text: Shahanshah

text: Sasanian Empire

text: Kavad I

text: Roman-Byzantine Empire

text: Roman–Persian Wars

text: Lazic War

text: Colchis

text: Abkhazia

text: Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591

text: Hormizd IV

text: Iranian culture

text: literature

text: his name

text: Caesar

text: history of Rome

text: Byzantines

text: chess

text: India

text: Kalilah and Dimnah

text: Ardestan

text: Achaemenids

text: Spahan

text: Xerxes

text: Kawus

text: Bawi

text: Parthia

text: House of Ispahbudhan

text: Zoroastrians

text: Mazdak

text: egalitarian

text: centralize

text: Magi

text: heretical

text: Justinian

text: Sasanian Empire

text: Adergoudounbades

text: Byzantine Empire

text: Justinian

text: Byzantine Empire

text: Eternal Peace

text: philosopher king

text: far east

text: central government

text: seven Parthian families

text: Suren

text: Karen

text: Ispahbudhan

text: Spandiyadh

text: Mihran

text: date palms

text: olive trees

text: feudal

text: Aswaran

text: spahbed

text: Eran-spahbed

text: Caucasus

text: Mesopotamia

text: Syria

text: Antioch

text: Belisarius

text: Ostrogoth

text: Arabia

text: Armenia

text: Arab

text: Al-Harith ibn Jabalah

text: Al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man

text: Lazica

text: Belisarius

text: Nisibis

text: Edessa

text: besieged the city

text: Lazica

text: Caucasus

text: Petra

text: Black Sea

text: Nabedes

text: walked into an ambush

text: King Gubazes

text: Izadgushasp

text: Constantinople

text: Fifty-Year Peace Treaty

text: Central Asia

text: Hephthalite

text: Turkic

text: Western Turkic Khaganate

text: battle of Gol-Zarriun

text: Khagan

text: Sinjibu

text: Faghanish

text: Chaghaniyan

text: Gurgan

text: Ctesiphon

text: Oxus

text: Silk Road

text: Hephthalites

text: Mihranid

text: Mihransitad

text: Central Asia

text: Hormizd IV

text: Encyclopædia Iranica

text: Ethiopia

text: Himyarites

text: Red Sea

text: Yemen

text: Abraha

text: Vahrez

text: Justin II

text: Chihor-Vishnasp

text: Dvin

text: Mamikonian family

text: Golon Mihran

text: Taron

text: Vardan III Mamikonian

text: Angl

text: Siunian

text: Paytakaran

text: Atropatene

text: Adarmahan

text: Syria

text: Mihranid

text: Izadgushasp

text: Fariburz

text: Bahram Chobin

text: Dara

text: Apamea

text: Tiberius

text: Sabir

text: Arab

text: Resaina

text: Constantia

text: Tamkhosrau

text: Martyropolis

text: Amida

text: Maurice

text: Hormizd IV

text: Arab nomads

text: Derbent

text: Weh Antiok Khusrau

text: Kirman

text: cultivation

text: qanat

text: Chronicle of Séert

text: Greek

text: Sanskrit

text: Syriac

text: Middle Persian

text: Platonic philosophy

text: Nöldeke

text: Iranians

text: bimaristan

text: chess

text: backgammon

text: vizier

text: Academy of Gondishapur

text: Gundeshapur

text: Middle Persian

text: Denkard

text: Shapur I

text: Avesta

text: Syriac

text: Islam

text: Jahiz

text: Patrologia Orientalis 7

text: Frye, Richard R. "The Reforms of Chosrow Anushirvan (Of the Immortal Soul)". "The History of Ancient Iran".

text: The Reforms of Khosrow Anushirvan

text: Menander Protector

text: "Fragments 6.1–6.3". Translated by R. C. Blockey, edited by Khodadad Rezakhani.

text: Taylor, Gail Marlow. "The Physicians of Jundishapur". "e-Sasanika". 2010.

text: Khosrau In Iran Science Island (In Persian)

categories: People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars,Khosrow I,Shahnameh characters,501 births,579 deaths,Abyssinian–Persian wars,6th-century Sasanian monarchs,People from Ardestan

paragraph: Khosrow I

paragraph: Khosrow I (known as Chosroes I and Kisrā in classical sources; 501–579, most commonly known in Persian as Anushiruwān (, "the immortal soul")); also known as Anushiruwan the Just (, "Anushiruwān-e Dādgar"), was the King of Kings (Shahanshah) of the Sasanian Empire from 531 to 579. He was the successor of his father Kavad I (488–531). Khosrow I was the twenty-second Sasanian Emperor of Persia, and one of its most celebrated emperors.

paragraph: He laid the foundations of many cities and opulent palaces, and oversaw the repair of trade roads as well as the building of numerous bridges and dams. His reign is furthermore marked by the numerous wars fought against the Sassanid's neighboring archrivals, the Roman-Byzantine Empire, as part of the already centuries-long lasting Roman–Persian Wars. The most important wars under his reign were the Lazic War which was fought over Colchis (western Georgia-Abkhazia) and the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591. During Khosrow's ambitious reign, art and science flourished in Persia and the Sasanian Empire reached its peak of glory and prosperity. His rule was preceded by his father's and succeeded by Hormizd IV. Khosrow Anushiruwan is one of the most popular emperors in Iranian culture and literature and, outside of Iran, his name became, like that of Caesar in the history of Rome, a designation of the Sasanian kings.

paragraph: He also introduced a rational system of taxation, based upon a survey of landed possessions, which his father had begun, and tried in every way to increase the welfare and the revenues of his empire. His army was in discipline decidedly superior to the Byzantines, and apparently was well paid. He was also interested in literature and philosophical discussions. Under his reign chess was introduced from India, and the famous book of "Kalilah and Dimnah" was translated. He thus became renowned as a wise king.

paragraph: Section::::Early life.

paragraph: Section::::Early life.:Birthplace and family.

paragraph: Khosrow I was born in Ardestan, an ancient town which was built by the Achaemenids, close to the major city of Spahan. He was the third son of Kavad I, and had three brothers named Xerxes, Zamasp and Kawus. Khosrow's mother was the sister of Bawi, making Khosrow I related to the Parthian House of Ispahbudhan.

paragraph: His father was involved with a group of Zoroastrians called the Mazdakites. The Mazdakites believed in an egalitarian society and many lower class peasants supported the Mazdakite revolution. Kavad, wanting to centralize power by taking power away from the great noble families, supported this movement. In 531, Kavad, while on his death-bed, appointed Khosrow as his successor.

paragraph: Section::::Early life.:War with the Mazdakites.

paragraph: However, upon Kavad's death, the Mazdakites gave their loyalty to Kavad's eldest son, Kawus, while the noble families and the Zoroastrian Magi gave their support to Khosrow I. Khosrow presented himself as an anti-Mazdakite supporter. He, much like his father, believed in a strong centralized government. Khosrow met his brother Kawus in war and defeated him as well as his Mazdakite followers. Subsequently, Mazdak, as well as a majority of his followers, were executed for his heretical beliefs and Khosrow took the Sasanian throne. At Khosrow's succession, Byzantium and Sasanian Persia were in open conflict with each other. Neither empire was able to get an advantage of the other, causing Emperor Justinian and King Khosrow to agree on a peace treaty in 531.

paragraph: However, in 531, Bawi, along with other members of the Persian aristocracy became involved in a conspiracy in which they tried to overthrow Khosrow I and make Kavad, the son of Kavad I's second eldest son Djamasp (Zames), the king of the Sasanian Empire. Upon learning the plot, Khosrow I executed all his brothers, their offspring, along with Bawi and the other "Persian notables" who were involved. Khosrow I also ordered the execution of Kavad, who was still a child, and was away from the court, being raised by Adergoudounbades.

paragraph: Khosrow sent orders to kill Kavad, but Adergoudounbades disobeyed and brought him up in secret, until he was betrayed to the shah in 541 by his own son, Bahram (Varranes). Khosrow had him executed, but Kavad, or someone claiming to be him, managed to flee to the Byzantine Empire. In 532, Khosrow and Justinian, emperor of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire concluded "Pax Perpetuum", or the Eternal Peace in hopes of settling all land disputes between the Romans and Sasanians.

paragraph: Section::::Reforms.

paragraph: Section::::Reforms.:Summary.

paragraph: Khosrow I represents the epitome of the philosopher king in the Sasanian Empire. Upon his ascent to the throne, Khosrow did not restore power to the feudal nobility or the magi, but centralized his government. Khosrow's reign is considered to be one of the most successful within the Sasanian Empire. The peace agreement between Rome and Persia in 531 gave Khosrow the chance to consolidate power and focus his attention on internal improvement. His reforms and military campaigns marked a renaissance of the Sasanian Empire, which spread philosophic beliefs as well as trade goods from the far east to the far west.

paragraph: The internal reforms under Khosrow were much more important than those on the exterior frontier. The subsequent reforms resulted in the rise of a bureaucratic state at the expense of the great noble families, strengthening the central government and the power of the Shahanshah. The army too was reorganized and tied to the central government rather than local nobility allowing greater organization, faster mobilization and a far greater cavalry corps. Reforms in taxation provided the empire with stability and a much stronger economy, allowing prolonged military campaigns as well as greater revenues for the bureaucracy.

paragraph: Section::::Reforms.:Summary.:Tax reforms.

paragraph: Khosrow's tax reforms have been praised by several scholars, the most notable of whom is F. Altheim. The tax reforms, which were started under Kavad I and completely implemented by Khosrow, strengthened the royal court by a great deal. Prior to Khosrow and Kavad's reigns, a majority of the land was owned by seven Parthian families: Suren, Waraz, Karen, Ispahbudhan, Spandiyadh, Mihran, and Zik. These great landowners enjoyed tax exemptions from the Sasanian empire, and were tax collectors within their local provincial areas.

paragraph: With the outbreak of the Mazdakite revolution, there was a great uprising of peasants and lower class citizens who grabbed large portions of land under egalitarian values. As a result of this there was great confusion on land possession and ownership. Khosrow surveyed all the land within the empire indiscriminately and began to tax all land under a single program. Tax revenues that previously went to the local noble family now went to the central government treasury. The fixed tax that Khosrow implemented created a more stable form of income for the treasury.

paragraph: Because the tax did not vary, the treasury could estimate fairly well how much they were going to make in revenue for the year. Prior to Khosrow's tax reforms, taxes were collected based on the yield that the land had produced. This system was changed to one which calculated and averaged taxation based on the water rights for each piece of property. Lands which grew date palms and olive trees used a slightly different method of taxation based on the amount of producing trees that the land contained. These tax reforms of Khosrow were the stepping stone which enabled subsequent reforms in the bureaucracy and the military to take place.

paragraph: Section::::Reforms.:Summary.:Administrative reforms.

paragraph: The hallmark of Khosrow's bureaucratic reform was the creation of a new social class. Before, the Sasanian Empire consisted of only three social classes, magi, nobles, and peasants/commoners. Khosrow added a fourth class to this hierarchy between the nobles and the peasants, called the deghans. The deghans were small land owning citizens of the Sasanian Empire and were considered lower nobility.

paragraph: Khosrow promoted honest government officials based on trust and honesty, rather than corrupt nobles and magi. The small landowning deghans were favored over the high nobles because they tended to be more trustworthy and owed their loyalty to the Shah for their position in the bureaucracy. The rise of deghans became the backbone of the empire because they now held the majority of land and positions in local and provincial administration.

paragraph: The reduction of power of the great families helped to improve the empire. This was because previously, each great family ruled a large chunk of land and each had their own king. The name Shahanshah, meaning King of Kings, derived from the fact that there were many feudal kings in Sasanian Persia with the Shahanshah as the ruler of them all. Their fall from power meant their control was redirected to the central government and all taxes now came to the central government rather than to the local nobility.

paragraph: Section::::Reforms.:Military reforms.

paragraph: Major reforms to the military made the Persian army capable of fighting sustained wars and on multiple fronts as well deploy armies faster. Prior to Khosrow's reign, much like other aspects of the empire, the military was dependent on the feudal lords of the great families to provide soldiers and cavalry. Each family would provide their own army and equipment when called by the Shahanshah. This system was replaced with the emergence of the lower deghan nobility class, who was paid and provided by the central government.

paragraph: The main force of the Sasanian army was the Aswaran cavalry. Previously only nobles could enlist into the Aswaran cavalry which was very limited and created shortages in well trained soldiers. Now that the deghan class was considered nobility, they were able to join the cavalry force and boosted the number of cavalry force significantly.

paragraph: The military reform focused more on organization and training of troops. The cavalry was still the most important aspect of the Persian military, with foot archers being less important, and mass peasant forces being on the bottom of the spectrum.

paragraph: Khosrow made four military districts with a "spahbed", or general, in charge of each district. Before the reforms of Khosrow, the general of the Iranians ("Eran-spahbed") controlled the military of the entire empire. The four zones consisted of Mesopotamia in the west, the Caucasus region in the north, the Persian Gulf in the central and southwest region, and Central Asia in the east. This new quadripartition of the Empire not only created a more efficient military system but also "[administration] of a vast, multiregional, multicultural, and multiracial empire".

paragraph: Section::::Reforms.:Military reforms.:Equipment.

paragraph: During Khosrow's reign, a "list" for equipment for the cavalry was written. The list comprised a helmet, a gorget, a chain mail shirt, a lamellar coat or cuirass, leg armour, gauntlets, sword, shield, two bows with spare strings, 30 arrows, axe or mace, and horse armour.

paragraph: Sasanian bullae showing the four spahbeds show that horses were still fully armoured during this period and heavy cavalry tactics were still used by the Sasanian cavalry. It is highly likely that the stirrup had been introduced to the Sasanian cavalry two centuries before Khosrow's reforms (and are mentioned in Bivar (1972)), and a "stirrupped" foot position can be seen on the Sasanian bullae and at Taq-e-Bostan.

paragraph: Section::::Military campaigns.

paragraph: Section::::Military campaigns.:War with the Byzantine Empire, 540–562.

paragraph: In 540, Khosrow broke his peace with the Byzantines and struck Mesopotamia and Syria; he sacked Sura and killed its commander, Arsaces. He then moved out to Antioch, taking a path that was south of the usual military route in order to extract tribute from towns along the way to Antioch. The walls of Antioch had been greatly damaged during an earthquake in 525–526, and the Romans had not since repaired them because of western military campaigns, which made it much easier to conquer. Khosrow sacked and burned the city, at which point Justinian sued for peace, giving Khosrow a large amount of money; a down payment of 5000 pounds of gold plus 500 pounds of gold extra each year. While traveling back to Persia, Khosrow took ransoms from multiple Byzantine towns, at which point Justinian called off his truce and prepared to send his great commander Belisarius to move against the Sasanians.

paragraph: There were many motives behind Khosrow's strike against the Byzantines during their Eternal Peace. Emissaries from the Ostrogoth kingdom in the west appealed to Khosrow to put pressure on the eastern front of East Rome. Gothic envoys spoke to Khosrow's court and spoke of Justinian's goal to unite the world under Roman rule. The Gothic envoys persuasively informed Khosrow that if Persia did not act soon, they would soon become victims of Byzantine aggression.

paragraph: It was the Persian military's fear that once the Roman army had conquered the west, they would turn east and strike down Persia. In order to prevent this, Khosrow preemptively struck Antioch. There were also pressure and unrest in both Arabia and Armenia, who were both eager for war. Furthermore, Justinian had also refused to give back the riches, which his Arab vassal Al-Harith ibn Jabalah had with no reason aggressively seized from Khosrow's Arab vassal, Al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man.

paragraph: A year after his sack of Antioch, Khosrow brought his army north to Lazica on request of the Lazic King to fend off Byzantine raids into his territory. At the same time, Belisarius arrived in Mesopotamia and began attacking the city of Nisibis. Although Belisarius had greatly outnumbered the city garrison, the city was too well fortified and he was forced to ravage the country around the Nisibis, subsequently getting recalled back west.

paragraph: After successful campaigns in Armenia, Khosrow was encouraged once again to attack Syria. Khosrow turned south towards Edessa and besieged the city. Edessa was now a much more important city than Antioch was, and the garrison which occupied the city was able to resist the siege. The Persians were forced to retreat from Edessa, but were able to forge a five-year truce with the Byzantine Empire in 545. Four years into the five-year truce, rebellion against Sasanian control broke out in Lazica. In response, a Byzantine army was sent to support the people of Lazica, effectively ending the established truce and thus continuing the Lazic Wars.

paragraph: Section::::Military campaigns.:War with the Byzantine Empire, 540–562.:Lazic wars.

paragraph: The Lazic wars are intertwined with Khosrow's war with Justinian insomuch as there were many battles which overlapped each other, yet they are generally considered different wars. Whereas Khosrow's wars with Justinian were fought at the sake of fighting Romans, the Lazic wars were often fought on behalf of Lazic and Armenian citizens, or in defense of Sasanian outposts in Lazica.

paragraph: The Caucasus region, especially northern Armenia, has always been a major area of Romano-Sasanian rivalry. The Lazic wars began when the Sasanians intervened on Byzantine encroachments on behalf of the King of Lazica. Khosrow was able to penetrate deep into Lazica and secure the fortress city of Petra, located on the coast of the Black Sea, which provided Persia with a strategic port.

paragraph: Khosrow was forced to pull out of Lazica, leaving only a 1,500 man garrison in Petra to defend the territory while he went to deal with Belisarius in Mesopotamia. In 542, Justinian attempted to make a truce with Khosrow, but rather than sending peace delegates, Justinian sent a massive 30,000 man army into Armenia. Sasanian general Nabedes' army of 4,000 was severely outnumbered and was forced to retreat to the town of Anglon in Armenia. The Byzantine army pursued the Sasanians into the town but to Byzantines' dismay, they walked into an ambush and were completely routed. This massive defeat in 543 gave Sasanians the offensive in the Lazic war as well as in the war against Justinian.

paragraph: Justinian and Khosrow declared a five-year truce in 545 but war continued to ravage the Caucasus region. An uprising of anti-Sasanian control struck the Lazica region in 547. In response, Justinian sent 8,000 troops in support of Lazic King Gubazes. A Byzantine-Lazic army besieged the city of Petra, holding a garrison of 1,500 Sasanian troops. As a result, 1,200 of the Sasanian soldiers were killed, but the Byzantine-Lazic coalition was soon forced to retreat when a relief army of 30,000 pro-Sasanian troop arrived.

paragraph: Sometime later, Khosrow, who was keen to wrest Dara from Byzantine control, and would do so even if he risked to break the truce they had made regarding Mesopotamia, tried to capture it by tricking them; he sent one of highest officials, Izadgushasp, as a diplomat to Constantinople, but in reality the latter would stop by Dara, and with the aid of his large crew, he would seize the city. However, this plan was prevented by a former adviser of Belisarius named George, who demanded that if Izadgushasp should enter the city he should have only twenty members of his crew with him. Izadgushasp then left the city and continued his journey to Constantinople, where he was friendly welcomed by Justinian, who gave him some gifts.

paragraph: In 549 the previous truce between Justinian and Khosrow was disregarded and full war broke out once again between Persians and Romans. The last major decisive battle of the Lazic wars came in 556 when Byzantine general Martin defeated a massive Sasanian force led by a Persian "nakhvaegan" (field marshal). Negotiations between Khosrow and Justinian opened in 556, leading to the Fifty-Year Peace Treaty in 562 in which Persians would leave Lazica in return for an annual payment of gold.

paragraph: According to ancient historian Menander Protector, a minor official in Justinian's court, there were 12 points to the treaty, stated in the following passage:

paragraph: Section::::Military campaigns.:War in the East.

paragraph: With a stable peace agreement with the Byzantines in the west, Khosrow was now able to focus his attention on the eastern Hephthalites and end their domination over Central Asia. Even with the growth of Persian military power under Khosrow's reforms, the Sasanians were still uneasy at the prospect of attacking the Hephthalite on their own and began to seek allies. Their answer came in the form of Turkic incursions into Central Asia. The movement of Turkic people into Central Asia very quickly made them natural enemies and competitors to the Hephthalites.

paragraph: The Hephthalites were a strong military power but they lacked the organization to fight on multiple fronts. The Persians and the Western Turkic Khaganate made an alliance and in 557 launched a two pronged attack on the Hephthalites, taking advantage of their disorganization and disunity. The Hephthalite Empire was destroyed after the battle of Gol-Zarriun, and broke into several minor kingdoms around the Oxus. The Hephthalite king Ghadfar and what was left of his men fled southward to Sasanian territory, where they took refuge. Meanwhile, the Turkic Khagan Sinjibu reached an agreement with the Hephthalite nobility, and appointed Faghanish, the ruler of Chaghaniyan, as the new Hephthalite king.

paragraph: This was much to the dislike of Khosrow, who considered the Turkic collaboration with the Hephthalites to pose a danger for his rule in the east, and thus marched towards the Sasanian-Turkic border in Gurgan. When he reached the place, he was met by a Turkic delegate of Sinjibu that presented him gifts. There Khosrow asserted his authority and military potency, and persuaded the Turks to make an alliance with him. The alliance contained a treaty that made it obligatory for Faghanish to be sent to the Sasanian court in Ctesiphon and gain the approval of Khosrow for his status as Hephthalite king. Faghanish and his kingdom of Chaghaniyan thus became a vassal of the Sasanian Empire, which set the Oxus as the eastern frontier the Sasanians and Turks. However, friendly relations between Turks and Persians quickly deteriorated after that. Both Turks and Persians wanted to dominate the Silk Road and the trade industry between the west and the far east. In 562 Khosrow II defeated the Hephthalites once again, and then stopped the threat of the Turks.

paragraph: In 568 a Turkic embassy was sent to Byzantine to propose an alliance and two pronged attack on the Sasanian Empire. Fortunately for the Persians, nothing ever came from this proposal. Later in 569/570, Sinjibu attacked and pillaged Persian border lands, but a treaty was soon signed. Khosrow then sent a Mihranid named Mihransitad, to estimate the quality of the daughter of the Turkic Khagan. According to Armenian sources her name was Kayen, while Persian sources states that her name was Qaqim-khaqan. After Mihransitad's visit in Central Asia, Khosrow married Qaqim-khaqan. According to some sources, Hormizd IV, the successor of Khosrow, was the son of the Turkic princess. However, "Encyclopædia Iranica" states that the "marriage with the daughter of the Turkic khaqan is chronologically impossible", and says that Hormizd was born in 540, thirty years before Khosrow's marriage.

paragraph: Section::::Military campaigns.:Campaign in Yemen against Abyssinia.

paragraph: In 522, before Khosrow's reign, a group of miaphysite Ethiopians led an attack on the dominant Himyarites of southern Arabia. The local Arab leader was able to resist the attack, and appealed to the Sasanians for aid, while the Ethiopians subsequently turned towards the Byzantines for help. The Ethiopians sent another force across the Red Sea and this time successfully killed the Arab leader and replaced him with an Ethiopian man to be king of the region.

paragraph: In 531, Justinian suggested that the Ethiopians of Yemen should cut out the Persians from Indian trade by maritime trade with the Indians. The Ethiopians never met this request because an Ethiopian general named Abraha took control of the Yemenite throne and created an independent nation. After Abraha's death one of his sons, Ma'd-Karib, went into exile while his half-brother took the throne. After being denied by Justinian, Ma'd-Karib sought help from Khosrow, who sent a small fleet and army under commander Vahrez to depose the current king of Yemen. After capturing the capital city San'a'l, Ma'd-Karib's son, Saif, was put on the throne.

paragraph: Justinian was ultimately responsible for Sasanian maritime presence in Yemen. By not providing the Yemenite Arabs support, Khosrow was able to help Ma'd-Karib and subsequently established Yemen as a principality of the Sasanian Empire.

paragraph: Section::::Military campaigns.:War with the Byzantine Empire, 572–591.

paragraph: Justinian died in 565 and left Justin II to succeed the throne. In 555, the Sasanian governor of Armenia and a relative of Khosrow, Chihor-Vishnasp (also known as Suren), built a fire temple at the Armenian capital Dvin and put to death a popular and influential member of the Mamikonian family. This execution created tremendous civil unrest and led to a revolt and massacre of the governor including the capture of Dvin in 572. Justin II took advantage of this revolt and used it as an excuse to stop paying annual payments to Khosrow, effectively putting an end to the 51 year peace treaty that was established ten years earlier. Khosrow, who tried to avoid another war, sent a Christian diplomat named Sebokht to Constantinople in order to try to persuade Justin to change his mind. Justin, however, refused to listen to the diplomat, and prepared to help the Armenians, whom he considered his allies, in their war against Khosrow. A Byzantine army was sent into Sasanian territory and besieged Nisibis in the same year.

paragraph: Meanwhile, Khosrow sent an army under Golon Mihran to Armenia, but the latter was defeated in Taron by the Armenian rebel leader Vardan III Mamikonian, who captured his war elephants as war booty. Sometime later, however, Golon Mihran managed to seize Angl. During the same time, the Siunian prince Vahan asked for Khosrow's permission that he could move his court from Dvin to the capital of Paytakaran, a region in eastern Armenia. Furthermore, Vahan also requested that Paytakaran should be merged with the Atropatene province. Khosrow accepted, and did what he asked.

paragraph: In 573, Khosrow sent an army under Adarmahan to invade Syria, while he himself along with the three Mihranid military officers Izadgushasp, Fariburz and Bahram Chobin led an army towards Dara, where they captured the city after four months, while Adarmahan sacked several cities in Syria, which included Apamea. Justin reportedly lost his mind after these Byzantine disasters, and abdicated.

paragraph: He was succeeded by Tiberius, a high-ranking military officer in 578. Khosrow invaded Armenia once again feeling that he had the upper hand, and was initially successful. Soon after, the tables turned and the Byzantines gained a lot of local support. This made the Sasanians attempt another truce. However, sometime later, Khosrow, with an army consisting of 12,000 Persian soldiers including a combined of Sabir-Arab soldiers numbering 8,000 sent by his allies, ravaged the places around Resaina and Constantia in Syria, thus turning the tables once more. During the same time, one of Khosrow's chief generals, Tamkhosrau, managed to trick Maurice by faking an invasion of Theodosiopolis, and then plundered the countryside of Martyropolis and Amida.

paragraph: However, the tables of the war quickly turned again when the newly appointed Byzantine supreme-commander Maurice entered the field and captured many Sasanian settlements. The revolt came to an end when Khosrow gave amnesty to Armenia and brought them back into the Sasanian empire. Peace negotiations were once again brought back up, but abruptly ended with the death of Khosrow in 579, who was succeeded by his son Hormizd IV.

paragraph: Section::::Coinage.

paragraph: The Sassanian revival took place under his rule, so Khosrow minted such inscriptions on his especial issue coinage as “Iranians has become fearless” (ērān abē-bēm kard), and “Iranians became strong” (ērān abzonhēnēd)

paragraph: Section::::Building projects.

paragraph: Khosrow's reign marked an expansion in building. Khosrow constructed a number of walls on his frontiers to protect from nomadic incursions as well as other enemies. On the southeast frontier he built a wall called the Wall of the Arabs in order to prevent Arab nomads from raiding his empire. In the northeast he built a wall to protect the interior of his empire from the Hephthalite and Turkish threat that was growing on his border. His wall building campaign was also extended into the Caucasus region where he built massive walls at Derbent.

paragraph: After the sack of Antioch in 540, Khosrau built a new city near Ctesiphon for the inhabitants he captured. He called this new city Weh Antiok Khusrau or literally, "better than Antioch, Khosrow built this." Local inhabitants of the area called the new city "Rumagan", meaning "town of the Greeks" and Arabs called the city "al-Rumiyya". Along with Weh Antiok, Khosrow built a number of fortified cities.

paragraph: Khosrow I greatly improved the road system within the Sasanian empire. These roads greatly improved the quickness that the armies were able to move, increasing the efficiency of the military. This led to greater defense of the empire as well as much quicker transportation of military intelligence. Chains of stations were also built along the roads. This allowed couriers to travel much more quickly and have safe resting stops as well as provide travelers with shelter. Furthermore, during his reign Kirman was brought under a huge cultivation, where many large qanats were built. According to a legend, extensive planting of trees was also made.

paragraph: Section::::Philosopher King.

paragraph: Khosrow I was known to be a great patron of philosophy and knowledge. An entry in the Chronicle of Séert reads: Khosrow I is known for saying a philosophic quote that follows:

paragraph: Khosrow I accepted refugees coming from the Eastern Roman Empire when Justinian closed the neo-Platonist schools in Athens in 529. He was greatly interested in Indian philosophy, science, mathematics, and medicine. He sent multiple embassies and gifts to the Indian court and requested them to send back philosophers to teach in his court in return. Khosrow made many translations of texts from Greek, Sanskrit, and Syriac into Middle Persian. He received the title of "Plato's Philosopher King" by the Greek refugees that he allowed into his empire because of his great interest in Platonic philosophy. Nöldeke states that Khosrow I was "certainly one of the most efficient and best kings that the Iranians have ever had".

paragraph: A synthesis of Greek, Persian, Indian, and Armenian learning traditions took place within the Sasanian Empire. One outcome of this synthesis created what is known as bimaristan, the first hospital that introduced a concept of segregating wards according to pathology. Greek pharmacology fused with Iranian and Indian traditions resulted in significant advances in medicine. According to historian Richard Frye, this great influx of knowledge created a renaissance during, and proceeding Khosrow's reign.

paragraph: Intellectual games such as chess and backgammon demonstrated and celebrated the diplomatic relationship between Khosrow and a "great king of India." The vizier of the Indian king invented chess as a cheerful, playful challenge to King Khosrow. When the game was sent to Iran it came with a letter which read: "As your name is the King of Kings, all your emperorship over us connotes that your wise men should be wiser than ours. Either you send us an explanation of this game of chess or send revenue and tribute us." Khosrow's grand vizier successfully solved the riddle and figured out how to play chess. In response the wise vizier created the game backgammon and sent it to the Indian court with the same message. The Indian King was not able to solve the riddle and was forced to pay tribute.

paragraph: Section::::Philosopher King.:Academy of Gondishapur.

paragraph: Khosrow I is known to have greatly expanded the Academy of Gondishapur, located in the city of Gundeshapur. As to the development of non-religious knowledge and research in Persia and apart from historical evidence given on such traditions in the preceding Persian Empires, there are reports on systematic activities initiated by the Sasanian court as early as in the first decades of Sasanian rule. The Middle Persian encyclopaedia Denkard states that during the reign of Shapur I writings of this kind were collected and added to the Avesta. And an atmosphere of vivid reflection and discussion at the early Sasanian court in the third century AD is reflected in such accounts.

paragraph: The foundation of the Academy of Gondishapur introduced the studies of philosophy, medicine, physics, poetry, rhetoric, and astronomy into the Sasanian court. According to some historical accounts, this famous learning center was built in order to provide a place for incoming Greek refugees to study and share their knowledge. Gundeshapur became the focal point of the combination of Greek and Indian sciences along with Persian and Syriac traditions. The cosmopolitan which was introduced by the institution of Gondishapur became a catalyst for modern studies.

paragraph: Section::::Legacy.

paragraph: Although Khosrow's achievements were highly successful and helped centralize the empire, they did not last long after his death. The local officials and great noble families resented the fact that their power had been stripped away from them and began to regain power quickly after his death. Khosrow's reign had a major impact on Islamic culture and political life. Many of his policies and reforms were brought into the Islamic nation in their transformation from a decentralized confederation into a centralized empire.

paragraph: There are a considerable number of Islamic works that were inspired by the reign of Khosrow I, for example the "Kitab al-Taj" of Jahiz. The high number of Islamic texts referring to Khosrow's reign can make it hard to distinguish fact from fallacy.

paragraph: His reign signifies the promotion and possibly even the creation of the Silk Road between ancient China, India, and the western world. Richard Frye makes the argument that Khosrow's rationale behind his numerous wars with the Byzantine empire as well as the eastern Hephthalites was to establish the Sasanian dominance on this trade route.

paragraph: Section::::References.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Addai Scher, ed., "Histoire Nestorienne (Chronique de Séert)", Patrologia Orientalis 7. 1910.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Canepa, Matthew P. "The Twos Eyes of Earth". Berkeley: University of California, 2009.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Dignas, Beate / Winter, Engelbert. "Rome and Persia in Late Antiquity". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Farrokh, Dr. Kaveh. "Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War". Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2007.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Frye, Richard N. "The Heritage of Persia". The World Publishing Company, 1963.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Frye, Richard N. "The Heritage of Persia". Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 1993. 240–269.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Frye, Richard R. "The Reforms of Chosrow Anushirvan (Of the Immortal Soul)". "The History of Ancient Iran".

paragraph: BULLET::::- The Reforms of Khosrow Anushirvan

paragraph: BULLET::::- Howard-Johnston, James. "State and Society in Late Antique Iran", in "The Sassanian Era". Edited by Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and Sarah Stewart. London: I. B. Tauris & Co, 2008, 118-129.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Menander Protector. "Fragments 6.1–6.3". Translated by R. C. Blockey, edited by Khodadad Rezakhani.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Taylor, Gail Marlow. "The Physicians of Jundishapur". "e-Sasanika". 2010.

paragraph: Section::::External links.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Khosrau In Iran Science Island (In Persian)

alias:
Anushirvan
Khosrow I
Khosrow Anushirvan
Khusraw
Khusraw I

description: Iranian sovereign

wikidata_label: Khosrau I

wikipedia_title: Khosrow I


text:
Sasanian
Nisibis
Shahrbaraz
Shapur-i Shahrvaraz
Farrukh Hormizd
Azarmidokht
Ctesiphon
pretender
civil war
Khosrow II
Yazdegerd III

categories: 7th-century Sasanian monarchs,631 deaths,Year of birth unknown

paragraph: Hormizd VI

paragraph: Hormizd VI () was a Sasanian prince, who was proclaimed king in Nisibis by the troops of prominent Sasanian general and usurper Shahrbaraz after the latter's son Shapur-i Shahrvaraz was deposed by another powerful magnate, Farrukh Hormizd, who raised the Sasanian princess Azarmidokht to the throne in Ctesiphon. Hormizd VI was one of the many pretenders who rose during the civil war that ensued after the overthrow and execution of his grandfather Khosrow II () in 628. He maintained himself about two years in Nisibis, until he was overthrown by the same troops who had previously supported him. Yazdegerd III, another grandson of Khosrow II, with the support of the nobles, succeeded in becoming the sole rule of the empire.

description: King of Persia

wikidata_label: Hormizd VI

wikipedia_title: Hormizd VI


text:
New Persian
Sasanian
shah
Iran
Shapur I
Armenia
Roman Empire
Ahvaz
Middle Persian
Zoroastrianism
Avestan
Ahura Mazda
Old Persian
Greek
Ardashir I
Pahlavi
Mihrak
Magi
Persia
Bahram I
Narseh
Shapur Mishanshah
Roman Empire
Cyrille Toumanoff
Armenia
Abu Mansur al-Tha'alibi
Ram-Hormizd
Hormizd-Ardashir
Dastagird
Khosrau II
Sogdians
Estakhr
Bahram I

categories: Shahnameh characters,Year of birth unknown,271 deaths,Sasanian governors of Armenia,3rd-century Sasanian monarchs

paragraph: Hormizd I

paragraph: Hormizd-Ardashir, better known by his dynastic name of Hormizd I (; New Persian: ), was the third Sasanian king (shah) of Iran, ruling from May 270 to June 271. He was the youngest son of Shapur I (), under whom he was governor of Armenia, and also took part in his wars against the Roman Empire. Hormizd I's reign was largely uneventful; he built the city of "Ōhrmazd-Ardašēr" (present-day Ahvaz), which still remains a major city today in Iran.

paragraph: Section::::Etymology.

paragraph: The name of Hormizd (also spelled "Ōhrmazd", "Hormozd") is the Middle Persian version of the name of the supreme deity in Zoroastrianism, known in Avestan as Ahura Mazda. The Old Persian equivalent is "Auramazdā", whilst the Greek transliteration is "Hormisdas".

paragraph: Section::::Origins.

paragraph: In the Persian tradition of the history of Ardashir I (226–240 [died 241/42]), preserved in a Pahlavi text (Nöldeke, "Geschichte des Artachsir I. Papakan"), Hormizd I is made the son of Gurdzad, a daughter of Mihrak, a Parthian dynast, whose family Ardashir had extirpated because the Magi had predicted that the restorer of the empire of Persia would come from his blood.

paragraph: According to legend, Gurdzad alone was saved by a peasant; Shapur I saw her and made her his wife, and afterwards her son Hormizd I was recognized and acknowledged by Ardashir. Hormizd also had three brothers named Bahram I, Narseh, and Shapur Mishanshah. Although he was younger than some of his brothers, he was designated as Shapur's heir because of his prominent descent from his mother's side.

paragraph: Section::::Biography.

paragraph: Hormizd is first mentioned during the wars of Shapur I against the Roman Empire. According to Cyrille Toumanoff, Hormizd was appointed as the ruler of Armenia, which he ruled from 251 until his accession in 270. Little is known of his reign. According to the Muslim chronicler Abu Mansur al-Tha'alibi, Hormizd, like his father and grandfather, ruled with justice. He founded the city of Ram-Hormizd, Hormizd-Ardashir, and Dastagird, which would later be used as a royal residence by the 7th-century Sasanian king Khosrau II. Hormizd also campaigned against the Sogdians, where he was victorious, managed to impose tribute, and erect at their border a stone column that they were not allowed to cross. Hormizd then returned to Estakhr where he died after a reign of only one year. Hormizd was not succeeded by his son Hormozdak, but by his brother Bahram I.

description: Great King of Persia

wikidata_label: Hormizd I

wikipedia_title: Hormizd I


text:
New Persian
New Persian
shah
Sasanian Empire
Khosrow II
coup d'état
fall of the Sasanian Empire
Khosrow II
Maria
Byzantine
Mardanshah
Shirin
Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628
Rhahzadh
Dastgerd
Heraclius
Ctesiphon
Ispahbudhan
spahbed
Farrukh Hormizd
Rostam Farrokhzad
Farrukhzad
Shahrbaraz
House of Mihran
Armenian
Varaztirots II Bagratuni
kanarang
Abarshahr
Aspad Gushnasp
Mihr Hormozd
Boran
Azarmidokht
chaotic civil war
Parthia
war indemnity
True Cross
lost in Jerusalem in 614
Varaztirots II Bagratuni
marzban
margrave
Sasanian Armenia
Ishoyahb II
Catholicos
Church of the East
plague
wuzurgan
Ardashir III
Mah-Adhur Gushnasp
Chronicle of Edessa
opera
Metastasio
Pasquale Errichelli
Johann Adolph Hasse
Leonardo Vinci
Antonio Vivaldi
George Frideric Handel

categories: 7th-century deaths from plague (disease),Leaders who took power by coup,Deaths from disease,7th-century Sasanian monarchs,628 deaths,590 births,People of Byzantine descent

paragraph: Kavad II

paragraph: Shērōē (also spelled Shīrūya, New Persian: ), better known by his dynastic name of Kavad II ( "Kawād"; New Persian: قباد "Qobād" or "Qabād"), was king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire briefly in 628. He was the son of Khosrow II (), whom he succeeded after having him overthrown in a coup d'état. Kavad's reign is seen as a turning point in Sasanian history, and has been argued by some scholars as playing a key role in the fall of the Sasanian Empire.

paragraph: Section::::Background and rise.

paragraph: Sheroe was the son of Khosrow II, the last prominent king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire, and Maria, a Greek woman, who was reportedly a Byzantine princess. Sheroe was later imprisoned by his father, who wanted to ensure the succession of his favorite son Mardanshah, the son of his favorite wife, Shirin. His father's reputation had been ruined during the last phase of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628. In 627, the Sasanian general Rhahzadh was slain and Dastgerd, the king's favorite residence, had been sacked into oblivion by Byzantine emperor Heraclius, who was advancing towards the nearby Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon. In 628, Sheroe was released by the feudal families of the Sasanian Empire, which included the Ispahbudhan "spahbed" ("army chief") Farrukh Hormizd and his two sons Rostam Farrokhzad and Farrukhzad; Shahrbaraz of the House of Mihran; the Armenian faction represented by Varaztirots II Bagratuni and finally the "kanarang" of the eastern Sasanian province of Abarshahr.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.

paragraph: On 25 February, Sheroe, along with his commander Aspad Gushnasp, captured Ctesiphon and imprisoned Khosrow II. He then proclaimed himself as shah of the Sasanian Empire and assumed the dynastic name of Kavad II. He proceeded to have all his brothers and half-brothers executed, including the heir Mardanshah, who was Khosrow's favourite son. The murder of all his brothers, "all well-educated, valiant, and chivalrous men", strapped the Sasanian dynasty of a future competent ruler, and has been described as a "mad rampage" and "reckless". Three days later he ordered Mihr Hormozd to execute his father. However, after the regicide of his father, Kavad also proceeded to have Mihr Hormozd killed. His sisters Boran and Azarmidokht reportedly criticized and scolded him for his barbaric actions, which made him filled with remorse.

paragraph: Due to Kavad's actions, his reign is seen as a turning point in Sasanian history, and has been argued by some scholars as playing a key role in the fall of the Sasanian Empire. The overthrow and death of Khosrow culminated in a chaotic civil war, with the most powerful members of the nobility gaining full autonomy and starting to create their own government. The hostilities between the Persian ("Parsig") and Parthian ("Pahlav") noble-families were also resumed, which split up the wealth of the nation. With the agreement of the Iranian nobles, he then made peace with the victorious emperor Heraclius, which allowed the Byzantines to (re)gain all their lost territories, their captured soldiers, a war indemnity, along with the True Cross and other relics that were lost in Jerusalem in 614.

paragraph: Kavad also appointed Armenian nobleman Varaztirots II Bagratuni as "marzban" (general of a frontier province, "margrave") of Sasanian Armenia, and appointed Ishoyahb II (628–645) as the new Catholicos (Eastern Patriarch) of the Nestorian Church of the East (at Seleucia-Ctesiphon). Kavad later died from plague after a few months' reign on 6 September 628. The grandees ("wuzurgan") of the empire elected his eight-year-old son Ardashir III. In reality, however, he exercised little power and his empire was controlled by his vizier Mah-Adhur Gushnasp, whose duty was to protect the empire until Ardashir became old enough to rule.

paragraph: Section::::Marriage.

paragraph: A passage of the "Chronicle of Edessa" identifies "Anzoy the Roman" as the wife of Kavad II and mother of Ardashir III. She was probably a Christian princess from the Byzantine Empire.

paragraph: Section::::In popular culture.

paragraph: Siroe is the subject of operas by a number of composers on a libretto by Metastasio, including Pasquale Errichelli, Johann Adolph Hasse, Leonardo Vinci, Antonio Vivaldi and George Frideric Handel.

description: Iranian king of the Sasanian dynasty

wikidata_label: Kavadh II

wikipedia_title: Kavad II


text:
New Persian
shah
Sasanian Empire
Narseh
Kingdom of Armenia
Christianity
Zoroastrian
Ghassanid
Syria
Adur Narseh
Shapur II
Middle Persian
Zoroastrianism
Avestan
Ahura Mazda
Old Persian
Greek
Narseh
Naqsh-e Rustam
Anahita
Shapurdukhtak
protome
Roman Empire
ended diastrously
forcing him to surrender
Armenia
Mesopotamia
Hormizd II Kushanshah
Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom
fire altar
Bahram II
al-Tabari
Ardashir I
Shapur I
Manicheans
Izeh
Khuzestan province
Armenia
Tiridates III of Armenia
Christianity
Mamikonian
Naqsh-e Rostam
Pars
Fars
Albania
Bahram II
Ghassanid
Syria
Chronicle of Seert
Chronicle of Arbela
Shahbazi
Adur Narseh
Hormizd
Roman Empire
in utero
concubines
Adur Narseh
Shapur II
Adurfrazgird
Arbayistan
Arbayistan
Shapur Sakanshah
Sakastan
Hormizd
Roman Empire
Ardashir II
Arsacid
Urnayr
Mamikonian

categories: Shahnameh characters,309 deaths,3rd-century births,4th-century Sasanian monarchs,Murdered Persian monarchs

paragraph: Hormizd II

paragraph: Hormizd II (; New Persian: ) was king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire. He ruled for seven years and five months, from 302 to 309. He was a son and successor of Narseh ().

paragraph: During his reign, the Kingdom of Armenia declared Christianity as its official religion, thus leaving its ancient Zoroastrian heritage that it shared with Sasanian Iran. Hormizd II's reign was also marked by internal turmoil, which he successfully managed to deal with it. Hormizd II was also successful in his efforts in the west, defeating and killing the Ghassanid king in Syria. His reign was, however, cut short by the intrigues of the Iranian nobility, that killed him in a secluded place.

paragraph: He was succeeded by his son Adur Narseh, who after a few months of reigning was also killed by the nobility. They instead installed Hormizd II's infant son Shapur II on the throne.

paragraph: Section::::Etymology.

paragraph: The name of Hormizd (also spelled "Ōhrmazd", "Hormozd") is the Middle Persian version of the name of the supreme deity in Zoroastrianism, known in Avestan as Ahura Mazda. The Old Persian equivalent is "Auramazdā", while the Greek transliteration is "Hormisdas".

paragraph: Section::::Life.

paragraph: Section::::Life.:Background.

paragraph: When Hormizd's father Narseh ascended the throne in 293, he had an investiture relief made in Naqsh-e Rustam, where he is depicted as receiving the ring of kingship from a female figure that is frequently assumed to be the goddess Anahita. However, some scholars have suggested that this may be his wife and Hormizd's mother, Shapurdukhtak. The figure standing behind Narseh is most likely Hormizd, due to his cap being the form of that of an animal protome, which was typically worn by Sasanian heirs. Hormizd most likely did not take part in his father's war against the Roman Empire, which ended diastrously for the Sasanians, with Narseh's wife and some of his offspring being captured, forcing him to surrender a handful provinces in Armenia and Mesopotamia in order to have his family members handed back to him. Hormizd may have been same person as Hormizd II Kushanshah, a Sasanian prince who briefly ruled the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom from 300 to 303. They both minted coins where they were depicted with a winged crown, whilst on the reverse, which usually shows the traditional fire altar flanked by two attendants, also shows a head emerging from the fire, a typical Kushano-Sasanian design which first appears on Sasanian coins during the reign of Hormizd II.

paragraph: Section::::Life.:Reign.

paragraph: In 302, Hormizd II ascended the throne, assuming a crown whose features resembled that of the same used by the early Sasanian rulers, such as Bahram II (). Not much is known about the reign of Hormizd; he supposedly started out as a cruel ruler but then became benevolent.

paragraph: This change of behaviour is described by al-Tabari;

paragraph: However, unlike his father, who had returned to the policy of religious tolerance which had been practiced during the reign of first two shahs, Ardashir I () and Shapur I (), Hormizd persecuted the Manicheans who had lived peacefully during the reign of his father. Hormizd reportedly founded the rural district of Kurang (or Wahisht-Hormozd) near Izeh in the Khuzestan province. Hormizd tried to improve Sasanian relations with Armenia, which had recently under Tiridates III of Armenia declared Christianity as its state religion; he gave his daughter Hormizddukht in marriage to a Mamikonian prince named Vahan.

paragraph: Hormizd's rock relief at Naqsh-e Rostam in the Pars province (present-day Fars) indicates that there was internal turmoil in the empire during his reign. In the relief he is portrayed riding a horse whilst impaling an enemy whose helmet bears the family signature of Papak, a high-ranking nobleman who served as the "bitakhsh" (viceroy) of Albania during the reign of Bahram II and Narseh. Hormizd, during the last years of his reign, raided the domains of the Ghassanid king in Syria, whom he tried to extract tribute from. The Ghassanid king as a result tried to get assistance from the Roman emperor, but was killed before Roman reinforcements appeared. Hormizd was reportedly in 309 ambushed and killed by Ghassanid troops whilst he was hunting in the desert. The more probable reason for his death was most likely the Iranian nobility that killed him in a secluded place, and now sought to get rid of his sons as well.

paragraph: According to the 11th-century Chronicle of Seert, Hormizd declared war against the Romans in order to avenge the defeat of his father, whilst the Chronicle of Arbela states that when the Roman emperor started persecuting his Christian subjects, Hormizd raised a great army, invaded the Roman domains and raided many cities. The credibility of the two sources are doubtful, with the events not being reported in other sources. According to Shahbazi, "one may only surmise that it is probably a reflection of Hormozd's alleged raid into Syria."

paragraph: Section::::Succession.

paragraph: After Hormizd's death, he was succeeded by his eldest son Adur Narseh, who, after a brief reign which lasted few months, was killed by some of the nobles of the empire. They then blinded the second, and imprisoned the third (Hormizd, who afterwards escaped to the Roman Empire). The throne was reserved for the unborn child of Hormizd II's wife Ifra Hormizd, which was Shapur II. Shapur II was reportedly the only king in history to be crowned "in utero", as the legend claims that the crown was placed upon his mother's womb while she was pregnant. However, according to Shahbazi, it is unlikely that Shapur was crowned as king while still in his mother's womb, since the nobles could not have known of his sex at that time. He further states that Shapur was born forty days after his father's death, and that the nobles killed Adur Narseh and crowned Shapur II in order to gain greater control of the empire, which they were able to do until Shapur II reached his majority at the age of 16.

paragraph: Section::::Offspring.

paragraph: Hormizd II was one of the Sasanian kings with most children, which he had from his Jewish wife Ifra-Hormizd, and several other wives and concubines:

paragraph: BULLET::::- Prince Adur Narseh (3rd century – 309), the ninth king of the Sasanian Empire.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Prince Shapur II (309–379), the tenth king of the Sasanian Empire.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Prince Adurfrazgird (??? – 4th century), governor of southern Arbayistan.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Prince Zamasp (??? – 4th century), governor of northern Arbayistan.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Prince Shapur Sakanshah (??? – 4th century), governor of Sakastan.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Prince Hormizd (??? – 4th century), imprisoned by the Iranian nobility and later defected to the Roman Empire.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Prince Ardashir II (379 – 383), the eleventh king of the Sasanian Empire.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Unnamed daughter (??? – 4th century), married the Arsacid king Urnayr.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Princess Hormizddukht (??? – 4th century), married the Mamikonian prince Vahan.

description: Sasanian king

wikidata_label: Hormizd II

wikipedia_title: Hormizd II


text:
Middle Persian
New Persian
shah
Sasanian Empire
Yazdegerd II
Caucasian Albania
Kidarites
Hephthalites
battle of Herat
Sukhra
Shapur Mihran
Balash
Ray
Mihranid
Raham Mihran
Denag
Ctesiphon
Hephthalite
Khushnavaz
Taliqan
civil war
Vache II
Caucasian Albania
Armenians
Persian Armenia
Christianity
Byzantine Empire
Caucasus
Izad Gushnasp
Herat
trickle
Tigris
Euphrates
Kidarites
Transoxiana
Shapur II
Balkh
Sogdia
Gandhara
Hephthalites
Khushnavaz
Vakhtang I
Kavadh I
mowbed
hostage
Armenia
Adhur Gushnasp
Iberia
Sahag
Shapur Mihran
Zarmihr Hazarwuxt
Balash
Ctesiphon
Balkh
Battle of Herat
Karen family
Sukhra
Balash
Ibn Isfandiyar
Mihran
Amol
Tabaristan

categories: 484 deaths,5th-century Sasanian monarchs,Shahnameh characters,Year of birth unknown

paragraph: Peroz I

paragraph: Peroz I (Middle Persian: 𐭯𐭩𐭫𐭥𐭰; New Persian: پیروز "Pirouz", lit. "the Victor") was the eighteenth king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire from 459 to 484. He was the son of Yazdegerd II (). Peroz seized the throne from his older brother Hormizd III, whose reign lasted just two years. During his reign, he successfully quelled a rebellion in Caucasian Albania in the west, and put an end to the Kidarites in the east. He was, however, less successful in handling the Hephthalites, who had taken the Kidarites' place. This eventually resulted in a disastrous defeat at the battle of Herat, where Peroz was killed. The magnates—most notably Sukhra and Shapur Mihran—elected Peroz's brother, Balash, as the new shah.

paragraph: Section::::Rise to power.

paragraph: When Peroz's father Yazdegerd II died in 457, the elder brother and heir Hormizd ascended the throne at Ray. Peroz, with the support of the powerful Mihranid magnate Raham Mihran, fled to the northeastern part of the empire and began raising an army in order to claim the throne for himself. The empire thus fell into a dynastic struggle and became divided; the mother of the two brothers, Denag temporarily ruled as regent of the empire from its capital, Ctesiphon. According to eastern sources, Peroz was more worthy for the throne than Hormizd, who is called unfair. Only the anonymous source known as the Codex Sprenger 30 describes Hormizd as the "braver and better", whilst describing Peroz as "more learned in religion".

paragraph: Peroz later went to the domains of the Hephthalite monarch Khushnavaz, who agreed to him support with soldiers in his struggle for the throne. In 459, Peroz, with Hephthalite and Mihranid assistance, led an army against Hormizd and defeated him. According to some sources, Hormizd was pardoned and spared by his brother. However, this is most likely a legend, which is disproved by other sources, that states Peroz had Hormizd and three members of his family killed. He then ceded Taliqan to Khushnavaz.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:Aftermath of the civil war.

paragraph: The civil war in Iran had affected the nation so much as to cost a province. Vache II, the king of Caucasian Albania, rebelled against Sasanian rule and declared himself independent while the brothers were busy fighting amongst each other. So once Peroz I ascended the throne in the year 459, he led an army into Albania and completely subjugated the nation. He then allowed the Armenians of Persian Armenia to practice their religion, Christianity, freely. He also made an agreement with the Byzantine Empire that they would together defend the Caucasus from incursions. Furthermore, Peroz ordered his foster brother Izad Gushnasp to take the Armenians who had been held captive during the reign of his father to Herat.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:Seven-year famine (464-471).

paragraph: Historians of the period record the occurrence of a seven-year famine which devastated the crops and ruined the country. Sources say that the wells became dry and that there was not a trickle of water either in the Tigris or the Euphrates. Eventually the crops failed and thousands perished.

paragraph: Historians record that Peroz I showed an extreme rigidness of character in the face of such an adversity and great wisdom in dealing with the catastrophe. As a result of his wisdom and benevolence, Persia gradually recovered from the famine.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:War with the Kidarites.

paragraph: The Kidarites, who had established themselves in parts of Transoxiana during the reign of the Sasanian king Shapur II, and had a long history of conflicts with the Sasanians, stopped paying tributes to them in the early 460s, thus starting a new war between these two states. During the start of the war, however, Peroz did not have enough manpower to fight them, and therefore asked for financial aid by the Byzantine Empire, who declined his request. Peroz then offered peace to the leader of the Kidarites, Kunkhas, and offered him his sister in marriage. However, Peroz tried to trick Kunkhas, and sent a woman of low status instead.

paragraph: After some time Kunkhas found about Peroz's false promise, and then in turn tried to trick him, by requesting him to send military experts to strengthen his army. However, when a group of 300 military experts arrived to the court of Kunkhas at Balaam (either the same city as Balkh or a city in Sogdia), they were either killed or disfigured and sent back to Iran, with the information that Kunkhas did this due to Peroz's false promise. What happened after remains obscure, it is only known that by 467, Peroz, with Hephthalite aid, managed to capture Balaam and put an end to Kidarite rule in Transoxiana once and for all. Although the Kidarites still controlled some places such as Gandhara, they would never bother the Sasanians again.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:First and second war with the Hephthalites.

paragraph: However, after some time, the Hephthalites betrayed Peroz and seized Balkh from him, starting the first war between the Sasanians and the Hephthalites. During this war, Peroz suffered a heavy defeat in the third battle between the two forces in 469, and was captured by Hephthalites. He was released after paying ransom; the Byzantines aided him in by lending him some money.

paragraph: Before Persia had completely recovered from the famine, a new war broke out with the Hephthalites of the north. Provoked by an insult heaped upon him by Khushnavaz, Peroz, along with his vassal Vakhtang I, led an invasion of the Hephthalite country forcing them to retreat. But when Peroz pursued the Hephthalites to the hills, he suffered a crushing defeat. The king was captured and forced to surrender his daughter, his son Kavadh I, and the chief priest ("mowbed") of the empire to Khushnavaz as hostages, until the ransom was paid.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:Trouble in Armenia.

paragraph: In 481, Iberia broke into revolt and declared its independence. Peroz sent the Sasanian Governor of Armenia to Iberia to quell the rebellion. But no sooner had he left the province, that Armenia rose in rebellion and chose an Armenian Christian called Bargatide as its Emperor.

paragraph: The Persian Governor, Adhur Gushnasp after restoring Persian rule in Iberia rushed to Armenia to quell the rebellion but was squarely defeated. Peroz responded by sending two large armies to the region, one under Adar-Narseh into Armenia and the other against Iberia.

paragraph: Sahag, the Armenian king, was killed and Shapur Mihran was wreaking havoc in Armenia, but just when success was within grasp, Peroz blundered by recalling Shapur Mihran and entrusting the command to one Zarmihr Hazarwuxt. Zarmihr Hazarwuxt too did not remain long in Armenia and was recalled in a few months. This policy of rotating military commanders frequently ensured that Armenia was lost to the Persians for the time being.

paragraph: Section::::Reign.:Third war with the Hephthalites and death.

paragraph: Towards the end of his reign, Peroz gathered an army of 50,000-100,000 men; after placing his brother Balash at the head of the government in Ctesiphon, he invaded the Hephthalites in order to avenge the insult heaped upon him during the first campaign. He set up his position at Balkh and rejected the terms of peace offered by Khushnavaz. However, when a showdown with the Persians seemed imminent, Khushnavaz sent a small body of troops in advance in order to trick Peroz into an ambuscade at the Battle of Herat of 484. The plan was successful, and the Persians were defeated with great slaughter, Peroz being one of the victims. Khushnavaz, however, treated the body of his erstwhile friend with dignity and dispatched it to Persia to be buried with full honors.

paragraph: Soon afterwards, the Hephthalites invaded and plundered Persia. The empire, however, was saved when a Sasanian noble from the Karen family, Sukhra, defeated the Hepthalites and elected Balash (484–488), one of Peroz I's brothers, to the throne.

paragraph: Section::::In Persian literature.

paragraph: Peroz is included in a legendary romantic story narrated by 13th-century Iranian historian Ibn Isfandiyar. The story begins with Peroz dreaming about a beautiful woman who he falls in love with. Peroz then sends one of his relatives and a close friend, a certain Mihrfiruz from the Mihran family to find her. He manages to find the woman, who in the end is turned out to be the sister of Izad Gushnasp himself (whose father was named Ashtat). After having found her, Peroz marries her and at her request, lay foundation to the city of Amol in Tabaristan.

description: Sassanid king

wikidata_label: Peroz I

wikipedia_title: Peroz I


text:
New Persian
shah
Sasanian Empire
Khosrow I
Zoroastrian
dehqan
Bahram Chobin
Turkic
Vistahm
Vinduyih
Khosrow II
Middle Persian
Zoroastrianism
Avestan
Ahura Mazda
Old Persian
Greek
Sinjibu
khagan
Turks
Khosrow I
Hephthalites
Battle of Gol-Zarriun
Shahnameh
Shapur Shahbazi
Khosrow II
Armenian
Sebeos
Mas'udi
Khazars
Markwart
Ibn Khordadbeh
al-Tabari
Karenid
vizier
Bozorgmehr
Simah-i Burzin
Mihranid
Izadgushasp
spahbed
Ispahbudhan
Vistahm
Vinduyih
Bacurius III of Iberia
Sasanians
ongoing war
East Roman (Byzantine) Empire
Turks
Tiberius II
Theophylact Simocatta
Menander Protector
John of Ephesus
Maurice
Mesopotamia
Ghassanid
al-Mundhir
Adarmahan
Tamkhosrau
Constantina
John Mystacon
Philippicus
Martyropolis
Solachon
Amida
Heraclius
Arzanene
defeated another Sasanian offensive
Martyropolis
Comentiolus
Khazars
Balkh
Mihransitad
Ferdowsi
Bahram Chobin
Bukhara
Ctesiphon
Sogdia
Chach
Samarkand
Caucasus
Georgia
Aras
Azen Gushnasp
spindle
Nöldeke
responded by rebelling
Hamadan
Sarames the Elder
elephants
Vistahm
Vinduyih
Khosrow II

categories: People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars,Shahnameh characters,540 births,590 deaths,Year of birth unknown,6th-century Sasanian monarchs,6th-century murdered monarchs,Murdered Persian monarchs

paragraph: Hormizd IV

paragraph: Hormizd IV (; New Persian: ), was king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire from 579 to 590. He was the son and successor of Khosrow I.

paragraph: During his reign, Hormizd IV had the high aristocracy and Zoroastrian priesthood slaughtered, whilst supporting the landed gentry (the "dehqan"). His general, Bahram Chobin, successfully contained defeated a massive Turkic incursion in the east, and as a result became subject of jealousy, which led to Hormizd IV have him disgraced and dismissed. Bahram, infuriated by Hormizd's actions, responded by rebelling, and due to his noble status and great military knowledge, was joined by his soldiers and many others. Two other dissatisfied nobles, Vistahm and Vinduyih, shortly had Hormizd IV deposed and killed, elevating his son Khosrow II as the new shah.

paragraph: Section::::Etymology.

paragraph: The name of Hormizd (also spelled "Ōhrmazd", "Hormozd") is the Middle Persian version of the name of the supreme deity in Zoroastrianism, known in Avestan as Ahura Mazda. The Old Persian equivalent is "Auramazdā", while the Greek transliteration is "Hormisdas".

paragraph: Section::::Background.

paragraph: Oriental sources and modern scholars associated Hormizd's maternal grandfather with Sinjibu, the khagan of the Turks, who allied himself with Khosrow I in to put an end to the Hephthalites, which the two allied powers accomplished at the Battle of Gol-Zarriun. Khosrow I was given the daughter of Sinjibu in marriage, who reportedly gave birth to Hormizd. Hormizd is thus called a "Torkzad(a)" in the Shahnameh, meaning "son of a Turk". However, this is rejected by Shapur Shahbazi, who calls the relationship "chronological difficult", due to sources mentioning Hormizd being sent by his father to contain the threat posed by Sinjibu following the division of Hephthalite territory between the Sasanians and Turks.

paragraph: Hormizd must have thus been born around 540, which is more plausible; his son Khosrow II, was born in . The 7th-century Armenian historian Sebeos calls Hormizd's mother a "daughter of the khagan of the Turks" and referred to the latter as Kayen, whilst Mas'udi calls her Faqom, stating that she was the daughter of the ruler of the Khazars. Shahbazi supports Markwart's deduction that Hormizd's maternal grandfather was the khagan of the Khazars (who are frequently called Turks in other sources). and that Sebeos had referred Hormizd's mother by her father's name (or title). Ibn Khordadbeh also makes mention of Khosrow I and the Khazar king organizing to marry each other's daughters. Hormizd was thus descended from not only the ruling family of Iran, but also a royal Turkic dynasty, which according to Sebeos "made Hormizd even greater than his paternal ancestors and equally greater and wilder than his maternal relatives."

paragraph: Section::::Policies.

paragraph: Khosrow I had appointed Hormizd as his heir since he was aware that Hormizd had showed himself as qualified leader. Hormizd came to the throne in 579, he seems to have been imperious and violent, but not without some kindness of heart. Some very characteristic stories are told of him by al-Tabari. His father's sympathies had been with the nobles and the priests. Hormizd IV protected the common people and introduced a severe discipline in his army and court.

paragraph: When the priests demanded a persecution of the Christians, he declined on the ground that the throne and the government could only be safe if it gained the goodwill of both concurring religions. The consequence was that Hormizd raised a strong opposition in the ruling classes, which led to many executions and confiscations. These even included the famous Karenid vizier of his father, Bozorgmehr; the latter's brother Simah-i Burzin; the Mihranid Izadgushasp; the "spahbed" Bahram-i Mah Adhar, and the Ispahbudhan Shapur, who was the father of Vistahm and Vinduyih. According to al-Tabari, Hormizd is said to have ordered the death of 13,600 nobles and religious members. When Bacurius III of Iberia died in 580, Hormizd quickly took the opportunity and replaced the monarchy in Iberia with a Sasanian governor. The reason for this was because the native rulers of Iberia had caused much trouble to the Sasanians.

paragraph: Section::::War against the Byzantines.

paragraph: From his father, Hormizd had inherited an ongoing war against the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire and against the Turks in the east. Negotiations of peace had just begun with the Emperor Tiberius II, but Hormizd haughtily declined to cede anything of the conquests of his father. Therefore the accounts given of him by the Byzantine authors, Theophylact Simocatta (iii.16 ff), Menander Protector and John of Ephesus (vi.22), who give a full account of these negotiations, are far from favourable.

paragraph: Determined to teach the Sasanian king a lesson, the Roman General Maurice crossed the frontier and invaded Kurdistan. The next year, he even planned to penetrate into Media and Southern Mesopotamia but the Ghassanid king al-Mundhir allegedly betrayed the Roman cause by informing Hormizd of the Roman Emperor's plans. Maurice was forced to retreat in a hurry, but during the course of his retreat to the Roman frontier, he drew the Persian general Adarmahan into an engagement and defeated him.

paragraph: In 582, the Sasanian general Tamkhosrau crossed the Perso-Roman frontier and attacked Constantina, but was defeated and killed. However, the deteriorating physical condition of the Roman Tiberius II forced Maurice to return to Constantinople immediately. Meanwhile John Mystacon, who had replaced Maurice, attacked the Sasanians at the junction of the Nymphius and the Tigris but was defeated and forced to withdraw. Another defeat brought about his replacement by Philippicus.

paragraph: Philippicus spent the years 584 and 585 making deep incursions into Iranian territory. The Iranians retaliated by attacking Monocartium and Martyropolis in 585. Philippicus inflicted a heavy defeat on them at Solachon in 586 and besieged the fortress of Chlomaron. After an unsuccessful siege, Philippicus retreated and made a stand at Amida. Soon, however, he relinquished command to Heraclius in 587.

paragraph: In the year 588, the Roman troops mutinied and taking advantage of this mutiny, Sasanian troops once again attacked Constantina but were repulsed. The Romans retaliated with an equally unsuccessful invasion of Arzanene, but defeated another Sasanian offensive at Martyropolis.

paragraph: In 589, the Sasanians attacked Martyropolis and captured it after defeating Philippicus twice. Philippicus was recalled and was replaced by Comentiolus under whose command the Romans defeated the Sasanians at Sisauranon. The Romans now laid siege to Martyropolis but at the height of the siege news circulated in Iran about a Turkic invasion.

paragraph: Section::::Turkic incursions in the east.

paragraph: In 588, the Sasanian Empire was in chaos; The Arabs had started pillaging the western provinces, while the Khazars ravaged the northern provinces, and now the Turks had occupied Balkh and were penetrating into the heart of Iran. Hormizd IV, under the advice of Nastuh, called upon father of the latter, who was named Mihransitad. According to Ferdowsi, Mihransitad told the Sasanian king that the astrologers had predicted that a certain Bahram Chobin would be the savior of Iran. He then suggested that Bahram Chobin should be summoned to the Sasanian court. The aged Mihransitad is said to have immediately died after that.

paragraph: Hormizd did as he advised and finally dispatched a contingent under the general Bahram Chobin to fight them back. Bahram's army supposedly consisted of 12,000 hand-picked horsemen. His army ambushed a large army of Turks and Hephthalites in April 588, at the battle of Hyrcanian rock, and again in 589, re-conquering Balkh, where Bahram captured the Turkic treasury and the golden throne of the Khagan. He then proceeded to cross the Oxus river and won a decisive victory over Turks, personally killing Bagha Qaghan with an arrowshot. He managed to reach as far as Baykand, near Bukhara, and also contain an attack by the son of the deceased Khagan, Birmudha, whom Bahram had captured and sent to the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon. Birmudha was well received there by Hormizd, who forty days later had him sent back to Bahram with the order that the Turkic prince should get sent back to Transoxiana. The Sasanians now held suzerainty over the Sogdian cities of Chach and Samarkand, where Hormizd minted coins. After Bahram's great victory against the Turks he was sent to Caucasus to repel an invasion of nomads, possibly the Khazars, where he was victorious. He was later made commander of the Sasanian forces against the Byzantines once again, and successfully defeated a Byzantine force in Georgia. However, he afterwards suffered a minor defeat by a Byzantine army on the banks of the Aras. Hormizd, who was jealous of Bahram, used this defeat as an excuse to dismiss him from his office, and had him humiliated.

paragraph: According to another source, Bahram was the subject of jealousy after his victory against the Turks. Hormizd's minister Azen Gushnasp, who was reportedly jealous of Bahram, accused him of having kept the best part of the booty for himself and only sending a small part to Hormizd. According to other sources, however, it was Birmudha or the courtiers that raised Hormizd's suspicion. Regardless, Hormizd could not tolerate the rising fame of Bahram, and thus had him disgraced and removed from the Sasanian office for supposedly having kept some of the booty for himself. Furthermore, Hormizd also sent him a chain and a spindle to show that he considered him as a lowly slave "as ungrateful as a woman". Enraged, Bahram, who was still in the east, rebelled against Hormizd. The version of Bahram rebelling after his defeat against the Byzantines was supported by Nöldeke in 1879. However, a source found ten years later confirmed Bahram's rebellion took in fact place while he was still in the east.

paragraph: Section::::Overthrow and death.

paragraph: Bahram, infuriated by Hormizd's actions, responded by rebelling, and due to his noble status and great military knowledge, was joined by his soldiers and many others. He then appointed a new governor for Khorasan, and afterwards set for Ctesiphon. Azen Gushnasp was sent to suppress to the rebellion, but was murdered in Hamadan by one of his own men, Zadespras. Another force under Sarames the Elder was also sent to stop Bahram, who defeated him and had him trampled to death by elephants. Meanwhile, Hormizd tried to come to terms with his brothers-in-law Vistahm and Vinduyih, "who equally hated Hormizd". Hormizd shortly had Vinduyih imprisoned, while Vistahm managed to flee from the court. After a short period of time, a palace coup under the two brothers occurred in Ctesiphon, which resulted in the blinding of Hormizd and the accession of the latter's oldest son Khosrow II (who was their nephew through his mother's side). The two brothers shortly had Hormizd killed. Nevertheless, Bahram continued his march to Ctesiphon, now with the pretext of claiming to avenge Hormizd.

description: Sasanian King of Iran

wikidata_label: Hormizd IV

wikipedia_title: Hormizd IV


text:
New Persian
shah
Sasanian Empire
Peroz I
Balash
Vakhtang I of Iberia
Mazdak
Anastasian War
Iberian War
Byzantine Empire
were conducted
Derbent
Khosrow I
Machiavellian
Kayanian
Kavi Kavata
Greek
Arabic
Peroz I
Hephthalite
battle of Herat
Sukhra
Shapur Mihran
Balash
House of Karen
Seven Great Houses of Iran
Armenia
Iberia
figurehead
de facto
al-Tabari
Shiraz
Shapur of Ray
House of Mihran
Ctesiphon
Tabaristan
Zabulistan
Mazdak
communism
Jamasp
Mesopotamia
Gushnaspdad
Kanarang
Prison of Oblivion
Khuzestan
Siyawush
Khorasan
Adergoudounbades
Zarmihr Karen
Bozorgmehr
wuzurg framadār
Khosrow I
spahbed
dehqan
Shahnameh
Ferdowsi
gallows
Eran-asan-kerd-Kawad
Media
Fahraj
Spahan
Arrajan
Pars
Kirmanshah
Meybod
fire temple
Balkh
Adurbadagan
Nisa
Spahan
Ghazni
Caucasus
Derbent
Apzut Kawat wall
Middle Persian
P'artaw
Iberia
Armenia
Balash
Mesopotamia
Patriarchs of the Church of the East
Babai
Byzantine–Sasanian War of 440
Shapur II
Byzantine Empire
Anastasius I
Caucasus
Huns
Theodosiopolis
Amida
Edessa
Osroene
Ispahbudhan
Bawi
captured
Procopius
Khorasan
Nishapur
Herat
Marw
Khosrow
Justin I
Justinian
quaestor
Arab
Justinian I
John Malalas
Lazica
famous open-field battles
Dara
Baresmanas
Azarethes
Commagene
Belisarius
Callinicum
ensuing battle
besieged Martyropolis
peace was made
Gorgan
Khuzestan
Asoristan
Procopius

categories: 5th-century Sasanian monarchs,Kavad I,531 deaths,People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars,Medieval child rulers,Anastasian War,Iberian War,473 births,6th-century Sasanian monarchs

paragraph: Kavad I

paragraph: Kavad I ( "Kawād"; New Persian: "Qobād"; 473 13 September 531) was king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire from 488 to 531, with an interruption of two years. A son of Peroz I (), he was crowned by the nobles in place of his deposed and unpopular uncle Balash (). His reign saw the uprising of Vakhtang I of Iberia, the rise of Mazdakism, as well as the Anastasian War and the Iberian War against the Byzantine Empire. During Kavad's reign, massive fortification activities were conducted in the Caucasus, including Derbent.

paragraph: At the accession of Kavad, the authority and status of the Sasanian kings had reached rock-bottom; when Kavad died 43 years later, his son Khosrow I inherited a sturdy and mighty empire that equaled that of the Byzantines. Many vital reforms were introduced by Kavad, which were completely implemented by Khosrow I. Due to the many challenges and issues that Kavad successfully thwarted, he is considered one of the most effective and successful kings to rule the Sasanian Empire, in the words of Schindel, "a genius in his own right, even if of a somewhat Machiavellian type."

paragraph: Section::::Name.

paragraph: Due to increased Sasanian interest in Kayanian history, Kavad was named after the mythological Kayanian king Kavi Kavata. The name is transliterated in Greek as "Kabates", and in Arabic as "Qubādh".

paragraph: Section::::Early life and accession.

paragraph: The son of the Sasanian shah Peroz I (), Kavad was born in 473. In 484, Peroz was defeated and killed by a Hephthalite army at the battle of Herat. The Iranian magnates—most notably Sukhra and Shapur Mihran—elected Peroz's brother, Balash, as the new shah. He did, however, prove unpopular among the nobility and clergy, who had him deposed after just four years–in 488. Sukhra, a member of the House of Karen, one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran, played a main role in Balash's deposition, and appointed Kavad as the new shah of Iran.

paragraph: Section::::First reign.

paragraph: Section::::First reign.:Accession and conditions of the empire.

paragraph: Kavad ascended the throne at age of 15; his young age is emphasized on his coins, which shows him with short whiskers. He inherited an empire that had reached its lowest; the nobility and clergy held much influence and authority over the nation, and were able to act as king-makers, as seen by their choice to depose Balash. Economic wise, the empire was not doing well either, due to drought, famine, and the crushing defeats suffered by the Hephthalites, who not only had large seized huge parts of its eastern provinces, but had also forced the Sasanians to pay vast amounts of tribute to them. Rebellions were occurring in Armenia, Iberia, and in the western provinces. Simultaneously the peasant class of the country was getting more and more uneasy and alienated from the elite.

paragraph: Section::::First reign.:Conflict with Sukhra over the empire.

paragraph: The young and inexperienced Kavad was tutored by Sukhra during his first five years as shah. During this period, Kavad was a mere figurehead, whilst Sukhra was the "de facto" ruler of the empire. This is emphasized by al-Tabari; "The people came to Sukhra and undertook all their dealings with him, treating Kavad as a person of no importance and regarding his commands with contempt." Numerous regions and the representatives of the elite paid tribute not to Kavad, but Sukhra. Sukhra also controlled the royal treasury and the Iranian military. In 493, Kavad, now having reached adulthood, wanted to get rid of Sukhra's dominance, and as a result had him exiled to his native Shiraz in southwestern Iran. Even in exile, however, Sukhra was in control of everything except the kingly crown. He bragged about having put Kavad on the throne.

paragraph: Alarmed by the thought that Sukhra might rebel, Kavad wanted to completely get rid of him. However, he lacked manpower to do so, as the army was controlled by Sukhra, and the Sasanians mainly relied on the military of the Seven Great Houses of Iran. He found his solution in Shapur of Ray, a powerful nobleman from the House of Mihran, and a resolute opponent of Sukhra. Shapur, at head of an army of his own men and that of disgruntled nobles, marched to Shiraz, defeated Sukhra's forces, and took the latter to the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon. However, even in imprisonment in Ctesiphon, Sukhra was considered too powerful, and was thus executed. Sukhra's execution caused displeasure among some prominent members of the nobility, which weakened Kavad's status as shah. His death marked the temporarily loss of authority of the House of Karen, whose members were exiled in the regions of Tabaristan and Zabulistan, which was away from the Sasanian court in Ctesiphon.

paragraph: Section::::First reign.:The Mazdakite movement and deposition.

paragraph: Not long after, a Zoroastrian priest named Mazdak caught the attention of Kavad. Mazdak was the chief representative of a religious and philosophical teaching called Mazdakism, which was against violence, and called for the sharing of wealth, women and property, an archaic form of communism. Mazdakism not consisted of theological and cosmological aspects, but also political and social impacts, which was to the disadvantage of the nobility and clergy. Kavad thus used the faith as a political tool in order to curb the power of the nobility and clergy. Royal granaries and land was shared among the lower-classes. Kavad was as a result deposed by the nobility in 496, who installed his brother Jamasp on the throne. One of the other reasons behind Kavad's deposal was his execution of Sukhra. Meanwhile, chaos was occurring in the country, notably in Mesopotamia.

paragraph: Section::::Imprisonment, flight and return.

paragraph: A council shortly took place among the nobility on what to do with Kavad. Gushnaspdad, a member of a prominent family of landowners (the Kanarangiyan) proposed to have Kavad executed. His proposal was, however, overruled and Kavad was instead imprisoned in the "Prison of Oblivion" in Khuzestan. With the aid of his sister and the Iranian officer Siyawush, Kavad managed to free himself from imprisonment, and went to the court of the Hephthalite king, where he took refuge. There Kavad gained the support of the Hephthalite king, and also married the latters daughter (who was Kavad's own niece). In 498, Kavad returned to Iran with a Hephthalite army. When Kavad crossed the domains of the Kanarangiyan family in Khorasan, he was met by a member of the family, Adergoudounbades, who agreed to lend his aid. Another noble who supported Kavad was Zarmihr Karen, a son of Sukhra.

paragraph: Jamasp, including the nobility and clergy did not put any resistance as they wanted to prevent another civil war. They made an agreement with Kavad that he would be shah again with the understanding that he would not hurt Jamasp nor the elite. Jamasp was spared, however Gushnaspdad and other nobles who had plotted against Kavad were executed. Generally, however, Kavad secured his position by lenience. Adergoudounbades was appointed as the new head of the Kanarangiyan, while Siyawush was appointed as the head of the Sasanian army ("arteshtaran-salar"). Another son of Sukhra, Bozorgmehr, was made Kavad's minister ("wuzurg framadār"). Kavad's reclaim of his throne displays the troubled circumstances of the empire, where in a time of anarchy a small force was able to overwhelm the nobility-clergy alliance.

paragraph: Section::::Second reign.

paragraph: Section::::Second reign.:Reforms.

paragraph: Kavad's reign is noteworthy for his reforms, which he had been able to make now with the nobility and clergy weakened by the Mazdakites. The reforms would not be completed under his reign, and would be continued by his son, Khosrow I. A new tax reform was implemented, a poll tax was created, and a examination of taxable land was made in order to make sure that the taxation was fair. The empire was divided into four frontier regions, with a military commander ("spahbed") in charge of each district, whilst a chancery was also added to keep the soldiers equipped. Before the reforms of Kavad and Khosrow, the general of the Iranians ("Eran-spahbed") managed the army of the whole empire. Furthermore, a new priestly office was also created named "advocate and judge of the poor" ("driyōšān jādag-gōw ud dādwar"), which assisted the clergy to help the poor and underprivileged (an obligation they had possibly ignored previously). The power of the dehqan, a class of small land-owning magnates, substantially increased (and possibly even led to their establishment in the first place).

paragraph: Section::::Second reign.:Persecution of Mazdak and his followers.

paragraph: With the reforms roaring by the 520s, Kavad no longer had use of Mazdak. As a result, he officially withdrew his support from the Mazdakites. A debate was arranged, where not only the Zoroastrian priesthood, but also the Christian and Jewish ones slandered Mazdak and his followers. According to the Shahnameh ("The Book of Kings"), written several centuries later by the medieval Persian poet Ferdowsi, Kavad had Mazdak and his supporters sent to Khosrow, who had his supporters killed by burying their heads in a walled orchard, with only their feet being visible. Khosrow then summoned Mazdak to look at his garden, saying the following; "You will ﬁnd trees there that no-one has ever seen and no-one ever heard of even from the mouth of the ancient sages." Mazdak, seeing his followers corpses, screamed and passed out. He was afterwards executed by Khosrow, who had his feet fastened on a gallows, and had his men shoot arrows at him. The validity of the story is uncertain; Ferdowsi used much earlier reports of events to write the Shahnameh, and thus the story may report some form of contemporary memory.

paragraph: Section::::Second reign.:Constructions.

paragraph: Many places were founded and re-built under Kavad. He founded Eran-asan-kerd-Kawad in Media; Fahraj in Spahan; Weh-Kawad, Eran-win(n)ard-Kawad, Kawad-xwarrah, and Arrajan in Pars. He rebuilt Kirmanshah in Media, which he also used as one of his residences. He founded a township in Meybod, which was named Haft-adhar ("seven fires"), due to a Zoroastrian fire temple being established there, whose original fire was supported by fires brought from seven other temples in Pars, Balkh, Adurbadagan, Nisa, Spahan, Ghazni, and Ctesiphon. In the Caucasus, Kavad had new fortifications made at Derbent, and ordered the construction of the Apzut Kawat wall (Middle Persian: "*Abzūd Kawād", "Kavad increased [in glory]" or "has prospered"). The prominent fortress of P'artaw, which had been rebuilt during the reign of Peroz I and named Perozabad ("the city of Peroz"), was fortified by Kavad under the name of Perozkavad ("victorious Kavad").

paragraph: Section::::Second reign.:Relations with his Christian subjects.

paragraph: Kavad's relation with his Christian subjects are unclear. In Christian Iberia, where the Sasanians had earlier tried to spread Zoroastrianism, Kavad represented himself as an advocate of orthodox Zoroastrianism. In Armenia, however, Kavad settled the disputes with the Christians and appears to have continued the pacific approach of Balash. The Christians of Mesopotamia and Iran proper practised their religion without any persecution, despite the punishment of Christians in Iran proper being briefly mentioned in . Like Jamasp, Kavad also supported the Patriarchs of the Church of the East, Babai, with Christians serving in high offices at the Sasanian court.

paragraph: Section::::Second reign.:Anastasian war.

paragraph: The Sasanians and Byzantines had kept peace since the brief Byzantine–Sasanian War of 440. The last major war between the two empires had been during the reign of Shapur II (). However, war finally erupted in 502. Kavad needed money to pay his debts to the Hephthalites who had helped him regain his throne, and he applied for subsidies to the Byzantine Empire, which had before supported the Sasanians. But now the Emperor Anastasius I () refused subsidies, which made Kavad try to gain the money by force. According to another source, the Iranians had been displeased with the Byzantines reluctance to aid them in the defense of the Caucasus against the Huns. Regardless, in 502, Kavad captured Theodosiopolis, perhaps with local support; the city was in any case undefended by troops and weakly fortified.

paragraph: He then besieged the fortress-city of Amida through the autumn and winter (502–503). The siege of the city proved to be a far more difficult enterprise than Kavad expected; the defenders, although unsupported by troops, repelled the Iranian assaults for three months before they were finally beaten. The Byzantines attempted to recapture the city, but they were unsuccessful. Kavad then tried to capture Edessa in Osroene, but was unsuccessful. In 505 an invasion of Armenia by the Huns from the Caucasus led to an armistice, during which the Byzantines paid subsidies to the Iranians for the maintenance of the fortifications on the Caucasus, and in return for Amida, which was captured by Kavad. The peace treaty was signed by the Ispahbudhan aristocrat Bawi, the brother-in-law of Kavad. Although Kavad's first war with the Byzantines did not end with a decisive winner, the conquest of Amida was the most prominent accomplishment achieved by a Sasanian army since 359, when the same city had been captured by Shapur II.

paragraph: Section::::Second reign.:Wars in the east.

paragraph: Not much is known about Kavad's wars in the east; according to Procopius, Kavad was forced to leave for the eastern frontier in 503 to deal with an attack by "hostile Huns", one of the many clashes in a reportedly lengthy war. After the Sasanian disaster at the battle of Herat in 484, all of Khorasan was seized by the Hephthalites; no Sasanian coin mints from the area (Nishapur, Herat, Marw) have been found from this period until the second reign of Kavad, where a Sasanian coin dating to 512/3 has been found in Marw. This indicates that the Sasanians under Kavad had managed to re-conquer Khorasan after successfully dealing with the Hephthalites.

paragraph: Section::::Second reign.:Negotiations with the Byzantines over the adoption of Khosrow.

paragraph: In , Kavad, in order to secure the succession of his youngest son Khosrow, whose position was threatened by rival brothers and the Mazdakite sect, proposed that Emperor Justin I adopt him. The proposal was initially greeted with enthusiasm by the Byzantine Emperor and his nephew, Justinian, but Justin's "quaestor", Proclus, opposed the move, due to the concern of Khosrow possibly later trying to take over the Byzantine throne. The Byzantines instead made a counter-proposal to adopt Khosrow not as a Roman, but a barbarian. In the end the negotiations did not a consensus. Khosrow reportedly felt insulted by the Byzantines, and his attitude deteriorated towards them.

paragraph: Mahbod, who had along with Siyawush acted as the diplomats of the negotiations, accused the latter of purposely sabotaging the negotiations. Further accusations were made towards Siyawush, which included the reverence of new deities and having his dead wife buried, which was a violation of Iranian laws. Siyawush was thus most likely a Mazdakite, the religious sect that Kavad originally supported but now had withdrawn his support from. Although Siyawush was a close friend of Kavad and had helped him escape from imprisonment, the latter did not try to prevent his execution, seemingly with the purpose of restricting Siyawush's immensive authority as the head of the Sasanian army, a post which was disliked by the other nobles. Siyawush was executed, and his office was abolished. Despite the breakdown of the negotiations, it was not until 530 that full-scale warfare on the main eastern frontier broke out. In the intervening years, the two sides preferred to wage war by proxy, through Arab allies in the south and Huns in the north.

paragraph: Section::::Second reign.:Iberian war.

paragraph: Hostility between the two powers erupted into conflict once again in 528, just a year after the new Byzantine emperor Justinian I () had been crowned. The reason behind the war was supposedly due to the Byzantines not acknowledging Khosrow as Kavad's heir. According to the Greek chronicler John Malalas, military clashes first took place in Lazica, which had been disputed between the two empires since 522. Not longer after the battles also spread down to Mesopotamia, where the Byzantines suffered a heavy defeat near the border. In 530, one of the famous open-field battles took place between Byzantine and Sasanian troops took place at Dara.

paragraph: The Sasanian army, led by Perozes, Pityaxes and Baresmanas, suffered a severe defeat. The battle, did not, however, bring an end to the conflict. The following year Kavad raised an army, which he sent under Azarethes to invade the Byzantine province of Commagene. When the Byzantine army under Belisarius approached, Azarethes and his men withdrew east, halting at Callinicum. In the ensuing battle, the Byzantines suffered a heavy defeat, but Iranian losses too were so high that Kavad was displeased with Azarethes and relieved him of his command. In 531, the Iranians besieged Martyropolis−during the siege, however, Kavad became ill and died. As a result, the siege was lifted and peace was made between Kavad's successor Khosrow I and Justinian.

paragraph: Section::::Coins.

paragraph: The provinces of Gorgan, Khuzestan, and Asoristan provided the most mints for Kavad during his reign.

paragraph: Section::::Succession.

paragraph: Kavad I was succeeded by his youngest son Khosrow I; however, at the beginning of his reign in 531, Bawi, along with other members of the Iranian aristocracy, became involved in a conspiracy in which they tried to overthrow Khosrow and make Kavad, the son of Kavad's second eldest son Zamasp, the shah of Iran. Upon learning of the plot, Khosrow executed all his brothers and their offspring, along with Bawi and the other nobles who were involved.

paragraph: Khosrow also ordered the execution of Kavad, who was still a child, and was away from the court, being raised by Adergoudounbades. Khosrow sent orders to kill Kavad, but Adergoudounbades disobeyed and brought him up in secret, until he was betrayed to the shah in 541 by his own son, Bahram. Khosrow had him executed, but Kavad, or someone claiming to be him, managed to flee to the Byzantine Empire.

paragraph: Section::::Legacy.

paragraph: The reign of Kavad is considered a turning point in Sasanian history. Due to his accomplishments, he is considered one of the most effective and successful kings to rule the Sasanian Empire. He was successful in his efforts to reinvigorate his declining empire, which paved the way for a smooth transition to his son Khosrow I, who inherited a powerful empire, which was even further improved during his reign, becoming one of the most popular shahs of Iran, and as result earning the epithet of Anushirvan ("the immortal soul").

paragraph: Section::::Bibliography.

paragraph: Section::::Bibliography.:Ancient works.

paragraph: BULLET::::- Procopius, "History of the Wars".

description: king of the Sassanid Empire

wikidata_label: Kavadh I

wikipedia_title: Kavad I