Padishkhwargar
Encyclopedia
Padishkhwārgar or Patishkhwāgar which later orthographically morphed into Farshwārdgar is the Middle Persian
name of a vassal and later satrapy (province) of the Sassanid Empire
.
Islamic geographers locate this province to the north of the Sasanian lands and assign the Caspian provinces (modern Mazandaran and Gilan) to this region. Mar'ashi, in his History of Tabaristan o Ruyan o Mazandaran, says that Tabaristan, Dailam, Gilan, and Adhurbaijan are the regions of Padishkhwargar. This would mean that the modern Iranian provinces of Golestan
, Mazandaran, Gilan, Zanjan
, Qazvin
, Ardabil
, and Eastern Azerbaijan will be included in this territorial designation. Its main city was Rasht
.
The region is commonly associates with mythical stories of the Sasanian times and even after Islam, it continues to be considered mysterious by the Islamic historians and geographers. This is probably because the Islamic armies either never got to fully conquer this region or only penetrated some of its regions (Tabaristan).
Middle Persian
Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...
name of a vassal and later satrapy (province) of the Sassanid Empire
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
.
Islamic geographers locate this province to the north of the Sasanian lands and assign the Caspian provinces (modern Mazandaran and Gilan) to this region. Mar'ashi, in his History of Tabaristan o Ruyan o Mazandaran, says that Tabaristan, Dailam, Gilan, and Adhurbaijan are the regions of Padishkhwargar. This would mean that the modern Iranian provinces of Golestan
Golestan Province
Golestan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, located in the north-east of the country, south of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Gorgan....
, Mazandaran, Gilan, Zanjan
Zanjan Province
Zanjan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Located in the North West of Iran, its capital is Zanjan city. Zanjan province with an area of 36,400 km² has a mostly rural, population of 964,601 . The province lies 330 km northwest of Tehran, connected to it via a freeway.Zanjan...
, Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
, Ardabil
Ardabil
Ardabil is a historical city in north-western Iran. The name Ardabil probably comes from the Zoroastrian name of "Artavil" which means a holy place. Ardabil is the center of Ardabil Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 412,669, in 102,818 families...
, and Eastern Azerbaijan will be included in this territorial designation. Its main city was Rasht
Rasht
Rasht is a city in and the capital of Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 551,161, in 159,983 families.Rasht is the largest city on Iran's Caspian Sea coast. It is a major trade center between Caucasia, Russia and Iran using the port of Bandar-e Anzali...
.
The region is commonly associates with mythical stories of the Sasanian times and even after Islam, it continues to be considered mysterious by the Islamic historians and geographers. This is probably because the Islamic armies either never got to fully conquer this region or only penetrated some of its regions (Tabaristan).