Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War: Farrokh

324 Pages·2007·42.905 MB·English

by  Kaveh Farrokh

ANCIENT PERSIA AT WAR

SHADOWS
IN THE DESERT
ANCIENT PERSIA AT WAR
OSPREY
PUBLISHING
Dedicated to my mother Sara who worked so hard for my education
and who always encouraged me to slay thecourse.
ne..
Myprofoundlhanks10RUlhSheppardofOspreyPublishingfor aU patience.crealivily
andsupport inencouragingme10engageandcompletethewrilingoflhisbook.
KF
SHADOWS
IN THE DESERT
ANCIE T PERSIA AT WAR
DR KAVEH FARROKH
I'...puhI'''''''',nG ,lI"umInl(X)7",.Osprn-Publ..JlI"ll
1\.loJhndIk>obt.W \\....110<1<>,(hfonlOX!0l'H.UK
-H3I'..kA_Sooorh.Nr-,on..NY IOOI6.l.ISA
bn.,honfO("'''''f'"'~''''''''ll..rnm
AllngI><>.............."""'"from~f_dullng"" I""l""'<'of1'"'''''>tu.J..,........rn.ml ....-....
f'<O"'".J...In-th<eor ght.Dn.gno...dP.t Nt. 19M.nora'<JI, ,u.w..- b<~
.....-J"'..........1 'r.........'<d'" ·IOnn...."" .-1«1 .-I«1nc.ol,m.-.c.ol,
""""'--<'.01,"f"drftoto""f"''''S'~ ~_.•""""", 1'"'" , I""""""'"oftIwtopo-ngN
"'"'" F.tt<pOft.hauIJb<.aJ.h"..-J'"th<~
[ftTT......",."""b<ntm>Jr~th<1'uItWJwr,,, ,I><>rf"'>r<U" rn-b- nub~'"
,....book.If,......"""'-n....o«n<ght_ willII<fum''0rK'!,f,th<..,...._ .-I , ...bm-oonofto"IJ
b<m>Jr,,,th<l''Ubioohm..
1Sll..-..:978 I8--l-fiOJ lOll3
K.v<hI...""'"""".......<dItt>nghr...Jn-th<~-ng/><. Dnogno...JI'.............19M'0h<oJ<nt,f..-J..,I><
...,horof,h..hool.
I'..,..1.>.......~K.nV.,IGo-.ph'"o...gn.CunbnJg<.UK
lOOt."rA'_\\""h..'S"""
Tn,.. ,nIT(:.so"""s.....f.Ort.rn.t.C<nu....MT...JGils.n.
M '" 1'<,.,.1\,,11A"Stud",
Ong' ''''"rUn,,<JC..-.phoe>11.l,J,Smg.p<>«
l'rtn,<J.",1hounJ,nCh,....'hruoghWorlJr"'''ltJ
070809 10 II 1098765432 I
NORnIM,lhRIC,\
o,l""Y1),,,«cloR...Jo",Ilou><I),,,nltu,,onC.."rr
-100Ibh"Ro.tJ.\\''''',,,,,''rr.MD21157,USA,
L_m."I:,nfo@,.O>I''''lU,r«,.rom
ALL0 ['HLRREGIONS
O'I t'1)'f't"(1UK.P.O.Ilot. 140.W<II'''llborough.Nor,Iun...NNil2rA.UK.
L_m I:'nfo@,,""I....)J'f't"(1.ro.uk
I'''''''''''''''''Glazt-Jbnd",I><{of........from,h<p>l.taof[lonu>,h<<........'it..... M:1:"rnog<>!I:ndtI-"-"l!
'''_n",
Sptrw:I~t"-><J1_'PlAinorrumcnlf""",,I><0..... Th<s""J,M_/HII'/TorlOto
Il.ocl.rot",,",~n..I,....pbt•.,.5th-7,h.....un·,,". The1ln"J,M".....,,/HIl'!lorfoto
1.nJ1"f'""1l<...,1of,h<trl..-ff""",,h<.hron<ofAm........[.,I~... <:' !O:II\A1,,,,,,,rrorfoto
T..k I"'t,'<'~.....adof.s-.......Lng.6th""'un'A,l).founJ'"UJ,t-tI..... Ag"""'&"'" Inchu...ng
CONTENTS
Foreword: The Mighty Persian Warriors by Professor Richard Nelson Frye 6
Introduction: Persia or lran~ 8
Chronology 9
Part 1: The Achaemenids 12
Before thc Achaemenids 14
2 Cyrus Ihe Great Jnd the early Achacmenids 37
3 Darius the Greal 52
4 Xerxes .lnd limits of Empire 74
5 The Achacmcnid Empire (rom ArtolXerxes I 10 the rise of Macedon 86
6 Darius 111 and the rail of the Empire 96
Part 2: The Parthians 112
7 The Selcucids and the rise of the Parthians 114
8 Parthia challcnges Rome 131
9 Parthia from Mark Antony to the Alan invasions 144
10 Emperor Trajan's bid to destroy Parthia 157
11 The decline and rail of 1),u1hia 164
Part 3: The Sassanians 176
'2 TIle rise of the Sassanian Dynasty 178
13 Shapur II: a new revival of Sassi1nian Persia 19B
14 The TumuitliOlls Fifth Century 206
15 The Kavad ern 219
16 Khosrow I, renaissance and revival 226
17 The final glory and the decline of Ihe Empire 244
18 Downfall of the SasSo.lnians and the Islamic conquests 262
19 The legacy of Persia aflcr the Islamic conquests 276
Endnotes 292
Select bibliography 308
Index 312
Foreword
The Mighty Persian Warriors
,oro
h 15 significant Ih:u (he Arabic .... "Faris" means bolh the' I'cople but also a powerful
1ll'1Il or a mounted warrior. The latter is wh:u the 1lOIlIlalls, bod, In Iran and on [he
slrppts of untral Asia ..... ~rt' bmous for throughoul ,heIr 111510'1- thclr ho~-r,ding
c:n-:llry. Tilt' Iranian c. . \-alry. almo!>1 always l1lembc-rs of til(' noblilty. wert' lhe chief
strt'nglh of tht' armed forces whenever Ih"y look the fidd. TheS(' c;l\';lirYf1lcn comrasted
wllh the Infantry armics they foughl, ,he Gruk hoplitts and ,he Rom:m leglonanf'l:. In
Ihe b;allies betw«n lht'sc powt'r5. borh ca\'J.lry and m6.mry WtTl' on OCC2Slon "lClonous.
The SIOty of me Persian ....o arriors begms Wllh 'he Indo-lramans commg from
untnl A51.1 0'0'1'( [hree millt:nnia ago. The domestlcallon of Ihe horst had happt'lIt"d
mllch rarilt"r. and the Indo-Itdni;m invaden ar~ descrilx-d as dm'lng ch;mOIS. similar
10 Ihosc of Ihe Homeric Greeks. h may be- Ihat Ihe horse WaJi also emplop:d ;II this
tlIne 10 round up sheep or c.ude. probably "'llhoul a saddlr or bndk In ;lny C;lSC ,he
proper Iransp0ri for a nobleman was Ihe chariot. Thr Iralllans spread 10 Ihe west and
thc Indians 1n10 the subcominem, inspiring fear where\'er thr}' wem, In the cast the
Khwarazmians, Sogdians. Bactrians, and OIhers invaded bnds sparsely popubled by
tribes such as Ihe Dra\·idi:ms. while in the Wt"S[' rhe Medes and Persians occupied the
area forlllerly under the rule o( EI:llniles, Mannaeans. and Caspian tribes. and gave
their language [0 the inhabitants. One Illay suppose that the Iranians were similar
[0
till' Iatel'Turks who occupied Azerbaijan and Anatolia.
The Assyrian Empire sought horses (rom rhe Mrdes, who soon became strong
("nough to challenge Ihe Assyrians, According 10 Herodol"Us, Cyax:lrcs organized the
Medes from rribal levies into an army. with soldiers carrying spears and ca\'alr)'. thus
inslilllting a rrgular force. ;Ihhough it was not until dlC reign o( Cyrus d1(' Great ,hat
the form of Ihe Median-Persian arm)' W:lS perfecled. At about the same time, the
Armenians wen' spreading (rom Anatolia into Aurbaij;ln,
E\'en though Cyrus the Gn';l1 was closel)' bound by marriagt" 10 the Median ho~,
Darius was the {rue founder of the Adl3emenld Empire. The ernplrt had a greal
adV:lntagt' O\'er pm'low statcs, since it had a .secular "king's Ilw" pl;lced ailO'l'c the
rtligious law5 of Ihe \':Irious kingdoms eompTlSlIlg the huge emplrt, The kmg's law was
one of the' faelon ,hal held the empirt I~thr.r O\'r.r sc\·en.1 ce",uries, Danus' lomb ;II
N;lghsh-e-RwflUt\ has [he inscription:
FOREWORD 7
How many ar~ the coumri,'s which Darius [he king held? Look a[ [he sculpted figur,·s which
b<:ar the thronr phtforln, Then you shall pereei,'" and i[ will b"eon'" known [0 rou [hal [he
spear of th~ P"rsian man has gone far.
Under thc c:lrly Ach:lcmenid rulers rhe army W:lS most dlecrive in con'lllering :lnd
subduing revoirs. Unfortull:lrcly. over rime the namre of du' army ch:lnged. With rhe
inclus[on of levies from various nations. the rroops became more uncontrollable. and
less of a profcssional army. 10 [he extent thar the Ach:le[l1cnid emperors srarted to hire
well-tr:lined Greek mercenaries to fight their b:lrrles. So it was thar Alexander. the
milirary genius, brought Hellenistic soldiers to Iran and ended Achaemenid rule.
Aftet the brief Scleucid period of Persian histoty. a new force from Central Asia
arri"cd in Iran. dlC~ Parthi.llls. or Arsacids. as their dynas[y was called. Three new featmes
appeared in dw milit:lry under the Parthians: one was the ·'Parthian shot" used by the
cavalry. second the composite bow. and finally man to m:m combar before opposing
armies. Alrhough moullled archers with their powerful composite bows were held in
awe by the Romans. the c1u.mpions who represented their armies became the fealme of
this heroic age. At the end of the Parthian period. however, a new type of armored
c:lvalrynun riding an armored horse came 10 the fore. possibly a forerunner of the
European knights. These were the cataphracrs. who carried long spears. and who were
much feared by the Romans. Perhaps at this rimc. or later, the stirrup was invemed.
which gave cavalrymen incn:ased traction and versatility. This period of Iran's history
saw the beginning of world religions. such as Manichaeism. which causcd Christianity
CO compete with Zoroasrrianism.
The Sassanian period was the time of consolidation of central powers and the
formation of new units of the army. Also :It this rime there was a legal and religious
orthodox}' such that both religion and stare supponed each other, rather than one :lbove
the olher. The frequent fighting on t'NO fronts. against the B)'Zantines and the Central
Asian invasions, nOt only kept armies alert. but also brought Iran into the money and
trading arena. From thc beginning of thc Sassanian dynast)' rhe amounr of pill'!: siker in
Iranian currency remained high, and everywheIT Sass:lnian coins wert' highly valucd. while
elsewhere coinage was debased. From formerly an agricultural cconomy. now mcrchants
and traders began to open new romes to the Far East and Afric:l. Rather than fighr ovcr
territory and engage III cxtensive warf.1re. ir becamc easier to pay opponents. Such was cven
more the case than with the Achaemenid Empire. and just as Darius. the last Achaemid
king. died in the norrheast. so did Yazdegird. fleeing from rhe Arabs.
In this book Dr. Kaveh Farrokh has given lIS the Persian side of the picmre :lS
opposed Ihe Greek and Roman viewpoint which has long dominatcd our
[0
understanding of these wars. It is refreshing to sec (he other perspective, and Dr. F:lrrokh
sheds light on many Persi:ln lllstirurions in this history, such as the Sassanian elite cavalry.
the "Savaran." Osprey Publishing is [Q be congramlared for publishing Shadows ill ,Ill
Dm"': AI/riml Pmill al H'ar, which presenrs another aspcct of the wars between East and
WcSt in ancient rimes.
Professor Richard Nelson Frye
Septcmbcr 2006
Introduction
Persia or Iran ?
P(,f'SI;1 or Ir.m: In;l St'nst". both ;II'"(' corn'ci \\lu"l1 rdcrnllg 10 lilt 5<l1I1t: ('lUll}": a InEd.fie
,-mpUT [ital 5.11 belv."ITn the gre:u Cl\"ili7.':lIiOIl~ of Clilna and InJI,l 10 Ih(" faSI. ;lI1d lhe
Gt't'co-Rom,m world (0 lIS W(,Sl. Tht Gr«ks .dl.'liflfirJ ,he linll Ir.llll;m Achaemcmd
Empln:'':b "p(1'SS("\-a" or Persia, Ihough Iht' lr;mlJ.llS woulJ h.wl" fl'(rrrt"J to their homr
as "Ein:.An'· or ·'lr·t\I1'· lit. bnd of thc f\rpns ,
Tht ongmal In.mans \\'cre .l family of peoplC') cOlllpnsmg tht MC'J('s. P('r!ilartS. and
111(' moslly tXllI1CI northern lr.J.mans .S.lka/Scphl.los .tnd s:'rmall:ms , From Its \'('ry
mcrpuon Inn, or P("rsIJ. h.u Ix".n a muluhngtL1I. muhn"hmc :and mulllf;uth nallon. The
lrom of raJar IS host (0 not only Ihe '(,\\ P('tlilan bngu;.lgt'. bur .1 1,ltlhol";l of othcr
IrJnt.l1l bll~uJg;:s such as Kurdish. &ludH. Lun, and MM. .l ndar:am. Turk,.)h-spt';!kers
al.)Q pri.'domln,lIc In lraman Azem.1i).1n 10 Ih(' lIorthwc~1. .1nd Aralh; an:- SC't"n along the
P('fSl;111 Gulf CO,b1 .1nJ In Khuzis(J:n 10 Ih(' SOUlh\\'('~f, Ir.m IS also Illulllrcglonal In Ihal
II OOaSI.S a large \';In{'ty of ({'rrains and dunal{'s: II IS flot JUSI a J{'M'rf t'mpllT, Much of
Ir:1l1s Icg;1C}' d{'nl'{'S from her north and nortlmTSI. COIlIlt'ClC'd to tilr C1ucasus .1nd
AnalO!.a, as wdl as Central Asia. a reglOll from which thl' ongm:III){,Nalls and Ml'd\'s
Iwl{'d. Thr Pl'rSlall Gulf bears a profound Iranian I{'gacr HI dus d,I)'.
Till.' It'rnl Persil is corr{'C( wht'n l'llcomp3!>Mng ;111 ir,Ull.Ul pt'op[l'~, t'ljpccully ,hI.'
Kmd!> :lIld Illl' Al.ens who ll1' brgcl}' thl' dc!>ccmblH!> of tlh' ;lnCIt'11I Medel'. The Mt'des
WCI'I' Ihi.' trut' founders of Ir:ln. :lnd il W;IS through thrill Iha! till' foundalions for tht'
l'l1Ipil1' of Cyrus ,md Darius Il'('re bid. Tllr northt'r't1 [1',1\11,1nS pbycd nOI only l major
1'011.' ill dw crt'llion of Pl'rsil btU wl're thl' viln! link in tlw ImnSI1lI!>~lon t)f lh{' ('uhurl!
l{'g:1C), of tllt' Iranl,ln p!:treat! long aflt'r Iht' (,11 of till' /\dw.'l1lt'rHds 10 AJu:lndcr.
Th ... P.lnhian!> nOI only reslored P{'rsia aflcr Ihr Alexlndnan con<Jursl~. but :I)!>o bid
Ihc b;I!>IS of [hc S.lSs,lniln Empire. [ht' cultuml Icgal."Y of which CXISts 10 tim dlY, Thc
P,lrthl,U1S and Sa5s.1nilllS won <I numb;,-r of !>I'fctacular \\('IOTlC5 agamsi RomC'. and
I'TO'!'fJ Ihcll1!>ch'fs 10 be Ihi." worth~' ht'll') 10 a IIllgl .. } flllPlfC, Dc!>pllc Ill!." (lll of .ht'
£I!>!>-lllllll) 10 Ihc Arabs in Ihc 7(h c{'nUlr) \1>. IhC'lr cuhur.tl Il'glC)' J'l'rlllcatcd 10 Iht'
uucaslI5. Ihr Ar.tbs. Islam, EUIUIX" Olln:1. Japan, InJll lnd Ihr Far !:.;ul. In \I.::torr or
III dd<-.u. l\orsl;! hb cxcned a profound mnufncr on world 1."1\IIII'AlI10n, notably m
Ih('ology. technology. Klcner and IC'arnmg., conUIlt'rct', ia\\-!>, ('onunUmc.1I10ns. ImlllaTiJ.
r(lu(,)1r llll affairs, arts. arrhiti."cturt', and musIC.