Monasteries of the Caucasian Albanian Apostolic Church in 6th -7th century

 by Mahir Khalifa-zadeh

Created: 23 October 2025

Source: https://history.az/images/3/16983.jpg

Bishops of the Albanian Chalcedonian Church

Abas,*      bishop of Partaw,** the See of the Albanian*** Chalcedonian**** Church (Pahlavi: Partaw; now Barda, Azerbaijan); 

Moses,      bishop of Balalat;

Grigor,      bishop of Kapalak (now Qabala, Azerbaijan); 

Hromak,   bishop of Amaras (now Amaras town in Khojavend, Azerbaijan); 

                 bishop of Arc'ax (from Parthian: Aršak/ Arsak?, possibly originating from the name of the ruling Parthian Arsacid/ Aršakid dynasty of Albania; now Karabakh, Azerbaijan); 

                 bishop of Uti/k (old: Šamkūr, now Shamkir and around Ganja city, Azerbaijan);

                 bishop, Kambisena (now in Georgia);

                 bishop of Čor/ Čōl (now Torpakh-Kala (Pahlavi: Šebergah or "royal city-fortress" Šahr-i Yazdagird, near Derbent, Russia);

Simeon,    bishop of Mets Irank;

                  bishop of Vostan Imartspan (Pahlavi: v-ostan i marz-ban? "place of marzban [governor]", now possibly Derbent, Russia);

                  bishop of the "great city-fortress" Tsri/ Tri of Albania (around Zagatala or Qakh cities, Azerbaijan);

                  bishop of Yekhnibekh;

                  bishop of Siwnik (Pahlavi: Sisakān, now Syunik, Armenia);

Timothy,    bishop of   Paytakaran/ Balasakan/(Parthian: karan [land]/ Payt' karan [land of Payt (tribe or name)], Pahlavi: Balāsagān; now part of Iran; and Lankaran, Salyan and city of Baylagan, Azerbaijan); 

Habakkuk, bishop of Šak‘ē (Pahlavi: Šakki; now Sheki, Azerbaijan); 

Yohanik, later Nerses, bishops of Gardman (Phalavi: Šakašēn; now near the Girdiman river and the old fortress of Getabakk, nowadays Qazakh/ Kedabek/ Gedabay, Azerbaijan);

Lewond and later Israel, bishop of Meckolmank/ Mets Kol-mank. Bishop Israel held negotiations with the Huns in 682.

Caucasian Albanian Church's Chalcedonian monasteries in Jerusalem, around 638 CE

- Monastery of Pant, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, (possibly named after Bishop Pant, an early head  of the Albanian Church in the beginning of 6th century), established around the 4th century;

- Monastery of St. Theotokos (St. Mary) of Arc’ax;

- Monastery of Mrouv; 

- Monastery of St. Gregory of Amaras, dedicated to Gregory the Illuminator; 

- Monastery of St. Theotokos (St. Mary) of Partaw;

- Monastery named after the Holy Cathedral [S. Kat'olike Ekelec'i] in the city of Vagharshapat (Old Persian: Valashāpāt/ Balashāpāt, named after Valash/ Balash, a Parthian ruler of Armin, Latin: Armenia)******;

- 4 other monasteries occupied by the Muslims.

Notices:

*At the time, Bishop Abas (in office 552-596) was Catholicos of the Albanian Apostolic Church. He successfully gained autocephaly (from Greek, self-headed) for the Albanian Church. 

** The original name was a "great city" of Pērōz-Kavāt/ Pērōzāpāt, i.e., “Prosperous Peroz” or "the city of Pērōz". It was renamed to Partaw (Old Persian: Parθaυa, Parthian: Parθaυ, "Parthia", Middle Persian: Pahlav, now Barda from Arabic: برذعة, Bardhaʿa, Azerbaijan), possibly between 484-488 under the reign of Arrānshāh Vachaghan [III] the Pious, holding the status of the capital city of Arrān (Latin: Albania).

***Also called Church of Arran (Pahlavi: Arrān).

**** Followed the decision of the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) on the dyophysite nature of Christ.

***** The total number of the Albanian Church's monasteries in the Holy Land was 10.

****** This possibly indicates that the Cathedral of the Armenian Church in Ejmiadzin (Vagharshapat) was originally the Albanian Chalcedonian Church, where the Chalcedonian Dyophysite/ Orthodox Byzantine Emperor Heraclius was stationed in 624 AD. It is difficult to imagine that dyophysite Heraclius was in the miaphysite/ monophysite anti-Chalcedonian church. It is well known that the Russian Tsar (1836) transferred all the survived Caucasian Albanian churches under the jurisdiction of the miaphysite Armenian Church.

Sources:

Baumer Christoph, "History of the Caucasus, At the Crossroads of Empires",  Volume 1. London: I.B. Tauris, 2021. 392. ISBN: 978-1-78831-007-9.

Whirby Michael, “The Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius Scholasticus”, Liverpool University Press, 2000, 454.

Kałankatuac̣i Moses, (Movsēs Daskhurantsʻi), “The History of the Caucasian Albanians”, Trans: Dowsett Ch., London, 1961, 252.

Terian Abraham, “Monastic Turmoil in Sixth-Century Jerusalem and the South Caucasus: The Letter of Patriarch John IV to Catholicos Abas of the Caucasian Albanians,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 74, 2020, 9-39.

Archimandrite Alexy (Nikonorov), "Dioceses of the Albanian church by the sixth century", available at: https://ethnoglobus.az/343-dioceses-of-the-albanian-church-by-the-sixth-century.html

Chaumont Michael, “ALBANIA”, Encyclopedia Iranica, I/8, pp. 806-810; an updated version is available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/albania-iranian-aran-arm (accessed on 17 May 2014).

Garsonian Nina, The Marzpanate (428-652), Chapter 5, In: “The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times. I. The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century”, Ed: Richard G. Hovannisian R., New York, St Martin Press, 1997, 95-115.

Minorsky Vladimir, "The History of Sharvan and Darband in the 10th-11th centuries", University of London, Cambridge 1958, 227

Gadjiyev Murtuza, Construction Activities of Kavad I in Caucasian Albania, Iran and the Caucasus, 2017, Vol 21, 121-131.

Tchekhanovets Yana, Iohane, Bishop of Purtavi and Caucasian Albanians in the Holy Land, In: “Knowledge and Wisdom: Archaeological and Historical Essays in Honour of Leah Di Segni”. Ed: G. C. Bottini, J. Patrich and L.D. Chrupcała, Milano, 2014, 305-313.

Kouymjian Dickran. "Etchmiadzin". Armenian Studies Program, California State University, available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20140623214051/http://armenianstudies.csufresno.edu/iaa_architecture/etchmiadzin.htm

Daryaee Touraj, “Šahrestānīhā Ī Ērānšahr: A Middle Persian Text on Late Antique Geography, Epic, and History”. Costa Mesa, California, Mazda Publishers, 2002, 90.ISBN 1-56859-143-8.

Gorun Babian, “The Relations Between the Armenian and the Georgian Churches According to the Armenian Sources”, Lebanon 2001, 456 

Armenia, Albania and Iberia in the Sasanian Period, III-V Century

 by Mahir Khalifa-zadeh*

Armenia, Albania, and Iberia in the Sasanian period, III-V centuries,
Legend in Russian, Lukonin, Moscow, 1969

The stretching of Albania (Pahlavi: Ārān) over the left and right sides of the Kur/a river (Old Persian: Kuruš⁠, Greek: Κῦρος Kyros, Latin: Cyrus, Azerbaijani/Turkish: Kür) in the Sasanian Period, III-VII centuries. 

Following the partition of Sasanian Armin/a (Latin: Armenia) between the Byzantine and Sasanian empires in 387 AD, the Sasanians transferred the Kur/a river right bank's principalities (Pahlavi toponyms*): Uti/k, Šakašēn,  Arc’sax [from Parthian: Aršak/ Arsak?, possibly originating from the name of the ruling Parthian Arsacid/ Aršakid dynasty of Albania], Kołṭʿ, Xachen, Siunia/Siwnik and Gardman to Albania (Garsoian 1997, Chaumont 2014). 

In 428 AD, the Sassanids also transferred Armin/a's Paytakaran (now Baylagan in Azerbaijan) and Parskahayk to Aturpatakan (Pahlavi: Ādurbādagān) [now Iranian Azerbaijan] (Greenwood 2008).

Caucasian Albania in the Sasanian period, IV-VII centuries, Legend in Azerbaijani, available at:  https://www.azerbaijans.com/content_362_en.html

As American scholar James Robert Russell (1985) correctly mentioned, all Armenian toponyms are borrowings from the Parthian Arsacid  (Arsacid Pahlavi) and Pahlavi (Middle Persian) languages.

* Khalifa-zadeh M., Research Professor, Ph.D, Canadian Historical Association, 130 Albert Street, Suite 1912, Ottawa, ON, K1P5G4, Canada

Sources:

Lukonin V.G., Kultura Sasanidskogo Irana, ("Культура Сасанидского Ирана. Иран в III-V вв"), Moscow, 1969, 244, available at: https://www.scribd.com/document/445940284/Lukonin-v-g-kultura-sasanidskogo-irana-iran-v-iiiv-vv

Garsoian N., The Marzpanate (428-652), in: The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, ed. Richard Hovannisian, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997. p. 95-117, available at: https://archive.org/details/garsoian-1997-marzpanate/page/96/mode/2up

Greenwood T., Sasanian Reflections in Armenian Sources, e-Sasanika, 2008; p.15:28, available at: https://bpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/sites.uci.edu/dist/c/347/files/2020/01/e-sasanika3-Greenwood.pdf

Chaumont M.L., "ALBANIA", Encyclopedia Iranica, 2014, Vol. I/8, pp. 806-810, available at: https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/albania-iranian-aran-arm/

Russell, J.R.,  “Armeno-Iranica,” in D. Bivar and J. Hinnells, eds., Papers in Honor of Professor Mary Boyce (Acta Iranica 25), Leiden, 1985, pp. 447-458, available at: https://www.azargoshnasp.net/history/Armenian/armeno-iranica.pdf

Minorsky V., Caucasia IV, London, 1953, 32

Sasanian Imperial Policy and King Khosrow I's Reform: The Case of Adurbadagan and Arran (Caucasian Albania)

 by Mahir Khalifa-zadeh*

Posted from:

Khalifa-zadeh M., "Sasanian Imperial Policy and King Xusrō I Anōšīrvān’s Reform: The Case of Ādurbādagān and Arrān (Caucasian Albania)", Chapter 2, In: Research Trends in History, Ed: Arun Kumar, Helmand Books, New Delhi, 2025, p.35-65, ISBN:978-93-93992-94-9, available at:  https://www.helmandbooks.com/book-details/1737551382-research-trends-in-history-volume-1

Download PDF:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/388277926_Sasanian_Imperial_Policy_and_King_Xusro_I_Anosirvan%27s_Reform_The_Case_of_Adurbadagan_and_Arran_Caucasian_Albania_in_book_Research_Trends_in_History

Research Trends in History, Helmand Books, New Delhi, 2025, pp.99
https://www.helmandbooks.com/book-details/1737551382-research-trends-in-history-volume-1

Abstract

The author analyses the Sasanian imperial policy and strategy toward Ādurbādagān and Arrān (Caucasian Albania) as well as the impact of King Xusrō I Anōšīrvān’s reforms on these regions. The analysis briefly overviews Ardaxšīr I’s rise to power highlighting the Sasanian dynasty’s political ambitions. The author discusses Shāpūr I’s ideological and political reasons for declaring the Ādur Gušnasp fire temple in Azerbaijan the empire’s most sacred fire and proclaiming Zoroastrianism as the state religion. Shāpūr I’s decision transformed Ādurbādagān into the empire’s Zoroastrian religious and ideological centre, increasing the province’s strategic value. However, Ādurbādagān’s proximity to the main war zones heightened its vulnerability. The author notes that King Xusrō I Anōšīrvān’s reform enhanced Ādurbādagān’s security by the establishment of the kust-i Ādurbādagān and Ādurbādagān’s spāhbed (general) military command covering Arrān (Caucasian Albania). The author emphasizes Arrān’s military and geostrategic importance in the Sasanian policy to prevent the Turks’ incursions and contain Byzantine advance in Caucasia. The reform tightened Albania’s attachment to Azerbaijan increasing its military capacity and strategic value. In the late Sasanian period Ādurbādagān and Arrān became interchangeable names in the northern bank of the Aras River through the creation of the entire Ādurbādagān [Azerbaijan] šahr shielding Ērānšahr.

Keywords: Sasanian, Khosrow Anushirvan, Adurbadagan, Arran, Caucasian Albania, Azerbaijan

* Khalifa-zadeh M., Research Professor, Ph.D, Canadian Historical Association, 130 Albert Street, Suite 1912, Ottawa, ON, K1P5G4, Canada

Download PDF: 

https://www.academia.edu/127197214/Sasanian_Imperial_Policy_and_King_Xusr%C5%8D_I_An%C5%8D%C5%A1%C4%ABrv%C4%81n_s_Reform_The_Case_of_%C4%80durb%C4%81dag%C4%81n_and_Arr%C4%81n_Caucasian_Albania_Chapter_2_in_Research_Trends_in_History_2025

Sasanian Imperial Policy and Strategy: Case of Adurbadagan and Arran (Caucasian Albania)

 by Mahir Khalifa-zadeh [1,2]

[1] - Canadian Historical Association, Ottawa, Canada

[2] - Azerbaijan in Global Context, Media and Analysis Center, Toronto, Canada

 Posted from:

Khalifa-zadeh Mahir, "Sasanian Imperial Strategy and King Xusrō I Anōšīrvān’s Reform: The Case of Ādurbādagān and Arrān (Caucasian Albania)", International Journal of History, 2024, Vol.6, Issue 1, p 111-121.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.22271/27069109.2024.v6.i1b.271

Download PDF:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380216635_Sasanian_Imperial_Strategy_and_King_Xusro_I_Anosirvan's_Reform_The_Case_of_Adurbadagan_and_Arran_Caucasian_Albania

Map of the Sasanian fortifications (Gadjiyev 2017) in
Caucasian Azerbaijan (Syriac: Aran, Pahlavi: Arrān, Greek: Ἀλβανία, Latin: Albania)

Abstract

The article analyses the Sasanian imperial policy and strategy toward Ādurbādagān and Arrān (Caucasian Albania) as well as the impact of King Xusrō I Anōšīrvān’s reforms on these regions. The author briefly overviews Ardaxšīr I’s rise to power highlighting the Sasanian dynasty’s political ambitions. The article discusses Shāpūr I’s ideological and political reasons for declaring the Ādur Gušnasp fire-temple in Azerbaijan the empire’s most sacred fire and proclaiming Zoroastrianism as the state religion. The author argues that Shāpūr I’s decision transformed Ādurbādagān into the empire’s Zoroastrian religious and ideological center, increasing the province’s strategic value. However, Ādurbādagān’s proximity to the main war zones heightened its vulnerability. The author notes that King Xusrō I Anōšīrvān’s reform enhanced Ādurbādagān’s security by the establishment of the kust-i Ādurbādagān and Ādurbādagān’s spāhbed (general) military command covering Arrān (Caucasian Albania). The article emphasizes Arrān’s military and geostrategic importance in the Sasanian strategy to prevent Turks' incursions and contain Byzantine Christian advance in Caucasia. The reform tightened Albania’s attachment to Azerbaijan increasing its military capacity and strategic value. Thus, in the late Sasanian period Ādurbādagān and Arrān became interchangeable names on the northern bank of the Aras River through the creation of the entire Ādurbādagān [Azerbaijan] šahr shielding Ērānšahr.

Keywords: Sasanian, Khosrow Anushirvan, Adurbadagan, Arran, Caucasian Albania, Azerbaijan

 Download PDF:

https://www.academia.edu/118449451/Sasanian_Imperial_Strategy_and_King_Xusr%C5%8D_I_An%C5%8D%C5%A1%C4%ABrv%C4%81ns_Reform_The_Case_of_%C4%80durb%C4%81dag%C4%81n_and_Arr%C4%81n_Caucasian_Albania_

Arran Shah Javanshir (Juansher, Caucasian Albanian King) 628–637 CE

by Mahir Khalifa-zadeh*

The bust of Ārānšāh Javanshir, Great Pahlav House of Mehrān, Sculptor: Fuad Abdurahmanov, National Museum of History, Baku, Azerbaijan

Prince and General (Pahlavi: spāhbed) Javanshir (Juanšer) was a member of the Great Pahlav House of Mehrān (wuzurg Pahlav šahrdārān) and the son of Ārānšāh Varaz-Grigor (r. 628 – 637 CE), who possibly had the Zoroastrian name Gadvsnasp before his second baptism into the dyophysite Chalcedonian faith. 

The Mehrān House was one of the Seven Great Pahlav (Parthian) Houses (wuzurg Pahlav šahrdārān) of the Sasanian Empire, claiming its descent to the Arsacids of Parthia. The powerful Pahlav House of Mehrān held high-ranking positions in the Sasanian hierarchy. The members of Mehrān occupied high-ranking positions in the Sasanian Imperial Army and led negotiations with the Khaqan of the Turks.

In 16-19 November 636, in the famous Battle of al-Qādisiyyah between the Sasanians and Muslim Arabs, Prince Javanshir was the commander of Arrān's (Albania's) troops, which were part of the Sasanian Imperial Army under the command of the famous Iranian hero and general (spāhbed) Rostam Farrokhzād, prince of Ādurbādagān [Azerbaijan].

In 637, Javanshir, with 3000-4000 troops, helped arrange šāhānšāh Yazdegerd III from the Sasanian capital Ctesiphon (Arabic: المدائن, al-Madāʾen) sieged by Muslim Arabs.

Sasanian King Yazdegerd III (r. 632-651) awarded Javanshir two golden spears and shields and acknowledged his bravery, awarding a flag – Standard of Jamshid (Pahlavi: Derafš-e Kāvīān / King's flag) which was the highest honor for loyalty and courage.

Derafš-e Kāvīān - King's Flag, sometimes called the Standard of Jamshid

Before the final defeat of the Sasanian army in the Battle of Nahāvand in 642, Javanshir arrived in Ādurbādagān [Azerbaijan]. One may assume that he planned to resume command of the Sasanian Ādurbādagān military in the wake of Rostam’s death and because of Yazdegerd’s strong will to collect a new army in Media to fight the Arabs. However, Rostam’s brother (possibly) Farrukhzad was assigned Ādurbādagān’s spāhbed and Javanshir fled back to Arrān's capital of Partaw (now Barda, present-day Azerbaijan).

Ārānšāh Javanshir fights Muslim Arabs alongside with the Sasanian troops, painting (1956),
National Museum of History, Baku, Azerbaijan

After the collapse of the Sasanian Empire, Muslim Arabs offered Arrānšāh Javanshir to become a ruler of the entire Ādurbādagān [Azerbaijan] šahr, but he refused for obscure reasons. Soon after, in 669, Javanshir was killed during Christian service at Partaw’s Arrānian (Latin: Albanian) Dyophysite Orthodox church (Church of Arrān). Javanshir was married to a Turkish Princess.

Javanshir fortress, reconstruction, Ismayili region, Republic of Azerbaijan

* Khalifa-zadeh M., Research Professor, Ph.D, Canadian Historical Association, 130 Albert Street, Suite 1912, Ottawa, ON, K1P5G4, Canada

Source: 

Khalifa-zadeh, Mahir, "Adurbadagan and Arran (Caucasian Albania) in the Late Sasanian Period", International Journal of History, 2023, Vol 5, Issue 2, pp 15-18.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.22271/27069109.2023.v5.i2a.220

Church of Arran, https://orthodoxwiki.org/Church_of_Arran

Arran Shah Urnayr (King of Caucasian Albania) and Sasanian Shahan Shah Shapur II in the Battle of Bagavan 371 CE

by Mahir Khalifa-zadeh

Ārānšāh Urnayr (Syriac: Aran, Parthian: Ārdān, Pahlavi: Ārān, Greek: Ἀλβανία, Latin: Albania, present-day Azerbaijan) and Sasanian šāhānšāh Šābuhr II in the Battle of Dzirav or Bagavan in 371 CE (Ms Berlin SBB, Or. quart. 805, fol 212r). 

Ārānšāh Urnayr (r. 350- 375) married the daughter of the Sasanian šāhānšāh Šābuhr II (r. 309-379).  

Sources: 

- Khalifa-zadeh Mahir, "Adurbadagan and Arran (Caucasian Albania) in the late Sasanian period", International Journal of History, 2023, Vol 5, Issue 2, pp 15-18. DOI: 

10.22271/27069109.2023.v5.i2a.220.

- Khalifa-zadeh Mahir and Maksymiuk Katarzyna, "Reforms of Sasanian king Khusro I and the northern bank of the Araxes – Arrān (Caucasus Albania)", 2023, Historia i Swiat, Vol. 12, pp 167-172.  DOI: 10.34739/his.2023.12.10

The Late Sasanian Period: Adurbadagan and Arran (Caucasian Albania)

by Mahir Khalifa-zadeh

Posted from:

Khalifa-zadeh M., "Adurbadagan and Arran (Caucasian Albania) in the Late Sasanian Period". International Journal of History, 2023, Vol. 5, issue, pp. 15-18, DOI: 10.22271/27069109.2023.v5.i2a.220

Download in PDF: https://www.historyjournal.net/article/220/5-2-2-857.pdf  or

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373421722_Adurbadagan_and_Arran_Caucasian_Albania_in_the_Late_Sasanian_Period

Abstract: The article considers the Sasanian King Khusrow I Anushirwan (Pahlavi: Xusrō I Anōšīrvān) reforms to improve the empire’s military and administrative architecture during the wars with Byzantium and the Turks. The author discusses the establishment of the region or kust-ī Ādurbādagān, which allowed the nomination of Arrān’s general. The author believes that it was a key element in the Sassanian strategy to enforce both central and military power in the defense-sensitive Caucasia challenged by the Byzantium and nomads. The reforms pulled Arrān (Latin: Albania) closer to the Sasanian crown, enforcing the dynastic ties between Sasanian shāhanshāh and Arrānshāh. These reforms facilitated the incorporation of Arranian (Albanian) troops into the Sasanian Army under Ādurbādagān’s general command to shield Ērānšahr from the Khazar’s and Turk’s incursions. The author argues that the reform initiated the projecting of Ādurbādagān’s name, military, and administrative functions in Arrān forming a strong interrelationship between the southern and northern sides of the Araxes as the entire Ādurbādagān šahr. Since Late Antiquity, Ādurbādagān and Arrān became interchangeable names and were in use on the northern bank of the Araxes.

Keywords: Sasanian, Adurbadagan, Arran, Caucasian Albania, Azerbaijan

Arranshah Javanshir (Pahlavi: Juansher), 637-669 CE,
National Museum of History, Baku, Azerbaijan 

The Parthian and later Sasanian empires engaged in centuries-long wars with Rome and Byzantium, respectively. The intense rivalry between the two great empires shaped the history and politics of that period, as the Greco-Persian wars did during early Antiquity. The permanent struggle with Byzantium to dominate the Near East prompted the Sassanids to rethink and redesign the empire’s architecture to improve its military might and administrative stability. This strategic perception was realized not only because of the war with the Byzantines but also for the devastating invaders’ incursions deep into Ērānšahr from the Darband pass in Caucasia. The Sasanians were involved in a permanent struggle on two key fronts: in the northwest with the Byzantium Empire and in the north with the Turks in the Caucasus. This political and military reality forced the Sassanids to re-discover and re-evaluate the strategic importance of Arrān or Arrānšahr (Caucasus Albania), located on the north side of the Araz river.

In the 5th-6th centuries CE, Sasanian kings Kawād I (r. 488-96, 499-531) and his son Xusrō I Anōšīrvān (r. 531-579)[1] launched a fortifications’ improvement program[2] around the whole empire. They also initiated administrative reforms to upgrade the empire’s defense, military, and power architectures.[3] Parallelly, the reforms aimed to strengthen the Zoroastrian religion in the lands challenged by the Christian Orthodox Byzantium.

In the Seleucid and Parthian eras, the province of Āturpātākān (Pahlavi: Ādurbādagān) played a central role as a stronghold against the spread of the Greek and Roman pantheons in Ērānšahr. Moreover, it is highly likely that Āturpātākān was the place where the prophet Zarathustra was born, and the Holy Avesta was kept in the sacred fire Ātur (Old Persian) or Ādur Gušnasp (Middle Persian/Pahlavi) temple (now Takht-e Solayman).[4]

Thus, in the Sasanian era, Ādurbādagān became the religious center of the empire, preserving and expanding Zoroaster’s faith. The chief Median sacred fire temple of Ādur Gušnasp was established sometime in the Parthian period on a hill near Āturpātākān’s capital Ganzak/Gazaca (Greek: Γάζακα). The Sasanians proclaimed Zoroastrianism as the imperial religion and Ādurbādagān occupied the role of the empire’s religious core, holding the cathedral temple Ādur Gušnasp as the imperial sacred fire of the highest grade. Ādur Gušnasp continued to burn until the 11th century.[5]

Ādur Gušnasp - an Ataš Bahrām (Parthian: Ātaš-i- Wahrām or Pahlavi: Ādur Bahrām - “fires of Victory,” Zoroastrian name of God of War and Victory) was the Zoroastrian most sacred or “cathedral” fire of the highest grade established in the late Achaemenid or Parthian era in Ādurbādagān.  The temple was linked to the victorious warrior class (Pahlavi: artēštār) to which the Sasanian dynasty belonged itself. Since the reign of King Bahram V (r. 420-438 CE), all Sasanian kings after coronation pilgrimage to the temple providing royal gifts and celebrated Nowruz (Pahlavi: No Ruz).[6]

During the late Sasanian period, shāhanshāh Xusrō I Anōšīrvān launched the military and administrative reforms[7] and accelerated the building of fortifications in the empire’s defense-sensitive areas, particularly in Caucasus Albania. The reform was designed to strengthen the empire’s military operational and defense capacity following the establishment of four quarters or regions (kust) reported to the assigned trustworthy general (Pahlavi: spāhbed) for each region.[8]

King Xusrō I abolished the one-person command of Ērān-Spāhbed,[9],[10] (Pahlavi: iṣbahbadh al-bilād, Artēštārān sālār, the office of the marshal or general of all Iranian forces)[11] and replaced it with four generals reporting directly to shāhanshāh.  As a result of the reform, the kust-ī Ādurbādagān (quadrant or region of Ādurbādagān) was established holding Ādurbādagān’s general [12] and, as will be indicated later, Ādurbādagān’s āmārgar (financial or administrative officer) as well.[13]

The establishment of the kust-ī Ādurbādagān holding the specially assigned general was designed to improve the empire’s military and defense capabilities strengthening the central power of the shāhanshāh and Zoroaster’s faith in the lands contested by Christian Byzantium, particularly in Caucasia. The Sassanids considered the kust-ī Ādurbādagān to be the most important region for its military potential and strategic location as well as for its logistical closeness to the empire’s core – Ādurbādagān province – a power, military, and Zoroastrian center.[14]

However, the closeness of the war zones to the key Ādurbādagān province, holding the principal and foremost fire Ādur Gušnasp, made the province vulnerable, which needed to be secured by strengthening its defense. Thus, the security of the empire’s core regions of Media and Azerbaijan had to be guaranteed and both Sasanian and Zoroastrian influence were to be projected far afield from Ādurbādagān.[15]  The Sassanians were focused to ensure the safety Ādurbādagān, as the Zoroastrian core, from the ideological and religious contamination generated by Christian Byzantium and infiltrating from Caucasia. The Sassanids addressed this challenge by establishing the kust-ī Ādurbādagān holding the centralized office of the supreme military command (Pahlavi: isbahbadh) of Azerbaijan with specially assigned Ādurbādagān’s spāhbed covering Ādurbādagān itself and the surrounding lands of Arrān (Albania) and Armin (Arminyaya or Armenia).[16]^,[17]

It should be noted that the Byzantines, the Sasanian archenemies, acknowledged the imperial, military, and religious values of Ādurbādagān province. In 623, Byzantine emperor Heraclius, during the last Byzantine-Sassanian war of 602-628CE, occupied Ādurbādagān and sacked out the fire temple Ādur Gušnasp, aiming to crush the Sassanids’ will and power to fight.[18]^,[19]

Thus, the kust-ī Ādurbādagān included the province of Ādurbādagān (a power and religious center of the empire) and all adjoining lands in the north and west from the Araz River up to the Khazar lands in the Caspian Sea. The establishment of the kust Ādurbādagān allowed for the re-design of the Sassanian military and power architecture in this part of the empire. It initiated the Ādurbādagān province’s military command (spāhbed) and administrative functions such as the office of tax/revenue (āmārgar) to the north from the Araz River up to the Darband fortress in Caucasia. The recently discovered Sasanian kust-ī Ādurbādagān spāhbed seal in Azar Goshnasp (now Takht-e Solayman, Iranian Azerbaijan)[20] and the Pahlavi official inscriptions on the Darband fortress walls (now Derbent) confirm the extension of šahr (region or country in Pahlavi) Ādurbādagān to the Caucasus.[21]

The Sasanian reforms’ strategy was pragmatic and effective, allowing an increase in the empire’s capacity to fight its enemies. It strengthened the empire’s defense and military capabilities by incorporating Arranian (Albanian) troops into the Sasanian Imperial army under Ādurbādagān’s spāhbed command. The projection of Ādurbādagān’s military and administrative functions to the north from the Araxes was of paramount significance to the Sassanids, enforcing both the central shāhanshāh’s power and Zoroaster’s faith in Albania challenged by the Orthodox Byzantium (Caucasus Albania was re-baptized into Chalcedonian Christianity at the beginning of the 7^th CE).  Generally, this strategy increased the gravity of the Zoroastrian religion and the importance of the province Ādurbādagān, cementing the Sasanian power and Zoroaster’s faith (as the unique imperial religion) on the northern bank of the Araxes (under the entire Ādurbādagān šahr umbrella)[22], where the military and religious rivalry with the Orthodox Byzantium were in the stages of war.

Indeed, the sign of the Moon, as a key Zoroastrian symbol that was exposed on top of the principal Sassanian fire temple Ādur Gušnasp in Ādurbādagān, was indicated as the moon-chariot on Arrānshāh Aswagen’s state seal.[23]

Next, the establishment of Ādurbādagān’s command (isbahbadh) under a specially assigned general[24] increased the effectiveness of military operations up to the Darband fortress on the frontier with the Turks and Khazars in Caucasia. Despite Darband, at the time, being within the semi-independent or vassal Arrān country (Arrān šahr), the Sassanids maintained huge military garrisons under the direct supervision of Ādurbādagān’s spāhbed. They strongly believed that Arraninan (Albanian) forces alone were not sufficient to shield the invaders’ incursions via the Darband passage deep into Ērānšahr.  

The Sasanian kings and kings of Arrān improved Darband’s fortifications by constructing double walls and the Narin Gala citadel on a hill. The fortified defense line was erected to protect a narrow passage between the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea, blocking the invasion of Turks and Khazars.

It is noteworthy that Azerbaijani and Dagestani scholars translated many Pahlavi inscriptions on the Darband walls. One of the inscriptions confirms Darband’s subordination to šahr Ādurbādagān’s āmārgār (tax or revenue officer). The Pahlavi Darband’s wall inscription “en ud az en abarbar Darius-i Ādurbādagān āmārgār” was translated as: “This and higher than this made by Dariush, Ādurbādagān’s revenue/tax collector.”[25] 

It can be assumed that the Darband walls’ Pahlavi Ādurbādagān inscription and the Sasanian garrisons[26] presence in Arrān’s fortresses (Darband, Torpakh kala or Saharestan Yazdagerd, Beshbarmag, in the Gilgilchay Defense Wall)[27]  under Ādurbādagān’s spāhbed command as well as the kust-ī Ādurbādagān marzpān (administrative officer) location in Ardebil (at the time Ādurbādagān’s capital city) clearly confirm the projecting of the province Ādurbādagān political, military and administrative functions to the north over the Araxes to Arran forming the entire Ādurbādagān šahr.[28] 

It is not surprising that Ādurbādagān’s name, military and administrative functions were projected onto Arrān (Albania). The local Arranian (Albanian) nobility was close to the Sasanian crown. Since the rein of Arrānshāh Urnayn (r. 350-375), one can speak of the establishment of close dynastic ties with the shāhanshāh’s family. Thus, King Urnayn was married to the daughter of shāhanshāh Šāpur II (r. 309-379) and Arrānshah Aswahen (r. 415-440) was the son of the sister of Šāpur III (r. 383-388) and the husband of the daughter of shāhanshāh Yazdagird II (r. 439-457). Arrānshāh Vache II (r. 440-462) was the son of the sister of shāhanshāh Hormizd (r. 457-459) and Peroz (r. 459-484).[29]

Undoubtedly, the close family ties between the Sasanian Kings and the Kings of Arran were a key element in the Sasanian strategy to enforce central and military power as well as Zoroaster’s faith which were eroded by the Orthodox Byzantium in strategically important Arrān šahr. One can state that Arrānshāh and his court were close to the Sasanian, using Pahlavi as the official language.

Following shāhanshāh Xusrō I Anōšīrvān’s reform, one can assume that it facilitated the integration of Arranian (Albanian) troops into the Sasanian army under the command of Adurbadagan‘s spāhbed. Although Caucasus Albania[30] was an independent (from time to time) or semi-independent state, the defense was under Ādurbādagān’s spāhbed command. During the late Sasanian period, the commander was the famous Iranian military and political hero – spāhbed Rostam Farrokhād of Ādurbādagān [Azerbaijan]. General and Prince of Ādurbādagān Rostam Farrokhād was a member of the Pahlav clan of Ispahbudhan family (House) - one of the Seven Great (Pahlavi: wuzurgān) Houses of the Sasanian Empire claiming its descent to the Arsacids of Parthia.

At the same time, the King of Arrān Varaz Grigor (r. 628-637), a Zoroastrian name that may have been Gadvsnasp before his second baptizing into Dyophysite Orthodox Nestorian Christianity, was adopted as the title of Arranshah. He was a member of the wuzurgān Mehrān family (a Pahlav noble- family, separated or branch of the Ispahbudhan House). Moreover, Arrānshāh Varaz Grigor was related to the Sasanian shāhanshāh Xusrō I Anōšīrvān or even “being himself a noble of the family of Ardashir I” and Prince Javanshir (Pahlavi: Juanšer) of the Caucasus Albania (Arrān) was a son of Varaz Grigor. The Pahlav (Parthian) House of Mehrān held high-ranking positions in the Sasanian hierarchy and occupied high command over the frontline in the north, leading the negotiations with the Khaqan of Turks.[31]

Notably, the famous Sasanian general Rostam Farrokhzad of Ādurbādagān [Azerbaijan] escorted and introduced Prince Javanshir to the last Sasanian King Yazdagird III (r. 632-651) in Ctesiphon, the Sasanian capital. In 16-19 November 636, in the famous Battle of al-Qadisiyyah between the Sasanians and Muslim Arabs, Prince Javanshir was the commander (spāhbed) of the Arranian (Albanian) troops, which were part of the Sasanian Imperial Army under the command of spāhbed Rostam Farrokhād of Ādurbādagān. For his gallantry at al-Qadisiyyah, Javanshir was rewarded with villages as well as military and court insignia.[32] 

In 637, Javanshir with 3000-4000 troops, helped arrange King Yazdagird III’s evacuation from the Sasanian capital Ctesiphon sieged by Muslims. Sasanian King Yazdagird III awarded Javanshir two golden spears and shields and acknowledged his bravery, awarding a flag – the Standard of Jamshid (Derafsh-e Kavian) which was the highest honor for loyalty and bravery.[33]  Before the final defeat of the Sassanian army in the Battle of Nahavand in 642, Javanshir arrived in Ādurbādagān. One can assume that he planned to resume command of the Sassanian Ādurbādagān military in the wake of Rostam’s death and because of Yazdagird’s strong will to collect a new army in Media to fight the Arabs. However, Rostam’s brother Farrukhzad was assigned Ādurbādagān’s spāhbed and Javanshir fled back to Arrān's (Albania) capital Partaw (now Barda, present-day Azerbaijan).[34]

There was confirmed evidence that after the collapse of the Sasanian Empire, Muslim Arabs offered to Arrānshāh Javanshir to become the ruler of the entire Ādurbādagān šahr, but he refused it for obscure reasons. Soon after, Javanshir was killed during Christian service at Partaw’s Albanian (Arranian) church.[35]

Conclusion

In the 5th-6th century, the Sassanids, particularly King Xusrō I Anōšīrvān, implemented reforms aimed at improving the empire’s architecture to lead a long-lasting rivalry with the Orthodox Byzantium to dominate the Near Est. The devastating incursions of the Turks and Khazars via Darband pass in Caucasia as well as Arsacids Armenians turned towards the Byzantium prompting the Sassanids to re-evaluate and recognize the strategic and military importance of Arran (Caucasus Albania) located on the north bank of the Araxes.

Sasanian King Xusrō I Anōšīrvān established the region or kust-ī Ādurbādagān, holding Ādurbādagān’s general (spāhbed) command covering all lands in the north and northwest of the Araz river. including Arrān (Arrānšahr). The Sasanian strategy aimed to strengthen both the central power and Zoroaster’s faith as a unique imperial religion eroded by Christian Byzantium in Caucasia. The establishment of the kust-i Adurbadagan spahbed allowed the incorporation of Arranian (Albanian) troops into the Sassanian Imperial Army under Ādurbādagān’s general command containing the Byzantines and Turks, as well as enforcing the defense of the empire’s power and the religious core province of Ādurbādagān holding the cathedral fire temple Ādur Gušnasp.

The reform pulled Arrānšahr closer to the Sasanian crown supported by the establishment of dynastic or family ties between the families of shāhanshāh and Arrānshah. The recently discovered Arrānshah Aswahen’s state seal clearly confirms the closeness of Arranian (Albanian) nobility to the Sasanian crown using Pahlavi as the official court language.

Thus, the Sassanids reorganized the empire’s architecture, expanding Ādurbādagān’s military and administrative functions to Arrānšahr to form the entire Ādurbādagān šahr on both sides of the Araz River to contain the Byzantium and Turks. It was a turning point to project Ādurbādagān’s name and functions in the northern bank of Araxes, particularly on Arrān. The establishment of the kust-ī Ādurbādagān with specially assigned Adurbadagan’s general strengthened both Sasanian power and Zoroastrianism up to Darband fortress in Caucasia forming entire Adurbadagan šahr on both sides of the Araxes.

Finally, since Late Antiquity, particularly as a result of the reforms of the Sasanian King Xusrō I Anōšīrvān, names Arrān and Ādurbādagān became interchangeable in the north bank of the Araxes, facilitating of the strengthening of the empire’s central military, administrative and religious power to contain Byzantium. The following historical developments demonstrate that term Arrān (Albania) lost its political functions, surviving as a geographical or toponymical term. However, Ādurbādagān evolved into the Turkified form of Azerbaijan.

NOTES

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[1] Katarzina Maksymiuk. “The Parthian nobility in Xusrō I Anōšīrvān court”, Elites in the Ancient World,2, eds. D. Okoń, P. Briks, Szczecin, (2015): 189-198.

[2] Touraj Daryaee T. "Sasanian Persia, The Rise and Fall of an Empire", (London/New York: 2009). 

[3] Kabekh Farrokh, Gholam Reza, Hamid Karamian. “Military Architecture and the Four-Spāhbed System for Defense of the Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE)” Historia i Swiat, 10, (2021): 117-151. 

[4] Mehrdad Ghodrat-Dizaji. “Administrative Geography of the Early Sasanian Period: The Case of Ādurbādagān.” Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies, 45, (2007): 87-96.

[5] Mary Boyce. “ĀDUR GUŠNASP”, Encyclopædia Iranica, I/5, 475-476, 28 February 2014 https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/adur-gusnasp-an-atas-bahram-see-atas-that-is-a-zoroastrian-sacred-fire-of-the-highest-grade-held-to-be-one-of-

[6] Yumiko Yamamoto. “The Zoroastrian Temple Cult of Fire in Archaeology and Literature”, Orient, 17, (1981): 67-104. doi: https://doi.org/10.5356/orient1960.17.67

[7] Zeev Rubin (1995), "The Reforms of Khusro Anushiwan", ed. A.Cameron, The Byzantine and early Islamic Near East 3, (Pricenton: 1995), 227-298.

[8] Rika Gyselen. “The Four Generals of the Sasanian Empire: Some Sigillographic Evidence”, Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente, Conferenze 14, Roma, (2001): 53. https://doi.org/10.4000/abstractairanica.34354

[9] Touraj Daryaee, and Keyvan Safdari. “Spāhbed Bullae: The Barakat Collection”, e-Sasanica, 12, (2010): 1-15.

[10] Katarzina Maksymiuk. “The Pahlav-Mihrani family faithful allies of Xusto I Anoshirvan”, Metamorvozi Istorii, 6, (2015): 163-179.

[11] Mehrdad Ghodrat-Dizaji. “Ādurbādagān during the Late Sasanian Period: A Study in Administrative Geography”, Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies, 48, (2010): 69-80. https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2010.11864774

[12] Kavekh Farrokh, Gholam Reza and Hamid Karamian. “Military Architecture and the Four-Spāhbed System for Defense of the Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE)”. Historia i Swiat, 10, (2021): 117-151. https://doi.org/10.34739/his.2021.10.05

[13] Sara Kasumova. “K tolkovaniyu sredne-persidskikh nadpiseĭ iz Derbenta (On the interpretation of the Middle Persian inscriptions from Darband)”, VDI, 1, (1979): 113-126.

[14] Mehrdad Ghodrat-Dizaji. “Administrative Geography of The Early Sasanian Period: Case of Ādurbādagān”, Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies, 45, (2007): 87-93. https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2007.11864720

[15] James Howard-Johnston. “The Late Sasanian Army”, In: Late Antiquity: Eastern Perspectives ed. Teresa Bernheimer and Adam Silverstein, (Warminster: The Gibb Memorial Trust, 2012), 87-127.

[16] Mehrdad Ghodrat-Dizaji. “Disintegration of Sasanian Hegemony over Northern Iran (AD 623-643)”, Iranica Antiqua, 46, (2011): 315-329.

[17] Sara Kasumova. “New Findings Middle Persian Inscriptions in Derbent”, Vestnik Istorii, 1, (1988): 88-95.

[18] Katarzina Maksymiuk. (2017), “Destruction of the Ādur Gušnasp temple in Ādurbādagān as a revenge for abduction of the Holy Cross from Jerusalem in the context of the letters of Heraclius”, Matamorfozii istorii, 9, (2017): 109-125.

[19] Parvaneh Poursharriati. "Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: Sasanian-Parthian Empire Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran", (London/New York: 2006), 552

[20] Rika Gyselen. “Sasanian Seals and Sealings in the A. Saeedi Collection, Acta Iranica”, Peeters, 2007, 407.

[21] Karim Alizadeh. “Borderland Projects of Sasanian Empire: Intersection of Domestic and Foreign Policies”, Journal of Ancient History, 2, (2014): 93-115. https://doi.org/10.1515/jah-2014-0015 

[22] Sara Kasumova and Murtuzali Gadjiev M. “Middle Persian Inscriptions of Derbent, the 6-th c. AD”, Moscow, Vosticnaya Literatura, 2006, 128.

[23] Murtuzali Gadjiyev. “A Seal of Āhzwahēn, King of Caucasian Albania”, Journal of Ancient History, 1, (2003): 102-119.

[24] Kavelh Farrokh, Hamid Karamian, Katarzina Maksymiuk. A Synopsis of Sasanian Military Organization and Combat Units, Siedlce University, Tehran, (2018): 160.

[25] Sara Kasumova, On the interpretation, 113-126

[26] Touraj Daryaee. “If these Walls Could Speak The Barrier of Alexander, Wall of Darband and Other Defensive Moats”, Borders: Itineraries on the Edges of Iran”, (Venice: 2016): 79-88.

[27] Asker Aliyev, Murtuzali Gdajiyev, Gayhe Gaithner, Philip Kohl, Rabadan Magomedov and Idris Aliev. “Gilgilchay Long Defensive Wall: New Investigations”, Ancient East and West, 5, 1-2, (2006): 143-177.

[28] Murtuzali Gadjiev. “Armenia and the land of Mazkurt (3rd-5th Centuries AD): Written Sources and Archaeological Data”, ELECTRUM, 28, (2021): 207-119. doi:10.4467/20800909EL.21.014.13372 

[29] Katarzina Maksymiuk. (2015), “The Pahlav-Mehrān family faithful allies of Xusrō I Anōšīrvān”, Metamorvozi Istorii, 6, (2015): 163-179.

[30] Clifford Bosworth. ARRĀN, Encyclopædia Iranica, II/5, 520-522, 30 December 2012 https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arran-a-region

[31] Murtuzali Gadjiev. “The Role and Place Of Middle Persian Language And Writing In Caucasus Albania”, Vostok (Oriens), 5, (2021): 59–70.

[32] C.J.Dowsett. Moses Dasxuranc’i’s History of the Caucasus Albanians, (London: Oxford University Press, 1961), 252.

[33] Mahir Khalifa-Zadeh and Leyla Khalifazadeh. “Sasanian Adurbadagan and Modern Azerbaijan: Historical Roots and Development”, Advances in Historical Studies, 12, 2, (2023): 63-75 DOI: 10.4236/ahs.2023.122005

[34] Ismail Zardabli I. "The History of Azerbaijan: From Ancient Times to The Present Day", United Kingdom: Lulu Pres, 2014), 600

[35] Robert Hoyland. "FROM ALBANIA TO ARRĀN: The East Caucasus between the Ancient and Islamic Worlds (ca. 330 BCE–1000 CE)", (Gorgias Press LLC: 2020), 406