Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from marz "border, boundary" and the suffix -pān "guardian"; Modern Persian: Marzbān) were a class of margraves, warden of the marches, and by extension military commanders, in charge of border provinces of the Parthian Empire (247 BC–224 AD) and mostly Sasanian Empire (224–651 AD) of Iran. Etymology The Persian word marz is derived from Avestan marəza "frontier, border"; pān/pāvan is cognate with Avestan and Old Persian pat "protector". The word was borrowed from New Persian into Arabic as marzubān (plural marāziba). "Al-Marzubani" () has been used as a nisba (family title) for some Iranian families whose ancestor was a marzbān. The prominent Islamic scholar Abu Hanifa, whose formal name is given in Islamic sources as Nu'man ibn Thabit ibn Zuta ibn Marzubān (), was descended from the marzbāns of Kabul, where his father came from. The Bavand (651–1349 AD) and Sallarid (919–1062 AD) dynasty rulers also used marzubān in their name. The word marzban was borrowed into Armenian as marzpan (մարզպան) and into Georgian as marzapani (მარზაპანი). History The ranks tradition (primarily of vāspuhrān and āzādān) can be traced to the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC), but due to lack of sources even in the Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) the existence of a proper classification of ranks is unknown, in comparison to the Sasanian royal inscriptions from the 3rd century AD when the aristocracy was divided into four or five ranks; šahrdārān (kings, landholders), vāspuhrān (princes; the seven great noble families), wuzurgān (magnates; "great ones"), lower nobility āzādān (feudal nobles; freemen), and kadag-xwadāy (householders). The Sasanian military organization was more sophisticated than the inherited Parthian system. The caste system wasn't rigid as in India, but the ruling officiers were mostly from wuzurgān caste. There's a possibility that the Late Sasanian marzbānān also originated from the āzādān, who mostly were lords of villages (dihqānān), supplied the cavalry with young riders (asbārān), or were bodyguards and security forces with titles bandagān, ayyārān or jānbāzān, all signifying association with the king. The title marzbān can be dated to the Parthian Empire, where in the frontier areas such as Nisa (1st century BC) are found titles mrzwpn (marzban), probably an officier in charge of the frontier troops, and dyzpty, an officier in charge of a fort. Some scholars consider that marzbāns existed during the reign of Darius I (550–486 BC) of the Achaemenid Empire.