Sakastan

Sakastan (also known as Sagistan, Seyansih, Segistan, Sistan, and Sijistan), was a Sasanian province in Late Antiquity, that lay within the kust of Nemroz. The province bordered Kirman in the west, Spahan in the north west, Kushanshahr in the north east, and Turan in the south east. The governor of the province held the title of marzban. The governor also held the title of "Sakanshah" (king of the Saka) until the title was abolished in ca. 459/60.

Etymology

The word "Sakastan" means "the land of the Saka", a Scythian group which from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century migrated to the Iranian Plateau and India, where they carved a kingdom known as the Indo-Scythian Kingdom. In the Bundahishn, a Zoroastrian scripture written in Pahlavi, the province is written as "Seyansih". After the Arab conquest of Iran, the province became known as "Sijistan" and later as "Sistan", which still remains a province to this day in Iran (Sistan and Baluchestan Province).

History