Peroz I ( pal, 𐭯𐭩𐭫𐭥𐭰, Pērōz) was the
Sasanian King of Kings () of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
from 459 to 484. A son of
Yazdegerd II
Yazdegerd II (also spelled Yazdgerd and Yazdgird; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩), was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 438 to 457. He was the successor and son of Bahram V ().
His reign was marked by wars against the Eastern Roman ...
(), he disputed the rule of his elder brother and incumbent king
Hormizd III (), eventually seizing the throne after a two-year struggle. His reign was marked by war and famine. Early in his reign, he successfully quelled a rebellion in
Caucasian Albania in the west, and put an end to the
Kidarites in the east, briefly expanding Sasanian rule into
Tokharistan, where he issued gold coins with his likeness at
Balkh. Simultaneously, Iran was suffering from a seven-year famine. He soon clashed with the former subjects of the Kidarites, the
Hephthalites, who possibly had previously helped him to gain his throne. He was defeated and captured twice by the Hephthalites and lost his recently acquired possessions.
In 482, revolts broke out in the western provinces of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...
and
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a la ...
, led by
Vahan Mamikonian and
Vakhtang I respectively. Before Peroz could quell the unrest there, he was defeated and killed in his third war with the Hephthalites in 484, who seized the main Sasanian cities of the eastern region of
Khorasan−
Nishapur,
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Saf ...
and
Marw
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
. Taking advantage of the weakened Sasanian authority in the east, the
Nezak Huns
The Nezak Huns (Middle Persian, Pahlavi: 𐭭𐭩𐭰𐭪𐭩 ''nycky''), also Nezak Shahs, formed a major principality in the south of the Hindu Kush region, active from circa 484 to 665 CE. Despite being traditionally identified as the last of ...
subsequently seized the region of
Zabulistan. Peroz was the last to mint
unique gold coins in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
n region of
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
, which indicates that the region was lost around the same period. Albeit a devout
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
, Peroz supported the newly established Christian sect of
Nestorianism
Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian N ...
, and just before his death, it was declared the official doctrine of the
Iranian church.
Peroz's wars against the Hephthalites have been described as "foolhardy" in both contemporary and modern
historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...
. His defeat and death introduced a period of political, social and religious tumult. The empire reached its lowest ebb; the was now a client of the Hephthalites and was compelled to pay tribute, while the nobility and clergy exerted great influence and authority over the nation, being able to act as king-makers. The magnates—most notably
Sukhra
Sukhra (also spelled Sufaray, Sufray, Surkhab, Sarafra'i) was an Iranian nobleman from the House of Karen, who was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Sasanian Empire from 484 to 493. He was active during the reign of shah Peroz I (r. 457-484), Balash ...
and
Shapur Mihran—elected Peroz's brother,
Balash, as the new . Order would first be restored under Peroz's son
Kavad I (), who reformed the empire and defeated the Hephthalites, reconquering Khorasan. By 560, Peroz had been avenged by his grandson
Khosrow I (), who in collaboration with the
First Turkic Khaganate, destroyed the Hephthalites.
Name
"Peroz" is a
Middle Persian
Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...
name, meaning "victorious". It is attested in
Parthian as , whilst its
New Persian
New Persian ( fa, فارسی نو), also known as Modern Persian () and Dari (), is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into thre ...
form is (Arabicized form: ). Peroz is transliterated in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
as (). The
Georgian transliteration of the name, , was introduced into Georgian twice; through its
Middle Iranian form (Parthian/Middle Persian) and in the New Persian form. The
Armenian transliteration, (), follows the exact same spelling as the Middle Persian original. The name Peroz had already been in use by members of the Sasanian family in the 3rd-century, namely by the
Kushano-Sasanian ruler
Peroz I Kushanshah.
Rise to power
When Peroz's father
Yazdegerd II
Yazdegerd II (also spelled Yazdgerd and Yazdgird; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩), was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 438 to 457. He was the successor and son of Bahram V ().
His reign was marked by wars against the Eastern Roman ...
() died in 457, he had reportedly not designed a successor and instead—according to the medieval historian
al-Tha'alibi—entrusted the task to the elite and the leading (
margrave
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the E ...
s). Civil war soon followed; Yazdegerd II's eldest son
Hormizd III declared himself king at the city of
Ray
Ray may refer to:
Fish
* Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea
* Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin
Science and mathematics
* Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point
* Ray (g ...
in northern Iran, while Peroz fled to the northeastern part of the empire and began raising an army in order to claim the throne for himself. The brothers' mother, queen
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 they refer to as "unfair". Only the anonymous source known as the ''Codex Sprenger 30'' describes Hormizd as the "braver and better", while describing Peroz as "more learned in religion".
Both brothers seemingly attempted to gain the support of the powers of the neighbouring eastern region of
Tokharistan/Bactria in their struggle. The region was then controlled by the
Kidarites, along with some of their local vassals, such as the Hephthalites. According to three contemporary letters in the
Bactrian language (the language of Tokharistan), the local ruler of the city of Rob (between
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Ac ...
and
Balkh) Kirdir-Warahran, is given the honorific titles of "glorious through Hormizd" and "true to Peroz", which seemingly indicates that he shifted his allegiance between the two brothers. According to the contemporary Armenian historians
Elishe and
Ghazar Parpetsi, Peroz was notably supported by the
House of Mihran, one of the
Seven Great Houses of Iran, while later Persian sources instead report that Peroz fled to the Hephthalites and enlisted their help.
This version, however, has been called "legendary" and "somewhat fanciful" by modern historians. The modern historians
Parvaneh Pourshariati,
Shapur Shahbazi
)
, image = Shahbazi 3.jpg
, image_size = 220px
, alt =
, caption =
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Shiraz, Iran
, death_date =
, death_place = Washington D.C., United ...
and Michael Bonner prefer the Armenian version, with the latter suggesting that the Persian account may yield some authenticity, with Peroz enlisting Hephthalite aid through the Mihranids. Elishe and Ghazar give two slightly different accounts of Peroz's struggle against Hormizd. According to the former, Peroz was aided by his Mihranid tutor
Raham Mihran, who in 459 captured and executed Hormizd, and then crowned Peroz as . The same account is given by Ghazar, with the exception that the Mihranid is named Ashtad Mihran, and was not the tutor, but rather foster father of Peroz.
Reign
Revolt in Caucasian Albania and famine
During the dynastic struggle between Peroz and Hormizd III, the
Arsacid king of
Caucasian Albania,
Vache II
Vache II was the ninth Arsacid king of Caucasian Albania from approximately 440 to 462. He was the son and successor of Aswagen (). His mother was a daughter of the Sasanian king Yazdegerd II (), and he was himself married to the niece or sister ...
(), took advantage of the tumultuous situation and declared independence. He allowed the
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...
into the city of
Derbent, and with their aid attacked the Iranian army. Peroz responded by allowing the Huns to pass through the
Darial Gorge, and they subsequently ravaged Albania. The two kings negotiated an accord; Vache II would return his mother (Peroz's sister) and daughter to Peroz, while he would receive the 1,000 families he had originally been given by his father as his share of the inheritance. Vache II abdicated in 462, leaving Albania kingless until 485, when
Vachagan III () was installed on the throne by Peroz's brother and successor
Balash (). Peroz also freed some of the
Armenian aristocrats who had been jailed by his father in the aftermath of the Armenian uprising in 451. The previous year (461), Iran suffered from a severe drought, which caused a large-scale famine that would last until 467.
Relations with the Byzantine Empire
Early in Peroz's reign, tensions began to rise between Iran and
Byzantium. In the mid-460s, the Byzantines discovered that their general
Ardaburius had been secretly corresponding with the Iranian court, urging Peroz to attack the Byzantines, with the promise of military support and presumably also intelligence. Ardaburius's letters were intercepted and given to Byzantine emperor
Leo I (), who had him removed from office and summoned to the capital,
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 ( ...
. Ardaburius's fate is not known. Leo responded to the Iranian activity by reinforcing his borders with them, which included the fortification of
Callinicum in
Syria.
Since the
Byzantine–Iranian peace treaty of 387, both empires had agreed that they were obligated to cooperate in the defense of the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
against nomadic attacks from the northern steppes. The Iranians took the major role in this, while the Byzantines contributed roughly of gold at irregular intervals. The Byzantines saw this payment as a contribution to their mutual defense, but the Iranians saw it as tribute which established Byzantium as a
subordinate of Iran. Since the foundation of the Sasanian Empire, its rulers had demonstrated the sovereignty and power of their realm through collection of tribute, particularly from the Byzantines. Retaliating for Iran's plot with Ardaburius, Leo stopped the payments. Repeated negotiations failed to resolve the issue. The Byzantines also appealed for the return of the city of
Nisibis, which had been ceded to Iran as part of a treaty in 363. Tensions continued to increase until the accession of the Byzantine emperor
Zeno () in 474, who resumed payment to Iran and also ransomed Peroz from captivity by the Hephthalites. Regardless, war almost erupted in the early 480s, when some
Tayy clients of the Sasanians made incursions into Byzantine territory due to suffering from a two-year drought. The Iranian general Qardag Nakoragan, who was stationed at the frontier, quickly pacificed the Tayy raiders and ensured peace with the Byzantines.
War with the Kidarites
Since the reign of
Shapur II (), Iran had to deal with nomadic invaders in the east known as "
Iranian Huns" and made up of Hephthalites, Kidarites,
Chionites and
Alkhans. They seized Tokharistan and
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...
from Shapur II and his Kushano-Sasanian clients, and eventually Kabul from
Shapur III
Shapur III ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ), was the Sasanian King of Kings
King of Kings; grc-gre, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Basileùs Basiléōn; hy, արքայից արքա, ark'ayits ark'a; sa, महाराजा ...
().
Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
,
numismatic, and
sigillographic evidence demonstrates that the Huns ruled a realm just as refined as that of the Sasanians. They swiftly adopted Iranian imperial symbolism and titulature, such as imitating
Sasanian imperial coinage. The modern historian Richard Payne states: "Far from the destructive ''xyonan'' of the Iranian accounts or the marauding barbarians of the Roman historians, the Hun kingdoms of post-Iranian Central Asia were city-based, tax-raising, ideologically innovative states the kings of kings found themselves hard pressed to unseat." The loss of the Armenian cavalry contingent after the revolt of Armenia in 451 weakened Sasanian efforts to keep their eastern enemies in check.
The Sasanian efforts were disrupted in the early 5th century by the Kidarites, who forced
Yazdegerd I (),
Bahram V (), and/or Yazdegerd II to pay them tribute. Although this did not trouble the Iranian treasury, it was nevertheless humiliating. Yazdegerd II eventually refused to pay tribute, which would later be used as a justification for the war that the Kidarites declared against Peroz in 464. Peroz lacked enough manpower to fight, and therefore asked for financial aid from the Byzantine Empire, which declined. He then offered peace to the king of the Kidarites, Kunkhas, and offered his sister in marriage, but sent a woman of low status instead.
After some time Kunkhas found about Peroz's deception, and in turn attempted to trick him, by requesting him to send military experts to strengthen his army. When a group of 300 military experts arrived at the court of Kunkhas at Balaam (possibly Balkh), they were either killed or disfigured and sent back to Iran, with the information that Kunkhas did this due to Peroz's false treaty. Around this time, Peroz allied himself with the Hephthalites and other Huns, such as
Mehama, the ruler of Kadag in eastern Tokharistan. With their help, he finally vanquished the Kidarites in 466, and brought Tokharistan briefly under Sasanian control, issuing gold coins at Balkh. The style of the gold coin was largely based on the Kidarite coins, and displayed Peroz wearing his second crown. The legend of the coin displayed his name and title in Bactrian. The following year (467), an Iranian embassy journeyed to Constantinople, where the victory over the Kidarites was announced. An Iranian embassy sent to the
Chinese Northern Wei dynasty in 468 may have done the same.
The Kidarites continued to rule in Gandhara, and possibly
Sogdia
Sogdia ( Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Em ...
. They were eventually conquered by the Alkhans in Gandhara, and by the Hephthalites in Sogdia. According to Bactrian
chronicles, Mehama was subsequently promoted to the position of "governor of the famous and prosperous king of kings Peroz". However, a
power vacuum followed in Tokharistan, which allowed Mehama to gain autonomy, or possibly even independence.
First and second war with the Hephthalites
Peroz's war with the Hephthalites is reported by two contemporary sources—the account of the Byzantine historian
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman ge ...
and the
Syriac text of
Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite
The ''Chronicle of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite'' is an anonymous Syriac history of the period 494–506 AD. Its actual title as given in the manuscript is ''A Historical Narrative of the Period of Distress Which Occurred in Edessa, Amid and All Meso ...
. However, both sources are marred by errors and oversights. According to Pseudo-Joshua, Peroz fought three wars with the Hephthalites, but he only briefly mentions them. Procopius' report, although detailed, has only two wars. Many modern historians agree that he fought the Hephthalites three times.
With the fall of the Kidarites, their former subjects–the Hephthalites, who were based in eastern Tokharistan–took advantage of the power vacuum, extending their rule over all of Tokharistan. Their capital was most likely near the city of
Kunduz in eastern Tokharistan, which the medieval scholar
al-Biruni calls War-Waliz. The Hephthalite king is often given the name of
Akhshunwar ''Akhshunwar'' ( Sogdian: əxšōnδār, Middle Persian: ''Xašnawāz'') was a ruling title used by the Hephthalite kings in the 5th and 6th-centuries.
The title is of Eastern Iranian origin; according W.B. Henning, its original form was ʾxšʾwnd ...
, which according to the
Iranologist Khodadad Rezakhani was probably a title used by the Hephthalite kings, similar to other contemporary
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...
n titles such as and . In order to halt the Hephthalite expansion, Peroz attacked them in 474, but was ambushed and captured near the border of
Gurgan. He was ransomed by Zeno, who helped him restore good relations between the Sasanians and the Hephthalites. According to Procopius, Akhshunwar demanded that Peroz
prostrate
Prostrate may refer to:-
*Prostration, a position of submission in religion etc.
*Prone position, a face-down orientation of the body
*Prostrate shrub
A prostrate shrub is a woody plant, most of the branches of which lie upon or just above the ...
before him in exchange for his release. Following the advice of his priests, Peroz met Akhshunwar at dawn and pretended to prostrate before him, while in reality he was doing it before the rising sun, i.e.
Mithra
Mithra ( ae, ''Miθra'', peo, 𐎷𐎰𐎼 ''Miça'') commonly known as Mehr, is the Iranian deity of covenant, light, oath, justice and the sun. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-se ...
, the sun god.
[Procopius]
III
In the late 470s or early 480s, Peroz launched a second campaign, which ended in his defeat and capture once more; he offered to pay thirty mule packs of silver
drachms in ransom, but could only pay twenty. Unable to raise the rest, he sent his youngest son,
Kavad, to the Hephthalite court in 482 as a hostage until this balance was paid. Payne notes that "The sums involved were modest in comparison with late antique diplomatic subsidies or state revenues. But rumors of a caravan delivering tribute from the Iranian court to the Huns spread across the Iran and the Mediterranean worlds, as far as
Sidonius Apollinaris in
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only durin ...
." After this, Akhshunwar minted coins of himself wearing a winged, triple-crescent crown, which was the third crown of Peroz, indicating that the Hephthalite king considered himself to be the legitimate ruler of Iran. Peroz imposed a
poll tax on his subjects to raise the ten mule packs of silver, and secured the release of Kavad before he mounted his third campaign.
Revolts in Armenia and Iberia
Besides Caucasian Albania, the two other Iranian provinces in the Caucasus—Armenia and
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a la ...
—were also dissatisfied with Zoroastrian Sasanian rule. In Armenia, Yazdegerd II's policy of integrating the Christian nobility into the bureaucracy by forcing them to convert to Zoroastrianism had resulted in a large-scale rebellion in 451, led by the Armenian military leader
Vardan Mamikonian. Although the Sasanians defeated the rebels at the
Battle of Avarayr, the impact of the rebellion was still felt, and tensions continued to grow. Meanwhile, in Iberia, Peroz had favoured
Varsken, the viceroy () of the Armeno-Iberian frontier region of
Gugark. A member of the
Mihranids of Gugark, Varsken was born a Christian, but when he travelled to the Iranian court in 470, he converted to Zoroastrianism and shifted his allegiance from the Christian
Iberian monarchy to the Sasanian Empire. As a reward for his conversion, he was given the viceroyalty of Albania and a daughter of Peroz in marriage. Espousing his pro-Iranian position, he attempted to force his family to convert to Zoroastrianism, including his first wife
Shushanik (a daughter of Vardan), whom he eventually killed, which made her a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
. Varsken's policies were unacceptable to the Iberian king
Vakhtang I (), who had him killed and then revolted against Iran in 482. Almost simultaneously, the Armenians rebelled under the leadership of
Vahan Mamikonian, a nephew of Vardan.
In the same year, the of Armenia,
Adhur Gushnasp was defeated and killed by Vahan's forces, who installed
Sahak II Bagratuni as the new . Peroz sent an army under
Zarmihr Hazarwuxt of the
House of Karen to Armenia, while another army led by the Sasanian general Mihran, of the Mihranid family, was sent to Iberia. During the summer, an army led by Shapur Mihran, the son of Mihran, inflicted a defeat on a combined Armenian-Iberian army at Akesga, resulting in the death of Sahak II Bagratuni and Vahan's brother Vasak, while Vakhtang fled to Byzantine-controlled
Lazica. The role of Shapur Mihran in command of the army in Iberia implies that Peroz may have recalled his father, Mihran, to participate in his Hephthalite war.
Vahan retreated with the rest of his forces to the mountains in
Tayk, from where they engaged in
guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run ...
. Shapur Mihran restored Sasanian rule in Armenia, but was summoned to the court in Ctesiphon, resulting in Vahan regaining control of over the Armenian capital of
Dvin Dvin may refer to:
*Dvin (ancient city), an ancient city and one of the historic capitals of Armenia
*Dvin, Armenia, a modern village in Armenia named after the nearby ancient city of Dvin
*Verin Dvin, a village in the Ararat Province of Armenia
*FC ...
, where he fortified himself. In 483, Iranian reinforcements arrived under Zarmihr Hazarwuxt, who laid siege to Dvin. Heavily outnumbered, Vahan mounted a surprise attack on the Iranians, defeating them at the Battle of Nerseapate, near
Maku. Vahan retreated to the mountains once more, close to the Byzantine border. He hoped that the Iranians would not pursue and attack him there, in order to avoid risking a conflict with the Byzantines. However, after a night march, Zarmihr Hazarwuxt attacked the Armenian camp and managed to capture several princesses. Vahan and most of his men withdrew further into the mountains.
An unexpected turn of events changed the tide of the war: Peroz's death in 484 during his war with the Hephthalites caused the Iranian army to withdraw from Armenia. Peroz's brother and successor, Balash, made peace with Vahan, and appointed him as (minister) and later as of Armenia. Peace was likewise made in Iberia, where Vakhtang was able to resume his rule.
Third war with the Hephthalites and death
Against the counsel of the aristocracy and the clergy, Peroz prepared in Gurgan for a third campaign against the Hephthalites. Ghazar highlights the opposition amongst his men towards the campaign, stating that the Iranian forces were demoralised at the prospect of facing the Hepthalites to the point of near mutiny.
[Ghazar Parpetsi]
85
Peroz left his brother Balash in charge of the empire, launching his Hephthalite campaign at the head of a large army in 484. When Akhshunwar learned of Peroz's campaign, he sent his deputy with the following message "You concluded peace with me in writing, under seal, and you promised not to make war against me. We defined common frontiers not to be crossed with hostile intent by either party."
A tower erected as a boundary marker near the
Oxus
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
by Peroz's grandfather, Bahram V, was destroyed by Peroz. This event is reported by both
Dinawari (d. 896) and
al-Tabari
( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...
(d. 923). The latter reported that Peroz had the tower tied to fifty
elephants and three hundred men linked together and dragged it in front of his men, while he walked behind the tower, feigning not to have violated his grandfather's peace treaty. Akhshunwar, unwilling to face Peroz directly, had a large trench dug across the battleground, concealing it with shrubbery and loose wood, and positioning his forces behind it. Charging at Akhshunwar's forces, Peroz and his army fell into the trench, where they were killed. Their bodies were not recovered by the Iranians. The Iranian dead included many distinguished aristocrats, including four of Peroz's sons or brothers. The site of the battle is uncertain; according to the modern historian Klaus Schippmann, it took place in present-day Afghanistan, possibly near Balkh.
Pseudo-Joshua, who portrays Peroz in a hostile manner, proposed that Peroz may have been able to escape from the trench, but subsequently either died of hunger in a cleft in a mountain or was killed and eaten by wild animals in a forest.
Aftermath
The main Sasanian cities of the eastern region of
Khorasan−
Nishapur,
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Saf ...
and
Marw
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
were now under Hephthalite rule. Peroz's retinue, including his daughter
Perozdukht and his priests, were captured by Akhshunwar. Perozdukht was married to Akhshunwar, and bore him a daughter, who would later marry Peroz's son Kavad I (). Due to Peroz's defeat, a law was allegedly made that forbade pursuit of a withdrawing army. His wars against the Hephthalites have been described as "foolhardy" in both contemporary and modern historiography. His defeat and death introduced a period of political, social and religious tumult. The empire reached its lowest ebb: the was now a client of the Hephthalites and was compelled to pay tribute; while the nobility and clergy exerted great influence and authority over the nation, being able to act as king-makers. According to Payne, "No other event in the history of the Sasanian dynasty so clearly vitiated the pretensions of
he Iranian Empire and contemporaries were aghast at the foolhardiness of the king of kings." Taking advantage of the weakened Sasanian authority in the east, the
Nezak Huns
The Nezak Huns (Middle Persian, Pahlavi: 𐭭𐭩𐭰𐭪𐭩 ''nycky''), also Nezak Shahs, formed a major principality in the south of the Hindu Kush region, active from circa 484 to 665 CE. Despite being traditionally identified as the last of ...
seized the region of
Zabulistan. Peroz was the last to mint
unique gold coins in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
n region of
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
, which indicates that the region was lost around the same period.
The Iranian magnate
Sukhra
Sukhra (also spelled Sufaray, Sufray, Surkhab, Sarafra'i) was an Iranian nobleman from the House of Karen, who was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Sasanian Empire from 484 to 493. He was active during the reign of shah Peroz I (r. 457-484), Balash ...
quickly raised a new army and prevented the Hephthalites from achieving further success. A member of the House of Karen, Sukhra's family claimed descent from the mythological heroes
Karen and Tus, who had saved Iran after its king
Nowzar had been killed by the
Turan
Turan ( ae, Tūiriiānəm, pal, Tūrān; fa, توران, Turân, , "The Land of Tur") is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical ...
ian
Afrasiab
Afrasiab ( fa, ''afrāsiyāb''; ae, Fraŋrasyan; Middle-Persian: ''Frāsiyāv, Frāsiyāk'') is the name of the mythical king and hero of Turan. He is the main antagonist of the Persian epic Shahnameh, written by Ferdowsi.
The mythical ki ...
, which Payne calls "in circumstances too similar to those of Peroz's death for the resemblance to be coincidental." According to the Iranologist
Ehsan Yarshater, some of the Iranian–Turanian battles that are described in the medieval Persian epic ('The Book of Kings') were seemingly based on the Hephthalite wars of Peroz and his successors. Peroz's brother, Balash, was elected as by the Iranian magnates, most notably Sukhra and Shapur Mihran. Order was be restored under Kavad I, who reformed the empire and defeated the Hephthalites, reconquering Khorasan. Peroz was avenged by his grandson
Khosrow I (), who in collaboration with the
First Turkic Khaganate destroyed the Hephthalites in 560.
Since
Bahram I
Bahram I (also spelled Wahram I or Warahran I; pal, 𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭) was the fourth Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 271 to 274. He was the eldest son of Shapur I () and succeeded his brother Hormizd I (), who had reigned for a ...
(), the Sasanian monarchs had primarily resided in
Gundeshapur in southern Iran, due to its convenient position between the
Iranian plateau and the
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 ...
n plain. Due to the increasing importance of the
Tigris
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
-
Euphrates floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
s, the main residence of the was moved to Ctesiphon after Peroz.
Religious policy
Peroz, like all other Sasanian rulers, was an adherent of
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ont ...
. According to al-Tabari, Peroz "displayed just rule and praiseworthy conduct, and showed piety," which according to Schippmann, indicates that he was most likely amenable to the demands of the Zoroastrian clergy. Under Peroz, the Zoroastrian sect of
Zurvanism was seemingly rejected, although he retained the staunch Zurvanite
Mihr-Narseh as his minister (). Under Peroz, the
Iranian calendar was reformed; the New Year (
Nowruz) and the epagomenal from the month
Frawardin were moved to the month
Adur.
Unlike his father, Peroz did not attempt to convert the Caucasian Albanians and Armenians to Zoroastrianism. Nevertheless, persecutions of Christians and Jews were reported to have occurred during Peroz's reign. While Jewish accounts claim Iranian fanaticism as the reason behind the persecutions, Iranian accounts accuse the Jews of abusing the Zoroastrian priests. The modern historian
Jacob Neusner suggested that there may be some truth in the Iranian accounts, and that the Jews may had done it due to anticipating the coming of the
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
, who was to arrive 400 years after the
destruction of the Second Temple
The siege of Jerusalem of 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province o ...
(dated by the
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
s in 68 AD, thus in 468). He further adds that the Jews may have expected the country to become Jewish now with the coming of the Messiah. According to the modern historian Eberhard Sauer, Sasanian monarchs only persecuted other religions when it was in their urgent political interests to do so.
Peroz supported the new Christian sect of
Nestorianism
Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian N ...
as the official doctrine of the
Iranian Christian church. In 484, shortly before Peroz's death, a council took place in Gundeshapur, where Nestorianism was announced as the official doctrine of the church.
Building projects
Peroz was notable for founding many cities. According to ''
The History of the Country of Albania'', Peroz ordered his vassal the Caucasian Albanian king Vache II to have the city of
Perozapat ("the city of Peroz" or "Prosperous Peroz") built. However, this is unlikely as the Kingdom of Caucasian Albania had been abolished by Peroz after a suppressing a revolt by Vache II in the mid-460s. The city was seemingly founded by Peroz himself after the removal of the ruling family in Caucasian Albania. Due to its more secure location, it was made the new residence of the Iranian . Peroz also founded Shahram Peroz (
Ardabil) in
Adurbadagan; Ram Peroz near Ray; and Rowshan Peroz between
Gurgan and Derbent.
The
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
of
Bolnisi Sioni in Iberia is a testimony of the growing Sasanian influence there. It was constructed in 478/479 in the southern part of the country, which had fallen under the local control of the Mihranids of Gugark. The
iconography
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
of the basilica showed Iranian characteristics, while its
inscription, written in
Old Georgian
Old Georgian (ႤႬႠჂ ႵႠႰႧႭჃႪႨ, ''enay kartuli'') was a literary language of the Georgian monarchies attested from the 5th century. The language remains in use as the liturgical language of the Georgian Orthodox Church and ...
, mentions Peroz:
Although the basilica was not commissioned by Peroz, the builders of Bolnisi Sioni might have been inspired by the royal constructions of the Sasanians.
Peroz's reign marks the ''
terminus ad quem'' for the completion of the
Great Wall of Gorgan, whose construction had started in the late 4th-century. Additional fortifications were later made to the wall, possibly as late as the reigns of Kavad I and Khosrow I. The wall, stretching from the
Caspian Caspian can refer to:
*The Caspian Sea
*The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea
*The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea
* Caspian languages, collection of languages and dialects of Caspian p ...
coast to
Pishkamar, was the largest of its time, and the biggest Iranian investment in military infrastructure in the
late antique and
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
periods.
Coinage and imperial ideology
On Peroz's coinage the traditional Sasanian titulature of ("
King of Kings") is omitted, and only the two aspects of ("King Peroz") are displayed. One of Peroz's seals demonstrates that the traditional titulature was still used, which indicates that coins do not with certainty display the full formal titulature of the Sasanian monarchs. The use of the mythological
Kayanian title of , first used by Peroz's father Yazdegerd II, was due to a shift in the political perspective of the Sasanian Empire. Originally disposed towards the west, this now changed to the east. This shift, which had already started under Yazdegerd I and Bahram V, reached its zenith under Peroz I and his father. It may have been triggered by the aggression of the tribes on the eastern frontier. The war against the Hunnic tribes may have awakened the mythical rivalry existing between the Iranian Kayanian rulers and their Turanian enemies, which is demonstrated in the
Younger Avesta.
This conflict between Iran and its eastern enemies may have resulted in the adoption of the title of , used by the Iranian mythical kings in their war against the Turanians in the east. It is probable that it was during this period that legendary and epic texts were collected by the Sasanians, including the legend of the Iranian hero-king
Fereydun
Fereydun ( ae, 𐬚𐬭𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀𐬊𐬥𐬀, Θraētaona, pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭩𐭲𐭥𐭭, ; New Persian: , ''Fereydūn/Farīdūn'') is an Iranian mythical king and hero from the Pishdadian dynasty. He is known as an emblem of victory, jus ...
(Frēdōn in Middle Persian), who divided his kingdom between his three sons: his eldest son
Salm received the empire of the west,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
; the second eldest
Tur received the empire of the east, Turan; and the youngest,
Iraj, received the heartland of the empire, Iran. Influenced by these tales of the Kayanians, the Sasanians may have believed themselves to be the heirs of the Fereydun and Iraj, and so possibly considered both the Byzantine domains in west and the eastern domains of the Hephthalites as belonging to Iran. The Sasanians may therefore have been symbolically asserting their rights over these lands by assuming the title of .
Peroz depicted himself with three different crowns on his coins. The first consists of a
diadem
A diadem is a type of Crown (headgear), crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty.
Overview
The word derives from the Ancient Greek, Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", fr ...
, a crown with
crenellations in the middle, and the
korymbos, with a moon crescent at the front. The second crown is similar to the first, with the exception that crenellations have been extended to the back of the cap. On the third crown, two wings are added, which is a reference to
Verethragna, the god of victory. Peroz and Shapur II () were the only two Sasanian monarchs to regularly mint gold coins. The
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n historian and
numismatist Nikolaus Schindel has suggested that gold coins were generally not used in daily lives, but instead used as a form of donation given to high-ranking Iranian magnates by the , seemingly during festivities.
In Persian literature
Peroz is included in a legendary romantic story narrated by the 13th-century Iranian historian
Ibn Isfandiyar. The story begins with Peroz dreaming about a beautiful woman whom he falls in love with. Peroz then sends one of his relatives who is also a close friend, Mihrfiruz from the Mihran family, to find her. Mihrfiruz finds the woman and discovers her to be the daughter of the Mihranid general Ashtad Mihran. Peroz marries her and, at her request, lays the foundations of the city of
Amol
Amol ( fa, آمل – ; ; also Romanized as Āmol and Amul) is a city and the administrative center of Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran, with a population of around 300,000 people.
Amol is located on the Haraz river bank. It is less tha ...
in
Tabaristan.
Family tree
Notes
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
Ancient works
*
Ghazar Parpetsi,
History of the Armenians'.
*
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman ge ...
,
History of the Wars'.
Modern works
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Peroz 01
484 deaths
5th-century Sasanian monarchs
Year of birth unknown
Shahnameh characters
Monarchs killed in action
City founders