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{{Short description|Tang dynasty general}}
[[File:Ambassador from Persia (波斯國), visiting the court of the Tang Dynasty. The Gathering of Kings (王会图) circa 650 CE.jpg|thumb|upright|Ambassador from Persia (波斯國), visiting the court of the [[Tang dynasty]]. ''[[The Gathering of Kings]]'' (王会图), circa 650 CE]]
'''Narsieh''' ({{langx|pal|𐭭𐭥𐭮𐭧𐭩}} ''Narseh''; {{zh|t=泥涅師|s=泥涅师|p=Nìnièshī}}) was a Persian general who fled to the [[Tang dynasty]] with his father, [[Peroz III]], son of [[Yazdegerd III]], the last [[Sasanian dynasty|Sasanian emperor of Persia]], after the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]].<ref name="iranica">{{cite web |last=Compareti |first=Matteo |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/china-xv-the-last-sasanians-in-china |title=Chinese-Iranian Relations xv. The Last Sasanians in China |website=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |date=20 July 2009 |access-date=1 July 2017}}</ref>

He was escorted back to Persia with a Chinese army led by [[Pei Xingjian]] in 679, in order to restore him to the Sasanian throne. Pei's primary objective, however, was to vanquish an insurgency led by Khan claimant [[Ashina Duzhi]] of a Tang protectorate, the [[Western Turkic Khaganate]]; the army stopped in [[Tokharistan]] after Pei Xingjian successfully defeated the Turks. Concerned by the long route to Persia, Pei lost his interest in reinstalling Narsieh as the Persian king and left him in the [[Anxi Protectorate]] alone,<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Book of Tang. Vol.221 |url=https://zh.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%E6%96%B0%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7221%E4%B8%8B&oldid=2438395 |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=zh.wikisource.org |language=zh}}</ref> although Narsieh was able to keep his many servants and a high quality of life. Minor Turkic chieftains in the region then pledged their loyalty to the Tang dynasty due to the defeat of Ashina. The overall result of Pei's expedition was a success for the Tang. Upon returning to China, Pei was appointed the minister of rituals and Great General of the Right Flank Guards.

Narsieh then spent the next twenty years fighting the Arabs in [[Bactria|Tokharistan]] until he returned to the Tang capital of [[Chang'an]] in 707, where he lived out the remainder of his life before dying from disease<ref name="iranica"/><ref name="XZ">{{cite journal |last1=Zhou |first1=Xiuqin (University of Pennsylvania) |date=2009 |title=Zhaoling: The Mausoleum of Emperor Tang Taizong |url=http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp187_taizong_emperor.pdf |journal=Sino-Platonic Papers |issue=187 |pages=155–156}}</ref> at some point after 708/709.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last=Afkande |first=Ehsan |date=2014 |title=The Last Sasanians in Eastern Iran and China |url=https://www.academia.edu/12375505 |journal=Anabasis. Studia Classica et Orientalia. |pages=139–155 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

== Heirs ==
Narsieh was followed as the head of the Sasanian dynasty by his son, who is recorded in Chinese sources under the name [[Bó Qiāng Huó]]; his Persian name may have been ''Pušang''.<ref name=":0" /> Bó Qiāng Huó was active against the Arabs in Tokharistan in 723 and was recognized as "king of Persia" in Chinese sources.<ref name=":0" /> He was followed by another Sasanian prince, recorded as [[Mù Shānuò]], who was active until at least 731.<ref name=":0" />

Narsieh's uncle, [[Bahram VII|Bahram]], died in 710, and Bahram's son, Khosrow, was mentioned fighting alongside Sogdians and Turks against the Arabs at the [[siege of Kamarja]] in 729 in a futile attempt to restore Sasanian rule.<ref name="iranica" />

==See also==
*[[Iranians in China]]

==References==
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{{s-bef
| before = [[Peroz III]]
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{{s-tul|title=[[Sasanian dynasty|Sasanian King]]|years=679–after 708/709|reason=[[Islamic conquest of Persia]]}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Bó Qiāng Huó]]
}}
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{{Sassanid Rulers}}
{{Notable foreigners who visited China}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sasanian princes]]
[[Category:Tang dynasty generals]]
[[Category:7th-century Iranian people]]


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