Education in Sassanide State 224-651 A.D

Abstract

There are many  concrete evidences on education in Sassanide  times particularly supported  from Avesta , Zoarest speeches and clergymen's instructions .In Sassanian period education  is confined mainly to education of princes, the nobility and  the clergy. Most peasants were illiterate, but most urban merchants were probably acquainted at least with writing and calculation. The education in Sassanian period can be classified into two stages :

 A.

Education commenced from home :

The required education for a child of a noble or an upper-class family would begin attending school at the “proper age,” between five and seven years while children of lower class , their parents were their teachers. 

 B.

Education outside home

In this stage the apprentice  would have completed general training and religious studies by the age of fifteen years . Inside sassanian palace  temple ( church ) there was a kind of  school where  The princes were taught  in the palace  how to write. Furthermore , they learned the Pahlavi translation of the Avesta .Then after graduation from this educational stage they were taught many arts such as  literature , history , rhetorics and training  in horsemanship, archery, hunting , music and astronomy were strongly part of educational curriculum . Thus Sassanians  gave great importance to both aspects of education : physical education and thought education   

The purpose of education in Sassanide period had many targets  including nation-_building and State -_building to serve their religion , state and people.

Keywords: education , Zoarestrian , clergymen , nation-_building