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The Seven Parthian clans or Seven Houses (in Persian "Haft Khandan") were seven purportedly "Parthian" feudal aristocracies allied with the Sassanid court.

Only two of the seven - the House of Suren and the House of Karen
House of Karen

The House of Karen were an aristocratic feudal family of Hyrcania. The seat of the house lay at Nahavand, about 65 km south of Ecbatana .The Karenas, Karan-Vands, or Karen-Pahlevi as they are also called, claimed descent from Karen, a figure of folklore and son of the equally mythical Kaveh....
 - are actually attested in sources dateable to the Arsacid period. The placement of the remaining five in Parthian times is "in all probability not in accordance with reality." "It may be that [...] members of them made up their own genealogies in order to emphasize the antiquity of their families."

During Sassanid times, the seven feudal houses were all members in the Dahae Confederacy, and several played a significant role at the Sassanid court.






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The Seven Parthian clans or Seven Houses (in Persian "Haft Khandan") were seven purportedly "Parthian" feudal aristocracies allied with the Sassanid court.

Only two of the seven - the House of Suren and the House of Karen
House of Karen

The House of Karen were an aristocratic feudal family of Hyrcania. The seat of the house lay at Nahavand, about 65 km south of Ecbatana .The Karenas, Karan-Vands, or Karen-Pahlevi as they are also called, claimed descent from Karen, a figure of folklore and son of the equally mythical Kaveh....
 - are actually attested in sources dateable to the Arsacid period. The placement of the remaining five in Parthian times is "in all probability not in accordance with reality." "It may be that [...] members of them made up their own genealogies in order to emphasize the antiquity of their families."

During Sassanid times, the seven feudal houses were all members in the Dahae Confederacy, and several played a significant role at the Sassanid court. Bahram Chobin
Bahram Chobin

Lieutenant General Bahram Chobin was a famous Eran spahbod during Khosrau II of Persia's rule in Sassanid Iran. Descended from the House of Mihran, one of the Seven Parthian clans, his first great victory came in Herat in 589, which is reported in a number of sources....
, a famed military commander of Khosrau II
Khosrau II

Khosrau II or Khosrow II was the twenty-second Sassanid Empire King of Persia from 590 to 628. He was the son of Hormizd IV and grandson of Khosrau I ....
, was from the House of Mihran.

The seven houses with their respective main fiefs and family seats were:
  • the House of Aspahapet, of Apartvaticene (Yazd)
    Yazd

    Yazd , is the capital of Yazd province in Iran, "the second most ancient and historic city in the world" and a centre of Zoroastrian culture. The city is located some 175 miles southeast of Isfahan ....
  • the House of Dahae, of Astabene (Kuchan)
    Quchan

    Quchan is an Iranian district in the in the northern part of Razavi Khorasan Province, in northeastern Iran. It is located due south of the border city of Ashgabat....
  • the House of Karen
    House of Karen

    The House of Karen were an aristocratic feudal family of Hyrcania. The seat of the house lay at Nahavand, about 65 km south of Ecbatana .The Karenas, Karan-Vands, or Karen-Pahlevi as they are also called, claimed descent from Karen, a figure of folklore and son of the equally mythical Kaveh....
    , of Hyrcania (Gorgan)
    Gorgan

    Gorgan is the capital of the Golestan Province, Iran. It is approximately 400 km from Tehran. It had an estimated population of 241,177 in 2005....
  • the House of Mihran
    House of Mihran

    The House of Mihran was a leading Iranian noble family , one of the Seven Parthian clans of the Sassanid Empire which claimed descent from the earlier Parthia....
    , of Comisene (Semnan)
    Semnan

    Semnan may refer to:* Semnan Province, a province in Iran* Semnan County, a county in the Semnan Province of Iran* Semnan, Iran, a city in the Semnan County of Iran...
  • the House of Parni, of Parthyene (Parthaunis)
  • the House of Sohae, of Margiane (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....
  • the House of Suren, of Sakestan (Sistan)
    Sakastan

    Sakastan, Sakasthana or Sakasthan is a term indicating the south and western regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, partly corresponding to the modern Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran....

See also

  • Iranian society under Sassanids