The Sasanian dynasty was the house that founded the Sasanian Empire , ruling this empire from 224 to 651 AD in Persia (modern-day Iran). It began with Ardashir I , who named the dynasty as Sasanian in honour of his grandfather (or father), Sasan , and after the name of his tribe.
The Shahanshah was the sole regent, head of state and head of government of the empire. At times, power shifted de facto to other officials, namely the spahbed . Upon the empire's conquest by the Islamic caliphate in 651, members of the imperial family fled in exile to China following the death of Yazdegerd III , where they would become accepted as members of the imperial court by Emperor Gaozong of Tang . Although there would be numerous attempts to invade Islamic Persia with Chinese support, [1] [2] this
The Sasanian monarchs claimed descent from the Kayanids , [3] a legendary Persian dynasty mentioned in the Avesta , the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism , which is commonly thought to be based upon the late Achaemenid dynasty . As such, Dara II , the Kayanid king Sasan supposedly traced his lineage to, was most likely based upon Darius III , whose empire was conquered by Alexander the Great just like Dara's. [3] Another differing account exists in Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan , in which Ardashir is presente