Military and Society in Sasanian Iran

Bibliographic Data

ID23403153
AuthorsScott McDonough (0000-0002-1592-413X, William Paterson University, corresponding author)
Year2013
Pages601-620
Publication date2013-01-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueThe Oxford handbook of warfare in the classical world (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195304657.013.0031
OpenAlexW2622874334
ISBN9780195304657
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited15

This chapter examines the military as an institution in Iranian politics and society, starting in the Parthian era and focusing on Sasanian developments. Sasanian Iran was a considerably less populous, rich, and centralized polity than Rome, even though the Iranian society was highly militarized and its elites defined themselves as a “warrior aristocracy.” The Iranian (“Aryan”) cavalry was the backbone of Sasanian military power. The regions on the “bleeding edge” of Sasanian expansion contributed to Sasanian military strength. Successful offensive warfare gave the Sasanians a deeper base of military manpower. The final two centuries of the Sasanian era exhibited a military crisis, and the restructuring of the Sasanian military and society, all of which eventually resulted in the end of the Sasanian army. The soldiers and principles of the Sasanian military would live on in Iran and beyond though the Middle Ages.

Ancient history · Aristocracy (class) · Military history · Offensive · Operations research · Political science · Politics · Polity · Byzantine Studies and History · Engineering · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law

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