1387 59/5 :

Iran History: No. 59/5 Winter 2009

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Electing of the King in the Sassanid Period: A Study on the

Process of King Electing in Letter of Tansar to Ghnasb
Shahram Jalilian2
Abstract

Despite the increasing number of studies dealing with the history and culture of
Sassanid Iran, there are but a few mentions of the process during which a Sassanid
king was elected, so the question of succession under this dynasty has been
overlooked. In historical accounts of those periods when the power of the central
government of the Sassanid dynasty was at its height, the kings chose to elect their
successors when they were still alive, while during the periods of decline, kings
used to be elected through the intervention of the nobles, royal families, and a
notable body of electors who gave member of the kings family the right of
accession. However in Letter of Tansar to Ghnasb, the questoin of the succession
of Sassanid kings is reported differently from the records in other historical
accounts. In Letter of Tansar, mowbedn mowbed (the high priest), dabrbed (chief
secretary), and sphbed (general), have been called the electors of Sassanid kings.
This study aims at finding an acceptable answer to the contradiction between the
report of the Letter of Tanssar and other historical accounts, rather than calling this
process of succession reflected in Letter of Tanssar as "faked."
Keywords: Sassanians, Royal election, Letter of Tansar to Ghnasb, Khosrow I.

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1

1388/12/19 1388/8/10 *

. Assistant Professor, Department of History Shahid Chamran University. Email:

jalilianshahram@yahoo.com
2

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Tafazzol, Ahmad., "Bozorgn", Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol., IX, Edited by Ehsan

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Khaleghi-Motlagh, Dj., "Anazd", Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Edited by Ehsan

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