List of military ranks of imperial Iran

This list includes all military ranks of Iran from the beginning of the Achaemenid Empire to the end of Pahlavi Iran.

Military ranks in ancient Iran The Achaemenid Empire army (spāda) was organized on a decimal system, which was highly superior to its Greek rivals and had not been used in any Asian army until the Mongol era.

Commander-in-Chief of the army: : the general with full national authority : Commander of a ten-thousand-strong corps of the army. : Commander of a thousand-strong regiment. : Commander of a hundred-strong company. : Commander of a ten-strong squad.

The ancient Persian army was divided into controllable units under a single commander. These units were based on a Decimal system. For example, in the Achaemenid Empire army, the smallest unit consisted of 10 soldiers, called a Group ( "ten"), commanded by a Sergeant ( "daθapati"). Next was a 100-soldier unit called a Company (military unit) ( "hundred") led by a Captain (armed forces) ( "θatapati"). A 1,000-strong unit was called a Regiment () led by a Colonel ( "hazārapati"), and a 10,000-strong unit was a Division (military) () led by a major general ( "baivarapati"). The entire Achaemenid armed forces formed a Corps (), commanded by a lieutenant general ( "spādapati").

During the Parthian Empire, the armed forces were called , and the Commander-in-Chief was . In the Parthian army, a company was called , a regiment was , and a division was . Their commanders were , , and , respectively.Farrokh, Kaveh. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Oxford: Osprey, 2005. ISBN 1-84176-713-1. — pp. 6—7

During the Sasanian Empire, the Corps () was also organized based on the Decimal system,NIKONOROV, Valery. (2005), "K voprosu o Parfīanskom nasledii v Sasanidskom Irane: voennoe delo" [The issue of Parthian inheritance in Iran: warfare], in Tsentral ‘naia Aziia ot Akhemenidov do Timuridov: Arkheologiia, Istoriia, Etnologiia, Kul’tura [Central Asia from the Achaemenids to the Timurids: Archaeology, History, Ethnology, Culture], Valery NIKONOROV (ed.), Saint Petersburg: Oriental Department of the St. Petersburg State University, 141-182. and the commander was referred to as Lieutenant general (). A Squad was called "radag" () and a Company was called "tahm" (), with its commander being called (). Five-hundred-strong Battalion () units were led by a wašt-sālār (). A 1,000-strong Derafsh () was led by a drafš-sālār (), and a 5,000-strong Division called Gond () and was led by a gund-sālār ().Kaveh Farrokh, Gholamreza Karamian, Katarzyna Maksymiuk. A Synopsis of Sasanian Military Organization and Combat Units, Siedlce-Tehran 2018. — ISBN 978-83-62447-22-0 — c. 13

+ Comparison Army Units Number of troops Commander Achaemenid *daθa- 10 *daθapati- *θata- 100 *θatapati- *hazāra- 1,000 *hazārapati-*baivara- 10,000*baivarapati- *spāda- 60,000 *spādapati- or *kārana- Parthian "radag 10 *radagpān wast 10 wast-sālār drafš 1000 drafš-sālārgund 10,000gund-sālār spāδ 60,000 spāδpat or spāδbad Sasanian radag 10 *radagbān tahm 100 tahmdār wašt 500 wašt-sālār drafš 1,000 drafš-sālārgund 5,000gund-sālār spāh 10,000 spāhbed artēštārān An army artēštārān-sālār

Military ranks in the Safavid, Afsharid, Zand, and early Qajar eras

The names of these ranks are primarily derived from the Azerbaijani language, and there was not much change in them until the Qajar era. These ranks were often defined based on the number of subordinates under each commander.Encyclopaedia Iranica, "ARMY i. Pre-Islamic Iran"

Military ranks of Iran during the Qajar era Military ranks of Iran during the Pahlavi era were as follows:

+ Military ranks of Qajar era Modern title Qajar era titleArteshBod Noyan A'zamSepahBodAmir Noyan SarLashgar Amir Toman SarTeep MeerPanjSarHangSarhang SarHang II Nayeb Sarhang SarGord Yaavar SarWaan Sultan SotWaan I Nayeb Avval SotWaan II Nayeb Dovvom Ostowaar I Moeen Nayeb I Ostowaar II Moeen Nayeb II SarGoroohBaan Vakil Avval GoroohBaan I Vakil Raast GoroohBaan II Vakil Chap SarJookheh SarJooqeh Soldier I Taabeen Avval Soldier II Taabeen Dovvom Soldier Taabeen

After the reforms initiated by Brigadier General Claude Matthieu, Count Gardane in the Iranian military, transformations in this area also took place. At that time, ranks or degrees of swordsmen were mentioned, each having three levels.

"Noyan" or "Amir Noyan": This rank was also referred to as commander-in-chief or general. The first-level Noyan was called "Noyan-e A'zam." If considered a rank above "Amir Toman", it would be equivalent to Lieutenant general in modern armies; however, in ancient writings, Noyan was considered the commander of a hundred thousand men, making it equivalent to "ArteshBod" (Colonel general). Although the entire Iranian army on that time, did not have this many soldiers, it rendered the "Amir Noyan" as a ceremonial rank.

"Amir Toman": The term "Toman" in Mongolian language means ten thousand, and the "Amir Toman" was regarded as the commander of ten thousand men.

"SarTeep" "SarHang" "Yaavar" "Sultan" "Nayeb" "BeigZadeh"

Following these, the following ranks are listed that do not include three levels: "VakilBaashi" "Vakil" "SarJooqeh"

Below these ranks is "Taabeen," which has two levels: "Taabeen I" "Taabeen II"

During the tenure of Mirza Aqa Khan Nuri, a rank called "Amir Panjeh" or "MeerPanj", lower than "Amir Toman" and higher than "SarTeep", was introduced with three levels. Later, it was abolished, and "MeerPanj" became equivalent to "First-class SarTeep".

In the late Qajar era, further modifications were made to the ranks.

Ranks in the "State Gendarmerie of Iran" (called "Amniyeh") were largely taken from French language, e.g., "General," "Colonel," "Major," "Captain," "Lieutenant," "Aspirant," "Gendarme," etc.Nafisi, Saeed, Social and Political History of Iran during the Qajar Era, Foundation Publishing, 2nd edition, p. 261,

The ranks of the police force The ranks of the police force (called Shahrbani or Nazmiyeh) from 1936 to around 1946, during the Pahlavi era, were as follows:Ahmadi, Ali-Hossein, History of the Army and Conscription in Iran (Zand Period) , Journal "Sarbaz", Vol. 33, No. 190, May 2012, pp. 32–33

Police rank Army equivalent Old name in NazmiyehSarPaasSarTeepSarTeep PaasYaar I Sarhang Sarhang Sarhang II Sarhang Nayeb Sarhang Yaavar Sargord Yaavar SarBahr Sarvan Sultan RasadBaan I Sotvan I Nayeb I RasadBaan II Sotvan II Nayeb II SarPaasBaan I GoroohBaan I VakilBaashi SarPaasBaan II GoroohBaan II Vakil Raast SarPaasBaan III GoroohBaan III Vakil Chap PaasBaan Sarbaz Aazhaan

List of military ranks of imperial Iran

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