Symbols of the Clan of Qāren and the Rank of Bidaxš in Sassanian Times

Sassanian artists were realistic in creating memorial artworks, but their artistic style did not necessarily result in exact depiction of figures with accurate facial representations. In contrast, such realism manifests itself only through determined appearances and unchangeable artistic conventions. Doing so, identifying people is only possible by recognizing their distinct crowns, headbands, attire, specific signs, position in queues, their posture and overall representation in the figure. Based on semiological analyses, in this paper, it has been argued that Pāpak, a member of the famous clan of Qāren was “Bidaxš” and that vice-regent of Bahram II, Bahram III, Nerseh and Hormizd II. Contrary to some scholars’ argument concerning the resemblance between the symbols of Bidaxš and those of the Qāren clan, a close comparison shows a significant dissimilarity between the two. While the symbol of the clan of Qāren is a blossoming bud on a horizontal line, the symbol of Bidaxš is a bud surrounded by two leaves. That is not portrayed on a horizontal line. The relief of Hormizd II at Naqsh-e Rustam is perhaps the best example in this case, which clearly demonstrates the difference between the two symbols. At Naqsh-e Rustam, both symbols are depicted on the helmet of Hormizd II’s defeated enemy. The nobility of “Bidaxš Pāpak,” therefore, refutes the stereotype idea among some scholars who argue that the rank of Bidaxš was only restricted to the royal family.