Spahbod
Spahbod or Spahbed ( Persian سپهبد, today's pronunciation : Sepahbod ) was a military rank in the Parthian and Sassanid empires. The title was used after the Islamization of Iran under the Iranian as well as the Persian influenced dynasties. The Armenians had the Sparapet and the Georgians the Spaspet .
The word comes from Spah سپهfor "Army" and Bod بدfor "master, servant" from. Another explanation is the derivation from Aspah'Paeity (In Neo-Persian Asb and Payeh ), which means commander of the cavalry or knight.
The term Spahbod denotes a senior military officer, but with the addition Ērān (English: Iran), Ērān was Spahbod ايران سپهبدfor the imperial general or generalissimo of the empire. This made it the highest military rank after that of the Great King ( Shāhān-Shāh ). The Ērān Spahbod acted as commander in chief as well as minister of defense and negotiator in peace negotiations. Lower-ranking Spahbods could command a field army, while the local Marzban could have the role of field marshal.
During the Pahlavi rule in the 20th century, the army again increasingly used ancient Sassanid military ranks, including the Sepahbod . The rank of the Sepahbod corresponded to that of the Lieutenant General , who was below that of the General (Pers. Arteschbod ).
Well-known Ērān Spahbods
During the Parthian
During the Sassanids
- Rachsch (I.)
- Rachsch (II.)
- Azarethes (?)
- Wistahm
- Bahram Chobin
- Shahin
- Schahrbaraz
- Tschihr-Burzen
- Wuzurgmihr
- Truām ī durmāhān
- Golon Mihran (or Mihran Mihrevandak)
- Wēh-Shāpūr
- Pīrag
- Sēd-hōsh
- Wahriz
- Rhazates
- Rostam Farrochzād
During the Pahlavi
- Ahmad Amir-Ahmadi
- Ali Razmara
- Amanullah Jahanbani
- Nader Jahanbani
See also
bibliography
- DN MacKenzie: A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary . Routledge Curzon, 2005.
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Junker / Alavi: Persian-German Dictionary , Leipzig / Teheran 1970, p. 86.
Web links
- Spahbod . In: Ehsan Yarshater (Ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica (English, including references)