Kirman (Sasanian province)

Kirman Kirmān
Province of the Sasanian Empire
← 224 – 650 →
Capital		Shiragan
Historical era		Late Antiquity
•	Established	224
•	Muslim conquest	650
Today part of		Iran

Kirman was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity, which almost corresponded to the present-day province of Kerman. The province bordered Pars in the west, Abarshahr and Sakastan in the northeast, Paradan in the east, Spahan in the north, and Mazun in the south. The capital of the province of Shiragan.

The province allegedly functioned as some kind of vassal kingdom, being mostly ruled by princes from the royal family, who bore the title of Kirmanshah ("King of Kirman"). The non-royal governors of the province bore the title of marzban ("margrave").

History

The province was originally part of the Parthian Empire, but was in the early 3rd-century conquered by the first Sasanian king Ardashir I (r. 224-242). Right after having the province conquered, he founded the town of Veh-Ardashir close to the Dasht-e Loot. The town was a small but heavily protected town encircled by gardens and watered by many qanats, wells, and cisterns. According to a legend, the town of Mahan was also a Sasanian foundation, being founded by the Sasanian governor of Kirman, Adhar Mahan.

Shapur II (r. 309–379), after a successful campaign against several Arab tribes in Arabia, resettled some of them in different parts of his empire, such as Kirman, where he settled some Arabs in Aban. During the reign of Shapur III (r. 383-388), his son Bahram IV governed Kirman, where he built a town. Khosrow I (r. 531-579) had a large part of the turbulent Pariz tribe massacred and deported. Furthermore, during his reign Kirman was brought under a huge cultivation, where many large qanats were built. According to a legend, extensive planting of trees was also made.

During the Arab conquest of Iran, the last Sasanian king Yazdegerd III (r. 632-651) fled to Kirman in 649/50, but shortly left the province after having alienated the marzban of the province. The Arabs soon entered Kirman, where they defeated and killed the marzban, and had all of Kirman conquered.

Population

Kirman was mostly inhabited by Iranians, and was constantly receiving Iranian immigrants from the west, while the provinces to the farther east was slowly becoming Indian in language and culture. The language and customs of the Iranian population of Kirman was very close to the Persian and Medians.

A part of the Iranian population of Kirman was nomadic, such as the Baloch who lived in the western mountains. There were also indigenous, non-Iranian nomads in the province, such as the Jut, who were descendants of the Yutiya (Outii), who lived under the Achaemenid Empire. The Pariz tribe lived in the mountains north to Rudbar, while Arabs lived in some parts of Kirman's coast. The Kofchi, a nomadic people of obscure origins that spoke an Iranian language, inhabited the Bashagird range and it's western surroundings.