#sassanian

[sewercentipede]

Persian/Iranic fashion throughout the ages (via)

[along-the-silkroad]

Plate with king hunting rams, Sasanian, ca. mid-5th–mid-6th century CE. MET (ID: 34.33) The king as hunter had become a standard royal image on silver plates during the reign of Shapur II (A.D. 310–379). The theme, symbolizing the prowess of Sasanian rulers, was used to decorate these royal plates, which were often sent as gifts to neighboring courts. The king has various royal attributes: a crown and fillet, covered globe, nimbus with beaded border, and beaded chest halter with fluttering ribbons. The identity of the Sasanian king on this plate is uncertain. His crown identifies him as either Peroz (r. 459–484) or Kavad I (r. 488–497, 499–531).

Sasanian silver bowls were usually hammered into shape and then decorated in various complex techniques. On this plate, separate pieces of silver were inserted into lips cut up from the plate to provide high relief. The vessel was then gilded using an amalgam of mercury and gold, which could be painted onto the surface, and niello—a metallic alloy of sulfur and silver—was inlaid. The result was a vessel of varied surface contours and colors.

[bagdemagus]

Gilded silver plate depicting the king hunting Iran, Sassanian dynasty, probably reign of Chosroes II (591-632 CE) Found in Russia

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Inv.56.364

[bull-believer]

Textile Fragment (Linen, plain weave, embroidered with wool and cotton), Iran, 6th-7th Century AD

[covenawhite66]

Medieval subterranean corridors found by accident in northeast Iran

The workers working on a routine road construction project near Shahr-e Belqeys (City of Belqeys) in northeast Iran made an...

The workers working on a routine road construction project near Shahr-e Belqeys (City of Belqeys) in northeast Iran made an unexpected discovery.

Shahr-e Belqeys is a castle located in Esfarayen County in North Khorasan Province, Iran. The fortress dates back to the Sasanian Empire. It is the second largest adobe fort in Iran after the UNESCO-registered Bam Fortress. Belqeys archaeological site has an area of over 51,000 square.

“The total length of those corridors is 18 km, and there is a bathroom and a mill on the way."

Construction of this man-made subterranean city, called Ouee (or Ouyi), dates back to the Sasanian (or Neo-Persian) Empire that ruled from 224 to 651. Inhabitants would dig underground chambers as hideout spots for women, children, and the elderly in the event of an attack by foreign invaders.

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Window screen.

Period/Culture: Sasanian (?)

Date: ca. A.D. 6th–7th century

Place of origin: Iran, Qasr-i Abu Nasr

Medium: Stucco

[suraanahita]

Some notes on King Khusrow I’s perception by Christian authors during his reign. His name is cognate to Avestan ‘Haosrauuah’, “he who has good fame”. Seems he lived up to this translation!

This just goes to show though, that the issue of treatment of minority religious groups in pre-Islamic Iran is much more complicated than, e.g. “Sassanids were entirely benefactors, Sassanids were entirely oppressors” (both arguments I’ve seen thrown out). The same is true for Achaemenid Iran and its historical dynamics with other traditions…

[armthearmour]

A sword with an iron blade and silver hilt, Persian (Sassanian), ca. 6th-7th century, from Worldwide Antiques.