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(coll., sing. Mad̲j̲ūsī ), originally an ancient Iranian priestly caste (OP magus̲h̲ , Akk. magus̲h̲u , Syriac mgōs̲h̲ā , Greek μάϒος) but used in Arabic primarily for Zoroastrians. This caste was closely identified with the ruling élite in Sāsānid Iran, where their faith was the official religion of the state and where they were organised in a social and religious hierarchy. The priests, called mōbad , hirbad , dastūr , or rat depending on context and function, had ritual, judicial and educational responsibilities. The priestly hierarchy with the mōbadān mōbad …

, a pre-Islamic Persian dynasty that ruled a large part of western Asia from A.D. 224 until 651. In Arabic and modern usage, the dynastic name is derived from Sāsān, who is mentioned as a “lord” in the inscription of S̲h̲āpūr I [ q.v.] on the Kaʿba of Zoroaster (SKZ). The inscription of Narseh at Paikuli also refers to the royal clan of Sāsānagān. Theophoric names in the Parthian period suggest that Sāsān may have been a minor deity or perhaps a deified ancestor. According to the late Sāsānid Kārnāmag , Sāsān was the son-in-law of Pāpak, who gave him his daughte…

, Arabised form Marzubān , “warden of the march”, “markgrave”, from Av. marəza and M. Parth. mrz “frontier”, plus pat “protector”. The MP form marzpān suggests a north Iranian origin. It began to be used as the title of a military governor of a frontier province in the Sāsānid empire in the 4th or 5th centuries A.D. when marz , marzpan , and marzpanutʿin …

, the region along the lower Tigris River in southeastern al-ʿIrāḳ. This region is called Μεσήνη by Strabo, Mēs̲h̲an in the Babylonian Talmud, Mays̲h̲an in Syriac. Mēs̲h̲ān in Middle Persian, Mēs̲h̲un in Armenian, Maysān in Arabic, and T’iao-tche (Chaldaea) in the Han sources. The earliest references from the first century A.D. indicate that Μεσήνη was an ethnic toponym, the land of the people called Μεσηνός who lived along the Arabian side of the coast at the head of the Persian Gulf (Μαισανιτη…

[English edition] المجوس (مفرده مجوسي)، يدلّ في الأصل على طبقة كَهَنوتيّة إيرانيّة قديمة (بالفارسية القديمة ماجوش magush، بالأكاديّة magushu، بالسريانيّة magōshā، بالإغريقيّة μάγος) لكنّه يستعمل في العربيّة ليدلّ في المقام الأوّل على الزرادشتيّين. هذه الطبقة الكهنوتيّة تتطابق تطابقًا تامّا مع النخبة الحاكمة في إيران الساساني حيث كانت عقيدتها هي دين الدولة الرسمي وحيث انتظمت وفق تراتبيّة اجتماعيّة ودينيّة. لقد كان للكهنة الذين لُقّبوا « موبذ»، و« هربذ»، و« دستور»، و« رايث» تبعًا لاختلاف الوضعيّة والوظيفة مهامُّ شعائريّة وقضائيّة وتربويّة. وكانت التراتبيّة الكهنوتيّ…