Eberhard W. Sauer, Jebrael Nokandeh, Hamid Omrani Rekavandi. “Evolution of the Sasanian defences of the Gorgan Plain”
Eberhard W. Sauer, Jebrael Nokandeh, Hamid Omrani Rekavandi. “Evolution of the Sasanian defences of the Gorgan Plain”, Antiquité Tardive 30, 2022, p. 103–118.
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1The outcomes of over a decade of joint archaeological research of the ICHHTO (Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts & Tourism Organization) and Edinburg and Durham universities directed by Eberhard W. Sauer and his colleagues Jebrael Nokandeh and Hamid Omrani Rekavandi on the Gorgan Plain shows that no other area of the ancient world boasts such a high concentration of military fortifications and infrastructures as this region. In this part of the Sasanian Empire, the longest linear barrier of the Late Antiquity consists of a wall, over 170 km long and 2 m wide (not counting the earth bank behind), with over 30 forts at intervals of between 0.5 and 10 km.
2In this article, the authors discuss the evolution of military infrastructure on the Gorgan Plain from the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century CE to their abandonment in the first half of the 7th century CE. They suggested that this massive Sasanian investment in the fortification system may have been the result of increasing hostile pressure in the north and northeast of the empire from the end of the 4th century.
3The authors argue that the construction of Sasanian fortifications in the Gorgan region reached its peak in the 5th century, but it was in the 6th century that the Gorgan Wall forts were perhaps most densely occupied (p. 106-113).
4The fortification system on the Gorgan Plain along the Gorgan Wall was maintained until the 7th century, although a number of fortifications in the hinterland were probably abandoned before then, and there is as yet no evidence of new installations being built in the last decades of Sassanid rule. This massive Sasanian investment not only protected the Gorgan Plain but also formed the backbone of the Sassanid defenses, vital for protecting the heart of the empire. It also enabled the empire to launch military operations on other frontiers (p. 106-113).
5At least parts of the Gorgan Wall were maintained into the first half of the 7th century, and large storage pits in Fort 4 remained in use until this time. There is no evidence to prove the exact date of abandonment of the Gorgan-Wall forts, or if they were evacuated simultaneously or successively.
6It seems likely that at least some forts on all sections of the wall remained partially or fully occupied until the last decades of the Sasanian rule, as the wall would have served no purpose unless there were guardians on duty on all sections.
7They suggest that “The heavy investment in the Gorgan Plain probably served a number of purposes: I– To protect the prosperous lands to the south of the wall, which in turn produced the food that enabled the empire to station a sizeable garrison of soldiers here plus large field armies whenever required; II– To prevent enemies from crossing the Alborz and from reaching the empire’s heartlands. III– To make it difficult or impossible to make permanent inroads” (p. 116).
8The fortifications on the Gorgan Plain were a pivotal part of a much more extensive fortification belt that extended much further to the east and west – the backbone of Sasanian defenses that kept the north as well as the interior secure in the 5th, 6th and early 7th centuries (p. 116).
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Parsa Ghasemi, « Eberhard W. Sauer, Jebrael Nokandeh, Hamid Omrani Rekavandi. “Evolution of the Sasanian defences of the Gorgan Plain” », Abstracta Iranica [En ligne], Volume 45 | 2023, document 9, mis en ligne le 30 mai 2023, consulté le 18 juin 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/abstractairanica/56265 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/abstractairanica.56265
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