The Zarmihrid dynasty was a local dynasty of

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. ...

which ruled over parts of the mountainous areas of the region, from the reign of

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 ...

king

Khosrau I Khosrow I (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩; New Persian: []), traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan ( [] "the Immortal Soul"), was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from ...

to 785. The family claimed its origin from a powerful

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic la ...

lord named Sukhra, a descendant of Kaveh the blacksmith, the national hero of Iran, and who was one of the leading nobles of the empire during the reign of

Balash Balash (Middle Persian: 𐭥𐭥𐭣𐭠𐭧𐭱𐭩, ) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 484 to 488. He was the brother and successor of Peroz I (), who had been defeated and killed by a Hephthalite army. Name ''Balāsh'' () is the N ...

and Kavadh I. According to a traditional story, Sukhra left two children, Karin and Zarmihr, who helped

protect the eastern borders of his empire when it was invaded by Turkic nomads. Karin was rewarded with land in the south of

Amol Amol ( fa, آمل – ; ; also Romanized as Āmol and Amul) is a city and the administrative center of Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran, with a population of around 300,000 people. Amol is located on the Haraz river bank. It is less th ...

, and was given title of

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 Sasa ...

, thus starting the Karen dynasty of

. Zarmihr was rewarded with parts of

and was given the title of

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 ...

and Masmughan. Eastern Tabaristan was mainly divided between the Karenids, the Zarmihrids and the

of Tomisha. In 783, the Karenids, along with the

Bavandids 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 ...

and the Zarmihrids revolted against the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttal ...

, the alliance was, however, defeated in 785, and thus the Zarmihrids disappeared from history afterwards.

Sources

* Rabino de Borgomale, ''Les dynasties du Mazanderan'', Londres, 1928 6th century in Iran 7th century in Iran 8th century in Iran Rulers of Tabaristan +

See also

Sources