House of Suren or Surenas
[.][.] (
Parthian: 𐭎𐭅𐭓𐭉𐭍 Surēn,
Middle Persian
Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle P ...
: 𐭮𐭥𐭫𐭩𐭭) is one of two Parthian noble families explicitly mentioned by name in sources dateable to the
Arsacid period.
[.]
History
The head of Suren family had the privilege to crown the first Parthian king in the 3rd century BC, which founded a tradition that was continued by his descendants.
Following the 3rd century AD defeat of the Arsacids and the subsequent rise of the
Sassanids
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 ...
, the Surenas then switched sides and began to serve the Persians,
[.][.] at whose court they were identified as one of the so-called "
Parthian clans." The last attested scion of the family was a military commander active in northern China during the 9th century.
[.]
It is probable
that the Surenas were landowners in
Sakastan
Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan ...
, that is, in the region between
Arachosia
Arachosia () is the Hellenized name of an ancient satrapy situated in the eastern parts of the Achaemenid empire. It was centred around the valley of the Arghandab River in modern-day southern Afghanistan, and extended as far east as the In ...
and
Drangiana in present-day southeast
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and Southern
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
. The Surenas appear to have governed
Sistan
Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan ( ...
(which derives its name from 'Sakastan' and was once a much larger region than the present day province) as their personal
fiefdom.
"
Ernst Herzfeld maintained that the dynasty of
he_Indo-Parthian_emperor.html" ;"title="Indo-Parthian.html" ;"title="he Indo-Parthian">he Indo-Parthian emperor">Indo-Parthian.html" ;"title="he Indo-Parthian">he Indo-Parthian emperorGondophares represented the House of Suren."
[ ''cf.'' .] Other notable members of the family include the 1st century BC cavalry commander Surena, Gregory the Illuminator, and
Chihor-Vishnasp, a 6th-century AD governor of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...
who attempted to establish
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
in that country.
[.]
Mehr Narseh
Mihr-Narseh ( pal, 𐭬𐭲𐭥𐭭𐭥𐭮𐭧𐭩 ), was a powerful Iranian dignitary from the House of Suren, who served as minister () of the Sasanian '' shahanshahs'' Yazdegerd I (), Bahram V (), Yazdegerd II () and Peroz I (). According to t ...
, the
minister of four
Sasanian kings, was from the House of Suren.
References
Bibliography
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* Plutarch, "Marcus Crassus", in
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{{Parthian Empire
Iranian dynasties