Shahralanyozan was an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

officer who served as the military governor of

Sasanian Egypt Sasanian Egypt (known in Middle Persian sources as ''Agiptus'') refers to the brief rule of Egypt and parts of Libya by the Sasanian Empire, following the Sasanian conquest of Egypt. It lasted from 618 to 628, until the Sasanian general Shahrbar ...

during the 620s.

Name

The

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

word ''Šahr-Ālānyōzān'' is actually an honorific title which, according to Saeid Jalalipour, means "the one who combats the

Alans The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...

". According to

Ilya Gershevitch Ilya Gershevitch, FBA (24 October 1914 – 11 April 2001) was a noted Iranologist. Gershevitch was born in Zürich to Russian parents Arkadi and Mila, who raised him in Smolensk, migrated to Germany and later fled from Germany to Switzerland a ...

, the title means "most powerful of commanders". The name is recorded in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

sources as Saralaneozan ()Banaji, Jairus: 'On the Identity of Shahrālānyōzān in the Greek and Middle Persian Papyri from Egypt' (2014), 'Documents and the History of the Early Islamic World', pp. 27-42, DOI: 10.1163/9789004284340_004 Brill, http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/books/b9789004284340_004 and Sahralanyozan.

Biography

Sahralanyozan is first mentioned in 621 as being appointed the military governor of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

after the conquest of the province by the Sasanian general

Shahrbaraz Shahrbaraz (also spelled Shahrvaraz or Shahrwaraz; New Persian: ) was shah (king) of the Sasanian Empire from 27 April 630 to 9 June 630. He usurped the throne from Ardashir III, and was killed by Iranian nobles after forty days. Before usurp ...

. Sahralanyozan held the title of ''karframan-idar'' ("steward of the court") and was the most powerful Iranian in Egypt. Besides being governor of Egypt, he was also the tax-collector of the province, and most likely resided in

Faiyum Faiyum ( ; , ) is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate. It is one of Egypt's oldest cities due to its strategic location. Name and etymology Originally f ...

. Although Egypt suffered much damage during its invasion by the Sasanians, after the conquest was complete, peace, toleration and rehabilitation followed. Furthermore, the Sasanians retained the same administrative structure as the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. In 626, Shahrbaraz quarrelled with the Sasanian king

Khosrow II Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; and ''Khosrau''), commonly known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran, ruling from 590 ...

(r. 590-628) and mutinied against him. It is not known whom Sahralanzoyan supported, since he is not mentioned in any source thereafter and Shahrbaraz is described as the ruler of the province. Following the end of the Byzantine–Sasanian war in 628, by 630/1, Egypt had returned to Byzantine hands.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shahralanyozan Generals of Khosrow II People of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 7th-century deaths 7th-century Iranian people Governors of Egypt Governors of the Sasanian Empire Sasanian Egypt