The Sassanid Empire or Sasanian Empire, known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr, was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty (Persian: ساسانیان, Sāsāniyān, IPA: [sɒːsɒːnijɒːn]) who reigned from 224 to 651 CE. Along with the Byzantine Empire, the Sassanid Empire was recognized as one of the two main powers in Western Asia and Europe for a period of more than 400 years.
The Empire was founded by Ardashir I, after the fall o...
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The Sassanid Empire or Sasanian Empire, known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr, was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty (Persian: ساسانیان, Sāsāniyān, IPA: [sɒːsɒːnijɒːn]) who reigned from 224 to 651 CE. Along with the Byzantine Empire, the Sassanid Empire was recognized as one of the two main powers in Western Asia and Europe for a period of more than 400 years.
The Empire was founded by Ardashir I, after the fall of the Arsacids (Parthians) and the defeat of the last Arsacid king, Artabanus IV. It lasted until Yazdegerd III lost a series of wars against the Arab Caliphate. During its 400-year existence, the Sassanid Empire encompassed all of today's Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, the Caucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Dagestan), southwestern Central Asia, most of Turkey, some coastal parts of the Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf area, and parts of southwestern Pakistan.
The Sassanid era, during Late Antiquity, is considered to have been one...
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