The ''pushtigban'' was an elite military unit of the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

, charged with the protection of the Persian Emperor. They were stationed during peacetime in the royal capital of

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern ba ...

and were drawn from the best of the ranks of the Sasanian Savārān cavalry. They numbered 1000 men, under the command of the ''pushtigban-salar'' ; in battle they fought mostly as

cataphract A cataphract was a form of armoured heavy cavalry that originated in Persia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa. Historically, the cataphract was a very heavily armoured horseman, with both the rider and ...

s, heavily armed and armoured horsemen who would charge enemy positions with tremendous momentum. There are allusions to the participation of this unit in sources describing the Shapur II's Arab campaign and Siege of Amida (359). A sub-unit of ''pushtigban'' were the ''gyan-avspar'', the "sacrificers of their lives" - the best of the ''pushtigban''. The ''pushtigban'' fought with distinction and zeal befitting their name during Julian's invasion of Persia in the 4th century AD. The ''pushtigban'' disappeared with the

Muslim conquest of Persia As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

, that led to the

Fall of the Sasanian Empire As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

Bibliography

*Farrokh, Kaveh (2005) ''Sassanian Elite Cavalry, AD224-642''.

Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British publishing company specializing in military history formerly based in Oxford. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company p ...

References

Guards units of the Sasanian Empire Cavalry units and formations of the Sassanian Empire {{iran-mil-stub no:Udødelige (Persia)

See also

Bibliography

References