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Bahram Chobin was then defeated at the [[Battle of Blarathon]], forcing him to flee with 4,000 men eastwards. He marched towards [[Nishapur]], where he defeated a pursuing army as well as an army led by a [[House of Karen|Karenid]] nobleman at [[Qumis (region)|Qumis]]. Constantly troubled, he finally arrived in [[Fergana]]<ref>Gumilev L.N. Bahram Chubin, pp. 229 - 230</ref>{{sfn|Shahbazi|1988|pp=514–522}} where he was received honorably by the Khagan of the Turks, who was most likely Birmudha–the same Turkic prince that Bahram Chobin had defeated and captured a few years earlier during his wars against the Turks.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=178}} Bahram Chobin entered his service, and was appointed as a commander in the army, achieving further military accomplishments there.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=242}}{{sfn|Shahbazi|1988|pp=514–522}} Bahram Chobin became a highly popular figure after saving the Khagan from a conspiracy instigated by the latters brother Byghu (conceivably an incorrect translation of ''[[yabghu]]'').{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=178}} Khosrow II, however, could not feel safe as long as Bahram Chobin lived, and succeeded in having him assassinated.{{sfn|Shahbazi|1988|pp=514–522}} The assassination was reportedly achieved through distribution of presents and bribes between the members of the Turkic royal family, notably the queen.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=242}} What remained of Bahram Chobin's supporters went back to northern Iran and joined the [[rebellion of Vistahm]] (590/1–596 or 594/5–600).{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|p=133-134}}
Bahram Chobin was then defeated at the [[Battle of Blarathon]], forcing him to flee with 4,000 men eastwards. He marched towards [[Nishapur]], where he defeated a pursuing army as well as an army led by a [[House of Karen|Karenid]] nobleman at [[Qumis (region)|Qumis]]. Constantly troubled, he finally arrived in [[Fergana]]<ref>Gumilev L.N. Bahram Chubin, pp. 229 - 230</ref>{{sfn|Shahbazi|1988|pp=514–522}} where he was received honorably by the Khagan of the Turks, who was most likely Birmudha–the same Turkic prince that Bahram Chobin had defeated and captured a few years earlier during his wars against the Turks.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=178}} Bahram Chobin entered his service, and was appointed as a commander in the army, achieving further military accomplishments there.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=242}}{{sfn|Shahbazi|1988|pp=514–522}} Bahram Chobin became a highly popular figure after saving the Khagan from a conspiracy instigated by the latters brother Byghu (conceivably an incorrect translation of ''[[yabghu]]'').{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=178}} Khosrow II, however, could not feel safe as long as Bahram Chobin lived, and succeeded in having him assassinated.{{sfn|Shahbazi|1988|pp=514–522}} The assassination was reportedly achieved through distribution of presents and bribes between the members of the Turkic royal family, notably the queen.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=242}} What remained of Bahram Chobin's supporters went back to northern Iran and joined the [[rebellion of Vistahm]] (590/1–596 or 594/5–600).{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|p=133-134}}

== Second reign ==
===Rebellion of Vistahm===
After his victory, Khosrow rewarded his uncles with high positions: [[Vinduyih]] became treasurer and first minister and [[Vistahm]] received the post of ''[[spahbed]]'' of the East, encompassing [[Tabaristan]] and [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]], which was the traditional homeland of the Ispahbudhan.{{sfn|Shapur Shahbazi|1989|p=180–182}}{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|pp=131–132}} Soon, however, Khosrow changed his intentions: trying to disassociate himself from his father's murder, he decided to execute his uncles. The Sasanian monarchs' traditional mistrust of over-powerful magnates and Khosrow's personal resentment of Vinduyih's patronising manner certainly contributed to this decision. Vinduyih was soon put to death, according to a Syriac source captured while trying to flee to his brother in the East.{{sfn|Shapur Shahbazi|1989|p=180–182}}{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|pp=132, 134}}
[[Image:Drachm of Bistam, 595 or 596 Rayy.jpg|thumb|Coin of Vistahm, minted at [[Ray, Iran|Ray]]]]
At the news of his brother's murder, Vistahm rose in open revolt. According to [[Dinawari]], Vistahm sent a letter to Khosrow announcing his claim to the throne through his Parthian ([[Arsacid dynasty of Parthia|Arsacid]]) heritage: "You are not worthier to rule than I am. Indeed, I am more deserving on account of my descent from [[Darius III|Darius, son of Darius]], who fought [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]]. You Sasanians deceitfully gained superiority over us [the Arsacids] and usurped our right, and treated us with injustice. Your ancestor Sasan was no more than a shepherd." Vistahm's revolt, like Bahrams's shortly before, found support and spread quickly. Local magnates as well as the remnants of Bahram Chobin's armies flocked to him, especially after he married Bahram's sister [[Gordiya]]. Vistahm repelled several loyalist efforts to subdue him, and he soon held sway in the entire eastern and northern quadrants of the Iranian realm, a domain stretching from the [[Oxus]] river to the region of [[Ardabil]] in the west. He even campaigned in the east, where he subdued two [[Hephthalite]] princes of [[Transoxiana]], Shaug and Pariowk.{{sfn|Shapur Shahbazi|1989|p=180–182}}{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|pp=132–133, 135}} The date of Vistahm's uprising is uncertain. From his coinage, it is known that his rebellion lasted for seven years. The commonly accepted dates are ca. 590–596, but some scholars like J.D. Howard–Johnston and P. Pourshariati push its outbreak later, in 594/5, to coincide with the Armenian [[Vahewuni]] rebellion.{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|pp=133–134}}

As Vistahm began to threaten [[Media (region)|Media]], Khosrow sent several armies against his uncle, but failed to achieve a decisive result: Vistahm and his followers retreated to the mountainous region of [[Gilan]], while several Armenian contingents of the royal army rebelled and defected to Vistahm. Finally, Khosrow called upon the services of the Armenian [[Smbat IV Bagratuni|Smbat Bagratuni]], who engaged Vistahm near [[Qumis, Iran|Qumis]]. During the battle, Vistahm was murdered by Pariowk at Khosrow's urging (or, according to an alternative account, by his wife Gordiya). Nevertheless, Vistahm's troops managed to repel the royal army at Qumis, and it required another expedition by Smbat in the next year to finally end the rebellion.{{sfn|Shapur Shahbazi|1989|p=180–182}}{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|pp=136–137}}


== Coinage ==
== Coinage ==

Revision as of 15:01, 26 August 2020

Khosrow II
𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩
King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians
Khosrow II's portrait on the obverse of a gold coin, minted in 611
Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire
1st Reign590
PredecessorHormizd IV
SuccessorBahram Chobin
2nd Reign591 – 25 February 628
PredecessorBahram Chobin
SuccessorKavad II
Bornc. 570
Died28 February 628(628-02-28) (aged 57–58)
Consort
Issue
HouseHouse of Sasan
FatherHormizd IV
ReligionZoroastrianism

Khosrow II (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; Template:Lang-pal; New Persian: خسرو [xosˈroʊ̯]), was the last great Sasanian monarch of Iran, ruling from 590 to 628, with an interruption of one year.[1]

Name

"Khosrow" is the New Persian variant of his name used by scholars; his original name was Middle Persian, Husraw, itself derived from Avestan Haosrauuah ("he who has good fame").[2] The name is transliterated in Greek as Chosroes and in Arabic as Kisra.[3]

Background

Khosrow II was born in c. 570; he was the son of Hormizd IV and an unnamed noblewoman from the House of Ispahbudhan, one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran.[1] Her brothers, Vinduyih and Vistahm, were to have a profound influence in Khosrow II's early life.[1] Khosrow's paternal grandfather was the famed Sasanian shah Khosrow I Anushirvan (r. 531–579), whilst his paternal grandmother was the daughter of the khagan of the Khazars.[4] Khosrow is first mentioned in the 580s, when he was at Partaw, the capital of Caucasian Albania. During his stay there, he served as the governor of the kingdom, and managed to put an end to the Kingdom of Iberia and make it into a Sasanian province.[1] Furthermore, Khosrow II also served as the governor of Arbela in Mesopotamia around this period.[5]

Rebellion of Bahram Chobin

Overthrow of Hormizd IV and accession

In 590, Hormizd IV had his prominent general Bahram Chobin 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. He then appointed a new governor for Khorasan, and afterwards set for the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon.[6] The legitimacy of the House of Sasan had been established in the credence that the halo of kingship, the xwarrah, was given to the first Sasanian shah, Ardashir I (r. 224–242) and his family following the latter's conquest of the Parthian Empire.[7] This was now, however, disputed by Bahram Chobin, thus marking the first time in Sasanian history that a Parthian dynast challenged the legitimacy of the Sasanian family by rebelling.[8][7]

Meanwhile, Hormizd tried to come to terms with his brothers-in-law Vistahm and Vinduyih, who according to the Syriac writer Joshua the Stylite, both "equally hated Hormizd".[1][9] The two brothers overthrew Hormizd in a seemingly bloodless palace revolution.[1][9] They had Hormizd blinded with a red-hot needle, and put Khosrow II on the throne.[10][1] Sometime in the summer of 590, the two brothers then had Hormizd killed, with at least the implicit approval of Khosrow II.[1] Nevertheless, Bahram Chobin continued his march to Ctesiphon, now with the pretext of claiming to avenge Hormizd.[11]

Khosrow then took a carrot and stick attitude, and wrote a message to Bahram Chobin, stressing his rightful claim to the Sasanian kingship: "Khosrow, kings of kings, ruler over the ruling, lord of the peoples, prince of peace, salvation of men, among gods the good and eternally living man, among men the most esteemed god, the highly illustrious, the victor, the one who rises with the sun and who lends the night his eyesight, the one famed through his ancestors, the king who hates, the benefactor who engaged the Sasanians and saved the Iranians their kingship—to Bahram, the general of the Iranians, our friend.... We have also taken over the royal throne in a lawful manner and have upset no Iranian customs.... We have so firmly decided not to take off the diadem that we even expected to rule over other worlds, if this were possible.... If you wish your welfare, think about what is to be done."[12]

Flight

Bahram Chobin fighting Sasanian loyalists near Ctesiphon.

Bahram Chobin, however, ignored his warning—a few days later, he reached the Nahrawan Canal near Ctesiphon, where he fought Khosrow's men, who were heavily outnumbered, but managed to hold Bahram Chobin's men back in several clashes. However, Khosrow's men eventually began losing their morale, and were in the end defeated by Bahram Chobin's forces. Khosrow, together with his two uncles, his wives, and a retinue of 30 nobles, thereafter fled to Byzantine territory, while Ctesiphon fell to Bahram Chobin.[1] Bahram Chobin declared himself king of kings in the summer of 590, asserting that the first Sasanian king Ardashir I (r. 224–242) had usurped the throne of the Arsacids, and that he now was restoring their rule.[6]

Bahram Chobin tried to support his cause with the Zoroastrian apocalyptic belief that by the end of Zoroaster's millennium, chaos and destructive wars with the Hephthalites/Huns and the Romans occurs and then a savior would appear. Indeed, the Sasanians had misidentified Zoroaster's era with that of the Seleucids (312 BC), which put Bahram Chobin's life almost at the end of Zoroaster's millennium, he was therefore hailed by many as the promised savior Kay Bahram Varjavand.[6] Bahram was to re-establish the Arsacid Empire and commenced a new millennium of dynastic rule. He started minting coins, where he is on the front imitated as an exalted figure, bearded and wearing a crenellation-shaped crown with two crescents of the moon, whilst the reverse shows the traditional fire altar flanked by two attendants.[6] Regardless, many nobles and priests still chose to side with the inexperienced and less dominant Khosrow II.[6]

In order to get the attention of the Byzantine emperor Maurice (r. 582–602), Khosrow II went to Syria, and sent a message to the Sasanian occupied city of Martyropolis to stop their resistance against the Byzantines, but with no avail.[13] He then sent a message to Maurice, and requested his help to regain the Sasanian throne, which the Byzantine emperor agreed with; in return, the Byzantines would re-gain sovereignty over the cities of Amida, Carrhae, Dara and Martyropolis. Furthermore, Iran was required to stop intervening in the affairs of Iberia and Armenia, effectively ceding control of Lazistan to the Byzantines.[1]

Return to Iran

Illustration of the forces of Bahram Chobin and Khosrow II fighting.

In 591, Khosrow moved to Constantia and prepared to invade Bahram Chobin's territories in Mesopotamia, while Vistahm and Vinduyih were raising an army in Adurbadagan under the observation of the Byzantine commander John Mystacon, who was also raising an army in Armenia. After some time, Khosrow, along with the Byzantine commander of the south, Comentiolus, invaded Mesopotamia. During this invasion, Nisibis and Martyropolis quickly defected to them,[1] and Bahram Chobin's commander Zatsparham was defeated and killed.[14] One of Bahram Chobin's other commanders, Bryzacius, was captured in Mosil and had his nose and ears cut off, and was thereafter sent to Khosrow, where he was killed.[15][16] Khosrow II and the Byzantine general Narses then penetrated deeper into Bahram's territory, seizing Dara and then Mardin in February, where Khosrow was re-proclaimed king.[14] Shortly after this, Khosrow sent one of his Iranian supporters, Mahbodh, to capture Ctesiphon, which he managed to accomplish.[17]

Map of the Roman-Sasanian frontier during Late Antiquity, including the 591 border that was established between the two empires after Khosrow II's victory over Bahram Chobin.

At the same time a force of 8,000 Iranians under Vistahm and Vinduyih and 12,000 Armenians under Mushegh II Mamikonian invaded Adurbadagan.[6] Bahram Chobin tried to disrupt the force by writing a letter to Mushegh II, the letter said: "As for you Armenians who demonstrate an unseasonable loyalty, did not the house of Sasan destroy your land and sovereignty? Why otherwise did your fathers rebel and extricate themselves from their service, fighting up until today for your country?"[18] Bahram Chobin in his letter promised that the Armenians would become partners of the new Iranian empire ruled by a Parthian dynastic family if he accepted his proposal to betray Khosrow II.[19] Mushegh, however, rejected the offer.[19]

Bahram Chobin was then defeated at the Battle of Blarathon, forcing him to flee with 4,000 men eastwards. He marched towards Nishapur, where he defeated a pursuing army as well as an army led by a Karenid nobleman at Qumis. Constantly troubled, he finally arrived in Fergana[20][6] where he was received honorably by the Khagan of the Turks, who was most likely Birmudha–the same Turkic prince that Bahram Chobin had defeated and captured a few years earlier during his wars against the Turks.[11] Bahram Chobin entered his service, and was appointed as a commander in the army, achieving further military accomplishments there.[21][6] Bahram Chobin became a highly popular figure after saving the Khagan from a conspiracy instigated by the latters brother Byghu (conceivably an incorrect translation of yabghu).[11] Khosrow II, however, could not feel safe as long as Bahram Chobin lived, and succeeded in having him assassinated.[6] The assassination was reportedly achieved through distribution of presents and bribes between the members of the Turkic royal family, notably the queen.[21] What remained of Bahram Chobin's supporters went back to northern Iran and joined the rebellion of Vistahm (590/1–596 or 594/5–600).[22]

Second reign

Rebellion of Vistahm

After his victory, Khosrow rewarded his uncles with high positions: Vinduyih became treasurer and first minister and Vistahm received the post of spahbed of the East, encompassing Tabaristan and Khorasan, which was the traditional homeland of the Ispahbudhan.[23][24] Soon, however, Khosrow changed his intentions: trying to disassociate himself from his father's murder, he decided to execute his uncles. The Sasanian monarchs' traditional mistrust of over-powerful magnates and Khosrow's personal resentment of Vinduyih's patronising manner certainly contributed to this decision. Vinduyih was soon put to death, according to a Syriac source captured while trying to flee to his brother in the East.[23][25]

Coin of Vistahm, minted at Ray

At the news of his brother's murder, Vistahm rose in open revolt. According to Dinawari, Vistahm sent a letter to Khosrow announcing his claim to the throne through his Parthian (Arsacid) heritage: "You are not worthier to rule than I am. Indeed, I am more deserving on account of my descent from Darius, son of Darius, who fought Alexander. You Sasanians deceitfully gained superiority over us [the Arsacids] and usurped our right, and treated us with injustice. Your ancestor Sasan was no more than a shepherd." Vistahm's revolt, like Bahrams's shortly before, found support and spread quickly. Local magnates as well as the remnants of Bahram Chobin's armies flocked to him, especially after he married Bahram's sister Gordiya. Vistahm repelled several loyalist efforts to subdue him, and he soon held sway in the entire eastern and northern quadrants of the Iranian realm, a domain stretching from the Oxus river to the region of Ardabil in the west. He even campaigned in the east, where he subdued two Hephthalite princes of Transoxiana, Shaug and Pariowk.[23][26] The date of Vistahm's uprising is uncertain. From his coinage, it is known that his rebellion lasted for seven years. The commonly accepted dates are ca. 590–596, but some scholars like J.D. Howard–Johnston and P. Pourshariati push its outbreak later, in 594/5, to coincide with the Armenian Vahewuni rebellion.[27]

As Vistahm began to threaten Media, Khosrow sent several armies against his uncle, but failed to achieve a decisive result: Vistahm and his followers retreated to the mountainous region of Gilan, while several Armenian contingents of the royal army rebelled and defected to Vistahm. Finally, Khosrow called upon the services of the Armenian Smbat Bagratuni, who engaged Vistahm near Qumis. During the battle, Vistahm was murdered by Pariowk at Khosrow's urging (or, according to an alternative account, by his wife Gordiya). Nevertheless, Vistahm's troops managed to repel the royal army at Qumis, and it required another expedition by Smbat in the next year to finally end the rebellion.[23][28]

Coinage

Khosrow II (r. 590–590, 591–628), during his second reign, added the ideogram GDH, meaning xwarrah ("royal splendor") on his coins. He combined this together with the word abzōt ("he has increased"), making the full inscription thus read as: "Khosrow, he has increased the royal splendor" (Khūsrōkhwarrah abzōt).[29] The title of King of Kings was also restored on his coins.[29] His two successors, Kavad II (r. 628–628) and Ardashir III (r. 628–630), refrained from using the title, seemingly in order distance themselves from Khosrow II.[29]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Howard-Johnston 2010.
  2. ^ Skjærvø 2000; Nicholson, Canepa & Daryaee 2018
  3. ^ Nicholson, Canepa & Daryaee 2018.
  4. ^ Shahbazi 2004, pp. 466–467.
  5. ^ Hansman 1986, pp. 277–278.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shahbazi 1988, pp. 514–522.
  7. ^ a b Shayegan 2017, p. 810.
  8. ^ Pourshariati 2008, p. 96.
  9. ^ a b Shahbazi 1989, pp. 180–182.
  10. ^ Al-Tabari 1985–2007, v. 5: p. 49.
  11. ^ a b c Rezakhani 2017, p. 178.
  12. ^ Kia 2016, p. 241.
  13. ^ Greatrex & Lieu 2002, p. 172.
  14. ^ a b Greatrex & Lieu 2002, p. 173.
  15. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris 1992, p. 251.
  16. ^ Rawlinson 2004, p. 509.
  17. ^ Greatrex & Lieu 2002, p. 174.
  18. ^ Pourshariati 2008, pp. 128–129.
  19. ^ a b Pourshariati 2008, p. 129.
  20. ^ Gumilev L.N. Bahram Chubin, pp. 229 - 230
  21. ^ a b Kia 2016, p. 242.
  22. ^ Pourshariati 2008, p. 133-134.
  23. ^ a b c d Shapur Shahbazi 1989, p. 180–182.
  24. ^ Pourshariati 2008, pp. 131–132.
  25. ^ Pourshariati 2008, pp. 132, 134.
  26. ^ Pourshariati 2008, pp. 132–133, 135.
  27. ^ Pourshariati 2008, pp. 133–134.
  28. ^ Pourshariati 2008, pp. 136–137.
  29. ^ a b c Schindel 2013, p. 837.

Sources

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