فصلنامه پژوهش در تاریخ
سال یازدهم شماره 31 (پاییز و زمستان 1400)

The following article touches upon the question of what factors did the Achaemenid women exert power? To answer this question, first, we considered women's influencing methods in the Achaemenid political process by providing some instances from Classical sources. After analyzing and comparing these reports with archaeological discoveries and administrative material, particularly with Persepolis tablets and Babylonian clays, the aforementioned factors are discussed. Their importance is touched upon regarding women's most significant political roles in the Achaemenid court, in other words, political agency. In the end, it is demonstrated that women's most important ways to exercise political power in the Achaemenid court were conducted by financial independence, organizing a structure of loyal spies and eunuchs, alliance with powerful Persian Houses, military commanders, and royal officials through family ties, royal marriages and pursuing common purposes between Harem and military and civilian foundations.

The 4th century CE, which began with the Constantinian shift and the religious revolution, is undoubtedly one of the most important centuries in the course of history, the origin of magnificent and profound changes in the Roman Empire and, consequently, in the Mediterranean world and its eastern neighbor, Iranian Empire. The Sassanids were not excluded from these changes by no means. Thus, the period the scholars have identified the Late Antiquity begins. The Greek Paedia - then called Paganism - more rapidly gave way to the Eastern culture and the oriental thoughts. Julian's last champion of the classical pagan world failed to save the old order. Iranshahr and its inhabitants played a role in these crucial events and had a serious impact. In such a way, the 3rd century CE (emergence of the Sasanians) should be considered a period of transition in the history of Iran. These two critical changes in the observer viewpoint (Rome) and the developments within the subject (Iranshahr) show the importance of studying the issue of the image of Iranshahr in the Roman sources of this period. Based on this research, in this period, the attitude and perception of the Romans about Iranshahr were divided into two classical-pagan and ecclesiastical-Christian factions, and one observes conflicts between these two currents of historiography.

Among the written sources related to the history of the Sasanians, they have survived in various languages, including Greek, Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Middle Persian, and Chinese, remaining works by Byzantine historians are essential. Despite the hostilities between the Sassanian Empire and the Roman Empire, these resources contain much information about the Sassanid history and culture. One of these sources is the New History by Zosimus. Despite the critical and valuable information in this work, Zosimos has become less of an interest in the research of this field, and the place of its absence is tangible in Persian research. Zosimus, a historian of the fifth and sixth centuries, wrote the New History to find out the reasons for the collapse of Rome and narrated the history of the Roman Empire from the 27th BC to the end of the year 410 AD. Zosimus presented essential and valuable reports in his book on political and military relations between the Sassanians and Roman and the internal organization of the Sassanid empire. This study discusses the significance and position of the New History in Sassanian studies.

Khosrow Anoushirvan is a famous Sassanid political figure who was part of his reputation for successful political relations with governments and governments bordering Iran. Khosrow, who faced serious problems at the beginning of his reign, managed to, most of the time, have the upper hand in military confrontations with foreigners, and with the defeat of Byzantium, the conquest of Yemen, and the overthrow of the Heptalian government, he greatly expanded the Sassanid territory. However, in cultural relations, Khosrow took a different approach and engaged in scientific and cultural borrowing and exchange with foreign governments, which resulted in the scientific progress of the Sassanid government and Khosrow's reputation as an Interested in science ruler among foreigners. In the present study, using Byzantine, Syriac, and early Islamic sources, Iran's political and cultural relations with foreign governments during Anoushirvan will be examined. Byzantine, Syriac, and early Islamic sources paint a relatively positive cultural and moral picture of Khosrow, reflecting Khosrow's successful foreign relations in the international political and cultural arenas. Examination of sources shows that in his political, cultural, and scientific ties with neighboring governments and governments, Khosrow always considered the ideology based on the Zoroastrian religion and the tradition of his predecessors and organized his actions accordingly. Therefore, the main issue of this research is to prove the claim that Khosrow used Zoroastrian ideology and the tradition of his predecessors in his relations with foreigners, which ultimately led to his reputation among foreigners.

The researchers' attitude toward Rahat-us- Sudur wa Ayat - us - Surur by Rawandi has been generally critical and disapproving. They have not paid enough attention to various original features of this book on the assumption of Rawandi's plagiarism of Saljuqname of Zahir - ud - din - Nishapuri. Although most of it is on Saljuqname, it is not a mere copy of that book. Rawandi had a different educational and geographical background, and this criterion has made this work different from other Persian historical works. He has observed various aspects of Iranian life, including the educational system in theology, thoughts, literature, and historical geography. This feature is worthy of respect because most Persian historians have ignored even some of the most precious events besides political history. We have to consider that Rahat-us- Sudur is not only highly rich in historical information but also rich enough from a Literary point of view. Therefore, having a close look at the text based on this new assumption can hint other researchers to revise their ideas about this book. By then, this work will revive again.

The relationships between Khazars and Arabs began during the second caliph’s period. It also continued in the Umayyad era, often with intense wars. But in the Abbasid era, the intensity of their wars decreased, and commercial and cultural relations flourished. The robust structure of Khazar’s state and its alliance with the Byzantine Empire prevented the Arab’s progress in the Caucasus.