In the Viking Age start there is a sizable Zoroastrian Kingdom of Karen on the Eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. Is this real? What do we know about them? If there is anything I could really about them, I would be interested.
Historicity of Karen
- Thread starter Lord Hoosier
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Karen
The extent of whatever they held doesn't seem to be known and I'm not sure how much in general is known about them, just that they existed and declared independence, retaining their sovereignty in Eastern Persia (or East of Persia?) until the 11th century.
They're stronger than they were historically I assume because Paradox wanted to have playable Zoroastrians with a viable starting position to represent their continued existence in 867
The extent of whatever they held doesn't seem to be known and I'm not sure how much in general is known about them, just that they existed and declared independence, retaining their sovereignty in Eastern Persia (or East of Persia?) until the 11th century.
They're stronger than they were historically I assume because Paradox wanted to have playable Zoroastrians with a viable starting position to represent their continued existence in 867
According to surviving documents, the Karen/Qarinvand dynasty being a major player in 867 is very sketchy. "The Minor Dynasties of Northern Iran" chapter in The Cambridge History of Iran Vol. 4 has some relevant info, which I'll quote below:
"Tabaristan now came under Tahirid rule for over two decades. Quhyar, who had been promised by the victors possession of the kingdom of Vindadhhurmuzd, was killed by his brother's Dailamite slave guard, and it has been generally assumed that the Qarinvand dynasty came to an end at this time. This assumption is probably wrong. In events of the year 250/864 an Ispahbad of Lafur, Baduspan b. Gurdzad, is mentioned. He and his descendants through three generations are occasionally referred to until 318/930 as rulers of Lafur, Vinda-Umidkuh and Vindadhhurmuzkuh. One of them is designated in a contemporary source as a Qarinid ("Ibn Qarin"). After 318/930 the dynasty apparently declined to insignificance and is not mentioned for over a century. But towards the end of the 5th/nth century Ibn Isfandiyar again mentions amirs of Lafur and expressly calls them Qarinvand. It is thus evident that Baduspan b. Gurdzad also must be a Qarinid, though his exact relationship to Mazyar is unknown.
The Bavandid Qarin b. Shahriyar, who also had aided the Tahirid conquest, in reward for his services was restored to the rule of the Sharvin mountains. In 227/842 he accepted Islam." (pp. 205-206)
TL;DR, there are recorded figures in Daylam who are referred to as "Sons of Qarin," and if we assume that these were Karen/Qarinvand folks, they retained some land between the late 9th and early 10th centuries.
Needless to say, the Karen/Qarinvand dynasty controlling such large swaths of land in 867 is pure fantasy.
"Tabaristan now came under Tahirid rule for over two decades. Quhyar, who had been promised by the victors possession of the kingdom of Vindadhhurmuzd, was killed by his brother's Dailamite slave guard, and it has been generally assumed that the Qarinvand dynasty came to an end at this time. This assumption is probably wrong. In events of the year 250/864 an Ispahbad of Lafur, Baduspan b. Gurdzad, is mentioned. He and his descendants through three generations are occasionally referred to until 318/930 as rulers of Lafur, Vinda-Umidkuh and Vindadhhurmuzkuh. One of them is designated in a contemporary source as a Qarinid ("Ibn Qarin"). After 318/930 the dynasty apparently declined to insignificance and is not mentioned for over a century. But towards the end of the 5th/nth century Ibn Isfandiyar again mentions amirs of Lafur and expressly calls them Qarinvand. It is thus evident that Baduspan b. Gurdzad also must be a Qarinid, though his exact relationship to Mazyar is unknown.
The Bavandid Qarin b. Shahriyar, who also had aided the Tahirid conquest, in reward for his services was restored to the rule of the Sharvin mountains. In 227/842 he accepted Islam." (pp. 205-206)
TL;DR, there are recorded figures in Daylam who are referred to as "Sons of Qarin," and if we assume that these were Karen/Qarinvand folks, they retained some land between the late 9th and early 10th centuries.
Needless to say, the Karen/Qarinvand dynasty controlling such large swaths of land in 867 is pure fantasy.
i think tuat kingdom is oftentimes used as synonym for monarchy. maybe it was kingdom IRL so he referd to it this way because of it.