Azatan

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4831 habitants
Azatan (formerly, Karakilisa, Karakhs, and Pokr Karakilisa) is a town in the Shirak Province of Armenia.
Depiction (bottom) of the ideal Sassanid Clibanarii cavalry, or Azat, equipment in the monumental reliefs at Taq-e Bostan.

The name derives from the Middle Persian word Azatan - meaning "freedmen" or "those who are free" - which denotes a knightly caste of Sassanid Persia. This class of nobility was first formed in Parthian times, and was carried over into the Sassanid state to form the majority of the lower-aristocracy and low-administrators of the Empire. The Azatan accompanied the king in the field of battle and displayed great courage and discipline. They are the forerunners and founders of the "Mamluks" and "Knights" of later Arab and Medieval European history, respectively.