Early history In prehistoric times, the
Jiroft Civilization covered parts of Sistan and
Kerman Province (possibly as early as the 3rd millennium BC). It is best known from excavations of the archaeological site of
Shahr-e Sukhteh, a massive third millennium BC city. Other smaller sites have been identified in the region in surveys by American archaeologists
Walter Fairservis and George Dales. The archaeological site of Nad-i Ali, located in the historical region of Sistan in present-day southwestern Afghanistan, has been identified as dating back to the
Bronze Age, featuring a monumental platform as described by Besenval and Francfort (1994). Earlier the area was occupied by
Iranian peoples Eventually a kingdom known as
Arachosia was formed, parts of which were ruled by the
Medes by 600 BC. The Medes were overthrown by the
Achaemenid Empire in 550 BC, and the rest Arachosia was soon annexed. The archaeological site of
Dahan-e Gholaman was a major Achaemenid centre. In the
4th century BCE,
Alexander the Great annexed the region during his
conquest of the Empire and founded the colony of
Alexandria in Arachosia. The city of Bost, now part of
Lashkargah, was also developed as a Hellenistic centre. Alexander's empire fragmented after his death, and Arachosia came under the control of the
Seleucid Empire, which traded it to the
Mauryan dynasty of India in 305 BC. After the fall of the Mauryans, the region fell to their
Greco-Bactrian allies in 180 BC, before breaking away and becoming part of the
Indo-Greek Kingdom. The Indo-Parthian king
Gondophares was the leader of Sakastan around c. 20–10 BCE as it was part of the
Indo-Parthian Kingdom which was also called
Gedrosia, its Hellenistic name. After the mid 2nd century BC, much of the Indo-Greek Kingdom was overrun by tribes known as the
Indo-Scythians or
Saka, from which Sistan (from Sakastan) eventually derived its name. , Parthian governor of Sakastan (ruled circa 80-40 BCE), with Rangodeme. Around 100 BC, the Indo-Scythians were defeated by
Mithridates II of Parthia (r. c. 124–91 BCE) and the region of Sakastan was incorporated into the
Parthian Empire. Parthian governors such as
Tanlismaidates ruled the land. The Parthian Empire then briefly lost the region to its
Suren vassals around 20 CE. The regions of Sistan, and
Punjab were ruled together by the
Indo-Parthians. As the
Kushan Empire expanded in the mid 1st century AD, the Indo-Parthian lost their Indian dominions and recentered on
Turan and
Sakastan. The
Kushans were defeated by the
Sasanian Empire in the mid-3rd century, first becoming part of a vassal
Kushanshah state before being overrun by the
Hephthalites in the mid 5th century. Sassanid armies reconquered Sakastan in by 565, but lost the area to the
Rashidun Caliphate after the mid 640s.
Sasanian era (Narsē). AD 293–303. Sakastan mint. under the Sasanians. The province was formed in ca. 240, during the reign of
Shapur I, in his effort to centralise the empire; before that, the province was under the rule of the
Parthian
Suren Kingdom, whose ruler Ardashir Sakanshah became a Sasanian vassal during the reign of Shapur's father
Ardashir I (r. 224–242), who also had the ancient city
Zrang rebuilt, which became the capital of the province. Shapur's son
Narseh was the first to appointed as the governor of province, which he would govern until 271, when the Sasanian prince
Hormizd was appointed as the new governor. Later in ca. 281, Hormizd revolted against his cousin
Bahram II. During the revolt, the people of Sakastan supported him. Nevertheless, Bahram II managed to suppress the revolt in 283, and appointed his son
Bahram III as the governor of the province. During his early reign,
Shapur II (r. 309–379) appointed his brother
Shapur Sakanshah as the governor of Sakastan.
Peroz I (r. 459–484), during his early reign, put an end to dynastic rule in province by appointing a
Karenid as its governor. The reason behind the appointment was to avoid further family conflict in the province, and in order to gain more direct control of the province.
Islamic conquest During the
Muslim conquest of Persia, the last Sasanian king
Yazdegerd III fled to Sakastan in the mid-640s, where its governor
Aparviz (who was more or less independent), helped him. However, Yazdegerd III quickly ended this support when he demanded tax money that he had failed to pay. In 650,
Abd-Allah ibn Amir, after having secured his position in
Kerman, sent an army under Mujashi ibn Mas'ud to Sakastan. After having crossed the
Dasht-e Lut desert, Mujashi ibn Mas'ud arrived to Sakastan. However, he suffered a heavy defeat and was forced to retreat. One year later, Abd-Allah ibn Amir sent an army under
Rabi ibn Ziyad Harithi to Sakastan. After some time, he reached Zaliq, a border town between Kirman and Sakastan, where he forced the
dehqan of the town to acknowledge
Rashidun authority. He then did the same at the fortress of Karkuya, which had a famous
fire temple, which is mentioned in the
Tarikh-i Sistan. He then continued to seize more land in the province. He thereafter besieged
Zrang, and after a heavy battle outside the city, Aparviz and his men surrendered. When Aparviz went to Rabi to discuss about the conditions of a treaty, he saw that he was using the bodies of two dead soldiers as a chair. This horrified Aparviz, who in order to spare the inhabitants of Sakastan from the Arabs, made peace with them in return for heavy tribute, which included a tribute of 1,000 slave boys bearing 1,000 golden vessels. Sakastan was thus under the control of the Rashidun Caliphate.
Caliphate rule , governor of
Sijistan, at the time of the fifth
Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (647–705 CE). Dated AH 65-86 / 685-705 CE. However, only two years later, the people of Zarang rebelled and defeated Rabi ibn Ziyad Harithi's lieutenant and Muslim garrison of the city. Abd-Allah ibn Amir then sent 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura to Sistan, where he managed to suppress the rebellion. Furthermore, he also defeated the
Zunbils of
Zabulistan, seizing
Bust and a few cities in Zabulistan. During the
First Fitna (656–661), the people of Zarang rebelled and defeated the Muslim garrison of the city. In 658, Yazdegerd III's son
Peroz III reclaimed Sistan and established a kingdom there, known in
Chinese sources as the "Persian Area Command". However, in 663, he was forced to leave the region after suffering a defeat to newly established
Umayyad Caliphate, who had succeeded the Rashiduns.
Saffarid dynasty Sistan became a province of the
Umayyad and
Abbasid Caliphates. In the 860s, the
Saffarid dynasty emerged in Sistan and proceeded to conquer most of the Islamic East, until it was checked by the
Samanids in 900. After the Samanids took the province from the Saffarids, it briefly returned to Abbasid control, but in 917 the governor Abu Yazid Khalid made himself independent. He was followed by a series of emirs with brief reigns until 923, when
Ahmad ibn Muhammad restored Saffarid rule in Sistan. After his death in 963, Sistan was ruled by his son
Khalaf ibn Ahmad until 1002, when
Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Sistan, ending the Saffarid dynasty. A year later in 1003, Sistan revolted. In response, Mahmud brought an army to suppress the revolt. Mahmud's Hindu troops sacked the mosques and churches of
Zarang massacring the Muslims and Christians inside.
Nasrid dynasty In 1029, Tadj al-Din I Abu l-Fadl Nasr founded the
Nasrid dynasty, who were a branch of the
Saffarids. They became vassals of the
Ghaznavids. The dynasty then became vassals of the
Seljuks in 1048,
Ghurids in 1162, and the
Khwarezmians in 1212. Mongols sacked Sistan in 1222 and Nasrid dynasty was ended by Khwarezmians in 1225. During Ghaznavid times, elaborate Saffarid palaces were built at
Lashkari Bazar and
Shahr-i Gholghola.
Mihrabanid dynasty and its successors In 1236,
Shams al-Din 'Ali ibn Mas'ud founded
Mihrabanid dynasty, another branch of Saffarids, as melik of Sistan for
Ilkhanate. Mihrabanid contested with
Kartids during Mongol rule. Sistan declared independence in 1335 after demise of Ilkhanate. 1383
Tamerlane conquered Sistan and forced Mihrabanids to become vassals. Overlordship of
Timurids was ended in 1507 due to Uzbek invasion in 1507. Uzbeks were driven in 1510 and Mihrabanids became vassals of
Safavids until 1537 Safavids deposed the dynasty and gained full control of Sistan. in ca. 1720, with Sistan as one of its major provinces. Safavid rule lasted until 1717 except during Uzbek rule between 1524-1528 and 1578-1598 when the
Hotak dynasty conquered it.
Nader Shah reconquered it in 1727. After Nader Shah's assassination, Sistan went under the rule of the
Durrani Empire in 1747. Between 1747 and 1872 Sistan was contested by
Persia and
Afghanistan. The border dispute between Persia and Afghanistan was solved by Sistan Boundary Mission, led by British General
Frederick Goldsmid, who agreed to most of Sistan to be in Persia but the Persians won the withdrawal of the right bank of the Helmand. The countries were not satisfied. The border was defined more precisely with the Second Sistan Boundary Commission (1903-1905) headed by Arthur Mac Mahon, who had a difficult task due to lack of natural boundaries. The part assigned Persia was included in the province of Balochistan (which took the name of
Sistan and Baluchistan in 1986) with its capital at
Zahedan. In Afghanistan it was part of the Sistan province of
Farah-Chakansur that was abolished in the administrative reorganization of 1964 to form the
province of Nimruz, with capital
Zaranj. ==Significance for Zoroastrians==