ARAMAEANSdicated by the proximity of towns and villages such as Atesh Gah
(N.P., "place of fire"), presumably settled by Magian Persians five
farCisikh (N.P.) east of Badhibin; Tib, which was inhabited by Ara-
maeans, eighteen farCisikh east of Badhibin; and Qaryat A'rab, a vil-
lage of settled Arab bedouin, twenty-two or twenty-three farCisikh west
of Badhibin.lO However, such settlers were subject to strong Aramai-
cizing influences and tended to adopt Aramaic speech once they had
been settled for any length of time.
On the other hand, Aramaeans who rose to positions of authority
tended to become Persianized, especially if service extended over sev-
eral generations. The best example in late Sasanian Iraq is the family
of Yazdin, of Syrian origin, which became assimilated with the Persian
aristocracy. Yazdin himself served as finance minister for the Quarter
of the West under Khusraw Parviz, possessed wide lands near Kirkuk
and in Margha, and, like the landed Christian Persian aristocrats who
were his contemporaries, extended his patronage to the Nestorians
and built churches and monasteries.!1 His son, Sham~a, in retribution
for his father's dismissal, is said to have been responsible for the actual
killing of Khusraw Parviz in prison,12 and for persuading Shiroe (Qu-
badh Il) to kill the royal princes.^13 Sham~a was eventually punished
by Shahrbaraz, who crucified him at the door of the church of Beth
Narqos in Margha.^14 The family of Yazdin survived the conquest,
however, and maintained both its aristocratic status and its connection
with the Nestorian Church. In 646/7 his descendents were in charge
of the burial of the catholicos IshO'yahbh Il.J5
It is more natural to find Aramaean notables at the local level, away
from the centers of power, and although most of the dahCiqtn appear
to have been of Persian origin, Aramaeans may be found among them.
The most interesting is the family of Saluba ibn Nistuna, the lord (Ar.
~Ci/:Jib) of Quss Natif and of most of the land between the two branches
10 Ibn Rustah, A'liiq, pp. 187-88; Yaqiit, Buldiin, H, 566. One farsakh is ca. 6
kilometers.
11 Thomas of Margha, Governors, H, 81; Christensen, Sassanides, p. 451; Guidi,
Chronica Minora I, I, 23; H, 21; Noldeke, "Guidi," p. 22; idem, Perser und Araber,
p. 384; Stratos, Byzantium, pp. 214, 376. The possessions in Margha were at Beth
Narqos and Yazdinabadh.
12 Thomas of Margha, Governors, H, 81: Guidi, Chronica Minora I, I, 28-29; H,
24-25; Noldeke, "Guidi," pp. 29-30; Scher, "Histoire nestorienne," H(2), 551.
13 Noldeke, Perser und Araber, p. 382; Scher, "Histoire nestorienne," H(2), 552;
Tabari:, Ta'rtkh, I, 1060-61.
14 Guidi, Chronica Minora I, I, 29; H, 25; Noldeke, "Guidi," p. 31.
15 Scher, "Histoire nestorienne," H(2), 625.