Akhshunwar
Akhshunwar (Sogdian: əxšōnδār, Middle Persian: Xašnawāz) was a ruling title used by the Hephthalite kings in the 5th and 6th-centuries.[1][2]
The title is of Eastern Iranian origin; according W.B. Henning, its original form was ʾxšʾwndʾr (axšōndār), meaning "king", "ruler." G. Widengren, however, suggests that the original form was the Sogdian ʾxšʾwnwʾr, "power bearer."[3] In the New Persian epic Shahnameh ("The Book of Kings") of the medieval Persian poet Ferdowsi, it was transformed into Khushnawaz (meaning "the beautiful player, musician"), and was used as a name instead.[2][3] Some scholars support the theory that the name Kidarite king Kunkhas shared the same origin as Akhshunwar, which has in turn led to the suggestion that Akhshunwar was initially a title used by Kidarites, later to be adopted by Hephthalites when they supplanted them.[3][4]
References
- ^ Rezakhani 2017, pp. 126–127, 137.
- ^ a b Brunner 1984, pp. 729–730.
- ^ a b c EIr. 2018.
- ^ Rezakhani 2017, p. 137.
Sources
- Brunner, C. J. (1984). "Aḵšonvār". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. I, Fasc. 7. New York. pp. 729–730.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - EIr. (2018). "Ḵušnawār/Ḵušnawāz". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Rezakhani, Khodadad (2017). ReOrienting the Sasanians: East Iran in Late Antiquity. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 1–256. ISBN 9781474400305.
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