Spahbod or
Spahbed , is derived from the words
Spah (سپه army) and
bod (بد master); or "Aspah'Paeity" (in new Persian "Asb" and "Payeh"), and means commander of cavaliers/ knights; alternatively
Spah Salar (سپهسالار) was a rank used in the
Parthian empireThe Parthian Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in the ancient Near East, and a counterweight to the Roman Empire in the region....
and more widely in the
Sassanid EmpireThe Sassanid Empire or Sasanian Empire, known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr, was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty who reigned from 224 to 651 CE...
of
Persia (Iran)Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
. The title continued in usage after the
Islamic conquest of PersiaThe Muslim conquest of Persia led to the end of the Sassanid Empire in 644, of the Sassanid dynasty in 651 and the eventual extirpation of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. The Sassanid Empire was first invaded by Muslims in present day Iraq in 633 under general Khalid ibn Walid, which resulted...
, among both native Iranian dynasties and also those who were under Persian influence, such as the
ArmenianThe Armenians are a nation and ethnic group which originated in the Caucasus and the Armenian Highland. It is estimated that there are 8 million Armenians around the world. There is a large concentration of Armenians in the Caucasus, especially in Armenia, and there is a significant presence in...
(see
SparapetSparapet was a hereditary military rank that originated in the second century B.C., under the reign of King Artashes I, and was used in the Kingdom of Armenia and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , was supreme commander of the armed forces. It was the equivalent of the Parthian Spahbod Sparapet ...
) and Georgian (see
SpaspetSpaspet was a feudal office in Georgia that originated in ancient Iberia. It is usually translated in English as High Constable.The institution of spaspet, like its rough equivalent sparapet in neighboring Armenia, was designed under the influence of the Sassanian Persian Eran Spahbod, but...
) kingdoms.
Used alone, it refers to the senior military officer, but when it is used with Eran (Iran) --
Eran Spahbod ايران سپهبد or
Iran Spahbod -- it is equivalent to
field marshalField Marshal is a military officer rank. Today, it is the highest rank in the armies in which it is used, one step above a general or colonel-general.-Usage and hierarchical position:...
or
generalissimoGeneralissimo or Generalissimus is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to a Field Marshal or Grand Admiral.-Usage:The word "generalissimo" is an Italian term, from generale, plus the suffix -issimo, itself from Latin -issimus, meaning "utmost, to the highest grade".The rank was...
of the Empire, and was the highest military rank after the emperor
Shahanshah (King of Kings) himself.
Spahbod or
Spahbed , is derived from the words
Spah (سپه army) and
bod (بد master); or "Aspah'Paeity" (in new Persian "Asb" and "Payeh"), and means commander of cavaliers/ knights; alternatively
Spah Salar (سپهسالار) was a rank used in the
Parthian empireThe Parthian Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in the ancient Near East, and a counterweight to the Roman Empire in the region....
and more widely in the
Sassanid EmpireThe Sassanid Empire or Sasanian Empire, known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr, was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty who reigned from 224 to 651 CE...
of
Persia (Iran)Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
. The title continued in usage after the
Islamic conquest of PersiaThe Muslim conquest of Persia led to the end of the Sassanid Empire in 644, of the Sassanid dynasty in 651 and the eventual extirpation of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. The Sassanid Empire was first invaded by Muslims in present day Iraq in 633 under general Khalid ibn Walid, which resulted...
, among both native Iranian dynasties and also those who were under Persian influence, such as the
ArmenianThe Armenians are a nation and ethnic group which originated in the Caucasus and the Armenian Highland. It is estimated that there are 8 million Armenians around the world. There is a large concentration of Armenians in the Caucasus, especially in Armenia, and there is a significant presence in...
(see
SparapetSparapet was a hereditary military rank that originated in the second century B.C., under the reign of King Artashes I, and was used in the Kingdom of Armenia and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , was supreme commander of the armed forces. It was the equivalent of the Parthian Spahbod Sparapet ...
) and Georgian (see
SpaspetSpaspet was a feudal office in Georgia that originated in ancient Iberia. It is usually translated in English as High Constable.The institution of spaspet, like its rough equivalent sparapet in neighboring Armenia, was designed under the influence of the Sassanian Persian Eran Spahbod, but...
) kingdoms.
Used alone, it refers to the senior military officer, but when it is used with Eran (Iran) --
Eran Spahbod ايران سپهبد or
Iran Spahbod -- it is equivalent to
field marshalField Marshal is a military officer rank. Today, it is the highest rank in the armies in which it is used, one step above a general or colonel-general.-Usage and hierarchical position:...
or
generalissimoGeneralissimo or Generalissimus is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to a Field Marshal or Grand Admiral.-Usage:The word "generalissimo" is an Italian term, from generale, plus the suffix -issimo, itself from Latin -issimus, meaning "utmost, to the highest grade".The rank was...
of the Empire, and was the highest military rank after the emperor
Shahanshah (King of Kings) himself. The Iran Spahbod acted as Commander-in Chief, Minister of War, and chief peace negotiator. Lesser spahbods could command a field army, while the regional
MarzbanMarzban were a class of margraves or military commanders in charge of border provinces of the Sassanid Empire of Persia between 3rd and 7th centuries CE.-Etymology:Marzban is composed of the two words "Marz" and "ban"...
s could be regarded as field marshals.
During the
Pahlavi dynastyThe Pahlavi dynasty ruled Iran from the crowning of Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1925, following the overthrow of Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last ruler of the Qajar dynasty, already weakened by Soviet and British occupation....
in the 20th century, the Pahlavi army reinforced the usage of many ancient Sassanid military ranks, including Spahbod. The rank Spahbod in the Pahlavi army was equivalent to the modern 3 stars
Lieutenant generalIn the United States Army, the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general. Lieutenant general is equivalent to the rank of vice admiral...
in United States Army, ranking below Arteshbod (full General).
Sassanid dynasty
- Azarethes
Azarethes was an Eran spahbod of the Sassanid dynasty of Persia. After skirmishing with the Byzantine general Belisarius following his victory in the Battle of Dara, he gathered Persian forces and in 531 CE defeated Belisarius in the Battle of Callinicum....
- Bahram Chobin
Lieutenant General Bahrām Chobin was a famous Eran spahbod during Khosrau II'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. He successfully defeated a large...
- Rhahzadh
Rhahzadh, alternatively known as Razates was a Persian Spahbod from the Mihran family under Sassanid king Khosrau II.As the war with between Sassanid empire and Byzantium came close to its fifteenth year, when the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius made a bold move...
- Rostam Farrokhzād
Rostam Farrokhzād was the Ērān Spāhbod of the Sāsānian Empire under the reign of Yazdgird, r. 632 - 651...
- Shahin
- Shahrbaraz
Shahrbaraz was a general, with the rank of Eran Spahbod under Khosrau II . His name was Farrokhan and Shahrbaraz was his title...
- Vahriz
Vahriz was a Deylamite spahbod in the service of the Sassanid Empire of Persia . He was the head of a small expeditionary force of low ranking Azatan nobility numbering around 700 sent by Khosrau I to Yemen to help repel the invading Ethiopians of Axum. Vahriz was successful in expelling the...