The Sassanian Empire

The Sassanian imperium's beginning had its roots in the weakening power of Parthian Empire. The Ashkanid period of the Parthian Empire was attach by high taxes and obligatory military service. A type of Feudalism was established by the regional opinion families. "The Nobles would be assigned a certain territory to regularisation and profit from and in exchange they owed the Imperial court a fixed amount of tax." For the most part of the Ashkanid dynasty, six families controllight-emitting diode the built-in empire. These families began to abuse their power over local peasants. It was these abuses, the unequal spending of power, and the high cost of ongoing contend with Rome that led to the rise of the

In 210, Ardeshir-I Pabakann, the local governor of Pars (Persia), started disobeying the rally happen of the Parthian emperor moth. Promising a better future for his constituents, Ardeshir gained defend for a revolt against Ardavan IV. Ten years later, Ardeshir defeated Ardavan in a battle at Lurestan province. It was at this point that Ardeshir became the de-facto swayer of half of the Parthian Empire. In 224 Ardeshir defeated the Parthian emperor for good and laurelled himself Ardeshir I in the city of Ctesphion. The Sassanian dynasty was born.

In a practice that has a chilling echo nowadays in Afghanistan, one of Ardeshir's first acts as the newly crowned emperor was to order the destruction of all Parthian relics and documents. Ardeshir

Also of great important in these early years of the Sassanian Empire was the emergence of organized religion. Ardeshir returned Zoroastrianism, which had been taboo by the Parthian Empire. This incarnation of Zoroastrianism focused on a monotheistic view of the universe, however (Hicks, p. 104). Shapur's reign was also marked by the emergence of a self-proclaimed prophet named Mani who touted a live on of Zoroastrianism, mythology, and Christian ideas. This new religion was staunchly opposed by the Zoroastrian priests, but Shapur was taken in by Mani and became a follower. Mani was finally executed under heavy pressure from the Zoroastrian priests and his following were exiled to what is now China. Mani's execution marked the ascendancy of Zoroastrianism in Sassanian society.

While Shapur's son and grandson were almost entirely consumed with the continuing war with Rome, the Zoroastrian high priest, Tansar, became one of the most powerful figures in the empire. Tansar created a priestly class, which controlled religious properties free from the authority of the primordial government (hrolfkake).

The second major reform of Chosroes' reign was the restructuring of the military. chthonic the previous standing tradition, when war beckoned the Sassanian feudal lords provided their own equipment and brought their retainers and followers to the field. Chosroes was dissatisfied with the lack of central control this afforded him, and in its lead constructed a system of 'dehkans' (knights) who were paid and equipped by the central government. The army reorganization decreed by Chosroes extended and to the training and organization of the troops, there were no attempts to refine the applied science of war. The heavily armed cavalry remained the staple of the Sassanian army, with archers being considered of substitute(prenominal) importance (Frye, pp. 326-328). Chosroes supplemented the salary of this new class of dehkan by granting them fief over small villages. Thus by reorganizing
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