House of Suren or Surenas[1] [2] (Parthian: Surēn, Middle Persian:) is one of two Parthian noble families explicitly mentioned by name in sources dateable to the Arsacid period.[3]
The head of Suren family had the privilege to crown the first Parthian king in the 3rd century BC, which founded a tradition that was continued by his descendants.[4] Following the 3rd century AD defeat of the Arsacids and the subsequent rise of the Sassanids, the Surenas then switched sides and began to serve the Sassanids,[5] [6] at whose court they were identified as one of the so-called "Parthian clans." The last attested scion of the family was a military commander active in northern China during the 9th century.[7]
It is probable that the Surenas were landowners in Sakastan, that is, in the region between Arachosia and Drangiana in present-day southeast Iran and Southern Afghanistan. The Surenas appear to have governed Sistan (which derives its name from 'Sakastan' and was once a much larger region than the present day province) as their personal fiefdom.
"Ernst Herzfeld maintained that the dynasty of [the [[Indo-Parthian]] emperor] Gondophares represented the House of Suren."[8] Other notable members of the family include the 1st century BC cavalry commander Surena, Gregory the Illuminator,[9] [10] [11] and Chihor-Vishnasp, a 6th-century AD governor of Armenia who attempted to establish Zoroastrianism in that country.[12]
Mehr Narseh, the minister of four Sasanian kings, was from the House of Suren, as was Mahbod, who was ambassador during the reigns of Khosrow I and Hormizd IV .