Hazārbed (Middle Persian: ḥčʾlpt, or hazarbadh, literally "the commander of thousand"), also known as hazaruft/hazaraft (Middle Persian: hz’lwpt; possibly the older/original form),[1] was a Sasanian office which initially functioned as the commander of the royal guard, but later became increasingly equal to that of the wuzurg framadar (minister).
The title is first attested in the Achaemenid Empire in its Old Persian form, hazāra-pati (from *hazāra- "thousand" and *pati- "chief"),[1] the commanding officer of the Immortals.
The hazarbed controlled units of guards which were enlisted from royal families of the Sasanian Empire.
One of the units that the hazarbed controlled was the pushtigban bodyguard, while other times it would be the palace guards (darigan),[2] or in some cases other units, such as the 4,000 Daylamite guard which served the last great Sasanian king, Khosrow II (r. 590–628).
[1] Later on, the office became increasingly political and equal to that of the wuzurg framadar (minister).