Balasagan

Map of the eastern part of Transcaucasia under the Sasanian Empire

Balāsagān (an Iranian toponym meaning "country of Balas"; Armenian: Bałasakan, the inhabitants known as Bałasičkʻ, Arabic: Balāsajān/Balāšajān), also known as Bazgan, was a region located in the area of the Kura and Aras rivers, adjacent to the Caspian Sea. To the south, it bordered Atropatene/Adurbadagan and Gilan.[1][2] It roughly corresponded to the Armenian province of Paytakaran, albeit extending farther into the north.[3] It has been suggested that under the Sasanians the region extended as far as the stronghold of Derbent, albeit this remains disputed.[1][2] The heartland of Balasagan was the Dasht i-Bałasakan ("Balasagan plain") which corresponds to the Mughan plain.[1] During the late Sasanian era, Balasagan was included in the northern quadrant (kust) of Adurbadagan.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Chaumont & Bosworth 1988, pp. 580–582.
  2. ^ a b Brunner 1983, p. 765.
  3. ^ Hewsen 2001, p. 102.
  4. ^ Hewsen 2001, p. 86.