Selected biographies list
Portal:Iran/Selected biography/1
Abuʾl-Ḥasan al-Qāsim Aḥmad ibn Ḥasan Maymandī (died 31 December 1032), better known as Ahmad Maymandi also spelled Maimandi), and also known by his honorific title of Shams al-Kufat ("sun of the capable ones"), was a Persian vizier of the Ghaznavid Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni and the latter's son Mas'ud I of Ghazni. The son of the governor of Bust, Maymandi was raised as the foster brother of the Ghaznavid prince Mahmud, and would first start his administrative career as the head of the department of correspondences of Khorasan. He would thereafter rapidly rise to higher offices, finally becoming the vizier of the Ghaznavid dynasty in 1013, which would last until 1024, when he was arrested due to the great amount of wealth that he had gained, which the suspicious Mahmud disliked. However, after a brief civil war, which ended in 1030, Maymandi was freed by Mahmud's son Mas'ud I, who offered him the chance of becoming vizier again. He first rejected the offer, but later accepted in 1031. Maymandi's second vizierate would only last one year, when he died at Herat. He was succeeded by Ahmad Shirazi.
Portal:Iran/Selected biography/2
Tiridates I was
King of Armenia beginning in 53 and the founder of the
Arsacid dynasty of Armenia. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. His early reign was marked by a brief interruption towards the end of the year 54 and a much longer one from 58 to 63. In an agreement to resolve the
Roman–Parthian conflict in and over Armenia, Tiridates I (one of the brothers of
Vologases I of Parthia) was crowned king of Armenia by the Roman emperor
Nero in 66; in the future, the king of Armenia was to be a Parthian prince, but his appointment required approval from the Romans. Even though this made Armenia a
client kingdom, various contemporary Roman sources thought that Nero had
de facto ceded Armenia to the
Parthian Empire. In addition to being a king, Tiridates I was also a
Zoroastrian priest and was accompanied by other
magi on his journey to Rome in 66. In the early 20th century,
Franz Cumont speculated that Tiridates was instrumental in the development of
Mithraism which ultimately became the main religion of the Roman Army and spread across the whole empire. Furthermore, during his reign, he started reforming the administrative structure of Armenia, a reform which was continued by his successors, and which brought many
Iranian customs and offices into it. Tiridates I is one of the principal characters in
George Frideric Handel's opera
Radamisto and
Reinhard Keiser's opera
Octavia.
Portal:Iran/Selected biography/3
Artaxerxes III (c. 425 BC – 338 BC) (Persian: اردشير سوم) (Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠,transliterated as Artaxšaçā), was the Great King (Shah) of Persia and the eleventh Emperor of the Achaemenid Empire, as well as the first Pharaoh of the 31st dynasty of Egypt. He was the son and successor of Artaxerxes II and was succeeded by his son, Arses of Persia (also known as Artaxerxes IV). His reign coincided with the reign of Philip II in Macedon and Nectanebo II in Egypt. Before ascending the throne Artaxerxes was a satrap and commander of his father's army. Artaxerxes came to power after one of his brothers was executed, another committed suicide, the last murdered and his father, Artaxerxes II died at the age of 86. Soon after becoming king, Artaxerxes murdered all of the royal family to secure his place as emperor. He started two major campaigns against Egypt. The first campaign failed, and was followed up by rebellions throughout the western empire. In 343 BC, Artaxerxes defeated Nectanebo II, the Pharaoh of Egypt, driving him from Egypt, stopping a revolt in Phoenicia on the way. In Artaxerxes' later years, Philip II of Macedon's power was increasing in Greece, where he tried to convince the Greeks to revolt against Achaemenid Persia. His activities were opposed by Artaxerxes, and with his support, the city of Perinthus resisted a Macedonian siege. There is evidence for a renewed building policy at Persepolis in his later life, where Artaxerxes erected a new palace and built his own tomb, and began long-term projects like the Unfinished Gate. According to a Greek source, Diodorus of Sicily, Bagoas poisoned Artaxerxes, but a cuneiform tablet (now in the British Museum) suggests that the king died from natural causes.
Portal:Iran/Selected biography/4
Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (1933
–2003) served as
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1966 to 1978, during which he reoriented the agency's focus beyond Europe and prepared it for an explosion of complex refugee issues. He was also a proponent of greater collaboration between
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN agencies. The Prince's interest in ecological issues led him to establish the Bellerive Foundation in the late 1970s, and he was a knowledgeable and respected collector of
Islamic art. Born in Paris, France, he was the son of
Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan and Princess Andrée Aga Khan. He received his early education in
Lausanne, Switzerland, before graduating
Phi Beta Kappa in 1954 from
Harvard College. He married twice, but had no children of his own. Prince Sadruddin died of cancer at the age of 70, and was buried in Switzerland.
Portal:Iran/Selected biography/5
Darius I (
Persian:
داريوش بزرگ,
Old Persian:
Dārayava(h)uš; 550–486 BCE) was the third king of the
Achaemenid Empire. Also called
Darius the Great, he ruled the empire at its peak, when it included much of
West Asia, the
Caucasus,
Central Asia, parts of the
Balkans (
Bulgaria-
Romania-
Panonia), portions of north and northeast Africa including
Egypt (Mudrâya), eastern
Libya, coastal
Sudan,
Eritrea, as well as most of
Pakistan, the
Aegean Islands and northern
Greece/
Thrace-
Macedonia. Darius ascended the throne by overthrowing the alleged
magus usurper of
Bardiya with the assistance of six other Persian noble families; Darius was
crowned the following morning. The new king met with rebellions throughout his kingdom and quelled them each time. A major event in Darius's life was his expedition to punish
Athens and
Eretria for their aid in the
Ionian Revolt and subjugate
Greece. Darius expanded his empire by conquering
Thrace and
Macedon and invading
Scythia, home of the Scythians, nomadic tribes who invaded
Media and had previously killed
Cyrus the Great. Darius organized the empire by dividing it into provinces and placing
satraps to govern it. He organized a new uniform monetary system, along with making
Aramaic the official language of the empire. Darius also worked on construction projects throughout the empire, focusing on
Susa,
Pasargadae,
Persepolis,
Babylon and
Egypt. Darius devised a codification of laws for
Egypt. He also had the cliff-face
Behistun Inscription carved, an autobiography of great modern
linguistic significance. Darius also started many massive
architectural projects, including magnificent palaces in
Persepolis and
Susa.
Portal:Iran/Selected biography/6
Alexander was a king of
Macedon, a state in northern
ancient Greece. Born in
Pella in 356
BC, Alexander was tutored by
Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the
largest empires of the
ancient world, stretching from the
Ionian Sea to the
Himalayas. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of
Issus and
Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King
Darius III and conquered the entirety of the
Persian Empire. At that point, his empire stretched from the
Adriatic Sea to the
Indus River. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new
Hellenistic civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the
Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of
Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and
military academies throughout the world still teach his tactics.
Portal:Iran/Selected biography/7
Yazdegerd I, also spelled
Yazdgerd I and
Yazdgird I, was the
Sasanian King of Kings of
Iran from 399 to 420. A son of
Shapur III (
r. 383–388), he succeeded his brother
Bahram IV (
r. 388–399) after the latter's assassination. Yazdegerd I's largely-uneventful reign is seen in Sasanian history as a period of renewal. Although he was periodically known as "the Sinner" in native sources, Yazdegerd was more competent than his recent predecessors. He enjoyed cordial relations with the
Eastern Roman Empire and was entrusted by
Arcadius with the guardianship of the latter's son
Theodosius. Yazdegerd I is known for his friendly relations with the
Jews and
Christians of the
Church of the East, which he acknowledged in 410. Because of this, he was praised by Jews and Christians as the new
Cyrus the Great (
r. 550 – 530 BC, king of the Iranian
Achaemenid Empire who liberated the Jews from captivity in
Babylon).
Portal:Iran/Selected biography/8
Hormizd-Ardashir, better known by his dynastic name of
Hormizd I (also spelled
Hormozd I or
Ohrmazd I, was the third
Sasanian King of Kings (
shahanshah) of
Iran, who ruled from May 270 to June 271. He was the third-born son of
Shapur I (
r. 240–270), under whom he was governor-king of
Armenia, and also took part in his father's wars against the
Roman Empire. Hormizd I's brief time as ruler of Iran was largely uneventful. He built the city of Hormizd-Ardashir (present-day
Ahvaz), which still remains a major city today in Iran. He promoted the
Zoroastrian priest
Kartir to the rank of chief priest (
mowbed) and gave the
Manichaean prophet
Mani permission to continue his preaching.
Portal:Iran/Selected biography/9
Golden medallion of enthroned
Sasanian style Adud al-Dawla Cast and chased in high relief, holding a goblet and surrounded by attendants, with lions beneath the throne.
Fannā (Panāh) Khusraw (Persian: پناه (فنا) خسرو), better known by his laqab of ʿAḍud al-Dawla (Arabic: عضد الدولة, lit. 'pillar of the dynasty'; 24 September 936 – 26 March 983) was an emir of the Buyid dynasty, ruling from 949 to 983. At the height of his power, he ruled an empire stretching from Makran to Yemen and the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. He is widely regarded as the greatest monarch of the Buyid dynasty, and by the end of his reign he was the most powerful ruler in the Middle East.
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