Yazdegerd III is recognized as king of Iran
100-693: The Sasanian civil war of 628–632 , also known as the Sasanian Interregnum was a conflict that broke out after the execution of the Sasanian king Khosrow II between the nobles of different factions, notably the Parthian ( Pahlav ) faction, the Persian ( Parsig ) faction, the Nimruzi faction, and the faction of general Shahrbaraz . Rapid turnover of rulers and increasing provincial landholder power further diminished
200-402: A Roman counter-offensive two years later ended inconclusively. Ardashīr began leading campaigns into Greater Khurasan as early as 233, extending his power to Khwarazm in the north and Sistan in the south while capturing lands from Gorgan to Abarshahr, Marw, and as far east as Balkh . Ardashir I's son Shapur I continued the expansion of the empire, conquering Bactria and the western portion of
300-575: A force of 6,000 men marched towards Ctesiphon and besieged the city . Shahrbaraz, however, was unable to capture the city, and then made an alliance with Piruz Khosrow , the leader of the Parsig , and the previous minister of the Empire during the reign of Ardashir's father. With the support of both the Parsig and Nimruzi , Shahrbaraz captured Ctesiphon and executed Ardashir, Mah-Adhur Gushnasp himself, and many other prominent nobles. Shahrbaraz then ascended
400-635: A force of 6,000 men, marched towards Ctesiphon and besieged the city. Shahrbaraz, however, was unable to capture the city, and then made an alliance with Piruz Khosrow , the leader of the Parsig faction, and the previous minister of the Empire during the reign of Ardashir's father, Kavad II . He also made an alliance with Namdar Gushnasp, the spahbed of Nimruz . Shahrbaraz, with the aid of these two powerful figures, captured Ctesiphon , and executed Ardashir III , along with Mah-Adhur himself, including other Sasanian nobles like Ardabīl. Forty days later, Shahrbaraz
500-559: A general amnesty, which brought Armenia back into the Sassanid Empire. Around 570, "Ma 'd-Karib", half-brother of the King of Yemen, requested Khosrow I's intervention. Khosrow I sent a fleet and a small army under a commander called Vahriz to the area near present Aden , and they marched against the capital San'a'l, which was occupied. Saif, son of Mard-Karib, who had accompanied the expedition, became King sometime between 575 and 577. Thus,
600-577: A highly advantageous peace treaty with the new emperor Philip the Arab , by which he secured the immediate payment of 500,000 denarii and further annual payments. Shapur soon resumed the war, defeated the Romans at Barbalissos (253), and then probably took and plundered Antioch . Roman counter-attacks under the emperor Valerian ended in disaster when the Roman army was defeated and besieged at Edessa and Valerian
700-495: A hunting trip in 309. Following Hormizd II's death, northern Arabs started to ravage and plunder the western cities of the empire, even attacking the province of Fars, the birthplace of the Sassanid kings. Meanwhile, Persian nobles killed Hormizd II's eldest son, blinded the second, and imprisoned the third (who later escaped into Roman territory). The throne was reserved for Shapur II , the unborn child of one of Hormizd II's wives who
800-581: A major Byzantine offensive in Armenia was defeated at Anglon . Also in 541, Khosrow I entered Lazica at the invitation of its king, captured the main Byzantine stronghold at Petra , and established another protectorate over the country, commencing the Lazic War . A five-year truce agreed to in 545 was interrupted in 547 when Lazica again switched sides and eventually expelled its Persian garrison with Byzantine help;
900-681: A member of the Parthian House of Karen , one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran , quickly raised a new force and stopped the Hephthalites from achieving further success. Peroz's brother, Balash , was elected as shah by the Iranian magnates, most notably Sukhra and the Mihranid general Shapur Mihran . Balash (484–488) was a mild and generous monarch, and showed care towards his subjects, including
1000-616: A number of battles he crushed them and drove them out beyond the Oxus river in 450. During his eastern campaign, Yazdegerd II grew suspicious of the Christians in the army and expelled them all from the governing body and army. He then persecuted the Christians in his land, and, to a much lesser extent, the Jews . In order to reestablish Zoroastrianism in Armenia, he crushed an uprising of Armenian Christians at
1100-410: A rational system of taxation based upon a survey of landed possessions , which his father had begun, and he tried in every way to increase the welfare and the revenues of his empire. Previous great feudal lords fielded their own military equipment, followers, and retainers. Khosrow I developed a new force of dehqans , or "knights", paid and equipped by the central government and the bureaucracy, tying
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#17328525884191200-457: A relatively peaceful era with the Romans, and he even took the young Theodosius II (408–450) under his guardianship. Yazdegerd also married a Jewish princess, who bore him a son called Narsi. Yazdegerd I's successor was his son Bahram V (421–438), one of the most well-known Sasanian kings and the hero of many myths. These myths persisted even after the destruction of the Sasanian Empire by
1300-778: A strategically critical area for control of the Silk Road . Shapur therefore marched east toward Transoxiana to meet the eastern nomads, leaving his local commanders to mount nuisance raids on the Romans. He crushed the Central Asian tribes, and annexed the area as a new province. In the east around 325, Shapur II regained the upper hand against the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom and took control of large territories in areas now known as Afghanistan and Pakistan . Cultural expansion followed this victory, and Sasanian art penetrated Transoxiana , reaching as far as China. Shapur, along with
1400-571: 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 the chaotic Sasanian civil war of 628–632, 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
1500-628: The Battle of Hormozdgan in 224, Ardashir's dynasty replaced that of the Arsacids and promptly set out to restore the legacy of the Achaemenid Empire by expanding the newly acquired Sasanian dominions. At its greatest territorial extent, the Sasanian Empire encompassed all of modern-day Iran and Iraq and parts of the Arabian Peninsula (particularly Eastern Arabia and South Arabia ), as well as
1600-533: The Battle of Vartanantz in 451. The Armenians, however, remained primarily Christian. In his later years, he was engaged yet again with the Kidarites right up until his death in 457. Hormizd III (457–459), the younger son of Yazdegerd II, then ascended to the throne. During his short rule, he continually fought with his elder brother Peroz I , who had the support of the nobility, and with the Hephthalites in Bactria . He
1700-587: The Caucasus , the Levant , and parts of Central Asia and South Asia . One of the high points in Iranian civilization, the Sasanian dynasty's rule was characterized by a complex and centralized government bureaucracy, and also revitalized Zoroastrianism as a legitimizing and unifying ideal. This period saw the construction of many grand monuments, public works, and patronized cultural and educational institutions. The Sasanian Empire's cultural influence extended far beyond
1800-578: The Iranians ' ), was the last pre-Islamic Iranian empire . Named after the House of Sasan , it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651, making it the second longest-lived Persian imperial dynasty after the directly preceding Arsacid dynasty of Parthia . It fell to the Rashidun Caliphate during the early Muslim conquests , which marked the beginning of a monumental societal shift by initiating
1900-582: The Islamization of Iran . Upon succeeding the Parthians, the Sasanian dynasty re-established the Persian nation as a major power in late antiquity , and also continued to compete extensively with the neighbouring Roman Empire . It was founded by Ardashir I , a ruler who rose to power as Parthia weakened amidst internal strife and the Roman–Persian Wars . After defeating Artabanus IV of Parthia during
2000-683: The Mamikonian family, touching off a revolt which led to the massacre of the Persian governor and his guard in 571, while rebellion also broke out in Iberia . Justin II took advantage of the Armenian revolt to stop his yearly payments to Khosrow I for the defense of the Caucasus passes. The Armenians were welcomed as allies, and an army was sent into Sassanid territory which besieged Nisibis in 573. However, dissension among
2100-545: The Mihran family , the Armenian faction represented by Varaztirots II Bagratuni , and finally Kanadbak of the Kanārangīyān family . On 25 February, Khosrow's son 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
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#17328525884192200-537: The Nimruzi withdrew their support for the shah, and started to conspire with the distinguished Iranian general Shahrbaraz to overthrow him. The Pahlav , under their leader Farrukh Hormizd of the Ispahbudhan clan, responded by supporting Ardashir's aunt Boran as the new ruler of Iran, who subsequently started minting coins in the Pahlav areas of Amol , Nishapur , Gurgan and Ray . One year later, Shahrbaraz with
2300-682: The Pahlav and Parsig , asked Azarmidokht (who was a Parsig nominee) to marry him. Azarmidokht, however, declined. After having his proposal declined, Farrukh Hormizd "no longer shied away from the throne itself", declaring "Today I am the leader of the people and the pillar of the country of Iran." He started minting coins in the same fashion as a monarch, notably in Istakhr in Pars and Nahavand in Media . In order to deal with Farrukh Hormizd, Azarmidokht supposedly allied herself with Mihranid dynast Siyavakhsh , who
2400-535: The Parsig was based. The Pahlav , who were mainly based in the northern portion of the empire, refused to mint coins of him. The empire was also at the same time invaded on all fronts; by the Göktürks in the east, and by Khazars in the west, who raided Armenia and Adurbadagan . The Sasanian army had been heavily weakened due to the war with the Byzantines and internal conflict. The circumstances were so chaotic, and
2500-652: The Shabuhragan , to him) and sent many Manichaean missionaries abroad. He also befriended a Babylonian rabbi called Samuel . This friendship was advantageous for the Jewish community and gave them a respite from the oppressive laws enacted against them. Later kings reversed Shapur's policy of religious tolerance. When Shapur's son Bahram I acceded to the throne, he was pressured by the Zoroastrian high-priest Kartir Bahram I to kill Mani and persecute his followers. Bahram II
2600-499: The Tigris , taking Ctesiphon. Narseh had previously sent an ambassador to Galerius to plead for the return of his wives and children. Peace negotiations began in the spring of 299, with both Diocletian and Galerius presiding. The conditions of the peace were heavy: Persia would give up territory to Rome, making the Tigris the boundary between the two empires. Further terms specified that Armenia
2700-754: The king says "I am the lord of the Empire of the Iranians". More commonly, as the ruling dynasty was named after Sasan , the empire is known as the Sasanian Empire in historical and academic sources. This term is also recorded in English as the Sassanian Empire , the Sasanid Empire , and the Sassanid Empire . Conflicting accounts shroud the details of the fall of the Parthian Empire and subsequent rise of
2800-409: The 400-year-old Parthian Empire to an end, and beginning four centuries of Sassanid rule. In the next few years, local rebellions occurred throughout the empire. Nonetheless, Ardashir I further expanded his new empire to the east and northwest, conquering the provinces of Sakastan , Gorgan , Khorasan , Marw (in modern Turkmenistan ), Balkh and Chorasmia . He also added Bahrain and Mosul to
2900-623: The Alchon Tamgha and the name "Alchono" in Bactrian script on the obverse, and with attendants to a fire altar on the reverse. Shapur II pursued a harsh religious policy. Under his reign, the collection of the Avesta , the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, was completed, heresy and apostasy were punished, and Christians were persecuted. The latter was a reaction against the Christianization of
3000-591: The Arabs. Bahram gained the crown after Yazdegerd's sudden death (or assassination), which occurred when the grandees opposed the king with the help of al-Mundhir , the Arabic dynast of al-Hirah . Bahram's mother was Shushandukht , the daughter of the Jewish Exilarch . In 427, he crushed an invasion in the east by the nomadic Hephthalites , extending his influence into Central Asia, where his portrait survived for centuries on
3100-478: The Byzantine Empire and met little effective resistance. Khosrow's generals systematically subdued the heavily fortified frontier cities of Byzantine Mesopotamia and Armenia, laying the foundations for unprecedented expansion. The Persians overran Syria and captured Antioch in 611. In 613, outside Antioch, the Persian generals Shahrbaraz and Shahin decisively defeated a major counter-attack led in person by
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3200-422: The Byzantine Empire held a small portion of western Armenia. Bahram IV's son Yazdegerd I (399–421) is often compared to Constantine I . Both were physically and diplomatically powerful, opportunistic, practiced religious tolerance and provided freedom for the rise of religious minorities. Yazdegerd stopped the persecution against the Christians and punished nobles and priests who persecuted them. His reign marked
3300-584: The Byzantine emperor Heraclius . Thereafter, the Persian advance continued unchecked. Jerusalem fell in 614, Alexandria in 619, and the rest of Egypt by 621. The Sassanid dream of restoring the Achaemenid boundaries was almost complete, while the Byzantine Empire was on the verge of collapse. This remarkable peak of expansion was paralleled by a blossoming of Persian art , music , and architecture . While successful at its first stage (from 602 to 622),
3400-631: The Byzantine generals not only led to an abandonment of the siege, but they in turn were besieged in the city of Dara , which was taken by the Persians. Capitalizing on this success, the Persians then ravaged Syria, causing Justin II to agree to make annual payments in exchange for a five-year truce on the Mesopotamian front, although the war continued elsewhere. In 576 Khosrow I led his last campaign, an offensive into Anatolia which sacked Sebasteia and Melitene , but ended in disaster: defeated outside Melitene,
3500-506: The Christians. However, he proved unpopular among the nobility and clergy who had him deposed after just four years in 488. Sukhra, who had played a key role in Balash's deposition, appointed Peroz's son Kavad I as the new shah of Iran. According to Miskawayh (d. 1030), Sukhra was Kavad's maternal uncle. Kavad I (488–531) was an energetic and reformist ruler. He gave his support to the sect founded by Mazdak , son of Bamdad, who demanded that
3600-471: The Confessor ) and Artaxes ( Greek : Αρτάξης ; Chronographeion Syntomon ) Ardashir was the son of king Kavad II (r. 628) and Anzoy, who was a princess from the Byzantine Empire , which made Ardashir less popular among the Iranians, who had recently been in a long and devastating war against the Byzantines . In 628, a devastating plague spread through western Iran, which claimed the lives of half of
3700-486: The Eastern Romans, founded several cities, some of which were named after him, and began to regulate taxation and internal administration. After the reign of Kavad I, his son Khosrow I , also known as Anushirvan ("with the immortal soul"; ruled 531–579), ascended to the throne. He is the most celebrated of the Sassanid rulers. Khosrow I is most famous for his reforms in the aging governing body of Sassanids. He introduced
3800-500: The Empire; "Mah-Adhur Gushnasp carried on the administration of the kingdom in [such] an excellent fashion, [and with such] firm conduct, [that] no one would have been aware of Ardashir III's youthfulness." During the same period, a brother of Mah-Adhur Gushnasp named Narsi , was granted with Kashkar as a part of his domains, However, even under a strong vizier, things were still looking grim in Iran; Factionalism had greatly increased among
3900-462: The Euphrates in 296, he was eventually decisively defeated by them. Galerius had been reinforced, probably in the spring of 298, by a new contingent collected from the empire's Danubian holdings. Narseh did not advance from Armenia and Mesopotamia , leaving Galerius to lead the offensive in 298 with an attack on northern Mesopotamia via Armenia. Narseh retreated to Armenia to fight Galerius's force, to
4000-437: The Hephthalites. Smbat, with the aid of a Persian prince named Datoyean, repelled the Hephthalites from Persia, and plundered their domains in eastern Khorasan , where Smbat is said to have killed their king in single combat. After Maurice was overthrown and killed by Phocas (602–610) in 602, however, Khosrow II used the murder of his benefactor as a pretext to begin a new invasion, which benefited from continuing civil war in
4100-437: The Iranians, and several powerful factions which had emerged during the reign of Ardashir's grandfather Khosrau II , had gained firm control of important parts of Iran, while the Sasanian state was less-centralized than it had been under Ardashir's predecessors. Ardashir's ascension was supported by both the Pahlav (Parthian) and Parsig (Persian) faction, and a third major faction named the Nimruzi . However, sometime in 629,
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4200-548: The Kushan Empire, while leading several campaigns against Rome. Invading Roman Mesopotamia , Shapur I captured Carrhae and Nisibis , but in 243 the Roman general Timesitheus defeated the Persians at Rhesaina and regained the lost territories. The emperor Gordian III 's (238–244) subsequent advance down the Euphrates was defeated at Meshike (244), leading to Gordian's murder by his own troops and enabling Shapur to conclude
4300-634: The Persians in Anatolia and the Caucasus, winning a string of victories against Persian forces under Shahrbaraz , Shahin , and Shahraplakan (whose competition to claim the glory of personally defeating the Byzantine emperor contributed to their failure), sacking the great Zoroastrian temple at Ganzak , and securing assistance from the Khazars and Western Turkic Khaganate . Ardashir III Ardashir III ( Middle Persian : 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥 , romanized: Ardašir ; 621 – 27 April 630)
4400-548: The Persians suffered heavy losses as they fled across the Euphrates under Byzantine attack. Taking advantage of Persian disarray, the Byzantines raided deep into Khosrow's territory, even mounting amphibious attacks across the Caspian Sea . Khosrow sued for peace, but he decided to continue the war after a victory by his general Tamkhosrow in Armenia in 577, and fighting resumed in Mesopotamia. The Armenian revolt came to an end with
4500-582: The Roman Empire by Constantine the Great . Shapur II, like Shapur I, was amicable towards Jews , who lived in relative freedom and gained many advantages during his reign. At the time of his death, the Persian Empire was stronger than ever, with its enemies to the east pacified and Armenia under Persian control. From Shapur II's death until Kavad I 's first coronation, there was a largely peaceful period with
4600-517: The Romans (by this time the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire ) engaged in just two brief wars with the Sasanian Empire, the first in 421–422 and the second in 440 . Throughout this era, Sasanian religious policy differed dramatically from king to king. Despite a series of weak leaders, the administrative system established during Shapur II's reign remained strong, and the empire continued to function effectively. After Shapur II died in 379,
4700-421: The Romans in the west, where Persian forces won a series of battles but were unable to make territorial gains due to the failure of repeated sieges of the key frontier city of Nisibis, and Roman success in retaking the cities of Singara and Amida after they had previously fallen to the Persians. These campaigns were halted by nomadic raids along the eastern borders of the empire, which threatened Transoxiana ,
4800-469: The Romans; an attempt by the Iberians in 524/525 to do likewise triggered a war between Rome and Persia. In 527, a Roman offensive against Nisibis was repulsed and Roman efforts to fortify positions near the frontier were thwarted. In 530, Kavad sent an army under Perozes to attack the important Roman frontier city of Dara . The army was met by the Roman general Belisarius , and, though superior in numbers,
4900-650: The Sassanian Empire in mystery. The Sassanian Empire was established in Estakhr by Ardashir I . Ardashir's father, Papak , was originally the ruler of a region called Khir. However, by 200, Papak had managed to overthrow Gochihr and appoint himself the new ruler of the Bazrangids . Papak's mother, Rodhagh, was the daughter of the provincial governor of Pars . Papak and his eldest son Shapur managed to expand their power over all of Pars. Subsequent events are unclear due to
5000-410: The Sassanid possessions. Later Sassanid inscriptions also claim the submission of the kings of Kushan , Turan and Makuran to Ardashir, although based on numismatic evidence it is more likely that these actually submitted to Ardashir's son, the future Shapur I . In the west, assaults against Hatra , Armenia and Adiabene met with less success. In 230, Ardashir raided deep into Roman territory, and
5100-421: The Sassanids were able to establish a base in South Arabia to control the sea trade with the east. Later, the south Arabian kingdom renounced Sassanid overlordship, and another Persian expedition was sent in 598 that successfully annexed southern Arabia as a Sassanid province, which lasted until the time of troubles after Khosrow II. Khosrow I's reign witnessed the rise of the dihqans (literally, village lords),
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#17328525884195200-399: The Tigris, and agreed not to interfere in the affairs of Armenia and Georgia. In the aftermath of this defeat, Narseh gave up the throne and died a year later, leaving the Sassanid throne to his son, Hormizd II . Unrest spread throughout the land, and while the new king suppressed revolts in Sakastan and Kushan, he was unable to control the nobles and was subsequently killed by Bedouins on
5300-691: The Tigris, had to hand over all the provinces the Persians had ceded to Rome in 298, as well as Nisibis and Singara, to secure safe passage for his army out of Persia. From around 370, however, towards the end of the reign of Shapur II , the Sasanians lost the control of Bactria to invaders from the north: first the Kidarites , then the Hephthalites and finally the Alchon Huns , who would follow up with an invasion of India . These invaders initially issued coins based on Sasanian designs. Various coins minted in Bactria and based on Sasanian designs are extant, often with busts imitating Sassanian kings Shapur II (r. 309 to 379) and Shapur III (r. 383 to 388), adding
5400-444: The alliance, Khosrow also married Maurice's daughter Miriam. Under the command of Khosrow and the Byzantine generals Narses and John Mystacon , the new combined Byzantine-Persian army raised a rebellion against Bahram, defeating him at the Battle of Blarathon in 591. When Khosrow was subsequently restored to power he kept his promise, handing over control of western Armenia and Caucasian Iberia . The new peace arrangement allowed
5500-421: The army and bureaucracy more closely to the central government than to local lords. Emperor Justinian I (527–565) paid Khosrow I 440,000 pieces of gold as a part of the "eternal peace" treaty of 532. In 540, Khosrow broke the treaty and invaded Syria, sacking Antioch and extorting large sums of money from a number of other cities. Further successes followed: in 541 Lazica defected to the Persian side, and in 542
5600-436: The campaign of Khosrau II had actually exhausted the Persian army and treasuries. In an effort to rebuild the national treasuries, Khosrau overtaxed the population. Thus, while his empire was on the verge of total defeat, Heraclius (610–641) drew on all his diminished and devastated empire's remaining resources, reorganised his armies, and mounted a remarkable, risky counter-offensive. Between 622 and 627, he campaigned against
5700-507: The capture of his harem and the loss of all the Roman territories he had occupied. Shapur had intensive development plans. He ordered the construction of the first dam bridge in Iran and founded many cities, some settled in part by emigrants from the Roman territories, including Christians who could exercise their faith freely under Sassanid rule. Two cities, Bishapur and Nishapur , are named after him. He particularly favoured Manichaeism , protecting Mani (who dedicated one of his books,
5800-421: The city. Azarmidokht was shortly afterwards blinded and killed by Rostam, who restored Boran to the throne. However, in the following year a revolt broke out in Ctesiphon; while the Iranian army was occupied with other matters, the Parsig , dissatisfied with the regency of Rostam, called for the overthrow of Boran and the return of the prominent Parsig figure Bahman Jaduya , who had been dismissed by her. Boran
5900-413: The civil war. The Sasanian Empire was greatly weakened when Yazdegerd III ascended the throne. The young king did not have the authority required to bring stability to his extensive empire, which was swiftly falling apart due to ceaseless internal conflicts between the army commanders, courtiers, and powerful members of the aristocracy, who were fighting amongst themselves and wiping out each other. Many of
6000-514: The coinage of Bukhara (in modern Uzbekistan ). Bahram deposed the vassal king of the Iranian-held area of Armenia and made it a province of the empire. Bahram V's son Yazdegerd II (438–457) was in some ways a moderate ruler, but, in contrast to Yazdegerd I, he practised a harsh policy towards minority religions, particularly Christianity . However, at the Battle of Avarayr in 451, the Armenian subjects led by Vardan Mamikonian reaffirmed Armenia's right to profess Christianity freely. This
6100-542: The condition of the nation so alarming, that "the Persians openly spoke of the immanent downfall of their empire, and saw its portents in natural calamities." The empire would soon meet its end at the hands of an Arab invasion , during which Yazdegerd was killed in 651, possibly at the instigation of one his own subjects. Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire ( / s ə ˈ s ɑː n i ə n , s ə ˈ s eɪ n i ə n / ), officially Ērānšahr ( Middle Persian : 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭𐭱𐭲𐭥𐭩 , lit. ' Empire of
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#17328525884196200-404: The elusive nature of the sources. It is certain that following the death of Papak, Ardashir, the governor of Darabgerd , became involved in a power struggle with his elder brother Shapur. Sources reveal that Shapur was killed when the roof of a building collapsed on him. By 208, over the protests of his other brothers, who were put to death, Ardashir declared himself ruler of Pars. Once Ardashir
6300-421: The empire passed on to his half-brother Ardashir II (379–383; son of Hormizd II) and his son Shapur III (383–388), neither of whom demonstrated their predecessor's skill in ruling. Bahram IV (388–399) also failed to achieve anything important for the empire. During this time Armenia was divided by a treaty between the Roman and Sasanian empires. The Sasanians reestablished their rule over Greater Armenia, while
6400-424: The empire. Over a period of four years and fourteen successive kings, the Sasanian Empire weakened considerably, and the power of the central authority passed into the hands of its generals, contributing to its fall . In 628, Khosrow II was overthrown by the feudal families of Iran, which included the Ispahbudhan spahbed Farrukh Hormizd and his two sons, Rostam Farrokhzad and Farrukhzad , Shahrbaraz of
6500-409: The fall of the Arsacid Empire . Yazdegerd, although being acknowledged as the rightful monarch by both the Parsig and Pahlav factions, did not seem to have held sway over all of his empire. Indeed, during the first years of his rule coins were only minted in Pars , Sakastan , and Khuzestan , approximately corresponding to the regions of the southwest ( Xwarwarān ) and southeast ( Nēmrōz ), where
6600-567: The former's disadvantage: the rugged Armenian terrain was favourable to Roman infantry, but not to Sassanid cavalry. Local aid gave Galerius the advantage of surprise over the Persian forces, and, in two successive battles, Galerius secured victories over Narseh. During the second encounter, Roman forces seized Narseh's camp, his treasury, his harem, and his wife. Galerius advanced into Media and Adiabene , winning successive victories, most prominently near Erzurum , and securing Nisibis ( Nusaybin , Turkey) before 1 October 298. He then advanced down
6700-493: The frontiers to act as guardians against invaders. He was tolerant of all religions, though he decreed that Zoroastrianism should be the official state religion , and was not unduly disturbed when one of his sons became a Christian. After Khosrow I, Hormizd IV (579–590) took the throne. The war with the Byzantines continued to rage intensely but inconclusively until the general Bahram Chobin , dismissed and humiliated by Hormizd, rose in revolt in 589. The following year, Hormizd
6800-420: The governors of the empire had proclaimed independence and carved out their own kingdom. The governors of the provinces of Mazun and Yemen had already asserted their independence during the civil war of 628–632, thus resulting in the disintegration of Sasanian rule in the Arabian Peninsula , which was uniting under the banner of Islam . The empire came to resemble the Parthian feudal system that existed before
6900-405: The head of a large army granted to him by the Hephthalite king, returned to the empire's capital. Jamasp stepped down from his position and returned the throne to his brother. No further mention of Jamasp is made after the restoration of Kavad I, but it is widely believed that he was treated favourably at the court of his brother. The second golden era began after the second reign of Kavad I. With
7000-449: The heir Mardanshah , who was Khosrow's favourite son. The murder of all his brothers, "all well-educated, valiant, and chivalrous men", stripped 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. Due to Kavad's actions, his reign
7100-451: The kingdom. Peroz tried again to drive out the Hephthalites, but on the way to Balkh his army was trapped by the Huns in the desert. Peroz was defeated and killed by a Hephthalite army near Balkh. His army was completely destroyed, and his body was never found. Four of his sons and brothers had also died. The main Sasanian cities of the eastern region of Khorasan − Nishapur , Herat and Marw were now under Hephthalite rule. Sukhra ,
7200-560: The leadership of the Parsig faction, while the Ispahbudhan Farrukh Hormizd , assumed the leadership of the Pahlav faction. Kavad II later died from a devastating plague after only a few months reign on 6 September 628. He was succeeded by his eight year old son Ardashir III . During the reign of Ardashir III, Mah-Adhur Gushnasp was appointed as his minister, and administered the empire greatly. One year later, Shahrbaraz with
7300-402: The nomad King Grumbates , started his second campaign against the Romans in 359 and soon succeeded in retaking Singara and Amida. In response the Roman emperor Julian struck deep into Persian territory and defeated Shapur's forces at Ctesiphon . He failed to take the capital, however, and was killed while trying to retreat to Roman territory. His successor Jovian , trapped on the east bank of
7400-417: The petty landholding nobility who were the backbone of later Sassanid provincial administration and the tax collection system. Khosrow I built infrastructure, embellishing his capital and founding new towns with the construction of new buildings. He rebuilt the canals and restocked the farms destroyed in the wars. He built strong fortifications at the passes and placed subject tribes in carefully chosen towns on
7500-449: The physical territory that it controlled, impacting regions as distant as Western Europe , Eastern Africa , and China and India . It also helped shape European and Asian medieval art. With the Muslim conquest of Persia , the influence of Sasanian art , architecture , music , literature , and philosophy was gradually absorbed into nascent Islamic culture , which, in turn, ensured
7600-503: The population, including Kavad II himself. After the death of Kavad II, the Wuzurgan elected Ardashir as his successor, who was only a 7-year-old boy. 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. The Iranian historian al-Tabari says the following thing about Mah-Adhur Gushnasp's administration of
7700-556: The rich should divide their wives and their wealth with the poor. By adopting the doctrine of the Mazdakites, his intention evidently was to break the influence of the magnates and the growing aristocracy. These reforms led to his being deposed and imprisoned in the Castle of Oblivion in Khuzestan , and his younger brother Jamasp (Zamaspes) became king in 496. Kavad, however, quickly escaped and
7800-464: The sister of Boran, as monarch of Iran. Azarmidokht, under the advice of the nobles, recalled Farrukhzad from his arrest and invited him to serve the Sasanians in high office once again. Farrukhzad, however, declined the invitation and refused to serve under a woman. He then retired to a fire-temple in Istakhr . Farrukh Hormizd, in order to strengthen his authority and create a modus vivendi between
7900-448: The south with little or no interference from the Parthians. Ardashir was aided by the geography of the province of Fars, which was separated from the rest of Iran. Crowned in 224 at Ctesiphon as the sole ruler of Persia, Ardashir took the title shahanshah , or "King of Kings" (the inscriptions mention Adhur-Anahid as his Banbishnan banbishn , "Queen of Queens", but her relationship with Ardashir has not been fully established), bringing
8000-401: The spread of Iranian culture, knowledge, and ideas throughout the expanding Muslim world . Officially, the empire was known as the Empire of the Iranians ( Middle Persian : 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭𐭱𐭲𐭥𐭩 , ērānšahr , Parthian : 𐭀𐭓𐭉𐭀𐭍𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓 , aryānšahr , Greek : Ἀριανῶν ἔθνος , Arianōn ethnos ), the term is first attested in the trilingual Great Inscription of Shapur I , where
8100-485: The support of the Hephthalites , Kavad launched a campaign against the Romans. In 502, he took Theodosiopolis in Armenia, but lost it soon afterwards. In 503 he took Amida on the Tigris. In 504, an invasion of Armenia by the western Huns from the Caucasus led to an armistice, the return of Amida to Roman control and a peace treaty in 506. In 521/522 Kavad lost control of Lazica , whose rulers switched their allegiance to
8200-518: The two empires to focus on military matters elsewhere: Khosrow focused on the Sassanid Empire's eastern frontier while Maurice restored Byzantine control of the Balkans . Circa 600, the Hephthalites had been raiding the Sassanid Empire as far as Spahan in central Iran. The Hephthalites issued numerous coins imitating the coinage of Khosrow II. In c. 606/607 , Khosrow recalled Smbat IV Bagratuni from Persian Armenia and sent him to Iran to repel
8300-582: The war resumed but remained confined to Lazica, which was retained by the Byzantines when peace was concluded in 562. In 565, Justinian I died and was succeeded by Justin II (565–578), who resolved to stop subsidies to Arab chieftains to restrain them from raiding Byzantine territory in Syria. A year earlier, the Sassanid governor of Armenia, Chihor-Vishnasp of the Suren family, built a fire temple at Dvin near modern Yerevan , and he put to death an influential member of
8400-563: 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 . Kavad also took all the properties of Farrukhzad and put him under arrest in Istakhr . During this period, Piruz Khosrow assumed
8500-540: Was also amenable to the wishes of the Zoroastrian priesthood. During his reign, the Sassanid capital Ctesiphon was sacked by the Romans under Emperor Carus , and most of Armenia, after half a century of Persian rule, was ceded to Diocletian . Succeeding Bahram III (who ruled briefly in 293), Narseh embarked on another war with the Romans. After an early success against the Emperor Galerius near Callinicum on
8600-426: Was appointed shah (king), he moved his capital further to the south of Pars and founded Ardashir-Khwarrah (formerly Gur , modern day Firuzabad ). The city, well protected by high mountains and easily defensible due to the narrow passes that approached it, became the center of Ardashir's efforts to gain more power. It was surrounded by a high, circular wall, probably copied from that of Darabgerd. Ardashir's palace
8700-503: Was captured by Shapur, remaining his prisoner for the rest of his life. Shapur celebrated his victory by carving the impressive rock reliefs in Naqsh-e Rostam and Bishapur , as well as a monumental inscription in Persian and Greek in the vicinity of Persepolis . He exploited his success by advancing into Anatolia (260), but withdrew in disarray after defeats at the hands of the Romans and their Palmyrene ally Odaenathus , suffering
8800-419: Was crowned in utero : the crown was placed upon his mother's stomach. During his youth the empire was controlled by his mother and the nobles. Upon coming of age, Shapur II assumed power and quickly proved to be an active and effective ruler. He first led his small but disciplined army south against the Arabs, whom he defeated, securing the southern areas of the empire. He then began his first campaign against
8900-443: Was defeated at the Battle of Dara . In the same year, a second Persian army under Mihr-Mihroe was defeated at Satala by Roman forces under Sittas and Dorotheus, but in 531 a Persian army accompanied by a Lakhmid contingent under Al-Mundhir III defeated Belisarius at the Battle of Callinicum , and in 532 an "eternal peace" was concluded. Kavad succeeded in restoring order in the interior and fought with general success against
9000-506: Was given refuge by the Hephthalite king. Jamasp (496–498) was installed on the Sasanian throne upon the deposition of Kavad I by members of the nobility. He was a good and kind king; he reduced taxes in order to improve the condition of the peasants and the poor. He was also an adherent of the mainstream Zoroastrian religion, diversions from which had cost Kavad I his throne and freedom. Jamasp's reign soon ended, however, when Kavad I, at
9100-603: Was killed by his brother Peroz in 459. At the beginning of the 5th century, the Hephthalites (White Huns), along with other nomadic groups, attacked Iran. At first Bahram V and Yazdegerd II inflicted decisive defeats against them and drove them back eastward. The Huns returned at the end of the 5th century and defeated Peroz I (457–484) in 483. Following this victory, the Huns invaded and plundered parts of eastern Iran continually for two years. They exacted heavy tribute for some years thereafter. These attacks brought instability and chaos to
9200-410: Was murdered by Farrukh Hormizd , who then made Boran , the daughter of Khosrow II, ascend the throne. She then appointed Farrukh as the minister of the empire. Boran was deposed by Shapur-i Shahrvaraz , the son of Khosrow II 's sister Mirhran, and the Sasanian usurper Shahrbaraz. He was shortly thereafter deposed by Piruz and his faction, who did not acknowledge his rule. Piruz crowned Azarmidokht ,
9300-519: Was on the north side of the city; remains of it are extant. After establishing his rule over Pars, Ardashir rapidly extended his territory, demanding fealty from the local princes of Fars, and gaining control over the neighbouring provinces of Kerman , Isfahan , Susiana and Mesene . This expansion quickly came to the attention of Artabanus IV, the Parthian king, who initially ordered the governor of Khuzestan to wage war against Ardashir in 224, but Ardashir
9400-480: Was overthrown by a palace coup and his son Khosrow II (590–628) placed on the throne. However, this change of ruler failed to placate Bahram, who defeated Khosrow, forcing him to flee to Byzantine territory, and seized the throne for himself as Bahram VI. Khosrow asked the Byzantine Emperor Maurice (582–602) for assistance against Bahram, offering to cede the western Caucasus to the Byzantines. To cement
9500-494: Was returned to Roman domination, with the fort of Ziatha as its border; Caucasian Iberia would pay allegiance to Rome under a Roman appointee; Nisibis, now under Roman rule, would become the sole conduit for trade between Persia and Rome; and Rome would exercise control over the five satrapies between the Tigris and Armenia: Ingilene , Sophanene ( Sophene ), Arzanene ( Aghdznik ), Corduene , and Zabdicene (near modern Hakkâri , Turkey). The Sassanids ceded five provinces west of
9600-418: Was shortly killed, presumably from suffocation by Piruz Khosrow. Hostilities were thus resumed between the two factions. However, not long after both Rostam and Piruz Khosrow were threatened by their own men, who had become alarmed by the declining state of the country. Rostam and Piruz Khosrow thus agreed to work together once more, installing Khosrow II's grandson Yazdegerd III on the throne, putting an end to
9700-662: Was the Sasanian King of Kings ( shahanshah ) of Iran from 6 September 628 to 27 April 630. Ardashir is the Middle Persian form of the Old Persian Ṛtaxšira (also spelled Artaxšaçā , meaning "whose reign is through truth "). The Latin variant of the name is Artaxerxes . Three kings of the Achaemenid Empire were known to have the same name. He is also recorded in Greek as Adeser ( Greek : Αδεσήρ ; Theophanes
9800-518: Was the grandson of Bahram Chobin , the famous military commander ( spahbed ) and briefly shah of Iran. With Siyavakhsh's aid, Azarmidokht had Farrukh Hormizd killed. Farrukh Hormizd's son Rostam Farrokhzad , who was at that time stationed in Khorasan , succeeded him as the leader of the Pahlav . In order to avenge his father, he left for Ctesiphon, "defeating every army of Azarmidokht that met". He then defeated Siyavakhsh's forces at Ctesiphon and captured
9900-559: Was to be later confirmed by the Nvarsak Treaty (484). At the beginning of his reign in 441, Yazdegerd II assembled an army of soldiers from various nations, including his Indian allies, and attacked the Byzantine Empire , but peace was soon restored after some small-scale fighting. He then gathered his forces in Nishapur in 443 and launched a prolonged campaign against the Kidarites . After
10000-513: Was victorious in the ensuing battles. In a second attempt to destroy Ardashir, Artabanus himself met Ardashir in battle at Hormozgan, where the former met his death. Following the death of the Parthian ruler, Ardashir went on to invade the western provinces of the now defunct Parthian Empire. At that time the Arsacid dynasty was divided between supporters of Artabanus IV and Vologases VI , which probably allowed Ardashir to consolidate his authority in
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