ARIA
/ HARAIVA / ARIANA
Incorporating
the Areioi :
The
ancient province of Aria lay largely within the northern areas of
modern Afghanistan, southern Turkmenistan, and perhaps the eastern
edges of Iran. Within it was included the River Hari, the ancient
River Arius, from which the region probably gained its name (river
names are generally older than regional or district names).
With Aria centred on what is now the city of Herat, the valley of
the Arius was famous for its fertile soil and excellent cultivation
properties. Prior to its late sixth century BC domination by the
Achaemenid Persians, Aria seems to have formed part of a much larger
and more poorly-defined region known as Ariana, with the later Aria
seemingly lying at its heart. Barely recorded by written history,
its precise boundaries are impossible to pin down. It may have encompassed
much or all of southern Transoxiana, the region around the River
Oxus (the Amu Darya), and could have reached as far south as the
coastline of the Arabian Sea.
This region was home to one of the oldest series of states in Central
Asia, the indigenous Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex, or
Oxus Civilisation (otherwise known as the BMAC). As suggested, this
was centred on Bactria and Margiana, but it extended into the neighbouring
(Persian and Greek) provinces and regions of Paropamisadae (to the
south-east), Arachosia (to the south), Carmania (to the south-west),
and Hyrcania (to the west). East Indo-European tribes soon integrated
into the area from the steppelands to the north, creating a melting
pot which formed the Indo-Iranian tribes. From there, following
the civilisation's collapse by around 1700 BC, they migrated outwards,
westwards into pre-Achaemenid Iran as the Alani, Mannaeans, Medians
(or Medes), and Parsua, and eastwards into India. Those who remained
behind appear to have entered the historical record around the sixth
century BC, when they came up against the rapidly expanding Persian
empire.
The name is a variation of Arya, usually shown as Aria (Latin),
Areia (close to the Greek spelling), Haraiva (Persian), or Haraeuua
(Avestan). The Areioi (or Arii) tribe mentioned by Herodotus
which occupied the Persian and Greek province of Haraiva/Aria were
named on the same basis (he also mentions that the Medes were formerly
called the Arioi - Aryans) - as is the River Hari. Although it is
unfashionable to use it these days, thanks to the Nazis, the name
Arya appears to be the oldest one known for Indo-Europeans (IEs).
Both Iranians and Indians derived from a single group which are
usually called either Indo-Iranians or Indo-Aryans and which were
descended from East IE groups. They probably knew themselves as
Arya plus a plural suffix, possibly '-na', producing Aryana. Apart
from being preserved in the eponymous province, this was also retained
in names such as Iran (Aryan), the prefix of a line of kings in
Cappadocia, Satrap Ariobarzanes of Persis, the duchy of Ariano in
Italy, and many others. It does not seem to have been retained amongst
Celtic names, but if it can be found amongst the Celto-Italics and
Slavics then it may be the case that it was the actual name of the
original IE homeland or a major sub-grouping of IE tribes.
The term 'Ariana' was used by various ancient writers as a general
geographical term which covered the later provinces of Aria, Carmania,
Gedrosia, Drangiana, Arachosia, Gandhar (part), and Bactria (part).
This would appear to correspond relatively closely to the modern
borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Curiously, and perhaps not
at all coincidentally, the land of Tūr (or Turaj, sometimes
also shown without the accented 'u' as Tur) which is mentioned in
Persian sources seems to border this to the north. The land of Tūr,
which contained the kingdom of Turan, can be equated to territory
in the heartland of Indo-Iranian southern Central Asia and South
Asia, focused mainly on the later provinces of Bactria and Margiana,
and extending into Sogdiana. The focus in Tūr seems largely
to have been westwards, along the migratory trail used by Alani,
Mannaeans, Medes, and Persians to reach the Zagros Mountains or
southern Iran. The land of Aryana Vaejah mentioned in the Avesta
is usually located to the north and west of both lands.
The
focus in Ariana is less clear, but the region was the gateway into
India so, even prior to Alexander's campaigns through this land
and into the northern Indus and southern Indus, the focus was probably
eastwards. If Central Asia was, as it seems to be, the melting pot
which created the Indo-Iranian and Indo-Aryan groups, then if Tūr
was the Indo-Iranian heartland, could Ariana have been the Indo-Aryan
opposite number? The migration of Indo-Aryans into India would have
come through this region, so it's not an impossibility that the
migration started from Ariana, perhaps after a period of relatively
settled life here following the BMAC decline. This is speculation,
of course, but highly interesting nonetheless.
(Additional information by Edward Dawson, from The Persian Empire,
J M Cook (1983), from the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography:
'Ariana', William Smith (Boston, 1980), from The Histories,
Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), and from External Links: The Geography
of Strabo (Loeb ical Library Edition, 1932), and Encyclopaedia Iranica.)
8th
century BC :
Later
myth ascribes a dynasty of Indo-Iranian rulers to this period, as
described in the Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), a
poetic opus which is written about AD 1000 but which accesses older
works (such as the semi-official seventh century AD book called
the Kwaday-namag), and perhaps elements of an oral tradition.
The Kayanian dynasty of kings of the Persians are also the heroes
of the Avesta, which forms the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism.
The
earliest of these mythical Indo-Iranian rulers is Fereydun, king
of a 'world empire'. His subjects are the Indo-Iranian tribes of
the region while his kingdom is apparently in the land of Tūr.
This can be equated to territory in the heartland of Indo-Iranian
southern Central Asia and South Asia, focused mainly on the later
provinces of Bactria and Margiana, along with the Kopet Dag region
(a mountain range which serves to separate modern Turkmenistan and
Iran), the Atrek valley, and the eastern Alborz Mountains.
Judging by those borders, the land of Tūr stretches from Samarkand
to Tehran, although the kingdom of Turan is probably a good deal
smaller and more eastern-based. The Persians themselves may still
control a good deal of the western section as they began to settle
in southern Iran. Curiously (and probably not coincidentally), these
borders place the land of Tūr on the northern border of another
ancient region, that of Ariana.
![Map of Central Asia & India c.700 BC](Map_Bactria-&-India-700BC_full.jpg)
Following
the climate-change-induced collapse of indigenous civilisations
and cultures in Iran and Central Asia between about 2200-1700 BC,
Indo-Iranian groups gradually migrated southwards to form two regions
- Tūr (yellow) and Ariana (white), with westward migrants forming
the early Parsua kingdom (lime green), and Indo-Aryans entering
India (green)
c.546
- 540 BC :
The
defeat of the Medes opens the floodgates for Cyrus the Great with
a wave of conquests, beginning in the west from 549 BC but focussing
towards the east of the Persians from about 546 BC. Eastern Iran
falls during a more drawn-out campaign between about 546-540 BC,
which may be when Maka is taken (presumed to be the southern coastal
strip of the Arabian Sea). Further eastern regions now fall, namely
Arachosia, Aria, Bactria, Carmania, Chorasmia, Drangiana, Gandhar,
Gedrosia, Hyrcania, Margiana, Parthia, Saka (at least part of the
broad tribal lands of the Sakas), Sogdiana (with Ferghana), and
Thatagush - all added to the empire, although records for these
campaigns are characteristically sparse.
Persian
Satraps of Haraiva (Aria) :
Conquered
in the mid-sixth century BC by Cyrus the Great, the region of Haraiva
(or Haraiwa) was added to the Persian empire. The name is also known
in Avestan as Haraēuua. Before the Persians took control it
was populated largely by Indo-Iranian tribal groups, and especially
by a tribe known as the Areioi. Under the Persians it was formed
into an official satrapy or province which was focused on the River
Hari and its fertile valley soil. According to the Behistun
inscription of Darius the Great it was known as Haraiva (the Persian
variation of the tribal and river name - Aria is a Greek mangling
of this version of the name).
These eastern regions of the new-found empire were ancestral homelands
for the Persians. They formed the Indo-Iranian melting pot from
which the Parsua had migrated west in the first place to reach Persis.
There would have been no language barriers for Cyrus' forces and
few cultural differences. Although details of his conquests are
relatively poor, he seemingly experienced few problems in uniting
the various tribes under his governance. He was the first to exert
any form of imperial control here, although his campaign may have
been driven partially by a desire to recreate the semi-mythical
kingdom of Turan in the land of Tūr, but now under Persian
control. Curiously the Persians had little knowledge of what lay
to the north of their eastern empire, with the result that Alexander
the Great was less well-informed about the region than earlier Ionian
settlers on the Black Sea coast had been.
Various Persian royal inscriptions list the provinces of the eastern
empire or depict local representatives. Those of Haraiva are shown
wearing Scythian-style dress which includes a tunic over trousers
which are tucked into high boots. The twisted turban in the head
provides the final touch, and perhaps all the proof that is needed
that these were an Indo-Iranian people with close links to the Indo-Europeans
of the Pontic-Caspian steppe. Strabo describes Haraiva's territory,
which seems to be pretty close to the modern Herat Province of Afghanistan.
The province of Harahuwatish (Arachosia) lay to the south of the
mountains that enclosed Aria (Strabo). The capital was at Artacoana,
which has also been shown as Artacana, Artacaena, Articaudna, or
Chortacana by various ancient authors, Roman and Greek.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from
Geography, Ptolemy, from Bibliotheca Historica, Diodorus
Siculus, from Historiae Alexandri Magni, Quintus Curtius
Rufus, from Anabasis Alexandri, Arrian of Nicomedia, from
The Persian Empire, J M Cook (1983), from The Histories,
Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), and from External Links: The Geography
of Strabo (Loeb ical Library Edition, 1932), and The Natural History,
Pliny the Elder (John Bostock, Ed), and Encyclopaedia Iranica.)
516
- 515 BC :
Achaemenid ruler Darius embarks on a military campaign into the
lands east of the empire. He marches through Aria and Bakhtrish,
and then to Gadara and Taxila. By 515 BC he is conquering lands
around the Indus Valley to incorporate into the new satrapy of Hindush
before returning via Harahuwatish and Zranka. Along the way the
Sakas are largely defeated and conquered.
![River Oxus / Amu Darya](River_AmuDarya01_full.jpg)
The
River Oxus - also known over the course of many centuries as the
Amu Darya - was used as a demarcation border throughout history
and was also a hub of activity in prehistoric times - but during
this period it flowed right through the heart of the region that
was known as Bactria
fl
480 BC :
Sisamnes
: Persian
satrap. Son of the Hydarnes of Darius' 522 BC coup.
c.480
BC :
Sisamnes is a son of Hydarnes I, one of the seven co-conspirators,
along with soon-to-be Achaemenid ruler, Darius the Great, who had
been responsible for removing the 'usurper' Gaumata from the throne
in 522 BC. Darius had since treated his colleagues as family, and
Hydarnes' appointment as satrap of Media is one of the empire's
plum jobs.
360s/350s
BC :
Artaxerxes II is occupied fighting the 'revolt of the satraps' in
the western part of the empire. Nothing is known of events in the
eastern half of the Persian empire at this time, but no word of
unrest is mentioned by Greek writers, however briefly. Given the
newsworthiness for Greeks of any rebellion against the Persian king,
this should be enough to show that the east remains solidly behind
the king. It seems that all of the empire's troubles hinge on the
Greeks during this period.
?
- 330 BC :
Satibarzanes
: Persian
satrap. One of the three highest-ranked in the east.
330
- 328 BC :
Satibarzanes is one of the three most senior satraps of the east,
the others being Bessus in Bakhtrish and Barsaentes of Harahuwatish.
In 330-329 BC, despite the best efforts of Bessus to rally supporters
to his defence of the empire, the Persian provinces of the east
are conquered by the Greek empire under Alexander the Great. too.
![The Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC](Persia_DariusIII_01_full.jpg)
Alexander
defeated the Persian king Darius III at the Battle of Gaugamela
in Mesopotamia in 331 BC, with the victory giving him control of
all the lands to the west of Iran - the lands to the east soon followed
In the case of Haraiva, Satibarzanes submits to Alexander and is
allowed to retain office. Alexander leaves a garrison of forty horsemen
in the capital, Artacoana, so that Macedonian troops who are following
on behind him do not reopen hostilities. Satibarzanes has them murdered,
excites the province into a state of rebellion, and orders his forces
to defend Artacoana. When Alexander returns, however, he flees to
join Bessus and the city is taken after a short siege. Satibarzanes
is slain soon afterwards when attempting to lead reinforcements
back into Aria.
Argead
Dynasty in Aria :
The Argead were the ruling family and founders of Macedonia who
reached their greatest extent under Alexander the Great and his
two successors before the kingdom broke up into several Hellenic
sections. Following Alexander's conquest of central and eastern
Persia in 331-328 BC, the Greek empire ruled the region until Alexander's
death in 323 BC and the subsequent regency period which ended in
310 BC. Alexander's successors held no real power, being mere figureheads
for the generals who really held control of Alexander's empire.
Following that latter period and during the course of several wars,
Aria was left in the hands of the Seleucid empire from 305 BC.
The former Persian satrapy of Haraiva retained its borders under
the Greeks. They pronounced the name differently - as Aria or Areia
- and some writers confused it with the ancient region of Ariana.
The regional capital of Artacoana, largely destroyed during the
siege to take it from the Persian satrap, Satibarzanes, was replaced
by a new city, built at an unknown point after the Greek conquest
but probably earlier rather than later. This was named Alexandria
Ariana or Arion, although it most likely either began as a fortress
with a few dwellings springing up alongside it, or was a renamed
and repaired existing city - Alexander's time in Aria was brief
after all. In time it became better known to modern audiences as
Herat in what is now north-western Afghanistan. The satrapy was
also home to a large number of other cities (or rather, large towns
in the more modern sense of what constitutes a city). Aria was a
rich province situated in rich farming territory, so cities such
as Aria Civitas, Astasana, Paracanacź, and Susia flourished.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from
Geography, Ptolemy, from Bibliotheca Historica, Diodorus
Siculus, from Historiae Alexandri Magni, Quintus Curtius
Rufus, from A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology,
William Smith (London, 1873), from Anabasis Alexandri, Arrian
of Nicomedia, from The Persian Empire, J M Cook (1983), from
The Histories, Herodotus (Penguin, 1996), and from External
Links: The Geography of Strabo (Loeb ical Library Edition, 1932),
and The Natural History, Pliny the Elder (John Bostock, Ed), and
Encyclopaedia Iranica.)
330
- 323 BC :
Alexander
III the Great : King
of Macedonia. Conquered Persia.
323
- 317 BC :
Philip
III Arrhidaeus : Feeble-minded
half-brother of Alexander the Great.
317
- 310 BC :
Alexander
IV of Macedonia : Infant
son of Alexander the Great and Roxana.
330
- 323 BC :
Arsames
: Greek
satrap of Aria & Drangiana. Arrested by Stasanor.
323
- 321 BC :
Stasanor
the Solian : Greek
satrap of Aria & Drangiana. Gained Bactria in 321 BC.
321
- 315 BC :
Stasander
the Solian : Greek
satrap of Aria & Drangiana (brother of Stanasor).
321
BC :
Stasander the Solian is brother to Stasanor, now satrap of Bactria,
Chorasmia, and Sogdiana. Perhaps the brother also has more of a
focus towards the Northern Indus territories than the eastern coast
of the Caspian Sea, as suggested by later events. His territory
initially extends as far north as Ferghana, which contains the city
of Alexandria Eschate ('the Furthest'), while Stasander also has
ambitions.
![Map of Central Asia & Eastern Mediterranean 334-323 BC](Map_Bactria-&-India-334-324BC_full.jpg)
The
route of Alexander's ongoing campaigns are shown in this map, with
them leading him from Europe to Egypt, into Persia, and across the
vastness of eastern Iran as far as the Pamir mountain range
316
- 315 BC :
The
Wars of the Diadochi decide how Alexander the Great's empire
is carved up between his generals, but the period is very confused,
especially in the east. These provinces appear to be invaded and
controlled by the Antigonids for a period, with General Antigonus
being responsible for the death of Eudamus. However, at some point
in 316 BC, Stasanor the Solian, satrap of Chorasmia, Bactria, and
Sogdiana (with Ferghana) seizes the Northern Indus while his brother
seizes Parthia. Clearly the two are either working in unison with
Seleucus of Babylonia from the beginning or are attempting to stamp
their own independent authority on much of the east.
315
- 312 BC :
Eumenes
is defeated in Asia and is murdered by his own troops, and Seleucus
is forced to flee Babylon by Antigonus. The result is that Cassander
controls the European territories (including Macedonia), while the
Empire of Antigonus controls those in Asia (Asia Minor, centred
on Phrygia and extending as far as Susiana), and also temporarily
some of the eastern territories, including Aria, Drangiana, and
Parthia, where Stasander is removed from office and replaced by
Euitus.
315
- 312? BC :
Euitus
: Greek
satrap of Aria, Drangiana, & Parthia for Antigonus.
312
- 306 BC :
Bactria is taken by the Seleucids around 312 BC. Aria would also
seem to fall to them at the same time, given its immediacy to Bactria.
It remains a Seleucid possession until Bactria becomes independent
in the third century BC.
Macedonian
& Parthian Aria :
Once safely under Seleucid control after the conclusion of the Greek
Wars of the Diadochi, Aria was governed by Macedonian satraps under
the authority of the Seleucid empire which commanded from Babylonia
and Syria. The creator of this empire, Seleucus himself, was able
to expand his holdings with some ruthlessness, building up his stock
of Alexander's far eastern regions as far as the borders of India
and the River Indus (Sindh). Appian's work, The Syrian Wars,
provides a detailed list of these regions, which included Arabia,
Arachosia, Aria, Armenia, Bactria, 'Seleucid' Cappadocia (as it
was known) by 301 BC, Carmania, Cilicia (eventually), Drangiana,
Gedrosia, Hyrcania, Media, Mesopotamia, Paropamisadae, Parthia,
Persia, Sogdiana, and Tapouria (a small satrapy beyond Hyrcania),
plus eastern areas of Phrygia.
Farther east, the descendants of some of the original satraps became
independent kings, after Bactria had been cut off from the Seleucids
by Parthian incursion into central Persia. Aria was part of this
independent kingdom as it too had been cut off from the west, but
it was subsumed within the growing Parthian empire in 167 BC. In
the following years, Aria (which is now located in north-western
Afghanistan) became a frontier area between the Parthian empire
to the west and the territories of the Greco-Bactrians to the east.
The fall of the Greco-Bactrians to the Greater Yuezhi allowed Scythian
incursions from the north to penetrate much of Aria.
(Information by David Kelleher and Peter Kessler, from Epitome
of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus: Books 11-12, Volume
1, Marcus Junianus Justinus, John Yardley, & Waldemar Heckel,
from Nomadism in Iran: From Antiquity to the Modern Era,
Daniel T Potts (Oxford University Press, 2014), and from External
Links: the Ancient History Encyclopaedia (dead link), and Encyclopędia
Britannica, and Ancient History Encyclopaedia, and Encyclopaedia
Iranica, and Appian's History of Rome: The Syrian Wars at
Livius.org. Where information conflicts regarding the Indo-Greek
territories, Osmund Bopearachchi's Monnaies Gréco-Bactriennes
et Indo-Grecques, Catalogue Raisonné (1991) has been followed.)
c.235/230
BC :
Diodotus II of Bactria is overthrown by Euthydemus, possibly the
satrap of Sogdiana. The date is uncertain and Strabo puts forward
223/221 BC as an alternative, placing it within a period of internal
Seleucid discord.
235
- 200/195 BC :
Euthydemus
I Theos : Satrap
of Sogdiana? Founder of the Euthydemids of Bactria.
c.220
BC :
The realm of Euthydemus of Bactria is a large one, including Sogdiana
and Ferghana to the north, and Margiana and Aria to the west. There
are indications that from Alexandria Eschate in Ferghana the Greco-Bactrians
may lead expeditions as far as Kashgar (a little under three hundred
and twenty kilometres (two hundred miles) due east of Ferghana),
and Urumqi in Chinese Turkestan. There they would be able to establish
the first known contacts between China and Europeans around 220
BC.
![Map of Bactria and India 200 BC](Map_Bactria-&-India-200BC_full.jpg)
The
kingdom of Bactria (shown in white) was at the height of its power
around 200-180 BC, with fresh conquests being made in the south-east,
encroaching into India just as the Mauryan empire was on the verge
of collapse, while around the northern and eastern borders dwelt
various tribes that would eventually contribute to the downfall
of the Greeks - the Sakas and Greater Yuezhi
Even
more remarkably, recent examinations of the 'Terracotta Army' have
established a startling new concept - the terracotta army may be
the product of western art forms and technology. An entire terracotta
army plus imperial court are manufactured using five workshops and
a form of human representation in sculpture that has never before
been seen in China. Archaeologists today continue the process of
discovering new pits and even a fan of roads leading out from the
emperor's burial mound, one of which, heading west, may be a sort
of proto-Silk Road along which Greek craftsmen may be travelling.
167
BC :
Under Mithradates the Parthians rise from obscurity to become a
major regional power, although a precise chronology is not possible.
Having consolidated their power, their first expansion takes the
former province of Aria from the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. It seems
possible that Aria (and possibly a rebellious Drangiana too) had
already been conquered once by the Arsacids, with the Greco-Bactrians
recapturing it, probably during the reign of Euthydemus I Theos.
During the reign of Eucratides I the Greco-Bactrians are also engaged
in warfare against the people of Sogdiana, showing that they have
lost control of that northern region too (and by inference Ferghana).
The other eastern provinces, all of which still appear to be in
Seleucid hands, must also fall to the Parthians very quickly after
this - including Carmania, Gedrosia, and Margiana - although firm
evidence to show a specific date appears to be lacking. Another
date which may be valid for these losses is 185 BC, when Seleucus
IV loses eastern Iran to Parthian expansion, but the fact that the
Parthians fail to expand out of their initial conquests until Mithradates
accedes makes this period a more likely one.
c.165
BC :
Defeated by the Xiongnu, the Greater Yuezhi are forced to evacuate
their lands on the borders of the Chinese kingdom. They begin a
migration westwards that triggers a slow domino effect of barbarian
movement.
![Map of the Yuezhi lands and exodus route](Map_China_200BC_Tocharians_full.jpg)
The
Greater Yuezhi were defeated and forced out of the Gansu region
by the Xiongnu, and their migratory route into Central Asia is pretty
easy to deduct from the fact that they chose to try and settle in
the Ili river valley below Lake Balkhash
115
- 100 BC :
With
Parthian territory having been harried for years by the Sakas, King
Mithridates II is finally able to take control of the situation.
First he defeats the Greater Yuezhi in Sogdiana in 115 BC, and then
he defeats the Sakas in Parthia and Seistan (in Drangiana) around
100 BC. After their defeat, the Greater Yuezhi tribes concentrate
on consolidation in Bactria-Tokharistan while the Sakas are diverted
into Indo-Greek Gandhar. The western territories of Aria, Drangiana,
and Margiana would appear to remain Parthian dependencies, albeit
with Aria falling to the Kushans towards the end of the second century.
Although Carmania does not seem to be mentioned directly, its position
between Drangiana and Persia would make it likely that this too
is still in Parthian hands.
The
situation in Aria would seem to settle down after this period of
uncertainty and strife. Aria is seemingly not mentioned again, even
obliquely, until the third century AD. During this time it apparently
remains part of the Kushan empire albeit, probably, as a frontier
zone. The decline of the Parthians in the first two centuries AD
would probably aid in this until the Kushan empire itself declines
in the face of Sassanid expansionism.
c.AD
230 - 250 :
The
end of Kushan King Vasudeva's reign in AD 207 apparently coincides
with the beginning of the Sassanid invasion of north-western India,
although the dating for the main invasion fits with Vashiska and
his successor around 230-250. Perhaps there is a first, preliminary
invasion followed by a much greater second.
The Kushans are toppled in former Arachosia, Aria, and Bactria-Tokharistan,
and are forced to accept Sassanid suzerainty. They are replaced
in positions of authority by Sassanid vassals known as the Kushanshahs
or Indo-Sassanids. There is a split in Kushan rule, so that a separate,
eastern section rules independent of the Sassanids, while some of
the nobility remain in the west as Sassanid vassals. Even so, Kushan
power still gradually wanes in India. Aria now becomes better known
by an altered form of its Old Persian name - Harev.
325
:
With Peroz II of the Kushanshahs beginning to pull away from Sassanid
control, the Persian ruler Shapur II divides the realm, assuming
direct control of the southern areas of what is now Afghanistan
(and also Merv in modern Turkmenistan, Herat in Aria, and then Gandhar),
while the Kushanshahs continue to rule in the north. With events
in the east frequently being poorly documented, there is some doubt
about the identity of the Shapur who carries this out. It is probably
Shapur II, but it may instead be a governor, or even Shapur's older
brother, who bears the same name.
![Kushanshah letter addressed to Varhran](Kushanshahs_Texts01_full.jpg)
A
Kushanshah letter addressed to their mid-fourth century AD ruler,
Varhran, from the daughter of a princess named Dukht-anosh, a Middle
Persian name
484
:
Peroz
again chases the Hephthalites out of Bactra and towards Arion in
Aria (Alexandria Ariana, modern Herat). Along the way he destroys
the tower built by Bahram V which marks the border between Sassanid
and Hephthalite. On the other side of the border, Khushnavaz sets
a trap into which Peroz falls (literally), along with around thirty
of his sons and about 100,000 troops. Their bodies are never recovered
by the Sassanids. The eastern empire is overrun and is largely occupied
by the Hephthalites until their final fall - this includes regions
such as Margiana, with the Hephthalites setting up puppet governors
there. In Kabulistan and Zabulistan the Nezak are able to create
their own semi-independent dynasty.
587/588
:
Nestorian (Christian) bishops from Harev travel to the Sassanid
capital of Ctesiphon to attend the synod of Ishoyahb I (during the
reign of Sassanid King Hormizd IV). In the same year, Harev is invaded
by Bagha İşbara of the eastern Göktürks (who is known
as āwa, Sāva (Sava), or Sāba (Saba) in medieval
Iranian sources). His forces are exaggerated to 300,000 men but
he is defeated and killed by Hormizd IV's military commander, Bahram
Chobin.
651
- 652 :
The death of Sassanid King Yazdagird III is the prompt needed for
Nezak Tarkhan, the Hephthalite ruler of Badghis (now in north-western
Afghanistan) to take control of Harev. Just a year later the Arab
invasion snatches it away from him. Harev is now part of the Islamic
empire.
Islamic
Aria (Harev) :
For
some centuries, Aria served as a frontier region between the Parthians
and the Bactrians, and then the Parthians and Scythians (in the
form of the Sakas). The Sassanids seemingly had better control
of it, with Harev serving as a provincial capital with a mint. In
the later Sassanid years, Aria became strategically important in
the fight against the Xionites and Hephthalites. Information covering
this period is exceptionally poor, as it always seems to be in the
eastern parts of Iran's various large empires during times of stress
and strife. It took until the fall of the Sassanids for the Hephthalites
to take Harev, and then they only held it for a year before the
Arab invasion swept through the region.
Following the Islamic conquest of Sassanid Persia in 651 and then
its eastern territories in Transoxiana, governors were put in place
to command this great, tumultuous region. Rather than maintain a
series of minor provinces which had existed in one form or another
since the initial Achaemenid conquest of the east under Cyrus the
Great, it would seem that the province of Chorasmia was now greatly
enlarged, becoming known as Greater Khorasan (although something
of this reorganisation may already have taken place under the Sassanids).
This included many of the old provinces within its territory, Aria
and Margiana being two of them. To govern the region, emirs
were appointed by the caliph in Syria during the seventh century.
By
this time, the region's old Indo-Iranian name, Haraiva (Aria was
the Greek form of this) had been adapted into the Middle Persian
Harev or Harey. Under this banner it was first described in Sassanid
King Shapur I's third century AD inscription on the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht
stone chamber and tower in Marvdasht (Iran). It was under his
rule that the town of Pushang (Bushanj or Fūshanj) was established
close to the region's eponymous capital city. That capital, Harev,
is better known today as the city of Herat.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Abhijit
Rajadhyaksha and Edward Dawson, from Timurids, The Columbia
Encyclopaedia (Sixth Ed, Columbia University), from The Encyclopaedia
of War: Timur ('the Lame') (1336-1405), Timothy May, from The
Art of War: Great Commanders of the Ancient and Medieval World:
Tamerlane, Justin Marozzi (Andrew Roberts, Ed, Quercus Military
History, 2008), from Tamerlane and the symbolism of sovereignty,
Beatrice Forbes Manz (Iranian Studies 21 (1-2), 1988), from The
Secret History of Iran, Hamad Subani, from E J Brill's First
Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936, Martijn Theodoor Houtsma (Brill,
1987), and from External Links: Zoroastrian Heritage, and
The Silk Road, and Encyclopaedia Britannica: Timur, and Encyclopaedia
Iranica.)
821
:
The
Tahirid emirs are established in Khorasan, which includes what is
now northern and western Afghanistan up to the borders of the kingdom
of Zabulistan, when the region is granted to them by the Abbasid
caliph, al-Mamun.
865
- 873 :
Having
already secured his capital of Zaranj at the heart of his small
kingdom, Yaghub expands his new Saffarid emirate eastwards to capture
al-Rukhkhadj and Zamindawar followed by Zunbil and Kabul by 865.
Some of his conquests even further east, towards Balk, encompass
non-Islamic tribal chiefdoms. Harev (Herat) is taken in 870. Then
he expands his borders greatly in 873 by ousting Emir Muhammad of
the Tahirids. Khorasan is captured, giving the Saffarids a great
swathe of new territory.
![Herat ruins](Afghan_Herat_Ruins01_full.jpg)
As
Haraiva, Harev, and Herat the city and its surrounding lands have
served many masters and has undergone periods of flourishing fortunes
and turbulent destruction
1017
- 1040 :
Khwarazm
is conquered by Yamin-ud-Dawlah Mahmud from his Ghaznavid base in
Southern Khorasan after the emir of Khwarazm is killed in
a rebellion, but it is unclear if the entire emirate is subjugated.
In 1040 the Ghaznavids are defeated by Seljuq Turkic at Dandanqan,
and lose their western territories, including Khwarazm.
1220
- 1221 :
After
the shah of Khwarazm decapitates the Mongol ambassador from Chingiz
Khan, the emirate is attacked twice by Chingiz Khan and the Golden
Horde, along with Ghurid Afghanistan. Khwarazm is reduced to its
western section covering northern Mesopotamia and western Persia.
Bukhara and then Samarkand are captured by the Mongols and chaos
results, with thousands being massacred or sold into slavery. Ala
ad Deen flees west and dies a fugitive while areas of central Khwarazm
(Khorasan) around Herat are seized by the Ghurids and then governed
by their subjects, the Kartids.
Kartid
Maliks of Herat :
AD 1244 - 1382 :
The Kartids (otherwise known as the Karts or Kurts) were Sunni Muslim
Tajiks. Related to Ghurid Sultan Abu'l-Fath Muhammad Shams ad-Din
(1163-1203), they secured power in Herat in 1245 as Ghurid subjects
during the chaos engendered by the Mongol destruction of mighty
Khwarazm in 1220-1221. The Ghurids had already seized areas of Khwarazm's
territory after 1221,making it easy for the Kartids to establish
Herat as their capital. Their territory soon covered areas of central
Khorasan, especially the region that had once been known as Haraiva.
After taking Herat they immediately submitted to the Mongol great
khan and were accepted as the city's governors. They remained subjects
of the Mongol splinter rulers of Iran and southern Central Asia,
the Il-Khans, until they collapsed after 1335. It was Mu'izz-uddin
Husayn ibn Ghiyath-uddin, Kartid malik from 1332, who sought
to expand his territory at the expense of the Il-Khans and his neighbours.
The invasion of the entire region by Tīmūr-i Lang (Tamerlane) in
the 1380s ended all local territorial ambitions during this conqueror's
lifetime and the Kartids were broken.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Abhijit
Rajadhyaksha and Edward Dawson, from Timurids, The Columbia
Encyclopaedia (Sixth Ed, Columbia University), from The Encyclopaedia
of War: Timur ('the Lame') (1336-1405), Timothy May, from The
Art of War: Great Commanders of the Ancient and Medieval World:
Tamerlane, Justin Marozzi (Andrew Roberts, Ed, Quercus Military
History, 2008), from Tamerlane and the symbolism of sovereignty,
Beatrice Forbes Manz (Iranian Studies 21 (1-2), 1988), from The
Secret History of Iran, Hamad Subani, from E J Brill's First
Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936, Martijn Theodoor Houtsma (Brill,
1987), and from External Links: Zoroastrian Heritage, and
The Silk Road, and Encyclopaedia Britannica: Timur, and Encyclopaedia
Iranica.)
?
- 1245 :
Rukn-uddin
Abu Bakr : Dynasty
founder and Ghurid subject malik in Khorasan.
1245
- 1277 :
Shams-uddin
Muhammad bin Abu Bakr : Son.
Seized Herat as a Ghurid subject. Submitted to Mongols.
1245
:
Almost
immediately after he has succeeded his father as malik, Shams-uddin
seizes Herat during an unstable period of Mongol domination. Doing
so as a Ghurid subject, he submits to the Mongols and is accepted
as their governor of the city and its surroundings.
![Herat's citadel](Afghan_Herat_Citadel01_full.jpg)
Herat's
citadel, known as the Qala Ikhtyaruddin or the 'Citadel of Alexander',
was founded in 330 BC, although it has been destroyed and rebuilt
many times since then
1253
- 1255 :
The
town of Nih in western Seistan is besieged by Negüder for the Mongols.
The Mihrabanid malik, Shamsuddin Ali II, leads an army to
the defence of Nih and Negüder is defeated. A rebellion breaks out
in Mihrabanid Seistan in 1255, while he is campaigning in northern
Baluchistan, and the Kartid malik of Herat, Shams-uddin,
immediately makes the most of the situation by capturing the city
himself. Shamsuddin Ali is killed by the rebels, leaving Seistan
in the hands of the Kartids until Nasruddin can recapture it in
1261.
1277
- 1295 :
Rukn-uddin
ibn Sham-suddin Muhammad : Son.
Mongol subject until 1289.
1289
:
The
Mihrabanids complete their conquest of Quhistan and the Kartid malik
of Herat. Nasruddin, appoints his son, Shams al-Din, as governor
of Herat (seemingly with the Kartids as his underlings). There are
times when Shams al-Din must be supported militarily when it comes
to holding onto the city, but overall the conquest proves a successful
one.
1295
- 1308 :
Fakhr-uddin
ibn Rukn-uddin : Son.
Mihrabanid subject.
1308
- 1329 :
Ghiyath-uddin
ibn Rukn-uddin : Brother.
Mihrabanid subject.
1329
- 1330 :
Shams-uddin
ibn Ghiyath-uddin : Son.
Mihrabanid subject.
1330
- 1332 :
Hafiz
ibn Ghiyath-uddin : Brother.
Mihrabanid subject. Murdered.
1332
- 1370 :
Mu'izz-uddin
Husayn ibn Ghiyath-uddin : Brother.
Mihrabanid subject? Became sultan in 1349.
1335
:
Abu
Said Ala ad Dunya wa dDin is the last of the Il-Khans to be descended
from Hulegu, the first Il-Khan ruler in 1256. His death in 1335
(or 1336) weakens the khanate, but the same date is sometimes used
to mark the birth of a Turkic-Mongol by the name of Tīmūr-i Lang
(Tamerlane). This Chaghatayid prince will one day attempt to reform
the Mongol empire as a Timurid possession, although his birth most
likely takes place in the late 1320s.
1363
:
The
attempts by Tughlugh Temur, Chaghatayid khan of Mughulistan, to
quell the tribes of Transoxiana are eventually unsuccessful, despite
two invasions of the region. His death ends Chaghatayid hopes of
restoring control of western Mughulistan. Instead, two tribal leaders
contest for control of Transoxiana. Tīmūr-i Lang (Timur) is ultimately
successful, taking Transoxiana and Khorasan in the name of the khanate,
but effectively forming his own Timurid khanate.
![Timurid troops](Timurids_Troops01_full.jpg)
Timurid
troops included people from all over his conquered territories,
including Turks, Persians, and Indo-Iranian Central Asians, all
of whom were organised into a decimal system of units
1369
- 1394 :
Much
of Southern Khorasan (modern Afghanistan) is territory which belongs
to the Timurid empire, initially under the control of Timur himself,
and then under his successors, with regional governors in place
to provide day-to-day administration. Timur is accepted as ruler
of Balkh, north of Afghanistan, in 1370, and all of the territory
which makes up modern Afghanistan is conquered by 1394.
1370
- 1389 :
Ghiyas-uddin
Pir 'Ali : Son.
Became sultan. Timurid subject from 1383.
1370
- 1389 :
Malik
Muhammad ibn Mu'izz-uddin : Brother.
Co-ruler.
1382
- 1383 :
Having
secured his conquests around Transoxiana, Timur has begun the expansion
of his territory into Southern Khorasan and Persia. He forces the
Kartids into submission and demands a hostage from Seistan to symbolise
the subservience of the Mihrabanids. Although the Kartids are retained
for a short time, the region is now very much part of Timurid Khorasan.
Timurid
Khorasan (at Herat) :
AD 1382 - 1459 :
The
great eastern imperial lands of Persia were the location for a long
period of unrest between about 1336-1387. This was while the surviving
Il-Khans were being used as puppets by the Chobanids and the Jalayirids
for the right to claim control of all of Persia. The Chaghatayid
khans of Mughulistan attempted to quell the tribes of Transoxiana
but were eventually unsuccessful, despite two invasions of the region
in the 1360s. The death of the khan ended Chaghatayid hopes of restoring
control of western Mughulistan which included Transoxiana. Instead,
two tribal leaders, Amir Husayn and Tīmūr-i Lang (Timur) contested
for control of that region.
From 1363, Timur began to conquer large areas of Transoxiana and
Khorasan, supposedly in the name of the Chaghatayid khans. Samarkand,
to the east of Greater Khorasan, fell in 1366, and Balkh in 1369
(Balikh, ancient Bactra, in the north of modern Afghanistan). Timur
was recognised as the region's ruler in 1370, and he placed a figurehead
Mongol on the throne to legitimise his rule there. In reality he
governed the new Timurid dynasty from behind the throne as amir
and his increasingly Persian and Turkic-influenced Timurid descendants
succeeded him. His rise to power may also have been the trigger
which sparked Shaibanid expansion around Bukhara. At its height,
Timurid Persia governed all the territory between the eastern edge
of the Black Sea, down through Mesopotamia and Iran, and eastwards
to the Aral Sea, Samarkand, and halfway into modern Pakistan. However,
so many people were killed by his wars (estimated by some to have
reached seventeen million), that the seat of Persian culture and
influence moved further east, to Samarkand.
Around 1381 Timur ravaged Herat along side his son, the later ruler
Shah Rukh. Herat survives today as a city and province in the west
of modern Afghanistan (although its modern centre seems to be a
little to the north-west of the original fortress site). That fortress
was founded as Alexandria Ariana during Greek domination of the
region in its earlier guise as Aria (ancient Central Asian names
beginning in 'ar-' and 'as-' derive from the verb 'to be' (with
cognates in English: 'are' and 'is'), via the practical philosophy
known as Rte in Sanskrit, and Asha in modern Zoroastrianism). It
had to be rebuilt following Timur's campaign, probably one of many
such rebuilding efforts across more than two thousand years of history.
Timur's death in 1405 saw him succeeded by his grandson as Timur
didn't think his own surviving sons particularly worthy to rule.
The Timurid empire split in two (or even three), with the western,
Persian, portion being ruled by Shah Rukh from Herat, while the
eastern portion was governed from Timurid Samarkand. The 'rightful'
ruler, Pir Mohammad, was opposed by all of the others.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Abhijit
Rajadhyaksha and Edward Dawson, from Timurids, The Columbia
Encyclopaedia (Sixth Ed, Columbia University), from The Encyclopaedia
of War: Timur ('the Lame') (1336-1405), Timothy May, from The
Art of War: Great Commanders of the Ancient and Medieval World:
Tamerlane, Justin Marozzi (Andrew Roberts, Ed, Quercus Military
History, 2008), and from External Link: Encyclopaedia Britannica:
Timur.)
1382
- 1383 :
Having
secured his conquests around Transoxiana, Timur has begun the expansion
of his territory into southern Khorasan and Iran. He forces the
Kartids of Herat into submission and demands a hostage from Seistan
to symbolise the subservience of the Mihrabanids. Malik Qutbuddin
sends a relative named Tajuddin.
![Map of the Timurid empire AD 1400](Map_AD1400_full.jpg)
Timur
effectively recreated the ancient Persian empire through his various
conquests over the course of almost forty years, subduing many competing
clans and khanates that would begin competing again after his death
However, in 1383, despite agreeing a hostage, Timur still turns
up at Seistan with his army. The two sides fail to come to agreement
so Timur defeats the Mihrabanids in open battle. Qutbuddin is soon
captured, imprisoned, and deported to Samarkand. He is executed
three years later. Timur appoints Shah-i Shahan as governor of Seistan
and proceeds to ravage the province.
1382
- 1405 :
Tīmūr-i Lang / Tamerlane : Mongol
conqueror of Persia from Mughulistan.
1405
:
After
Timur's death, none of the Timurid royalty accept his nominated
successor and Pir Muhammad is unable to enforce his rule in Transoxiana,
splitting the empire in two (or even three). The western portion
is ruled by Shah Rukh from Herat and his wife, Goharshad moves the
capital there from Samarkand (now in Uzbekistan) from where the
eastern portion of Transoxiana is ruled. The confusion also acts
as a prompt for the Ottomans to re-invade Greater Armenia and annexe
it to their own empire while the subservient Golden Horde fractures
into separate states.
1405
- 1409 :
Shah
Rukh / Shahrukh : Son.
In Khorasan initially, and in Iran (1409-1447).
1407
- 1447 :
Pir
Muhammad is murdered by his vizier in 1407, so Shah Rukh rules unopposed
in the west (especially once he captures Transoxiana in 1409). From
this point, Herat remains the heart of the Timurid empire which
still covers Persia and Greater Khorasan, until the weak rule of
Ulugh Beg of Samarkand allows a rival to take control of the city.
Unfortunately the Black Sheep emirate also captures Baghdad in 1410,
reducing the Timurids to Iran proper in the west, and Herat and
Transoxiana in the east.
![The tomb of Shah Rukh in Multan](Timurids_ShahRukh01_full.jpg)
The
tomb of Shah Rukh in Multan (in modern Pakistan), showing how far
into the Indian sub-continent his domains extended while Samarkand
to the north-east was ruled by his opponent
1447?
- 1448 :
'Ala'
al-Daula : In
Khorasan. Defeated by Ulugh Beg.
1448
- 1449 :
Ulugh
Beg of Samarkand defeats 'Ala' al-Daula in battle at Tarnab while
his son recaptures Herat. Ulugh Beg massacres the population of
Herat (presumably for allowing the city to fall to a usurper), and
then abandons it so that a rival Timurid, Babur Ibn-Baysunkur, a
grandson of Shah Rukh, is able to take control. Iran itself falls
to yet another Timurid prince, Sultan Muhammad.
1449
- 1457 :
Babur
Ibn-Baysunkur / Abu'l-Qasim : Grandson
of Shah Rukh. In Khorasan. Claimed all Persia.
1450
- 1451 :
Sultan
Muhammad invades Khorasan from Iran, defeating Babur at the Battle
of Mashad in March 1450. After initially ceding territory, Babur
recovers in 1451 and turns the tables, taking his rival prisoner
and executing him. Central Persia (including Iran in the west) becomes
his, reuniting two portions of the empire.
1451
- 1453 :
Jahan
Shah ends the loyalty of the Black Sheep emirate with the fracturing
Timurids. He besieges Qum and Sava with overwhelming forces which
the dominant Timurid ruler, Babur Ibn-Baysunkur, is unable to face.
Most of Iran is taken by 1452, including Ray, with the last section,
Abarquh, falling in 1453. The Timurids are never able to recapture
Iran.
1454
:
Babur
Ibn-Baysunkur invades Transoxiana in retaliation for Abu Sa'id's
seizure of Balkh (now in northern Afghanistan). The two Timurid
rulers agree a border on the River Oxus, with that agreement remaining
in force for the remainder of Babur's lifetime.
1457
:
Shah
Mahmud : Son.
In Khorasan. Died in 1460s.
1457
:
The
eleven year-old Mahmud is ejected from Herat just a few weeks after
his accession, with his cousin taking control of Khorasan. Mahmud's
efforts to recapture Herat are undistinguished and he dies at some
point in the 1460s.
1457
- 1458 :
Ibrahim
: Cousin,
and son of 'Ala' al-Daula. In Khorasan. Fled. Died 1460.
1457
- 1459 :
Almost
as soon as Ibrahim takes command in Herat, Abu Sa'id invades from
Transoxiana. Balkh is occupied but he is unable to take Herat. However,
the Black Sheep Turkmen under Jahan Shah choose this moment to invade
from Iran. They capture Gurgan and defeat Ibrahim outside Astarabad
(modern Gorgan). Now assisted by his father, 'Ala' al-Daula, Ibrahim
is again defeated and is forced to flee. The Black Sheep take Herat
on 28 June 1458, but withdraw soon afterwards. Khorasan is taken
by Abu Sa'ad, reuniting the remaining Timurid provinces.
An
attempt by Ibrahim to unite with another Timurid prince, Sultan
Sanjar, is defeated at the Battle of Sarakhs in March 1459. Sanjar
is executed. Ibrahim dies in 1460, and 'Ala' al-Daula dies in 1461,
ending all opposition to a sole Timurid ruler in Transoxiana for
his lifetime.
![Silk Road travellers inn at Sarakhs](Iran_Sarakhs01_full.jpg)
The
Battle of Sarakhs occurred along the ancient Silk Road, with the
inn shown here (which still survives today, now within the borders
of Iran) being built primarily to serve the traders and travellers
on the route
1459
- 1469 :
Sultan
Abu Sa'id Gurgan : In
Transoxiana & Khorasan (and later in Iran too). Executed.
1459
- 1469 :
Abu
Sa'id is the sole Timurid ruler in Transoxiana for the duration
of his life, but following his death at the hands of Yadigar Muhammad
(handed over by the White Sheep emirate who had captured him), the
divide between Transoxiana and Khorasan re-emerges. The brief reign
of two Timurid pretenders in Herat in 1469 sees one of them, Sultan
Ahmad Mirza, also strong in Transoxiana. But he holds Herat only
briefly before the White Sheep emirate contributes its own effort
to the confusing situation.
1469
:
Sultan
Mahmud Mirza : Son.
Captured Herat but did not stay. Held Transoxiana.
1469
:
Husayn
Bayqarah / Sultan-Husayn Mirza : Son
of Mansur, a great-grandson of Timur. In Khorasan.
1469
:
The
White Sheep supply their mercenary lieutenant, Yadigar Muhammad,
with forces which enable him to capture Khorasan, if only for a
year before it is re-captured by Husayn Bayqarah following the Battle
of Chinaran on 15 September 1469. Yadigar is executed.
1469
- 1470 :
Yadigar
Muhammad : Son
of Sultan Muhammad of Iran. In Khorasan. Executed.
1470
- 1506 :
Sultan
Husayn Bayqarah : Restored
after being deposed by Yadigar.
1470
:
Husayn's borders with the White Sheep emirate begin around the southern
edge of the Caspian Sea, and run south and then east across the
north of the Dasht-e Lut to Lake Hamun. The border with the Timurids
of Transoxiana is still the River Oxus, which Husayn refuses to
cross, wise to the growing threat of the Shaibanid Uzbeks to the
north.
1501
- 1506 :
Following
the Shaibanid conquest of Transoxiana, Khorasan is now threatened.
Husayn does nothing initially, although one of his princes, Babur
of Ferghana in Transoxiana, attempts to fight back. Babur also conquers
Kabul, which he makes his base of operations between 1504-1526.
Finally deciding to mobilise in 1506, Husayn dies before he can
achieve anything, and the crown is disputed between his sons, Muzaffar
Husain and Badi' al-Zaman.
1506
- 1507 :
Badi'
al-Zaman : Son.
Died at the Persian court in 1517.
1506
- 1507 :
Muzaffar
Husain : Brother
and rival for the throne.
1506
- 1507 :
Babur recognises that Khorasan is undefendable and withdraws south.
The following year, the Shaibanids invade and capture Herat, putting
a final end to Timurid rule. In Transoxiana, the remnants of Khwarazm
become an independent Muslim Uzbek state that is later known as
the khanate of Khiva, but without Ghazni (modern Kandahar). At Babur's
urging, Khorasan is soon recaptured by the Safavid shah of Iran,
Ismail. Although only part of it is held permanently, this becomes
the Persian province of Khorasan.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsFarEast/
AsiaAria.htm#Persians