Asuristan
Encyclopedia
Asuristan was the province of Assyria
under the Sassanid Empire
(226
–640
AD). It corresponds to the Babylonia province under the Parthian Empire
.
The province for the most part stretched from Mosul
to Adiabene
.
While the official religion of the Sassanid empire was Zoroastrianism
, the religion of the Assyrians
was, from the 1st and 2nd centuries onwards, Church of the East
Christianity
, although some also still worshipped the old Mesopotamian Religion
, with Ashur
still worshipped in his home city until at least the late 3rd century AD. Assyrians were the indigenous inhabitants, and outnumbered the Persians in the Asuristan province. The main language spoken was Mesopotamian Aramaic, or Assyrian Aramaic.
Its inhabitants were mostly working in agriculture
or as traders and merchants. The city of Ctesiphon
served as the capital of both the Parthian and Sassanid empires.
The second king of the Sassanid Empire, Shapur I
(215-272), personally knew both Mani
(216–276), the founder of Manichaeism, and Shmuel
(165-257), one of the most famous contributors to the Babylonian Talmud. Mani dedicated his only Middle Persian
writing, the Shāpuragān, to Shapur I. Shapur I is mentioned many times in the Babylonian Talmud, as "King Shabur".
Aside from the original writings of these groups which exist today, archaeological examples of all three of these Aramaic dialects and scripts can be found in the collections of thousands of Aramaic incantation bowls
, ceramic artifacts from the time period of Asuristan. While the Jewish Aramaic script retained the original "square" or "block" form of the Aramaic alphabet
used in Imperial Aramaic (the "Ashuri alphabet
"), the Syriac alphabet
and the Mandaic alphabet
developed when cursive styles of Aramaic began to appear. The Mandaic script itself developed from the Parthian chancellery script.
Islamic conquest and a proportion of the indigenous Assyrian
population (known as Ashuriyun
by the Arabs) gradually became a minority in their homeland. The region saw a large influx of Arabs, Kurds and later also Turkic peoples
. The area became the capital of the Islamic Caliphate and the centre of Islamic civilization
for five hundred years; from the 8th to the 13th centuries. However, a Christian
culture, Eastern Aramaic language and Assyrian
/Mesopotamian identity persisted among a sizeable proportion of native Assyrians (possibly still forming a majority into the 11th century AD), and they remained a significant part of the population until suffering savage massacres at the hands of the Mongol
s in the 13th and 14th centuries. However, an Assyrian presence still remains in the region to this day, with a number of Assyrian towns, villages and settlements extant, and Assyrian populations remain in and around cities such as Mosul
, Kirkuk
, Erbil
, Dohuk and Amadia.
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
under 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...
(226
226
Year 226 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Marcellus...
–640
640
Year 640 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Tulga succeeds his father Suinthila as king...
AD). It corresponds to the Babylonia province under the Parthian Empire
Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia...
.
The province for the most part stretched from Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
to Adiabene
Adiabene
Adiabene was an ancient Assyrian independent kingdom in Mesopotamia, with its capital at Arbela...
.
While the official religion of the Sassanid empire was Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
, the religion of the Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
was, from the 1st and 2nd centuries onwards, Church of the East
Church of the East
The Church of the East tāʾ d-Maḏnḥāʾ), also known as the Nestorian Church, is a Christian church, part of the Syriac tradition of Eastern Christianity. Originally the church of the Persian Sassanid Empire, it quickly spread widely through Asia...
Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, although some also still worshipped the old Mesopotamian Religion
Mesopotamian religion
Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Sumerian and Akkadian peoples living in Mesopotamia that dominated the region for a period of 4200 years from the fourth millennium BC to approximately the 3rd century AD...
, with Ashur
Ashur
Ashur |Shin]]) in the Masoretic text, which doubles the 'ש'), was the second son of Shem, the son of Noah. Ashur's brothers were Elam, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram....
still worshipped in his home city until at least the late 3rd century AD. Assyrians were the indigenous inhabitants, and outnumbered the Persians in the Asuristan province. The main language spoken was Mesopotamian Aramaic, or Assyrian Aramaic.
Its inhabitants were mostly working in agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
or as traders and merchants. The city of Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon, the imperial capital of the Parthian Arsacids and of the Persian Sassanids, was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia.The ruins of the city are located on the east bank of the Tigris, across the river from the Hellenistic city of Seleucia...
served as the capital of both the Parthian and Sassanid empires.
Unique Cultural Contributions
The Sassanid province of Asuristan produced several unique cultural contributions to the world (all using varieties of Mesopotamian Eastern Middle Aramaic for their original scriptures):- It was the center for the Assyrian Church of the East, which at times (partially due to the vast areas the Sassanid empire covered) was the most widespread ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
church in the world, reaching well into Central Asia, China and India. (The Church of the East has been sometimes erroneously referred to as NestorianNestorianismNestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
, although the followers of NestoriusNestoriusNestorius was Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to 22 June 431.Drawing on his studies at the School of Antioch, his teachings, which included a rejection of the long-used title of Theotokos for the Virgin Mary, brought him into conflict with other prominent churchmen of the time,...
, AD 386-451, actually relocated to the Persian Empire at a later date.)
- The religion of ManichaeismManichaeismManichaeism in Modern Persian Āyin e Māni; ) was one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia.Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived...
, another Assyrian phenomenon, originated in the 3rd century in Asuristan, shortly after the Church of the East, and also spread across vast geographical distances. In some instances, Manicheaism even surpassed the Church of the East in its reach, as it was for a time also widespread in the Roman EmpireRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
.
- Beginning with the Sassanid Empire and up to the 11th century, Sassanid Assyria was the center of Judaism in the world. The major book defining Judaism, the Babylonian Talmud, was written in Jewish Babylonian AramaicJewish Babylonian AramaicJewish Babylonian Aramaic was the form of Middle Aramaic employed by Jewish writers in Babylonia between the 4th century and the 11th century CE. It is most commonly identified with the language of the Babylonian Talmud and of post-Talmudic literature, which are the most important cultural...
in Asuristan between the 3rd and 5th centuries. The first Talmudic academy was founded in SuraSura (city)Sura was a city in the southern part of ancient Babylonia, located west of the Euphrates River. It was well-known for its agricultural produce, which included grapes, wheat, and barley...
by RavAbba ArikaAbba Arika was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the 3rd century who established at Sura the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud...
(175–247) in about 220.
- The Mandaean religion, who according to their traditions are the original followers of John the BaptistJohn the BaptistJohn the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
, and who are considered to be the only surviving Gnostic group in the world, also originated in Asuristan at this time (or slightly earlier, perhaps during Parthian Assyria). Their language and script was the MandaicMandaic languageThe Mandaic language is the language of the Mandaean religion. Classical Mandaic is used by a section of the Mandaean community in liturgical rites....
form of Aramaic.
The second king of the Sassanid Empire, Shapur I
Shapur I
Shapur I or also known as Shapur I the Great was the second Sassanid King of the Second Persian Empire. The dates of his reign are commonly given as 240/42 - 270/72, but it is likely that he also reigned as co-regent prior to his father's death in 242 .-Early years:Shapur was the son of Ardashir I...
(215-272), personally knew both Mani
Mani (prophet)
Mani , of Iranian origin was the prophet and the founder of Manichaeism, a gnostic religion of Late Antiquity which was once widespread but is now extinct...
(216–276), the founder of Manichaeism, and Shmuel
Samuel of Nehardea
Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea. He was a teacher of halakha, judge, physician, and astronomer. He was born about 165 at Nehardea, in Babylonia...
(165-257), one of the most famous contributors to the Babylonian Talmud. Mani dedicated his only Middle Persian
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...
writing, the Shāpuragān, to Shapur I. Shapur I is mentioned many times in the Babylonian Talmud, as "King Shabur".
Aside from the original writings of these groups which exist today, archaeological examples of all three of these Aramaic dialects and scripts can be found in the collections of thousands of Aramaic incantation bowls
Incantation bowls
Incantation Bowls, also known as demon bowls or devil trap bowls, are a form of early protective magic found in modern-day Iraq and Iran. Produced in the Middle East during the Late Antiquity from 6th to 8th century AD , the bowls were usually inscribed in a spiral beginning from the rim and moving...
, ceramic artifacts from the time period of Asuristan. While the Jewish Aramaic script retained the original "square" or "block" form of the Aramaic alphabet
Aramaic alphabet
The Aramaic alphabet is adapted from the Phoenician alphabet and became distinctive from it by the 8th century BC. The letters all represent consonants, some of which are matres lectionis, which also indicate long vowels....
used in Imperial Aramaic (the "Ashuri alphabet
Ashuri alphabet
Ashuri alphabet means Assyrian alphabet and also refers to the Assyrian script which is a traditional name for the Hebrew alphabet and a term that was first used in the Mishnah to refer to either the Aramaic alphabet or the formal script used in certain Jewish ceremonial items, including Sefer...
"), the Syriac alphabet
Syriac alphabet
The Syriac alphabet is a writing system primarily used to write the Syriac language from around the 2nd century BC . It is one of the Semitic abjads directly descending from the Aramaic alphabet and shares similarities with the Phoenician, Hebrew, Arabic, and the traditional Mongolian alphabets.-...
and the Mandaic alphabet
Mandaic alphabet
The Mandaic alphabet is based on the Aramaic alphabet, and is used for writing the Mandaic language.The Mandaic name for the script is Abagada or Abaga, after the first letters of the alphabet...
developed when cursive styles of Aramaic began to appear. The Mandaic script itself developed from the Parthian chancellery script.
Later History
After 640 AD the area was taken over by the ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
Islamic conquest and a proportion of the indigenous Assyrian
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
population (known as Ashuriyun
Ashuriyun
Ashuriyun is an Arab term used to describe the ethnic Assyrians of northern Mesopotamia first coined in Medieval times by the Arab scholar Ibn al-Nadim....
by the Arabs) gradually became a minority in their homeland. The region saw a large influx of Arabs, Kurds and later also Turkic peoples
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
. The area became the capital of the Islamic Caliphate and the centre of Islamic civilization
Islamic Golden Age
During the Islamic Golden Age philosophers, scientists and engineers of the Islamic world contributed enormously to technology and culture, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding their own inventions and innovations...
for five hundred years; from the 8th to the 13th centuries. However, a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
culture, Eastern Aramaic language and Assyrian
Assyrian
-In antiquity:*ancient Assyria**the Old Assyrian period **the Middle Assyrian period **the Neo-Assyrian period *Either of two provinces of the Persian Empire:**Achaemenid Assyria...
/Mesopotamian identity persisted among a sizeable proportion of native Assyrians (possibly still forming a majority into the 11th century AD), and they remained a significant part of the population until suffering savage massacres at the hands of the Mongol
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
s in the 13th and 14th centuries. However, an Assyrian presence still remains in the region to this day, with a number of Assyrian towns, villages and settlements extant, and Assyrian populations remain in and around cities such as Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
, Kirkuk
Kirkuk
Kirkuk is a city in Iraq and the capital of Kirkuk Governorate.It is located in the Iraqi governorate of Kirkuk, north of the capital, Baghdad...
, Erbil
Arbil
Arbil / Hewlêr is the fourth largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul...
, Dohuk and Amadia.
See also
- AssyriaAssyriaAssyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
- Achaemenid AssyriaAchaemenid AssyriaAthura was a geographical area within the Persian Achaemenid Empire during the period of 539 BC to 330 BC. Although sometimes regarded as a satrapy, Achaemenid royal inscriptions list it as a dahyu, a concept generally interpreted as meaning either a group of people or both a country and its...
- Mesopotamia (Roman province)Mesopotamia (Roman province)Mesopotamia was the name of two distinct Roman provinces, the one a short-lived creation of the Roman Emperor Trajan in 116–117 and the other established by Emperor Septimius Severus in ca. 198, which lasted until the Muslim conquests of the 7th century....
- Assyria (Roman province)Assyria (Roman province)Assyria or Assyria Provincia was a roman province that lasted only two years .-History:Assyria was one of three provinces created by the Roman emperor Trajan in 116 AD following a successful military campaign against Parthia, in present-day Iraq.Despite Rome's military victory, Trajan's province...
- Assyria (Roman province)
- History of Mesopotamian Religion
- Sennacherib IISennacherib IISennacherib II, or more commonly, Sanharib, was an Assyrian king of northern Asuristan in 372 AD. Much like Julian the Apostate of the Roman Empire, Sanharib disliked Christianity and tried to persuade his son Behnam to reject Christianity. Although greatly influenced by the Persian Zoroastrian...
- MesopotamiaMesopotamiaMesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
- SuristanSuristanSuristan was used as a name in two senses during the Sassanid Persian Empire 226 to 651 AD.It was used to designate the Persian province of Surestan, roughly the same as today's Syria, as opposed to Asuristan, which was a separate province in northern and central Iraq, south east Turkey and north...