est of the Empire against the Arab
invasion. Here the Arsacide princes had permitted the local tribes to
rule, for these tribes were probably from the first almost independent
and only acknowledged their paramountcy and paid tribute. They had the
title of Spadhapati or in modern language _Ispehbed_ which was turned
into the Arabic _Isfehbed_. One of them, Gushnasp Shah, is named as a
contemporary of Ardashir I. It was only so late as in the time of Kawadh
that this king succeeded in establishing a Sasanian prince, his son
Keyus, as Shah of Tabaristan in 530. At the death of his father he
contested the throne with Khusrow I, and was therefore slain by the
latter in 537. His son Shapur remained in Persia, and a prince of the
Arsacide house of Qaren, named Zarmihr, son of Sokhra was appointed
governor. The administration of Rae, Derbend and a portion of Armenia
was before now entrusted to Jamasp, a son of Peroz, who was succeeded by
his son Narsi, while another son, Behvat, father of Surkhab became the
ancestor of the kings of Shirvan who were known as Shirvan Shahs.
Narsi's son was Peroz, the father of Farrukhan Gilanshah, whose capital
accordingly was Gilan and who in 643 concluded a peace with the Arabs.

Gil Gaubareh, the son of this prince, united, with the consent of
Yezgird the III, who could not prevent him, Gilan with Tabaristan, where
the dynasty of Zarmihr had come to an end. It cannot be doubted that
Sasanian princes became the governors of these territories. The sons of
Gaubareh were Daboe (660-676) and Patospan, in Pahlavi Patkospan or
governor, in modern Persian Baduspan. Daboe was succeeded by his brother
Khurshed (676-709). We possess coins struck by him in the years 706-709.
Then came Daboe's son Ferkhan more correctly Farrukhan, the Great
(709-722); he defeated several attempts on the part of the Moslems to
penetrate the country. Our authorities are Tabari (vol. 2 p. 1321);
Kitaboloyun (22-8); Zahireddin (45, 10.273, 14); Mordtmann (ZDMG 19,
494). His son Dad-Burzmihr died according to Zahireddin in 748, still
his son Khurshed II already struck in 734 his first coin. He was
defeated by the Arabs and took poison which he used to carry in his
signet ring in 759.

The Masmoghan or the "priest-prince," the successor of Zarathustrotema
of Ragha or modern Rai, who had his seat in the city of Demawend or the
Castle of Ustunavend, and who was the son-in-law of the Ispehbed, was
defeated and the daughters of bot