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Chapter 36: Iranian Intermezzo 2.0 and the Mazouni revolution
The Mihranids dominating the Persian area would witness the rise of a major rival in their very own domain. In the neighbouring realm of Khorasan, centerred around the cities of Merv and Herat, howevera new dynasty arose. The Kouroshids (1) , named by their founder Kourosh of Abivard, would taikeover the realm of Khorasan in the 820s. During the next two decades, Kourosh would wage war upon Mihranid Persia and conquer practically the eastern half of their empire. Kourosh would conquer not only Parthia, but also Segestan, Kerman and the southern foothills of the Elborz mountains as far as Rayy.
After having defeated the Mihranids, Kourosh would head eastwards, subduing Khwarezm on the lower Oxus and the Tokhari lands on the upper Oxus. The city-states in the Middle Oxus acknowledged his suzerainty, and thus his realm would stretch from Ferghana to Ray, and from the Aral Sea to the Straits of Hormuz.
This empire was far from being something, which could even distantly be called a nation-state. In it there were Nestorian Oghuz Turks and Manichean Khwarezmis, Zoroastrain Persians and Nestorian Khorasanis, Buddhist Tokharians and Zunist Balochis, Manichean Parthians and Buddhist peoples of the Hindukush...
Kourosh himself was a Manichean, but he cared little for religious differences. He actually cared little for anything... except being remebered in the annals of history as a great conqueror, and this is what he aimed for.
His treasury would be filled from profit gained by controlling a large potion of the Silk Road, from Ferghana to Rayy.
His successor Dawud would continue his expansionist policy in conquerind Kabul, subduing the tribes of Makran, and dividing the realm into districts around the towns. No larger provinces were created in order to prevent any possible rebellion.
However, this did not prevent the downfall of the dynasty in 870s. The Kouroshids were overthrown by lad from Segestan, called Radman, conquerred the Zunbil dynasty in Zabulistan. With the Kouroshid empire experiencing a succession crisis and war, Radman (2) took advantage of the chaos and managed to consolidste the power in the region around Zaranj and take over the southern parts of the Kouroshid empire. From there, he would expand eastwards, taking the claimants and pretenders of the Kouroshid throne one by one, until extablishing a border on the Oxus. To the west, in the 890s, his heir would manage to overthrow the Mihranids, thus uniting Iran once more.
As for the western reaches of the Iranian plateau, the region of Media was integrated into the Bavundid dominion; the Bavundids have been ruling the lands between the southern Caspian shore and the Elborz mountains.
The Zagros remains under the control of local Kurdish and Luri tribal chiefdoms; nothing changes much over there.
So, if we are to look at the larger picture, the Iranian plateau once more has descended to the path of warlordism, and the defeat of the Mihranids means also the defeat of the idea of a continuation to Sassanid legacy. The Iranian intermezzo, 2.0 is here.
As for the southern shore of the Persian Gulf, the Beth Qatriye region was conquered by Sawad under king Giwarkis in the mid-ninth century. This wasnt a surprise, for the region has already been an appendix of Mesopotamia for quite some time.
But it is the region on the northeastern end of the Arab peninsula that interests us. The region of Mazoun has been populated by three religious communities: the Mazdakis, the Manicheans and the Nestorians (3). In 876, the Mazdakis overthrew the existing Satrap, and took power. At first the top Mazdaki clerics would consolidate power in their own hands, in order to change the political landscape to their image.
The Mazdakis were a sect which could be described as proto-socialist (4), or egalitarian. Mazdak has been viewed in Persia as a heretic, an enemy of orthodox Zoroastrianism. The Mazdaki ideas have been added by Sunpadh, a Persian theologian from the Karenid House.
While being concerned with cleanliness and purification, and avoiding unnecessary harm, however on the other side their morality would be in its result hedonistic, under the condition that it doesnt harm anyone. Therefore, Mazoun would soon have become a synonym to drunkedness and lust.
The Mazdakis would go away with monarchical power altogether. They would establish a utopian egalitarian republic, and would take care of the poor by possibly the first system of an organized welfare state.
(1) Somewhat inspired by the OTL Tahirid dynasty
(2) Inspired by the founder of the Saffarid dynasty,
(3) Perhaps Mazdakis as parallel to Ibadhis. And combining elements of Qarmatianism
(4) Using OTL terminology; who knows what socialism would mean in this timeline?
After having defeated the Mihranids, Kourosh would head eastwards, subduing Khwarezm on the lower Oxus and the Tokhari lands on the upper Oxus. The city-states in the Middle Oxus acknowledged his suzerainty, and thus his realm would stretch from Ferghana to Ray, and from the Aral Sea to the Straits of Hormuz.
This empire was far from being something, which could even distantly be called a nation-state. In it there were Nestorian Oghuz Turks and Manichean Khwarezmis, Zoroastrain Persians and Nestorian Khorasanis, Buddhist Tokharians and Zunist Balochis, Manichean Parthians and Buddhist peoples of the Hindukush...
Kourosh himself was a Manichean, but he cared little for religious differences. He actually cared little for anything... except being remebered in the annals of history as a great conqueror, and this is what he aimed for.
His treasury would be filled from profit gained by controlling a large potion of the Silk Road, from Ferghana to Rayy.
His successor Dawud would continue his expansionist policy in conquerind Kabul, subduing the tribes of Makran, and dividing the realm into districts around the towns. No larger provinces were created in order to prevent any possible rebellion.
However, this did not prevent the downfall of the dynasty in 870s. The Kouroshids were overthrown by lad from Segestan, called Radman, conquerred the Zunbil dynasty in Zabulistan. With the Kouroshid empire experiencing a succession crisis and war, Radman (2) took advantage of the chaos and managed to consolidste the power in the region around Zaranj and take over the southern parts of the Kouroshid empire. From there, he would expand eastwards, taking the claimants and pretenders of the Kouroshid throne one by one, until extablishing a border on the Oxus. To the west, in the 890s, his heir would manage to overthrow the Mihranids, thus uniting Iran once more.
As for the western reaches of the Iranian plateau, the region of Media was integrated into the Bavundid dominion; the Bavundids have been ruling the lands between the southern Caspian shore and the Elborz mountains.
The Zagros remains under the control of local Kurdish and Luri tribal chiefdoms; nothing changes much over there.
So, if we are to look at the larger picture, the Iranian plateau once more has descended to the path of warlordism, and the defeat of the Mihranids means also the defeat of the idea of a continuation to Sassanid legacy. The Iranian intermezzo, 2.0 is here.
As for the southern shore of the Persian Gulf, the Beth Qatriye region was conquered by Sawad under king Giwarkis in the mid-ninth century. This wasnt a surprise, for the region has already been an appendix of Mesopotamia for quite some time.
But it is the region on the northeastern end of the Arab peninsula that interests us. The region of Mazoun has been populated by three religious communities: the Mazdakis, the Manicheans and the Nestorians (3). In 876, the Mazdakis overthrew the existing Satrap, and took power. At first the top Mazdaki clerics would consolidate power in their own hands, in order to change the political landscape to their image.
The Mazdakis were a sect which could be described as proto-socialist (4), or egalitarian. Mazdak has been viewed in Persia as a heretic, an enemy of orthodox Zoroastrianism. The Mazdaki ideas have been added by Sunpadh, a Persian theologian from the Karenid House.
While being concerned with cleanliness and purification, and avoiding unnecessary harm, however on the other side their morality would be in its result hedonistic, under the condition that it doesnt harm anyone. Therefore, Mazoun would soon have become a synonym to drunkedness and lust.
The Mazdakis would go away with monarchical power altogether. They would establish a utopian egalitarian republic, and would take care of the poor by possibly the first system of an organized welfare state.
(1) Somewhat inspired by the OTL Tahirid dynasty
(2) Inspired by the founder of the Saffarid dynasty,
(3) Perhaps Mazdakis as parallel to Ibadhis. And combining elements of Qarmatianism
(4) Using OTL terminology; who knows what socialism would mean in this timeline?
- Tomislav Addai
- Word Count: 780