TheSeven Great Houses of Iran,[1] also known as theseven Parthian clans, were seven aristocracies ofParthian origin, who were allied with theSasanian court. The Parthian clans all claimed ancestry fromAchaemenid Persians.
The seven Great Houses of Iran had played an active role in Iranian politics since the days of theArsacid Empire, which they continued to do under their successors, theSasanians.[2] Only two of the seven – theHouse of Suren and theHouse of Karen – however, are actually attested in sources date-able to theParthian period. The seven houses claimed to have been confirmed as lords in Iran by the legendaryKayanian kingVishtaspa.[2] "It may be that [...] members of them made up their own genealogies in order to emphasize the antiquity of their families."[3] During Sasanian times, the seven feudal houses played a significant role at the Sasanian court.Bahram Chobin, a famed military commander ofHormizd IV (r. 579–590), was from theHouse of Mihran.
The seven houses with their respective main fiefs and ruling-family seats were:
Some of the later traditions pertaining to the Seven Great Houses have been interpreted as memories of the Parthian Empire's major administrative divisions.[6]Tabari in hisHistory of the Prophets and Kings provides the following legend:
Bištāsef (Vishtaspa) appointed seven persons to the highest ranks, and they were the magnates, [including] Nihābiδa, and his residence was Dihistān in the Land of Jurjān (Hyrcania); and Kārin the Parthian (Qārin al-Fahlavi) and his residence was Māh-Nihāvand (i.e., Media); and Sūrēn the Parthian, and his residence was Sejistān (Sakastan); and Isfandyāδ the Parthian, and his residence was Ray.[6]
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