{{Short description|Sassanid army rank}}{{Military of the Sasanian Empire sidebar}} '''''Hazārbed''''' (Middle Persian: ḥčʾlpt, or ''hazarbadh'', literally "the commander of thousand"), also known as '''''hazaruft'''''/'''''hazaraft''''' (Middle Persian: hz’lwpt; possibly the older/original form),{{sfn|Shayegan|2003|pp=93–95}} was a Sasanian office which initially functioned as the commander of the royal guard, but later became increasingly equal to that of the ''wuzurg framadar'' (minister).
== History == The title is first attested in the Achaemenid Empire in its Old Persian form, ''hazāra-pati'' (from *''hazāra-'' "thousand" and *''pati-'' "chief"),{{sfn|Shayegan|2003|pp=93–95}} the commanding officer of the Immortals.
The ''hazarbed'' controlled units of guards which were enlisted from royal families of the Sasanian Empire. One of the units that the ''hazarbed'' controlled was the ''pushtigban'' bodyguard, while other times it would be the palace guards (''darigan''),{{sfn|Morony|2005|p=92}} or in some cases other units, such as the 4,000 Daylamite guard which served the last great Sasanian king, Khosrow II (r. 590–628). The ''hazarbed'' was in charge of the king's safety and the commander of the royal guard. The ''hazarbed'' also controlled the entrance of the kings palace, presented visitors to the king, and was allowed to be given military command or used in negotiations. The ''hazarbed'' was also allowed in some cases to serve as the royal executioner.{{sfn|Morony|2005|p=92}}
During the reign of Shapur I (r. 240–270), the ''hazarbed'' may have briefly taken over the ''spahbed'' office, as it is not listed in the inscriptions of Shapur I. However, the ''spahbed'' office reappears in the inscriptions of Shapur's son Narseh (r. 293–302). The office of ''hazarbed'' is also mentioned in his inscriptions among many others.{{sfn|Shayegan|2003|pp=93–95}}
Later on, the office became increasingly political and equal to that of the ''wuzurg framadar'' (minister).{{sfn|Shayegan|2003|pp=93–95}}
==List== *Aspad Gushnasp
== See also == * Chiliarch * Azarethes, the Latin name of whom is probably a corruption of this title (''hazaraft'')
== References == {{reflist|2}}
== Sources == * {{cite encyclopedia | article = HAZĀRBED | last = Shayegan | first = M. Rahim |author-link= | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hazarbed | editor-last = | editor-first = | editor-link = | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XII, Fasc. 1 | pages = 93–95 | location = | publisher = | year = 2003 | isbn = }} *{{cite book|last=Morony|first=Michael G.|author-link=Michael Morony|title=Iraq After The Muslim Conquest|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uhjSiRAwGuEC|year=2005|orig-date=1984|publisher=Gorgias Press LLC|isbn=978-1-59333-315-7}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazarbed}} Category:Positions of authority Category:Sasanian military offices Category:Sasanian palace offices Category:Persian words and phrases