relief of
Bahram II surrounded by grandees,
Kartir and Papak being on his left. The are first mentioned in the early Sasanian period and appear in
Shapur I's inscription in
Hajjiabad. They played an important and prominent role in Sasanian politics, and seem to have held much influence. High-ranking members of the were present at the coronation of the Sasanian kings. Every time there was a dispute about choosing a Sasanian king, the objective of the was to elect a Sasanian king. After the death of
Hormizd II in 309, the elected the latter's son
Shapur II, who at that time was still in his mother's womb, as the king of the Sasanian Empire. Shapur's death in 379 marked the start of a 125-year conflict between the and the Sasanian kings, who both struggled for power over Iran. During the reign of
Yazdegerd I (), the were treated badly, and after the latter's death in 420, they expelled all his sons and elected his nephew
Khosrow as the ruler of the Sasanian Empire. Nevertheless, they later made an agreement with Yazdegerd's son
Bahram V, and recognized him as king of the Sasanian Empire. After
Peroz I's disastrous campaign against the
Hephthalites, which resulted in his death and the death of many of the , his brother
Balash was elected by nobility as the king of the Sasanian Empire. However, in reality it was
Sukhra, an
Iranian nobleman from the
House of Karen, who held power over the empire. Even the were under his control. Balash's reign eventually proved disastrous, and as a result he was replaced by Peroz's son
Kavadh I. Kavadh I, during his reign, began worshiping
Mazdakism, a modified version of
Zoroastrianism with influences from
Manichaeism. The responded by siding with the Zoroastrian clergy, and had him imprisoned in 496, replacing him with his brother
Djamasp.
Gushnaspdad, the of the Sasanian Empire, later urged the and other noble classes to execute Kavadh I, which they, however, refused to do. The grandson of Kavadh I,
Hormizd IV, because of his bad treatment of the and other high-class noble families, was in 590 deposed by a coup under the two
Ispahbudhan brothers
Vistahm and
Vinduyih, who made Hormizd's son
Khosrow II the new ruler of the Sasanian Empire. However, the and other nobles later became displeased with Khosrow II, and in 628 had him deposed in favor of his son
Kavadh II. After the death of Kavadh II, the elected the latter's son
Ardashir III, who was only a mere child. During his reign, his minister
Mah-Adhur Gushnasp, who was part of the class, in reality, controlled the Sasanian Empire. During the
Arab conquest of Iran, a Sasanian general named
Bahman Jadhuyih, who was the head of an army numbering 30,000 of the , defeated the Arabs at the
Battle of the Bridge in 634. Nevertheless, the Arabs won several other victories against the Sasanian Empire, and by 651 had all of Iran under their control. The are later mentioned during the reign of the
Dabuyid ruler
Khurshid (), where they along with the local population of
Tabaristan were oppressed by Khurshid's general Karin. After the fall of the Dabuyid dynasty in 760, the are no longer mentioned in any sources. == References ==