Narsieh ( ''Narseh''; ) was a Persian general who fled to the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

with his father,

Peroz III Peroz III ( ''Pērōz''; ) was son of Yazdegerd III, the last King of Kings of Sasanian Empire, Sasanian Iran. After the death of his father, who legend says was killed by a miller at the instigation of the governor of Marw, he retreated to territ ...

, son of

Yazdegerd III Yazdegerd III (also Romanized as ''Yazdgerd'', ''Yazdgird'') was the last Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings from 632 to 651. His father was Shahriyar (son of Khosrow II), Shahriyar and his grandfather was Khosrow II. Ascending the throne a ...

, the last Sasanian emperor of Persia, after the

Muslim conquest of Persia As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

. He was escorted back to Persia with a Chinese army led by Pei Xingjian in 679, in order to restore him to the Sasanian throne. Pei's primary objective, however, was to vanquish an insurgency led by Khan claimant Ashina Duzhi of a Tang protectorate, the

Western Turkic Khaganate The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate () was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after the split of the First Turkic Khaganate (founded in the 6th century o ...

; the army stopped in Tokharistan after Pei Xingjian successfully defeated the Turks. Concerned by the long route to Persia, Pei lost his interest in reinstalling Narsieh as the Persian king and left him in the

Anxi Protectorate The Protectorate General to Pacify the West (Anxi Grand Protectorate), initially the Protectorate to Pacify the West (Anxi Protectorate), was a Protectorate (imperial China), protectorate (640 – ) established by the Chinese Tang dynasty in 640 ...

alone, although Narsieh was able to keep his many servants and a high quality of life. Minor Turkic chieftains in the region then pledged their loyalty to the Tang dynasty due to the defeat of Ashina. The overall result of Pei's expedition was a success for the Tang. Upon returning to China, Pei was appointed the minister of rituals and Great General of the Right Flank Guards. Narsieh then spent the next twenty years fighting the Arabs in Tokharistan until he returned to the Tang capital of

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

in 707, where he lived out the remainder of his life before dying from disease at some point after 708/709.

Heirs

Narsieh was followed as the head of the Sasanian dynasty by his son, who is recorded in Chinese sources under the name Bó Qiāng Huó; his Persian name may have been ''Pušang''. Bó Qiāng Huó was active against the Arabs in Tokharistan in 723 and was recognized as "king of Persia" in Chinese sources. He was followed by another Sasanian prince, recorded as Mù Shānuò, who was active until at least 731. Narsieh's uncle, Bahram, died in 710, and Bahram's son, Khosrow, was mentioned fighting alongside Sogdians and Turks against the Arabs at the siege of Kamarja in 729 in a futile attempt to restore Sasanian rule.

References

Sasanian princes Tang dynasty generals 7th-century Iranian people {{Sasanian-bio-stub

Heirs

See also

References