Eastern Arabia was in c. 240 conquered by
Ardashir I (), who made it into the province of Mazun. According to the 8th-century
Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr, Ardashir appointed a certain Oshag of Hagar as
marzban (general of a frontier province, "
margrave") over the "Do-sar and Borg-gil by the wall of the Arabs." He also deported the prominent
Azd tribe from Oman to
Shihr on the
Hadhramaut coast. During the childhood of shah
Shapur II (), Arab nomads made several incursions into the Sasanian homeland of
Pars, where they raided
Gor and its surroundings. Furthermore, they also made incursions into
Meshan and Mazun. At the age of 16, Shapur II led an expedition against the Arabs; primarily campaigning against the
Iyad tribe in
Asoristan and thereafter he crossed the
Persian Gulf, reaching eastern Arabia. He proceeded to attack the
Banu Tamim in the
Al Hajar Mountains. Shapur II reportedly killed a large number of the Arab population and destroyed their water supplies by stopping their wells with sand. After having dealt with the Arabs of eastern Arabia, he continued his expedition into western Arabia and
Syria, where he attacked several cities—he even went as far as
Medina. Because of his cruel way of dealing with the Arabs, he was called
Dhū l-Aktāf "he who pierces shoulders" by them. Not only did Shapur II pacify the Arabs of the Persian Gulf, but he also pushed many Arab tribes further deep into the Arabian Peninsula. Furthermore, he also deported some Arab tribes by force; the
Taghlib to Bahrain and Hatta; the
Banu Abdul Qays and
Banu Tamim to Hagar; the
Banu Bakr to
Kirman, and the Banu Hanzalah to a place near
Hormizd-Ardashir. Sasanian garrisons were established in Oman's strategic coast in
Al Batinah Region, including the tip of the
Musandam Peninsula,
Sohar, and
Rustaq. Shapur II, in order to prevent the Arabs from making more raids into his country, ordered the construction of a wall near
al-Hirah, which became known as
war-i tāzigān ("
wall of the Arabs"). With Eastern Arabia more firmly under Sasanian control, and with the establishment of Sasanian garrison troops, the way for
Zoroastrianism was opened. Pre-Islamic Arabian poets often makes mention of Zoroastrianism practices, which they must have either made contact with in Asoristan or Eastern Arabia. In c. 531/2, shah
Khosrow I () appointed the
Lakhmid king
al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man as the ruler of Mazun. A late Sasanian fort is recently excavated in Fulayj, Oman. == References ==