Adergoudounbadēs ( grc, Ἀδεργουδουνβάδης, before 488 – 541), was a prominent

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 ...

nobleman, general, and ''

kanarang The ''kanārang'' ( fa, کنارنگ) was a unique title in the Sasanian military, given to the commander of the Sasanian Empire's northeasternmost frontier province, Abarshahr (encompassing the cities of Nishapur, Tus and Abiward). In Byzant ...

'' during the reigns of

Kavadh 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 ...

(r. 488–531) and Khosrow I (r. 531–579). His life is known only through the work of 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 ...

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 gen ...

. His native name was probably Adurgundbad (in New fa, آذرگندبد), an abbreviation of ''Adurgushnaspbad''. Pourshariati records the native name as ''Ādhargulbād'' ().

Biography

Adhurgunbadh first appears in 488. A young man at the time, according to Procopius, he already had a reputation as a soldier. In that year, he helped Kavadh I rise to the throne against his uncle Balash. As a reward, Kavadh raised Adergoudounbades to the important post of ''kanarang'', governor of the northeastern province of

Abarshahr Abarshahr (Persian:اَبَرشهر) or Nishapur (Persian:نیشاپور) was a Sasanian satrapy (province) in Late Antiquity, that lay within the kust of Khorasan. The province bordered Media in the west, Hyrcania in the north west, Margian ...

which adjoined Hephthalite territory, replacing his relative,

Gushnaspdad Gushnaspdād, known in Byzantine sources as Gousanastadēs (), was a Sasanian nobleman, who was ''kanarang'' during the reign of Balash (r. 484–488), and Kavad I (r. 488–531). Biography Gushnaspdad first appears in 496, as one of the supporte ...

(Gousanastades), who was executed. Little is known of Adergoudounbades during the subsequent decades, save that he had considerable success as a general: Procopius reports that he subdued twelve barbarian tribes to Persian rule. He participated in the

Anastasian War The Anastasian War was fought from 502 to 506 between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire. It was the first major conflict between the two powers since 440, and would be the prelude to a long series of destructive conflicts between the t ...

, being involved in the Siege of Amida (502–503). When Khosrow I ascended the throne in 531, a conspiracy was formed by

Bawi Bawi was a Sasanian military officer from the Ispahbudhan family who was involved in the Anastasian War and the Iberian War between the Sasanian and Byzantine Empire. He is also known as Aspebedes, which is a corruption of the title '' spahbed''. ...

and other nobles who wanted to overthrow him and elevate his nephew Kavadh, the son of Kavadh I's second eldest son Jamasp (Greek ''Zames'')—who could not himself claim the throne as he was blind in one eye—to the throne. The conspiracy was discovered and suppressed, but Kavadh, who was still a child, was away from the court, being raised by Adergoudounbades. Khosrau sent orders to kill Kavadh, but Adergoudounbades disobeyed and brought him up in secret, until he was betrayed to the shah in 541 by his own son, Bahram (''Varrames''). Khosrow had him executed, but Kavadh, or someone claiming to be him, managed to flee to the Byzantine Empire..

References

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Works cited

* * * * {{refend 5th-century births 541 deaths 5th-century Iranian people 6th-century Iranian people Executed military personnel People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars Kanarang People executed by the Sasanian Empire Generals of Khosrow I Anastasian War Generals of Kavad I