Shahralanyozan

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Shahralanyozan
Native name
Shahrālānyōzān
Birth nameUnknown
AllegianceSasanian Empire
Service/branchSasanian army
Rankkarframan-idar ("steward of the court")
Commands heldSasanian Egypt
Spouse(s)"Endoxotatē kyría"[1]

Shahralanyozan was an Iranian officer who served as the military governor of Sasanian Egypt during the 620s.

Name[]

The Middle Persian word Shahrālānyōzān is actually an honorific title which, according to Saeid Jalalipour, means "the one who combats the Alans".[2] According to Ilya Gershevitch, the title means "most powerful of commanders".[1]

The name is recorded in Greek sources as Saralaneozan (Σαραλανεοζαν)[1] and Sahralanyozan.

Biography[]

Sahralanyozan is first mentioned in 621 as being appointed the military governor of Egypt after the conquest of the province by the Sasanian general Shahrbaraz. Sahralanyozan held the title of karframan-idar ("steward of the court") and was the most powerful Iranian in Egypt. Besides being governor of Egypt, he was also the tax-collector of the province, and most likely resided in Faiyum.[2] Although Egypt suffered much damage during its invasion by the Sasanians, after the conquest was complete, peace, toleration and rehabilitation followed. Furthermore, the Sasanians retained the same administrative structure as the Byzantine Empire.[2]

In 626, Shahrbaraz quarrelled with the Sasanian king Khosrow II (r. 590-628) and mutinied against him. It is not known whom Sahralanzoyan supported, since he is not mentioned in any source thereafter and Shahrbaraz is described as the ruler of the province.[3] Following the end of the Byzantine–Sasanian war in 628, by 630/1, Egypt had returned to Byzantine hands.[2][3]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Banaji, Jairus: 'On the Identity of Shahrālānyōzān in the Greek and Middle Persian Papyri from Egypt' (2014), 'Documents and the History of the Early Islamic World', pp. 27-42, DOI: 10.1163/9789004284340_004 Brill, http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/books/b9789004284340_004
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Jalalipour 2014.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Howard-Johnston 2006, p. 124.

Sources[]

  • Jalalipour, Saeid (2014). Persian Occupation of Egypt 619-629: Politics and Administration of Sasanians (PDF). Sasanika.
  • Howard-Johnston, James (2006). East Rome, Sasanian Persia And the End of Antiquity: Historiographical And Historical Studies. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 0-86078-992-6.
  • Altheim-Stiehl, Ruth (1998). "EGYPT iv. Relations in the Sasanian period". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VIII, Fasc. 3. pp. 252–254.
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