Aswaran

The Aswārān (singular aswār), also spelled Asbārān and Savaran, was a cavalry force that formed the backbone of the army of the Sasanian Empire.[1] They were provided by the aristocracy, were heavily armored, and ranged from archers to cataphracts.

This article is about the Cavalry military units of Iran's ancient Sasanian Empire. For Iran's modern-day mounted police, see ASVARAN.
Aswaran
Historical re-enactment of an asbaran cataphract
CountrySassanian Empire
AllegianceShahanshah, Eran-spahbed
BranchSasanian army
TypeHeavy cavalry
EquipmentLance, bow and arrows, sword, and less commonly dart, mace, and axe
Military of the
Sasanian Empire
Armed forces and units
Ranks
Defense lines
Conflicts
Sasanian silverware, showing a combat between two noble horsemen wearing scale armor, cuirass, chaps, and equipped with kontos, swords, quivers and arrows.

Etymology

The word comes from the Old Persian word asabāra (from asa- and bar, a frequently used Achaemenid military technical term). The various other renderings of the word are following; Parthian asbār, Middle Persian aspabārak, Classical Persian suwār (سوار), uswār/iswār (اسوار), Modern Persian savār (سوار). The Arabic word asāwira (أساورة), used to refer to a certain faction of the Sasanian cavalry after the Muslim conquest, is a broken plural form of the Middle Persian aswār.[2] However, the word aswār only means "horseman" in Middle Persian literature, and it is only the late Arabic term which has a more specialized meaning. In the Sassanian inscriptions, the formula asp ud mard (logographically spelled as Middle Persian SWSYA W GBRA and Parthian SWSYN W GBRYN; literally "horse and man") was commonly used to collectively refer to the cavalry and the infantry of the military.[3]

Organization
A system which disperses soldiers to estates outside the main fighting season does slow down mobilization and limit opportunities for unit drill, but it also provides on-the-spot capability to respond to local uprisings, brigandage or raids. Moreover, it uses resources more efficiently, since it is much cheaper to move a horseman to 3,000 kg of grain and hay than to do the reverse.[4]

The aswaran were primarily composed of Iranian aristocrats from the wuzurgan and the azadan,[5] with members of the staff being from the former.[6] After the reforms of Khosraw I, warriors from the dehqan class would also be enlisted.

The asbaran have often been demonstrated as an example of existence of feudalism in Iran by modern scholars, who simply refer them as either chevalier, knight, or ritter. According to historians such as Christensen and Widengren, the asbar had the same status as the knight. However, although the asbaran and knight resemble each other in many parts, the economic role and historical role of the knight is very different compared to the role of the asbaran in the Sasanian Empire, which thus makes it incorrect to refer the asbaran as knights.[7]

The highest pay for each cavalryman was 4,000 dirhams.[8]

Weaponry, armor, and tactics

The aswaran wore chainmail armor, and ranged from archers to cataphracts. They assumed a description with the bravery, tactics, and ethics of the Sasanians. They mastered in single combat in battles (mard o-mard), rode on elephants and horses, and their valor was recognized with ornamental emblems. Titles such as hazārmard ("whose strength is equal to one thousand men"), zih asbār ("superior rider"), and pahlawān-i gēhān ("hero/champion of the world"), were their epithets. They wrote the name of the Sasanian emperor and their valuable family members on their arrows as a good omen. They outperformed others in archery to the extent that later writers thought that they had introduced the profession. They were superior and unmatched in the profession, which was even acknowledged by their enemies.[9] The major effectiveness of the Sasanian cavalry was noted by contemporaneous Roman writers, including Ammianus Marcellinus, and led the Romans to adopt aspects of Sasanian cavalry including their arms, armour and techniques.[1]

Armor
"...all the companies were clad in iron, and all parts of their bodies were covered with thick plates, so fitted that the stiff joints conformed with those of their limbs; and the forms of human faces were so skillfully fitted to their heads, that since their entire body was covered with metal, arrows that fell upon them could lodge only where they could see a little through tiny openings opposite the pupil of the eye, or where through the tip of their nose they were able to get a little breath. Of these some who were armed with pikes, stood so motionless that you would have thought them held fast by clamps of bronze."

Ammianus Marcellinus's description of the asbaran[10]

The asbaran during this early period had much in common with their Parthian (Arsacid) predecessors, most of whom would have worn a scale armor cuirass with long sleeves and chaps covered in scale armor or, less often, plated mail. Their helmets, of the Spangenhelm type, would have been adapted throughout the Sasanian period. Also horses would probably have had armored chests and heads, consisting of an apron and headpiece, or total body protection consisting of five separate pieces, made from either boiled leather or scale armor. Some asbaran units such as mercenaries may have worn little to no armor at all, allowing them to be rather more swift, silent, and mobile.

Spangenhelm

The Spangenhelm helmets worn by members of the asbaran units in battle would have evolved through the centuries. During the 3rd-to-6th-century era of the Sassanian empire, the Spangenhelm would have probably been made of felt and hardened leather. However, by the late 6th/early 7th century they would have been decorated with flowers and purple ball with mail and small areas through which to breathe and see.

Weaponry

The asbaran cavalry was armed with a variety of weapons. The traditional heavy cavalry weapons, such as maces, lances, and swords would have been used, as well as a variety of other weapons, such as axes. Asbaran cavalry were not, however, restricted to short-range weapons, as they often carried weapons such as darts and bows.

The Sasanian cavalry's weaponry has been listed by Libanius as darts, sabres (scimitars?), spears, swords and "a lance which needed both hands".[11] The nawak arrow-guide was used to launch 10-40 cm long darts.[12]

During Khosrow I's military reforms under Babak, a "list" for equipment for the cavalry was written. According to the Arabic and Persian sources of the Islamic period, the pieces of equipment (Middle Persian: zēn‎) for a regular Sasanian horseman were as follows:[13][14][15][16][17][18]

Equipmentin Middle Persianin New PersianNotes
Helmettlg (targ)ترگ (targ), خود (xōd)
Gorgetglywpʾn' (grīwbān)
Breastplate / lamellar coat / cuirassزره (zirih)
Chain mail shirt / Hauberkجوشن (jawšan)
Gauntlets, iron-madeʾp̄dst' (abdast)ساعدین (sā'idayn)
Girdlekml (kamar)کمر (kamar)
Leg armor plates as thigh-guardsrān-bandران‌بند (rān-band)
Horse armor, either metal or leatherzynʾp̄cʾl (zēn-abzār), tiğfāf, bargustuwān, silīزین‌افزار (zīn-afzār), برگستوان (bargustuwān)
Lance (kontos)nyck' (nēzag)نیزه (nayza)1 each.
Swordšmšyl (šamšēr)شمشیر (šamšēr)1 each.
Shieldspl (spar)سپر (sipar)1 each.
Battle axeتبرزین (tabarzīn)
Macewlz (warz, wazr), gt' (gad)گرز (gurz), عمود (amūd)
Bow caseکمان‌دان (kamān-dān)
Bows (with bowstrings)kmʾn' (kamān)کمان (kamān)2 each.
Quiverkntgl (kantigr)تیردان (tīr-dān)
ArrowsHTYA (tigr)تیر (tīr)30 each.
Bowstrings (spare)zyh (zīh)زه (zih)2 each. They were looped and were hanging down the helmet.
Spear / javelinsl (sel)
Lassoکمند (kamand)Per some sources.
Sling with slingstonesفلاخن (falāxan)Per some sources.

The Sasanian lance was based on the 12-foot long Parthian kontos that featured a sword-like iron blade.[19]

Face masks were used since at least the 4th century AD.[20]

The horse-armor covered the torso (with an oval opening for the rider's seat), as well as the head and neck. Since stirrup was not invented yet, the riders were relying on a saddle with "four horn" design for their stability. The Sasanian cavalry was relying more on maneuverability than their Parthian predecessors.[21]

The late aswaran reportedly also used a device called panjagan which was supposedly able to fire a volley of five arrows.[22]

Illustration of an asbaran cavalryman holding a banner showing a Homa, a mythical bird of Iranian legends and fables.

Each asbaran unit would have a Drafsh, or heraldric standard. These would have often included legendary creatures and animals. These animals would have included elephants, horses, bears, lions, deer (ahu); these would also include Zoroastrian mythological creatures such as Bashkuch and the army of asbaran would have the Derafsh Kaviani as their banner.

Some aswaran members with superior bravery, character, and equestrian skills were receiving honorary bracelets, recorded in Islamic sources as suwārī, with the wearer being called a musawwar.[23]

Elite Aswaran
Equestrian statue of Khosrow II (r. 590–628) wearing the same armor used by the asbaran.

The aswaran sardar were high-ranking officers who were in charge of the aswaran, their position was so high up in Sasanian society that they were only answerable to the Eran-Spahbad (Commander in Chief) and the Shahanshah himself. They would be guarded heavily by cataphract style cavalry. The post of aswaran sardar was held by a member of the Mihran-Pahlav family. Parts of the aswaran division were high-ranking including the Pushtigban Body Guards, a super heavy shock cavalry, who were the royal guards of the Shah himself. The influential aswaran cavalry were mostly made up of heavily armoured cavalry, generally composed of aristocracy or even from the imperial family themselves. There were also commanders who were elite as well. These parts of the aswaran regiments were kept as reserves.

After the fall of the Sasanians

Most of the asbaran was disbanded after suffering defeat and conquest during the Muslim conquest of Persia. However, several factions of the asbaran, each faction led by a different leader, defected to the Arabs in order to preserve their status and wealth. These asbaran factions settled in various places in the newly established Muslim territories, where they each become known by several names, the most known and prominent faction being the asawira, who under their leader Siyah settled in the newly established settlement of Basra.

See also
Military of the
Sasanian Empire
Armed forces and units
Ranks
Defense lines
Conflicts

References
  1. Daryaee 2018, pp. 303–304.
  2. Zakeri 1995, p. 57.
  3. "ASWĀR – Encyclopaedia Iranica".
  4. Kedar, Benjamin Z.; Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. (2015-04-09). The Cambridge World History. ISBN 9780521190749.
  5. Daryaee 2009, p. 45.
  6. Farrokh, Kaveh; Karamian, Gholamreza; Maksymiuk, Katarzyna (2018). A Synopsis of Sasanian Mi litary Organization and Combat Units. Publishing House of Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities. p. 29. ISBN 978-83-62447-22-0.
  7. Zakeri 1995, p. 59.
  8. electricpulp.com. "BĀBAK – Encyclopaedia Iranica".
  9. Zakeri 1995, p. 66.
  10. Shapur Shahbazi 1995, p. 57.
  11. Farrokh, Kaveh; Maksymiuk, Katarzyna; Garcia, Javier Sanchez (2018). The Siege of Amida (359 CE). Archeobooks. p. 33. ISBN 978-83-7051-887-5.
  12. Farrokh, Maksymiuk & Garcia 2018, pp. 44.
  13. Pūrdāvūd, Ibrāhīm (1969). Zin abzar [زين ابزار] (in Persian). pp. 37–38. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  14. Bivar, ADH (1972). "Cavalry equipment and tactics on the Euphrates frontier". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 26: 271–291. doi:10.2307/1291323. JSTOR 1291323.
  15. Shahbazi, A. Sh. "ARMY i. Pre-Islamic Iran – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  16. Daryaee, Touraj. "BĀBAK – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  17. Mackenzie, D. N. (2014). A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary. Routledge. ISBN 9781136613968.
  18. Dehkhoda Dictionary
  19. Farrokh, Kaveh; Maksymiuk, Katarzyna; Garcia, Javier Sanchez (2018). The Siege of Amida (359 CE). Archeobooks. p. 32. ISBN 978-83-7051-887-5.
  20. Maksymiuk, Katarzyna; Syvanne, Ilkka (2018). The Military History of the Third Century Iran. Archeobooks. p. 59. ISBN 978-83-7051-894-3.
  21. Farrokh, Kaveh; Karamian, Gholamreza; Maksymiuk, Katarzyna (2018). A Synopsis of Sasanian Military Organization and Combat Units. Publishing House of Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities. p. 30-31. ISBN 978-83-62447-22-0.
  22. Farrokh, Kaveh (2012). Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224–642. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-78200-848-4.
  23. Zakeri, Mohsen (1995). Sasanid Soldiers in Early Muslim Society: The Origins of 'Ayyārān and Futuwwa. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 88–89. ISBN 978-3-447-03652-8.

Sources
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