Sistān (Persian:سیستان), also known asSakastān (Persian:سَكستان "the land of theSaka") andSijistan (Persian:سِجِستان), is ahistorical region in present-day south-westernAfghanistan, south-easternIran and extending across the borders of south-westernPakistan.[2] Mostly corresponding to the then Achaemenid region ofDrangiana and extending southwards of the Helmand River not far off from the city ofAlexandria in Arachosia (present dayKandahar).[3][4] Largely desert, the region is bisected by theHelmand River, the largest river in Afghanistan, which empties into theHamun Lake that forms part of the border between Iran and Afghanistan.
Sistan derives its name fromSakastan ("the land of theSaka"). The Sakas were aScythian tribe which migrated to theIranian Plateau andIndus valley between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century, where they carved a kingdom known as theIndo-Scythian Kingdom.[5][6] In theBundahishn, aZoroastrian scripture written inPahlavi, the province is called "Seyansih".[7] After theArab conquest of Iran, the province became known as Sijistan/Sistan.[6] The previousOld Persian name of the region, prior to Saka dominance, waszaranka ("waterland"). The older form is also the root of the nameZaranj, capital of the AfghanNimruz Province.
._Tanlesmos._Circa_80-40_BC._AR_Drachm_(21mm%2c_3.60_gm)._A_Parthian_drachm_of_Orodes_II_with_addition_TANLHC_around_head_left_wearing_leather_cap.jpg)
In theShahnameh, Sistan is also referred to asZabulistan, after the region in the eastern part of present-dayAfghanistan. In Ferdowsi's epic, Zabulistan is in turn described to be the homeland of the mythological heroRostam.
In prehistoric times, theJiroft Civilization covered parts of Sistan andKerman Province (possibly as early as the 3rd millennium BC). It is best known from excavations of the archaeological site ofShahr-i Sokhta, a massive third millennium BC city. Other smaller sites have been identified in the region in surveys by American archaeologistsWalter Fairservis and George Dales. The site of Nad-i Ali in Afghan Sistan has also been claimed to date from the Bronze Age (Benseval and Francfort 1994).
Earlier the area was occupied byIranian peoples Eventually a kingdom known asArachosia was formed, parts of which were ruled by theMedes by 600 BC. The Medes were overthrown by theAchaemenid Empire in 550 BC, and the rest Arachosia was soon annexed. The archaeological site ofDahan-e Gholaman was a major Achaemenid centre. n the4th century BCE,Alexander the Great annexed the region during hisconquest of the Empire and founded the colony ofAlexandria in Arachosia. The city of Bost, now part ofLashkargah, was also developed as a Hellenistic centre.[citation needed]
Alexander's empire fragmented after his death, and Arachosia came under the control of theSeleucid Empire, which traded it to theMauryan dynasty of India in 305 BC. After the fall of the Mauryans, the region fell to theirGreco-Bactrian allies in 180 BC, before breaking away and becoming part of theIndo-Greek Kingdom. The Indo-Parthian kingGondophares was the leader of Sakastan around c. 20–10 BCE as it was part of theIndo-Parthian Kingdom which was also calledGedrosia, its Hellenistic name.[citation needed]
After the mid 2nd century BC, much of the Indo-Greek Kingdom was overrun by tribes known as theIndo-Scythians orSaka, from which Sistan (from Sakastan) eventually derived its name.
Around 100 BC, the Indo-Scythians were defeated byMithridates II of Parthia (r. c. 124–91 BCE) and the region of Sakastan was incorporated into theParthian Empire.[8] Parthian governors such asTanlismaidates ruled the land.[9]
The Parthian Empire then briefly lost the region to itsSuren vassals around 20 CE. The regions of Sistan, andPunjab were ruled together by theIndo-Parthians.[10] As theKushan Empire expanded in the mid 1st century AD, the Indo-Parthian lost their Indian dominions and recentered onTuran andSakastan.[citation needed]
TheKushans were defeated by theSasanian Empire in the mid-3rd century, first becoming part of a vassalKushanshah state before being overrun by theHephthalites in the mid 5th century. Sassanid armies reconquered Sakastan in by 565, but lost the area to theRashidun Caliphate after the mid 640s.[citation needed]
._AD_293-303._AR_Drachm_(26mm%2c_3.80_g%2c_3h)._Style_J%2c_Phase_3._Sakastan_mint.jpg)
The province was formed in ca. 240, during the reign ofShapur I, in his effort to centralise the empire; before that, the province was under the rule of theParthianSuren Kingdom, whose ruler Ardashir Sakanshah became a Sasanian vassal during the reign of Shapur's fatherArdashir I (r. 224–242), who also had the ancient cityZrang rebuilt, which became the capital of the province.[11] Shapur's sonNarseh was the first to appointed as the governor of province, which he would govern until 271, when the Sasanian princeHormizd was appointed as the new governor. Later in ca. 281, Hormizd revolted against his cousinBahram II. During the revolt, the people of Sakastan supported him. Nevertheless, Bahram II managed to suppress the revolt in 283, and appointed his sonBahram III as the governor of the province.[citation needed]
During his early reign,Shapur II (r. 309–379) appointed his brotherShapur Sakanshah as the governor of Sakastan.Peroz I (r. 459–484), during his early reign, put an end to dynastic rule in province by appointing aKarenid as its governor. The reason behind the appointment was to avoid further family conflict in the province, and in order to gain more direct control of the province.[11]
During theMuslim conquest of Persia, the last Sasanian kingYazdegerd III fled to Sakastan in the mid-640s, where its governorAparviz (who was more or less independent), helped him. However, Yazdegerd III quickly ended this support when he demanded tax money that he had failed to pay.[12][13][14]
In 650,Abd-Allah ibn Amir, after having secured his position inKerman, sent an army under Mujashi ibn Mas'ud to Sakastan. After having crossed theDasht-i Lut desert, Mujashi ibn Mas'ud arrived to Sakastan. However, he suffered a heavy defeat and was forced to retreat.[15]
One year later, Abd-Allah ibn Amir sent an army underRabi ibn Ziyad Harithi to Sakastan. After some time, he reached Zaliq, a border town between Kirman and Sakastan, where he forced thedehqan of the town to acknowledgeRashidun authority. He then did the same at the fortress of Karkuya, which had a famousfire temple, which is mentioned in theTarikh-i Sistan.[14] He then continued to seize more land in the province. He thereafter besiegedZrang, and after a heavy battle outside the city, Aparviz and his men surrendered. When Aparviz went to Rabi to discuss about the conditions of a treaty, he saw that he was using the bodies of two dead soldiers as a chair. This horrified Aparviz, who in order to spare the inhabitants of Sakastan from the Arabs, made peace with them in return for heavy tribute, which included a tribute of 1,000 slave boys bearing 1,000 golden vessels.[14][13] Sakastan was thus under the control of the Rashidun Caliphate.
_struck_during_the_reign_of_%2527Abd_al-Malik_ibn_Marwan.jpg)
However, only two years later, the people of Zarang rebelled and defeated Rabi ibn Ziyad Harithi's lieutenant and Muslim garrison of the city. Abd-Allah ibn Amir then sent 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura to Sistan, where he managed to suppress the rebellion. Furthermore, he also defeated theZunbils ofZabulistan, seizingBust and a few cities in Zabulistan.[14]
During theFirst Fitna (656–661), the people of Zarang rebelled and defeated the Muslim garrison of the city.[13] In 658, Yazdegerd III's sonPeroz III reclaimed Sistan and established a kingdom there, known inChinese sources as the "Persian Area Command".[16] However, in 663, he was forced to leave the region after suffering a defeat to newly establishedUmayyad Caliphate, who had succeeded the Rashiduns.[16]
Sistan became a province of theUmayyad andAbbasid Caliphates. In the 860s, theSaffarid dynasty emerged in Sistan and proceeded to conquer most of the Islamic East, until it was checked by theSamanids in 900. After the Samanids took the province from the Saffarids, it briefly returned to Abbasid control, but in 917 the governor Abu Yazid Khalid made himself independent. He was followed by a series of emirs with brief reigns until 923, whenAhmad ibn Muhammad restored Saffarid rule in Sistan. After his death in 963, Sistan was ruled by his sonKhalaf ibn Ahmad until 1002, whenMahmud of Ghazni invaded Sistan, ending the Saffarid dynasty.[citation needed]
A year later in 1003, Sistan revolted. In response, Mahmud brought an army to suppress the revolt. Mahmud's Hindu troops sacked the mosques and churches ofZarang massacring the Muslims and Christians inside.[17][18]
In 1029, Tadj al-Din I Abu l-Fadl Nasr founded theNasrid dynasty, who were a branch of theSaffarids. They became vassals of theGhaznavids. The dynasty then became vassals of theSeljuks in 1048,Ghurids in 1162, and theKhwarezmians in 1212. Mongols sacked Sistan in 1222 and Nasrid dynasty was ended by Khwarezmians in 1225. During Ghaznavid times, elaborate Saffarid palaces were built atLashkari Bazar andShahr-i Gholghola.[citation needed]
In 1236,Shams al-Din 'Ali ibn Mas'ud foundedMihrabanid dynasty, another branch of Saffarids, as melik of Sistan forIlkhanate. Mihrabanid contested withKartids during Mongol rule. Sistan declared independence in 1335 after demise of Ilkhanate. 1383Tamerlane conquered Sistan and forced Mihrabanids to become vassals. Overlordship ofTimurids was ended in 1507 due to Uzbek invasion in 1507. Uzbeks were driven in 1510 and Mihrabanids became vassals ofSafavids until 1537 Safavids deposed the dynasty and gained full control of Sistan.[citation needed]
Safavid rule lasted until 1717 except during Uzbek rule between 1524-1528 and 1578-1598 when theHotaki dynasty conquered it.Nadir Shah reconquered it in 1727. After assassination of Nadir Shah, Sistan went under the rule ofDurrani Empire in 1747. Between 1747 and 1872 Sistan was contested byPersia andAfghanistan. The border dispute between Persia and Afghanistan was solved by Sistan Boundary Mission, led by British GeneralFrederick Goldsmid, who agreed to most of Sistan to be in Persia but the Persians won the withdrawal of the right bank of the Helmand. The countries were not satisfied.[citation needed]
The border was defined more precisely with the Second Sistan Boundary Commission (1903-1905) headed by Arthur Mac Mahon, who had a difficult task due to lack of natural boundaries. The part assigned Persia was included in the province of Balochistan (which took the name of Sistan and Baluchistan in 1986) being the capital Zahedan. In Afghanistan it was part of the Sistan province ofFarah-Chakansur that was abolished in the administrative reorganization of 1964 to form the province of Nimruz, with capital Zaranj.[citation needed]
Sistan has a very strong connection withZoroastrianism and during Sassanid timesLake Hamun was one of two pilgrimage sites for followers of that religion. In Zoroastrian tradition, the lake is the keeper ofZoroaster's seed and just before the final renovation of the world, three maidens will enter the lake, each then giving birth to thesaoshyans who will be the saviours of mankind at the final renovation of the world.
The most famous archaeological sites in Sistan areShahr-e Sukhteh and the site onMount Khajeh, a hill rising up as an island in the middle of Lake Hamun.
The history of ancient iran.
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