Sistan 600–1500

Abstract

Sistan is a region of eastern Iran bounded to the north by Khurasan and to the south by Baluchistan. Its eastern frontier borders Afghanistan. The origin of the name “Sakastan” reflects the occupation of this land by Indo‐European Scythian populations, the Saka, from the end of the first millennium bce . A border zone, where living conditions were difficult, Sistan recovered its earlier importance under the Saffarids, moving from being a peripheral and “unimportant” region to one which was the center of a vast emirate that competed with the Abbasids and Tahirids. The Tarikh‐e Sistan is the main historical source for this region, presenting its history from a local perspective.