All Topics  
Sanjan (Khorasan)

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Sanjan (Khorasan)
 
 
  Topics Sanjan (Khorasan) Topic Home

Sanjan is an ancient city on the southern edge of the Kara-kum Desert
Karakum Desert

The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara Gum is a desert in Central Asia. It occupies about 70 percent, or 350,000 km?, of the area of Turkmenistan....
, in the vicinity of the historically eminent oasis-city of Merv
Merv

Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary, Turkmenistan in Turkmenistan....
. Topographically, Sanjan is located in the Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan

Greater Khorasan is a modern term for a geographic region spanning north-eastern Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and north-western Afghanistan....
 region of Central Asia
Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
. Politically, Sanjan is in the present-day Mary Province
Mary Province

Mary Province is one of the Provinces of Turkmenistan of Turkmenistan. It is in the south-east of the country, bordering Afghanistan. Its capital is the city of Mary, Turkmenistan....
 of Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is a Turkic peoples country in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic ....
.

Together with Merv
Merv

Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary, Turkmenistan in Turkmenistan....
, Sanjan was an important stopping place and center of trade on the southern route of the Silk road
Silk Road

The Silk Road is an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, including North Africa and Europe....
. Sanjan gained further importance following the Seleucid
Seleucid Empire

The Seleucid Empire /s?'lus?d/ was a Hellenistic empire, i.e. a successor state of Alexander the Great's empire. The Seleucid Empire was centered in the near East and at the height of its power included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir Mountains and parts of Pakistan....
 establishment of Merv as the principal city of the Margiana province, a status it also held during the subsequent Parthia
Parthia

Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, after which the Arsacid Empire is then also known as the 'Parthian Empire'....
n (250 BCE–226 CE
226

Events...
) and Sassanid
Sassanid Empire

The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty is the name of the last pre-Islamic Iranian empire. It was one of the two main powers in Western Asia for a period of more than 400 years....
 (226
226

Events...
-651 CE
651

Events...
) eras.

As a site in the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex
Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex

The Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex is the modern archaeological designation for a Bronze Age culture of Central Asia, dated to ca. 2200–1700 BC, located in present day Turkmenistan, northern Afghanistan, southern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan, centered on the upper Amu Darya ....
, Sanjan is subject to the hypothesis that the Indo-Iranians
Indo-Iranians

Indo-Iranian people consist of the Indo-Aryans, Iranian people, Dard people and Nuristani people, that is, speakers of Indo-Iranian languages....
, a major branch that split off from the Proto-Indo-Europeans
Proto-Indo-Europeans

The Proto-Indo-Europeans were the speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language, and likely lived around 4000 BC, during the Copper Age and the Bronze Age, or possibly earlier, during the Neolithic or Paleolithic eras....
, originated there.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Sanjan (Khorasan)'
Start a new discussion about 'Sanjan (Khorasan)'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Sanjan is an ancient city on the southern edge of the Kara-kum Desert
Karakum Desert

The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara Gum is a desert in Central Asia. It occupies about 70 percent, or 350,000 km?, of the area of Turkmenistan....
, in the vicinity of the historically eminent oasis-city of Merv
Merv

Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary, Turkmenistan in Turkmenistan....
. Topographically, Sanjan is located in the Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan

Greater Khorasan is a modern term for a geographic region spanning north-eastern Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and north-western Afghanistan....
 region of Central Asia
Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
. Politically, Sanjan is in the present-day Mary Province
Mary Province

Mary Province is one of the Provinces of Turkmenistan of Turkmenistan. It is in the south-east of the country, bordering Afghanistan. Its capital is the city of Mary, Turkmenistan....
 of Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is a Turkic peoples country in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic ....
.

Together with Merv
Merv

Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary, Turkmenistan in Turkmenistan....
, Sanjan was an important stopping place and center of trade on the southern route of the Silk road
Silk Road

The Silk Road is an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, including North Africa and Europe....
. Sanjan gained further importance following the Seleucid
Seleucid Empire

The Seleucid Empire /s?'lus?d/ was a Hellenistic empire, i.e. a successor state of Alexander the Great's empire. The Seleucid Empire was centered in the near East and at the height of its power included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir Mountains and parts of Pakistan....
 establishment of Merv as the principal city of the Margiana province, a status it also held during the subsequent Parthia
Parthia

Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, after which the Arsacid Empire is then also known as the 'Parthian Empire'....
n (250 BCE–226 CE
226

Events...
) and Sassanid
Sassanid Empire

The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty is the name of the last pre-Islamic Iranian empire. It was one of the two main powers in Western Asia for a period of more than 400 years....
 (226
226

Events...
-651 CE
651

Events...
) eras.

Bmac
As a site in the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex
Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex

The Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex is the modern archaeological designation for a Bronze Age culture of Central Asia, dated to ca. 2200–1700 BC, located in present day Turkmenistan, northern Afghanistan, southern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan, centered on the upper Amu Darya ....
, Sanjan is subject to the hypothesis that the Indo-Iranians
Indo-Iranians

Indo-Iranian people consist of the Indo-Aryans, Iranian people, Dard people and Nuristani people, that is, speakers of Indo-Iranian languages....
, a major branch that split off from the Proto-Indo-Europeans
Proto-Indo-Europeans

The Proto-Indo-Europeans were the speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language, and likely lived around 4000 BC, during the Copper Age and the Bronze Age, or possibly earlier, during the Neolithic or Paleolithic eras....
, originated there. (see also: BMAC:Indo-Iranian hypothesis
Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex

The Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex is the modern archaeological designation for a Bronze Age culture of Central Asia, dated to ca. 2200–1700 BC, located in present day Turkmenistan, northern Afghanistan, southern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan, centered on the upper Amu Darya ....
)

According to the Qissa-i Sanjan
Qissa-i Sanjan

The Story of Sanjan is an account of the early years of Zoroastrianism settlers on the Indian subcontinent. In the absence of alternatives, the text is generally accepted to be the only narrative of the events described therein, and many members of the Parsi community perceive the epic poem to be an accurate account of their ancestors....
, an epic poem from around 1600, the Zoroastrians
Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster, after whom the religion is named. The term Zoroastrianism is in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism, i.e., the worship of Ahura Mazda, exalted by Zoroaster as the supreme divine authority....
 who fled to the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent is a large section of the Asian continent consisting of the land lying substantially on the Indian Plate. The subcontinent includes parts of various countries in South Asia, including those on the continental crust , an Island#Continental islands country on the continental shelf , and an Island#Oceanic islands countr...
 in the 8th or 9th century to escape religious persecution established the settlement of Sanjan (Gujarat)
Sanjan (Gujarat)

Sanjan is the second station in Gujarat just inside the Gujarat-Maharashtra border, when travelling on the Western Railway line. Sanjan is in the Valsad district....
. These Zoroastrians, who were at first called Sanjanas or Khorasanis (today, the descendants of these and later Zoroastrian emigrants are collectively known as the Parsis), are thought to have named the Indian west-coast settlement after the city of their origin.

Sanjan must not be confused with the phonetically similar Iranian province Zanjan
Zanjan Province

Zanjan is a provinces of Iran located in the North-West Iran with the Zanjan being its center. Zanjan province with an area of 36,400 km? has a mostly rural, population of 1.7 million....
, or its capital, the city of Zanjan
Zanjan (city)

Zanjan is the capital of Zanjan Province in northwestern Iran. It lies 298 km north-west of Tehran on the main highway to Tabriz and Turkey and approximately 125 km from the Caspian Sea....
.