Document Type : .

Authors

• Iraj Rajabi ¹
• Shahram Jalilian ²
• Javad Sakha ³
• Mahnaz Sarpishegi, ⁴

¹ Phd student of History, Islamic Azad University, Abhar Branch, Abhar, Iran.

² Professor of history, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran,

³ Assistance professor of history. Islamic Azad University..Abhar Branch, Abhar, Iran.

⁴ Assistance professor of history, Islamic Azad University, Abhar Branch, Abhar, Iran.

Abstract

At the beginning of the third century AD, the Sasanians arose from the province of Pars, the birthplace of the Achaemenids, and established a government in which the Zoroastrian clergy and Nejadeh families had a special position. In the Sasanian history, especially when the king was weak, Zoroastrian priests and elders and nobles gained more influence and power in the government system, and of course they occasionally had conflicts with each other. In order to understand the history of the Sassanids, the position of these groups and their relationship with the Sassanid family must be considered, as even the fall of the Sassanids should be viewed from this perspective. One of the clans or clan families whose prominent members gained a lot of political and even economic and religious influence in a period of Sassanid history was the family of Mehrnarseh, the great minister during the period of several Sassanid kings. In this research, in order to have a clearer vision of the history of the Sassanids in this period of time, an attempt will be made to study the position of one of the noble families of the Sassanid period, that is, the Mehrnarse family, in the history of political, religious and economic developments during the reigns of Yazgerd I, Bahram V and Yazgerd II.

Keywords

• Sassanid ruling families
• Mehrnarseh
• Yazgard I
• Bahram V
• Yazgard II

Extended Abstract

The political, religious and economic position of the Mehrnarseh family in the Sassanid government

At the beginning of the third century AD, the Sasanians arose from the province of Pars, the birthplace of the Achaemenids, and established a government in which the Zoroastrian clergy and Nejadeh families had a special position. In the Sasanian history, especially when the king was weak, Zoroastrian priests and elders and nobles gained more influence and power in the government system, and of course they occasionally had conflicts with each other. In order to understand the history of the Sassanids, the position of these groups and their relationship with the Sassanid family must be considered, as even the fall of the Sassanids should be viewed from this perspective. One of the clans or clan families whose prominent members gained a lot of political and even economic and religious influence in a period of Sassanid history was the family of Mehrnarseh, the great minister during the period of several Sassanid kings. In this research, in order to have a clearer vision of the history of the Sassanids in this period of time, an attempt will be made to study the position of one of the noble families of the Sassanid period, that is, the Mehrnarse family, in the history of political, religious and economic developments during the reigns of Yazgerd I, Bahram V and Yazgerd II. Mehnarse, who was a fanatical Zoroastrian and of course a great minister in the Sassanid government, throughout his career continuously tried to pursue religious ambitions and aspirations in line with his political and administrative activities, and in this regard, he made many efforts both inside and outside the country. In order to achieve these goals as reliably as possible and to increase the power of himself and his family, by taking advantage of his position in the Sasanian political system, he recruited three of his children in key positions and in this way he was able to provide a strong position for himself and his family and used this power to spread his Zoroastrian ideals. Despite all this, and despite many efforts made by Mehrnarse, he and his sons were never allowed to make decisions without consulting the king in government issues, especially religious issues, which were mostly aimed at spreading the Zoroastrian religion throughout the country and outside the borders, but their policies and decision had always been a function of the macro policy of the government headed by the king. Therefore, both during the period of religious tolerance of Yazdgerd I with the Christian and Jewish religious minorities and during the period when Yazdgerd II gave up the policy of Zoroastrianization of Armenia, despite his religious passion and prejudice, he was bound to be subject to the king's policy. In other words, regarding the service of Mehnarse and his family, as it appears from the evidence and historical sources, the power and authority was heavy towards the kings, and it was the king who determined the level of involvement and influence of his agents in the structure of the government. In order to protect their ancestral religion, the Mehnarese family, who were from the clerical class, had various activities and services. Especially, as Christensen believes, Mehrnarse’s prejudice and zeal for Zoroastrian religion showed itself not only in hostility towards other religions; rather, it also showed itself in development and agriculture, which is the subject of Zoroastrian rules. Appointment as the great minister was the most important political position of the Mehnarese family in the Sassanid bureaucracy, and with such a position, Mehnerese was the counterpart of great men such as Abrasam during the period of Ardeshir Babkan, Khosrow Yazdgerd during the period of Yazdgerd I, and Soren Pahlu during the period of Bahram V. Most of the activities and plans of Mehrnarse and his family had a religious aspect and were rooted in their religious fanaticism and passion. Because of this religious passion of Mehnares, the Christian writers hated him.The chairmanship of the important court of Kharaj was also one of the other government positions held by the Mehrnarse family. Majeshens, the son of Mehnarse, had received this position from Bahram V/Gor and had the title of "Rastrai and Shanslan" or "Vastriushan Salar". In this position, he managed the affairs of the tribute court and the collected taxes of the whole country, so it is clear that he had a lot of influence and power in the Sasanian government. Mehrnarse and his sons were always obedient to the Sassanid king, and their power and influence was placed in the framework of the Sassanid authority, and it is probably because of the good relations of the Mehrnarse family with the Sassanid kings that he is mentioned well in the Sassanid-Islamic sources.

Key words: Sassanid ruling families, Mehranrese, Yazdgerd I, Bahram V, Yazgerd II.