Seven Great Houses of Iran

Common card · No. 397680

The Seven Great Houses of Iran were seven elite families that wielded significant political and military power during the Sasanian era. While secondary sources traditionally identify seven major families, which include the Karens, Surens, Ispahbudhans, Spandiyads, Mihrans, and possibly the Ziks, 3rd century Sasanian inscriptions only record four primary noble families, which are the Varaz, Suren, Karen, and Mihran. Over time, these powerful families established regional power bases, such as the Karens in Nahavand, the Surens in Sakastan, and the Ispahbudhans in Gorgan. They held vast, scattered estates, collected taxes from the local populace, and commanded ordinary people in the military under their direct leadership. The epithet pahlaw (Parthian) never appears in inscriptions related to the Surens, who scholars speculate may have carried the epithet parsig (Persian) instead, though a member of the Karens also carries the epithet pahlaw on a seal. Michael Bonner notes that while seals...

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