Born: Unknown (600s CE), Iran (assumed)
Died: 651 (possibly)
Country most active: Iran
Also known as: NA
This biography was originally published in the World History Encyclopedia and was written by Joshua J. Mark. It is shared in line with the Encyclopedia’s policies under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Apranik was the commander of the Sassanian army against the invading Arab-Muslim forces during the reign of Yazdegerd III (632-651 CE). The Arab Muslims had been making steady encroachments into Persia throughout the 7th century CE and, unlike other threats to the empire, employed innovative tactics like hit-and-run raids, the widespread use of camel-mounted cavalry (which did better on loose, sandy terrain), and were also able to field a much larger army than the Sassanians. Apranik commanded the last Sassanian forces to meet the Arabs in battle and was finally defeated. Afterwards, she continued the struggle, fighting a guerilla war until she was killed in battle.