iranians, and even some
Indians and
Malays (the Malays may have been slaves brought from the Indian sub-continent). The province was very fertile, the best place for barley according to
Strabo, and contained many date palms. It was also an important trading province along the
Persian Gulf.
History
In, the first ruler of the
Sasanian dynasty,
Ardashir I
Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: , '), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new emp ...
(r. 224–242) after having conquered his native province,
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 ...
, invaded Meshan, killing its ruler, Bandu. Ardashir had a city named Karkh Meshan rebuilt, and had it renamed as Astarabad-Ardashir. According to a fragmentary
Manichean
Manichaeism (;
in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (A ...
account found in
Turfan, Mihr-šāh, a brother of the Sasnian king
Shapur I (r. 240-270), ruled as the vassal-king of Meshan. According to this
Manichean
Manichaeism (;
in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (A ...
account, Mihr-šāh was visited and converted by
Mani
Mani may refer to:
Geography
* Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia
* Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad
* Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece
* Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshina ...
himself - some scholars, however, doubt the accuracy of this source. Ardashir also built (or rebuilt) a town named
Vahman-Ardashir Vahman-Ardashir or Bahman-Ardashir, also known as Forat Meshan (also spelled as Mayshan, Maysan, Meshun and Maishan), was an ancient town and sub-district in the Sasanian province of Meshan, which is situated in present-day southern Iraq.
History ...
, also known as Forat Meshan. A son of Shapur I,
Shapur Mishanshah
Shapur Meshanshah ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 𐭱𐭠𐭤𐭬𐭩𐭱𐭠𐭭), was a 3rd-century Sasanian prince. He was the second son of the Sassanian shah Shapur I, and was married to a certain queen named Denag, who bore him several ...
, is confirmed to have ruled Meshan from an unknown date until his death in 260, and was probably succeeded by his wife
Denag
Denag (fl. 459), was a Sasanian queen ('' banbishn''). She was the wife of the king ('' shah'') Yazdegerd II (), and functioned as queen regent in Ctesiphon during the civil war between her sons in 457-459.
Life
Her origins are unknown, though ...
.
According to the inscription of king
Narseh (r. 293-302), known as the
Paikuli 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
Bahram III (also spelled Wahram III or Warahran III; pal, 𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭, New Persian: ), was the sixth king ( shah) of the Sasanian Empire. He was son and successor of Bahram II.Touraj Daryaee, ''Sasanian Persia'', (I.B.Tauris Ltd, 2 ...
.
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 by
Syriac Syriac may refer to:
*Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic
*Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region
* Syriac alphabet
** Syriac (Unicode block)
** Syriac Supplement
* Neo-Aramaic languages ...
sources.
The port of
Obolla (Apologos) was located in this province.
Population
Like most of the other western Sasanian provinces such as
Asoristan
Asoristan ( pal, 𐭠𐭮𐭥𐭥𐭮𐭲𐭭 ''Asōristān'', ''Āsūristān'') was the name of the Sasanian province of Assyria and Babylonia from 226 to 637.
Name
The Parthian name ''Asōristān'' (; also spelled ''Asoristan'', ''Asuristan ...
, Meshan was a province with various ethnic groups; The
Assyrians, the Mesenian Arabs, and the nomadic Arabs, formed the
Semitic population of the province along with
Nabataean
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...
and
Palmyrene merchants.
Iranians had also begun to settle in the province, along with the
Zutt, who had been deported from
India. Other Indian groups such as the
Malays may also have been deported to Meshan, either as captives or recruited sailors.
References
Sources
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{{coord missing, Iraq
Provinces of the Sasanian Empire
224 establishments
States and territories established in the 220s
History of Kuwait