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Mahbod (also known as Mebodes), was a 6th-century
Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...
ambassador and military officer from the
House of Suren House of Suren or Surenas.. ( Parthian: 𐭎𐭅𐭓𐭉𐭍 Surēn, Middle Persian: 𐭮𐭥𐭫𐭩𐭭) is one of two Parthian noble families explicitly mentioned by name in sources dateable to the Arsacid period.. History The head of Sure ...
, who was active during the reign of the
Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
''
shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
anshahs''
Khosrow I Khosrow I (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩; New Persian: []), traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan ( [] "the Immortal Soul"), was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from ...
() and
Hormizd IV Hormizd IV (also spelled Hormozd IV or Ohrmazd IV; pal, 𐭠𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭬𐭦𐭣) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 579 to 590. He was the son and successor of Khosrow I () and his mother was a Khazar princess. During his reign, Ho ...
().


Biography

A member of the
House of Suren House of Suren or Surenas.. ( Parthian: 𐭎𐭅𐭓𐭉𐭍 Surēn, Middle Persian: 𐭮𐭥𐭫𐭩𐭭) is one of two Parthian noble families explicitly mentioned by name in sources dateable to the Arsacid period.. History The head of Sure ...
, he was perhaps the son or grandson of his namesake Mahbod, who was active under the ''shahanshahs''
Kavad I Kavad I ( pal, 𐭪𐭥𐭠𐭲 ; 473 – 13 September 531) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 488 to 531, with a two or three-year interruption. A son of Peroz I (), he was crowned by the nobles to replace his deposed and unpopular un ...
() and
Khosrow I Khosrow I (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩; New Persian: []), traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan ( [] "the Immortal Soul"), was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from ...
(). He is first mentioned in late 567, when he was sent as an envoy to the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
capital of
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
to reach an agreement over the
Lazica Lazica ( ka, ეგრისი, ; lzz, ლაზიკა, ; grc-gre, Λαζική, ; fa, لازستان, ; hy, Եգեր, ) was the Latin name given to the territory of Colchis during the Roman/Byzantine period, from about the 1st centur ...
n region of Suania. Although emperor
Justin II Justin II ( la, Iustinus; grc-gre, Ἰουστῖνος, Ioustînos; died 5 October 578) or Justin the Younger ( la, Iustinus minor) was Eastern Roman Emperor from 565 until 578. He was the nephew of Justinian I and the husband of Sophia, the ...
() accepted a letter addressed to him by Khosrow I, he ignored Mahbod and refused to grant him an audience. Mahbod then attempted to reach out to Justinian through an envoy of
Lakhmids The Lakhmids ( ar, اللخميون, translit=al-Laḫmiyyūn) referred to in Arabic as al-Manādhirah (, romanized as: ) or Banu Lakhm (, romanized as: ) was an Arab kingdom in Southern Iraq and Eastern Arabia, with al-Hirah as their capital ...
who had accompanied him, but to no avail. After an Iranian proposal of a five-year truce was rejected by emperor
Tiberius II Constantine Tiberius II Constantine ( grc-gre, Τιβέριος Κωνσταντῖνος, Tiberios Konstantinos; died 14 August 582) was Eastern Roman emperor from 574 to 582. Tiberius rose to power in 574 when Justin II, prior to a mental breakdown, procl ...
() in 574/575, Mahbod sent
Tamkhosrow Tamkhosrau or Tamkhusro ("strong Khosrau", in Greek sources rendered as Ταμχοσρώ or Ταμχοσρόης, Tamchosroes), was a Sassanid Persian general active in the Roman–Persian Wars of the late 6th century. As his honorific name indicat ...
to raid the surroundings of the fortress of
Dara Dara is a given name used for both males and females, with more than one origin. Dara is found in the Bible's Old Testament Books of Chronicles. Dara רעwas a descendant of Judah (son of Jacob). (The Bible. 1 Chronicles 2:6). Dara (also known ...
. However, the Romans soon proposed a three-year truce in exchange for 30,000 gold, which Mahbod accepted. In 576, when Mahbod held the title of ''Sar-nakhveraghan'' ("chief of the governors"), he was sent by Khosrow I to negotiate peace with the Byzantine emissaries Theodorus, Ioannes, Petrus and Zacharias. The meeting took place in Athraelon, on the outskirts of Dara, and negotiations dragged on until 577, due to both parties blaming each other for start of the war. Mahbod proposal for peace in exchange for annual payments was rejected by the Romans, and thus hostilities resumed. In June 578, Khosrow I appointed Mahbod the head of an Iranian expedition in
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
: the force, which consisted of 12,000 Iranians and 8,000 Arabs, ravaged the areas around
Resaina Ras al-Ayn ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْعَيْن, Raʾs al-ʿAyn, ku, سەرێ کانیێ, Serê Kaniyê, syc, ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ, Rēš Aynā), also spelled Ras al-Ain, is a city in al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, on the Syria–Turke ...
and Constantia. At the same time, Mahbod sent Tamkhosrow to attack the surroundings of Martyropolis and Amida. In 579, the newly ascended ''shahanshah''
Hormizd IV Hormizd IV (also spelled Hormozd IV or Ohrmazd IV; pal, 𐭠𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭬𐭦𐭣) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 579 to 590. He was the son and successor of Khosrow I () and his mother was a Khazar princess. During his reign, Ho ...
() sent Mahbod to interrogate and dismiss the Byzantine emissaries Zacharias and Theodorus from the Iranian court. In the spring of 586, Mahbod was a provincial governor, perhaps of a frontier province. He was sent to negotiate with the Byzantine commander
Philippicus Philippicus ( la, Filepicus; el, Φιλιππικός, Philippikós) was Byzantine emperor from 711 to 713. He took power in a coup against the unpopular emperor Justinian II, and was deposed in a similarly violent manner nineteen months later. ...
at Amida. Negotiations, however, broke down after Mahbod's demand for gold in exchange for peace was rejected. Not long after, an Iranian force—led by Kardarigan, Aphraates and Mahbod—suffered a heavy defeat against the Byzantines at the
Battle of Solachon The Battle of Solachon was fought in 586 CE in northern Mesopotamia between the East Roman (Byzantine) forces, led by Philippicus, and the Sassanid Persians under Kardarigan. The engagement was part of the long and inconclusive Byzantine–Sass ...
.; . In the spring/summer of 589, Hormizd IV sent Mahbod to attack Philippicus, who was outside Martyropolis. Another force under Aphraates was also dispatched, due to Mahbod's forces proving insufficient. Although the Iranians won the battle, Mahbod was killed by a Byzantine projectile.


References


Sources

* * * * *{{cite book, editor-last1=Whitby, editor-first1=Michael, editor-link=Michael Whitby, editor-last2=Whitby, editor-first2=Mary, title=The History of Theophylact Simocatta, location=Oxford, United Kingdom, publisher=Clarendon Press, year=1986, isbn=978-0-19-822799-1, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AtRfAAAAMAAJ 589 deaths House of Suren Generals of Khosrow I Generals of Hormizd IV People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars 6th-century Iranian people Diplomats of the Sasanian Empire Ambassadors to the Byzantine Empire 6th-century diplomats