Priestly Lineage of the Sasanids

Reviewing the narration of Muhammad ibn Jarir Tabari (died: 310 AH) on Sāsān, the ancestor of the Sasanians and his connection with the fire temple of the goddess Anāhitā in Pars Istakhr and comparing this report with the Zoroastrian legal knowledge of the Sasanian period, Pedram Jam in a new study titled "Were Sasanians of Priestly Lineage?" concludes that Sāsān was “the Lord of Fire” and did not have a religious position in this temple. He also compares the Agathias’ report, a Byzantine historian, on the lineage and family background of Ardašīr son of Bābak (224-240 AD), the founder of the Sasanian Empire, with other historical sources and believes that Agathias' account has nothing to do with the priestly lineage of Ardašīr and his family. Thus, Jam assumes the view of Iranian and non-Iranian scholars on the priestly descent of the Sasanians and that according to Tabari, they considered Sāsān as a "mobed", " hērbed " or "guardian of the fire temple of Anāhitā" in Istkhar, Pars or that according to Agathias, they regarded Ardašīr as a clergy man, to be misinterpretations of the Tabari’s and Agathias’ narrations and he considers the ancestors of Ardašīr as local aristocrats of Pars province. Nevertheless, I believe that Jam's perceptions and conclusions are incorrect and Sasanians were indeed of priestly lineage. Analyzing the reports of Tabari and Agathias and also the views of some Iranian and non-Iranian scholars about the Sasanian descent and the identity and the status of Sāsān and Bābak and their connection with the Anāhitā fire temple in Istakhr, Pars, this study criticizes the recent view and approach of Jam on the aristocratic origin of Sasanians and non-priestly lineage of them.