Carmania (region)

Carmania (Ancient Greek: Καρμανία, romanized: Karmanía, Old Persian: 𐎣𐎼𐎶𐎴𐎠, romanized: Karmanā, Middle Persian: Kirmān) is a historical region that approximately corresponds to the current province of Kerman, Iran, and was a province of many Iranic empires such as Medes, Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian Empire. The region bordered Persia proper & the Persian Gulf in the west, Makran & the Makran Sea in the south-east, Parthia in the north (also known as Abarshahr), and Aria to the northeast.

History

Pre-Hellenistic Period

In the Early Bronze Age, late third millennium BC, it is postulated that the Jiroft culture developed and flourished in the region of Carmania. However, little is known of the history of the region during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. The region was settled by Iranian tribes in the first half of the first millennium BC.

Carmania was conquered by Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, in the sixth century BC. The 3rd century BC Babylonian writer Berossus detailed that Cyrus the Great granted Nabonidus, the last King of Babylon, Carmania as a vassal kingdom after the Achaemenid conquest of Babylonia in 539 BC. According to the 5th century BC Greek historian Ctesias, Cyrus, on his deathbed, appointed his son Bardiya as governor of the Bactrians, Chorasmians, Parthians, and Carmanians. Darius the Great later confiscated part of Nabonidus' land in Carmania. During the reign of Darius I, the Royal Road was built in Carmania, and the region was administered as a sub-province of the province of Persia. At a later date, Carmania came under the administration of a certain Karkiš, satrap (governor) of Gedrosia. It has been suggested that, due to an anachronism on behalf of Ctesias, Carmania may have become a separate province by the time of Artaxerxes II, in the late 5th century BC.

By the time of Alexander's conquest of Persia in 334 BC, Carmania was administered by a certain Aspastes, Satrap of Carmania, and the southern part of the province had its own governor. Aspastes acknowledged Alexander as king and was permitted to remain in office as satrap upon Alexander's conquest of the neighbouring province of Persia in 330 BC, however, Aspastes later plotted to rebel against Alexander whilst campaigning in the Indus Valley.