Masmughan ("Chief Magian" or "Great one of the Magians"
["Maṣmug̲h̲an." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online, 2013. Reference. 30 November 2013 ]) was a
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 ...
title that existed in the 7th century, probably equivalent to governor of a district or a region.
The collapse of the
Sasanian Empire resulted in the rise of several independent dynasties in
Tabaristan
Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...
. A certain
Karenid named
Mardanshah, carried the title of Masmughan and held control over
Damavand
Mount Damavand ( fa, دماوند ) is a dormant stratovolcano, the highest peak in Iran and Western Asia and the highest volcano in Asia and the 2nd highest volcano in the Eastern Hemisphere (after Mount Kilimanjaro), at an elevation of . ...
and
Larijan including its surrounding areas. His successors would control the area until in 760 when the region was conquered by the Arabs.
Another
Karenid named Valash appears to bear the title of Masmughan, who served as
Marzban
Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from ''marz'' "border, boundary" and the suffix ''-pān'' "guardian"; Modern Persian: ''Marzbān'') were a class of margraves, warden of the marches, and by extension milita ...
of Miyano-du-rud, near
Sari
A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include:
* as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO
* bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO
* gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std ...
between the Kalarud river limited to the east with Karatughan. Valash was later murdered in revenge by Sukhrab I, the
ispahbadh
''Spāhbed'' (also spelled ''spahbod'' and ''spahbad'') is a Middle Persian title meaning "army chief" used chiefly in the Sasanian Empire. Originally there was a single ''spāhbed'', called the , who functioned as the generalissimo of the Sasan ...
of the
Bavand dynasty
The Bavand dynasty () (also spelled Bavend), or simply the Bavandids, was an Iranian dynasty that ruled in parts of Tabaristan (present-day Mazandaran province) in what is now northern Iran from 651 until 1349, alternating between outright inde ...
.
See also
*
Paduspanids
The Baduspanids or Badusbanids ( fa, پادوسبانیان, Pâdusbâniân), were a local Iranian dynasty of Tabaristan which ruled over Ruyan/Rustamdar. The dynasty was established in 665, and with 933 years of rule as the longest dynasty in I ...
*
Seven Parthian clans
The Seven Great Houses of Iran, also known as the seven Parthian clans, were seven feudal aristocracies of Parthian origin, who were allied with the Sasanian court. The Parthian clans all claimed ancestry from Achaemenid Persians.
The seven Great ...
*
Zarmihrids The Zarmihrid dynasty was a local dynasty of Tabaristan which ruled over parts of the mountainous areas of the region, from the reign of Sasanian king Khosrau I to 785.
The family claimed its origin from a powerful Karen lord named Sukhra, a desce ...
References
Sources
*
Positions of authority
Sasanian military offices
Military ranks
{{MEast-hist-stub