Featured dossier
Shahrbaraz: the general who made himself king
Shahrbaraz (Šahrwarāz) was Khosrow II’s most distinguished general, and his army on Byzantine soil was still undefeated. In the chaos after Khosrow he made a pact with Heraclius, took Ctesiphon and killed the child king. He was not of the Sasanian house. A few weeks later nobles led by Fosfarrūḵ killed him.
- men in the march on Ctesiphon
- 6,000
Map: Shahrbaraz
Battle629 CE1 of 3
Holding the Khazars
According to the Armenian sources, only Shahrbaraz could hold back the Khazar invasion.
Certainty: Probable
BattleCampaignBuildingAdministration & economyReligionArrow keys, Home/End and Space work.
Three separate layers
Each section has three layers: “Historical evidence” is only what the sources say; “Philosophical interpretation” is our reading by the standard of property and liberty; “Modern cultural meaning”. Quotations come only from published translations, with references.
Historical evidencePhilosophical interpretationModern cultural meaning
Dossier · 1
The general and the crown
Shahrbaraz commanded Iran’s main army in the war with Byzantium. After the coup of 628 and Kavad’s death, the court at Ctesiphon was in the hands of nobles and a child king. Shahrbaraz made a pact with Heraclius, took Ctesiphon and became king. The sources we checked mention no coin certainly his.
Schindel notes that from Hormizd IV on, the king no longer led his army in the field. This may have opened a gap between army and king that let field commanders such as Bahrām Čōbin or Shahrbaraz bid for the throne, something unheard of earlier in Sasanian history.
Shahrbaraz showed that in the end dynastic legitimacy was defenceless against the sword. But the sword could not create legitimacy either: within weeks he was dead. Power built only on force is lost by force.
Sources: N. Schindel, Encyclopaedia Iranica · A. Sh. Shahbazi, Encyclopaedia Iranica · M. L. Chaumont, Encyclopaedia Iranica
Synthesis
Shahrbaraz, Khosrow II’s great general, took Ctesiphon, killed the child king and made himself king, but was killed a few weeks later. The year of these events (629 or 630) is disputed.
Bibliography
- A. Sh. Shahbazi, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Ardašīr III (1986). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ardasir-iii/
- N. Schindel, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Kawād II (2022). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kawad-ii/
- M. L. Chaumont, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Bōrān (1989). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/boran-pers/
Ardashir III, the king he killedBoran, his successorThe Sasanian dynasty