Kirman (Sasanian province)

Kirman (Middle Persian: Kirmān) was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity, which almost corresponded to the present-day province of Kerman. The province bordered Pars in the west, Abarshahr and Sakastan in the northeast, Paradan in the east, Spahan in the north, and Mazun in the south. The capital of the province was Shiragan. The province allegedly functioned as some kind of vassal kingdom, being mostly ruled by princes from the royal family, who bore the title of Kirmanshah ("King of Kirman"). The non-royal governors of the province bore the title of marzban. The name of the province is derived from Old Persian Karmāna; the etymology of the name is debated, a popular theory is that it is related to Old Iranian *kṛma- and Middle Persian kerm ("worm"). The province was originally part of the Parthian Empire, but was in the early 3rd-century conquered by the first Sasanian king Ardashir I (224-242). According to the medieval Iranian historian al-Tabari, Ardashir I overthrew a local king in Kirman named Balash, who was either a member of the Arsacid royal family or the seven Parthian clans. Right after having the province conquered, he found the town of Veh-Ardashir close to the Dasht-e Loot. The town was a small but heavily protected town encircled by gardens and watered by many qanats, wells, and cisterns. Ardashir I also founded Narmashir, a caravan town which was constructed close to a little river near the ancient town of Bam. The capital of the province at this time is unknown—the Greek writer Ptolemy, who lived during the late Parthian era, mentions an Alexandria and Kármana mētrópolis as the towns of the province, whilst Ammianus Marcellinus mentions a “Carmana mother of all [the province’s cities]”, but they give no additional information about the province. One of Ardashir I's sons, also named Ardashir, was appointed as the governor of Kirman and given the title of Kirmanshah, which he would continue to rule during the reign of Ardashir's successor, Shapur I (240-270).