The Persian Empire
Page 50
For the first 16 years of his reign, the real power rested in the hands of the Persian nobility who dominated the Sasanian court. At the age of 16, however, Shapur II assumed the reins of power. The young monarch began his reign by organizing a campaign against Arab tribesmen who had invaded the southern and southwestern provinces of the Sasanian Empire, raiding cities and towns and disrupting agricultural production in many rural communities. His harsh suppression of the Arabs earned him the title Dhul-aktaf (Piercer of Shoulders). To prevent any future attacks from nomadic Arabs, Shapur ordered the construction of a large moat near Hira in today’s southern Iraq, a short distance from the city of Najaf. He then shifted his attention from the southern borders of his empire to Central Asia, where a Hunnic people called the Chionites were threatening the eastern provinces of the Sasanian state. After several military campaigns between 353 and 358 CE, Shapur pacified the Chionites and formed an alliance with their king, who agreed to join the Persian monarch in his campaigns against the Romans.
Much of Shapur II’s reign was spent in wars against Roman armies. His principal objective was to revoke the humiliating Peace of Nisibis, which the Sasanian monarch Narseh had signed with the Romans in 298/299. The treaty changed the border between the Roman and Persian Empires from the Euphrates River to the Tigris River and permitted the Romans to restore their power in Armenia, which was allowed to gain territory in Media. For 27 years Shapur II “fought numerous pitched battles with the Romans, and was never once defeated…. By a combination of courage, perseverance, and promptness, he brought the entire contest to a favorable issue, and restored Persia, in 363 CE, to a higher position than that from which she had descended two generations earlier” (Rawlinson: 239–240). Shapur II was determined to regain the five provinces that the Sasanian monarch Narseh had lost to the Romans. Shapur had other reasons as well for his campaigns to defeat the Romans. The Roman emperor Constantine had proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire. He had also appointed himself as the protector of all Christians in the world, including those in the Sasanian domains. Additionally, the Romans were trying to interfere in the internal affairs of the Sasanian state and undermine Shapur’s authority by supporting a Sasanian prince named Hormozd, who had sought refuge in the Roman court.
Rock relief at Taq-e Bostan near the city of Kermanshah in western Iran depicts the Sasanian monarch Shapur II standing next to his son Shapur III. As the longest-reigning Sasanian monarch (ruled 309–379 CE), Shapur II punished the Arabs who had raided Fars and Khuzistan and inflicted several humiliating defeats on Roman armies, killing the Roman emperor Julian in 363 and forcing Julian’s successor Jovian to return the five provinces east of the Tigris River that the Sasanian king Narseh had lost. (De Agostini/Getty Images)
In military campaigns extending from 337 to 363, the Persian and Roman armies repeatedly fought over the control of Mesopotamia and Armenia. Despite heavy casualties, the Persians managed to capture the Roman outposts of Sanjara (Sinjar) in present-day northern Iraq and Amida (present-day Diyarbakir) in southeastern Turkey. The Romans struck back in 363 CE. The Roman emperor Julian, also known as Julian the Apostate, marched at the head of a large and well-equipped army toward Mesopotamia. Accompanying Julian and his army was the pretender Persian prince Hormozd, who was to replace Shapur II after the anticipated Roman victory. Julian split his forces in two. The main Roman army moved into southern Mesopotamia and attacked the Persian capital, Ctesiphon, near modern-day Baghdad in present-day Iraq. Another Roman army moved directly east to join forces with the Armenian king who had lent his support to the Roman cause. Though he defeated a small Persian force outside the gates of Ctesiphon, Julian could not penetrate the strong defenses of the city. As Shapur and the Persian army approached Ctesiphon, Julian and his officers burned the boats that had transported them to southern Mesopotamia and marched eastward to confront the Sasanian king in an open battle. Shapur avoided an open confrontation and instead resorted to surprise attacks waged by the Persian cavalry (the savārān). The principal objective of these attacks was to demoralize the enemy and force it to withdraw its forces. In the Battle of Samara between a unit of the Persian cavalry and Roman forces, Julian received the mortal wound that killed him three days later. The Romans had no other choice but to sue for peace and agree to significant territorial concessions. Julian’s successor, Jovian (r. 363–364 CE), signed a peace treaty that returned to Shapur the five provinces that Narseh had lost. The Romans also ceded the strategic outposts of Nisibis in present-day southeastern Turkey and Sanjara in northern Iraq. They also promised to cease their interference in the internal affairs of Armenia. Shapur II imposed his rule over Armenia. One of the direct consequences of these Persian victories was the large number of Roman prisoners of war who were settled in the interior of the Sasanian state as skilled craftsmen, builders, and engineers. Shapur also settled a large number of Persians in the newly conquered cities, particularly in Nisibis, which served as an outpost against future Roman incursions.
SHAPUR II ON THE BATTLEFIELD
Much of the reign of Shapur II (309–379 CE) was spent in wars against the Romans. His principal objective was to nullify the Peace of Nisibis, which his grandfather, the Sasanian monarch Narseh, had signed with the Romans in 299, changing the border between the Roman and Persian Empires from the Euphrates River to the Tigris River and allowing the Romans to restore their power in Armenia. Shapur II was determined to regain the five provinces that Narseh had lost to the Romans. In military campaigns extending from 337 to 363, the Persian and Roman armies repeatedly clashed over the control of Mesopotamia and Armenia. Once the military campaigns came to an end, the Romans returned to Shapur the five provinces that the Sasanian monarch Narseh had lost.
In 303 CE, the Armenian king Tiridates, who had allied himself with the Romans, converted to Christianity. Then in 312, Emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity and began to promote his new faith as the state religion of the Roman Empire. In 330, Constantine transferred the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium (later Constantinople) on the shores of the Bosporus. One of the reasons for moving the capital from Rome to Byzantium was the proximity of the new capital to the borders of the Sasanian state. Constantine proclaimed himself as the king of all Christians, including Christians living in the Sasanian territory. These developments convinced Shapur to view the Christians of the Sasanian Empire as the allies of his most formidable foe. It also swayed Shapur to augment his support for Zoroastrianism as the national religion of the Persian state. Despite the growing tension between the Sasanian state and its Christian community, the Persian Empire remained a religiously heterogeneous state containing significant non-Zoroastrian communities, including Jews, Christians, and Buddhists.
See also: Ancient Cities: Taq-e Bostan; K&Q, Sasanian: Ardashir II; Hormozd III; Narseh; Shapur III; Primary Documents: Document 33
Further Reading
Daryaee, Touraj. Sasanian Iran (224–651 BCE): Portrait of a Late Antique Empire. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 2008.
Frye, R. N. “The Political History of Iran under the Sasanians.” In The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3, edited by Ehsan Yarshater, 116–180. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Frye, Richard Nelson. The Heritage of Persia. Cleveland: World Publishing, 1963.
Rawlinson, George. The Seventh Great Oriental Monarchy or the Geography, History, and Antiquities of the Sassanians or New Persian Empire. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1882.
Shahbazi, A. Shapur. “Sasanian Dynasty.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2005, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sasanian-dynasty.
Tabari. The History of al-Tabarī, Vol. 5, The Sāsānids, the Byzantines, the Lakhmids, and Yemen. Translated by C. E. Bosworth. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999.
Tabari. Tarikh-e Tabari, Vol. 2. Translated from Arabic into Persian by Abol Qassem Payandeh. Tehran: Asatir Publications, 1984.
Shapur III
Shapur III was a king of k
ings of the Persian Sasanian dynasty who ruled from 383 to 388 CE. Shapur III was the son of Shapur II, the longest-reigning monarch of the Sasanian dynasty, who ruled from 309 to 379 CE. During the reign of Shapur III, the conflict over Armenia erupted once again between the Sasanian and Roman Empires. Shapur II had reestablished Sasanian rule over Armenia, Georgia, and Albania. The Arsacid dynasts of Armenia ruled as vassals of the Sasanian king. A small portion of Armenia, however, remained under Roman rule. Emperor Theodosius intended to expand the territory of Roman-controlled Armenia by dispatching an army to the eastern frontiers of his empire in 383/384 (Frye: 141). Military confrontation between the two powers was avoided, however, when the Persian monarch and the Roman emperor agreed to exchange embassies and settle their differences through negotiations. The conflict was resolved when the two empires agreed to redraw the boundaries of the Persian- and Roman-held Armenia. Aside from the conflict in Armenia, Shapur III may have also been involved in a campaign against the Kushans in Balkh in present-day northern Afghanistan (Frye: 142).
Taq-e Bostan, an important Persian Sasanian historical site located near the city of Kermanshah in western Iran, includes several rock reliefs dating from the Sasanian dynasty (r. 224–651 CE). The site is home to two arched grottoes, two royal investiture scenes, and two highly detailed reliefs of a royal hunt. The reliefs provide the visitor with a rare window into the daily life of Iran’s pre-Islamic kings and the magnificent world of Sasanian art. Next to the bas-relief of the investiture of Ardashir II are two grottoes. On the back wall of the first and smaller grotto stand the sculptures of Shapur II and Shapur III. The hands of both monarchs rest on the pommel of a large sword. This is clearly not an investiture scene, because no diadem of kingship is exchanged between the two monarchs. A Middle Persian inscription further identifies the two kings facing each other as Shapur II and Shapur III. Muslim historians such as Tabari praised Shapur III as a kind and justice-loving monarch who ordered his officials to treat the ordinary people with compassion and fairness (Tabari: Tarikh-e Tabari, 2.606–607). The Sasanian king of kings died or was murdered when his tent collapsed on him in 388 CE (Tabari: Tarikh-e Tabari, 2.607).
See also: Ancient Cities: Taq-e Bostan; K&Q, Sasanian: Ardashir II; Shapur II
Further Reading
Daryaee, Touraj. Sasanian Iran (224–651 BCE): Portrait of a Late Antique Empire. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 2008.
Frye, R. N. “The Political History of Iran under the Sasanians.” In The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3, edited by Ehsan Yarshater, 116–180. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Rawlinson, George. The Seventh Great Oriental Monarchy or the Geography, History, and Antiquities of the Sassanians or New Persian Empire. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1882.
Shahbazi, A. Shapur. “Sasanian Dynasty.” Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2005, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sasanian-dynasty.
Tabari. The History of al-Tabarī, Vol. 5, The Sāsānids, the Byzantines, the Lakhmids, and Yemen. Translated by C. E. Bosworth. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999.
Tabari. Tarikh-e Tabari, Vol. 2. Translated from Arabic into Persian by Abol Qassem Payandeh. Tehran: Asatir Publications, 1984.
Yazdegerd I
Yazdegerd I was a Sasanian king of kings who ruled from 399 to 421 CE. He ascended the throne after the ruling monarch, Bahram IV (r. 388–399 CE), was assassinated by members of the Persian nobility. Several sources refer to Yazdegerd as the son of Bahram IV, while others call him the brother of Bahram (Tabari: Tarikh-e Tabari, 2.607). The Roman sources refer to Yazdegerd I as an intelligent, generous, compassionate, and peaceful ruler. In sharp contrast, the Persian and Arab authors call him a “sinner” (bazehkar or bezehgar). These sources denounced Yazdegerd as a ruler who abused his power by intimidating and silencing the nobility and the Zoroastrian religious establishment. The Persian epic poet Ferdowsi condemned him as a paranoid, cruel, and hedonistic monarch who oppressed the poor, ridiculed scholarship and learning, and refused to reward those who had served him faithfully. The historian Tabari described Yazdegerd as a brutal and vicious tyrant who always displayed a preference for wickedness and malevolence. As a temperamental and unstable ruler, he refused to ignore and forgive the most insignificant errors (Tabari: Tarikh-e Tabari, 2.608).
The harsh denunciation that Yazdegerd I received in various accounts can be attributed to his peaceful stance toward the Romans and his tolerant attitude toward non-Zoroastrian religious communities living in the Sasanian domains, particularly the Jews and the Christians. His unpopularity among the members of the Zoroastrian religious hierarchy was caused by his decision to execute several Zoroastrian priests who had criticized his benevolent and lenient attitude toward religious minorities. His policies alienated him from a large segment of the empire’s ruling class, particularly the Zoroastrian religious leadership and the powerful members of the Persian nobility. But these same policies were praised by the Byzantine historian Agathias, who described the Sasanian monarch as a “friendly and peaceable” ruler for refusing to wage a war on the Romans (Agathias: IV.26.8).
Throughout his reign, Yazdegerd maintained a cordial relationship with the Roman emperors Arcadius (r. 395–408 CE) and Theodosius II (r. 408–450 CE). At the time the Roman Empire was under attack by the Goths, who had invaded and ravaged southeastern Europe. The Romans were also preoccupied with rebellions in their eastern provinces. These circumstances would have provided a golden opportunity for the Sasanian state to attack the Roman-held cities and provinces in northern Mesopotamia. Yazdegerd, however, refused to take advantage of the enemy’s weakness and invade Mesopotamia. His consistently peaceful attitude convinced the Roman emperor Arcadius to designate Yazdegerd I as the guardian and protector of his infant son, Theodosius (future Theodosius II), “enjoining upon” the Persian monarch “earnestly in his will to preserve the empire for Theodosius” (Procopius: I.ii.7–8). Yazdegerd agreed to the proposed arrangement and “adopted a policy of profound peace with the Romans,” refusing to attack Roman territory after the death of Arcadius (Procopius: I.ii.10). His policy of peace and reconciliation toward the Romans earned him the praise of Byzantine sources, which called him a man of noble character, “amazing and remarkable” (Procopius: I.ii.8–9).
For much of his reign Yazdegerd also displayed a high level of tolerance toward the Christian and Jewish communities in the Sasanian Empire. He allowed his Christian subjects to practice their religion in peace and freedom. Previously demolished churches and monasteries were rebuilt, and Christian missionaries were allowed to operate freely in Sasanian domains. Toward the end of his reign, however, the Sasanian monarch reversed his policy toward Christians and adopted repressive measures against their missionary activities. He denounced the Christians for fanaticism, as reflected in their attacks on Zoroastrian beliefs and temples.
As he had initially done with his Christian subjects, Yazdegerd I also adopted a highly tolerant attitude toward the Jewish communities in the Sasanian domains. His kind and compassionate policy toward his Jewish subjects was praised by Jewish leaders, who compared him to the Persian Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great (r. 558–530 BCE), the liberator of the Jews from captivity in Babylon.
Aside from his tolerant attitude toward religious minorities, Yazdegerd also paid special attention to the poor and the needy in his domains. In addition, he tried hard to curtail the power and interference of the Persian nobility and the Zoroastrian priesthood in the empire’s decision-making process. The reign of Yazdegerd and his troubled relationship with the Persian nobility and the Zoroastrian religious leadership demonstrate the ongoing tension between independent-minded Sasanian monarchs and those segments of Iran’s ruling class who viewed themselves as the king makers. The Sasanian monarch, however, refused to tolerate any opposition from the court magnates and the Zoroastrian high priest. Yazdegerd was fully aware that his royal predecessors, the Sasanian monarchs Bahram IV (r. 388–399 CE) and Shapur III (r. 383–388 CE), both had been as
sassinated through a conspiracy hatched by members of the Persian nobility. He consequently showed little mercy and dealt with their criticism through ruthless suppression, executing their powerful and influential leaders. Not surprisingly therefore, Muslim historiography, which relied on Sasanian sources, denounced Yazdegerd I as a ruler with numerous defects, including a violent temper.
After Yazdegerd I died in 421 CE, powerful members of the nobility refused to allow any of his sons to succeed their father. The oldest son of Yazdegerd, Shapur, who served as the governor of Armenia, was murdered after he marched to the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon to claim his father’s throne. However, another son, Bahram, refused to accept defeat. He marched against Ctesiphon at the head of an army he had raised with assistance from his friend and mentor, Mundhir I, the Arab Lakhmid ruler of Hira in present-day southern Iraq. Bahram subsequently established himself as the new ruler of the Sasanian Empire.
See also: K&Q, Sasanian: Bahram IV; Bahram V; Shapur III; Yazdegerd II
Further Reading
Agathias. The Histories. Translated and with an introduction by Joseph D. Frendo. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1975.
Daryaee, Touraj. Sasanian Iran (224–651 CE): Portrait of a Late Antique Empire. Costa Mesa: Mazda Publishers, 2008.
Ferdowsi. Shanameh. Edited by Djalal Khaleghi-Motlagh. New York: Mazda Publishers, 1997.
Frye, R. N. “The Political History of Iran under the Sasanians.” In The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3(I), edited by Ehsan Yarshater, 116–180. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Frye, Richard Nelson. The History of Ancient Iran. München: C. H. Beck’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1984.
Procopius. History of the Wars: Books I–II. Translated by H. B. Dewing. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006.