2013/01/28 by Scott McDonough · 2 citations
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · Engineering · #Eurasian Exchange Networks #Byzantine Studies and History #Islamic Studies and History #Ancient history #Polity #Offensive #Military history #Aristocracy (class) #Politics #Political science #History #Law #Engineering #Operations research
paper · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195304657.013.0031
published in Oxford University Press eBooks, 601-620 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2013/01/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract This chapter examines the military as an institution in Iranian politics and society, starting in the Parthian era and focusing on Sasanian developments. Sasanian Iran was a considerably less populous, rich, and centralized polity than Rome, even though the Iranian society was highly militarized and its elites defined themselves as a “warrior aristocracy.” The Iranian (“Aryan”) cavalry was the backbone of Sasanian military power. The regions on the “bleeding edge” of Sasanian expansion contributed to Sasanian military strength. Successful offensive warfare gave the Sasanians a deeper base of military manpower. The final two centuries of the Sasanian era exhibited a military crisis, and the restructuring of the Sasanian military and society, all of which eventually resulted in the end of the Sasanian army. The soldiers and principles of the Sasanian military would live on in Iran and beyond though the Middle Ages.