These mini essays will be covering two of the most important leaders in medieval Iranian history. Congrats again @Revolution5 for winning this auction, and thank you for your donations to the NAACP.
When discussing medieval Persia/Iran/Eran (From here on out referred to as Eran) there are two key versions which must be understood. The first is Sassanid Eran, or the Sassanian Empire, which predates the fall of Rome by around one hundred and seventy-five years. This empire was the last zoroastrian iteration of Eran before the Islamic conquests in the middle of the seventh century. The second and more prevalent medieval entity is the Islamic Empire which replaced the house of Sasan. This work will specifically focus on Sassanian Eran, however, will be happy to take questions about Islamic Eran after it has made its point.
The focus of this mini essay will be on Khosrau Anushiruwan. Seen as the most successful of the Sassanids, and as one of the most successful leaders in Iranian history; Khosrau inherited a bad situation, yet enacted wide sweeping administrative reforms and strategic warfare in order to restore Eran’s status as a powerhouse of antiquity. But that’s enough of the spoiler, let’s look at his early life. Khosrau’s father, Kavad, had also inherited a crumbling empire, being sworn in at the age of fifteen to replace the deposed Balash; his uncle. Upon his accession to the throne, the biggest problem facing the young Kavad was the lack of authority given to him. As mentioned, his uncle had been deposed by his nobles, which was emblematic of Eran in the Early Antiquity. The noble aristocracy held regional power bases, making them able to rally against the monarch. In addition, there were many outdated staples still present in Eran; namely allowing people to pay taxes with goods and allowing the nobility to serve as tax collectors in their provinces. The former allowed for perishable goods such as wheat to be collected as taxation. The latter led to much of the taxable wealth being skimmed by the nobility. Both of these combined to put great financial strain on the empire. In a country that had dealt with civil strife, drought, famine, constant raiding in the east, and perpetual rebellion in the west, Eran’s financial situation was dire.
To exemplify the lack of power Kavad held over his empire, it is commonly accepted that in Kavad’s early years, he served as a figurehead, and the main power of the empire lay in the hands of a noble named Sukhra. Parvaneh Pourshariati made note in their book Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran, that many regions of Eran paid tribute to Sukhra and not Kavad. In addition, the country’s dwindling resources were controlled by Sukhra, and not the Shahanshah himself. It would be apt to denote the king of kings as merely the puppet with the biggest crown. Kavad would eventually have Sukhra imprisoned and executed, however this led to a distaste in the mouth of his nobility. Ultimately, this distaste would lead Kavad to more extreme attempts to rectify this situation. This leads famously to Kavad’s support for the Mazdekite movement. If touted today, one might link it to communism, but in medieval Eran, it surfaced in a religious movement seeking to undo the power of the nobility and the Zoroastrian Clergy and redistribute said wealth. This philosophy appealed to Kavad as it provided a philosophy with which to weaken the nobility with. Touraj Daryaee and Matthew Canepa have argued that the nobility would have viewed this as an affront to their lineage and power. With regards to the former, it should be noted that Zoroastrianism held certain tenets that would allow for noble families to arrange incestuous marriages. Yet due to video games like Crusader Kings II, this fact is often overplayed. The alliance between monarch and preacher proved fruitful, but as could be seen as the main story of Kavad’s reigns, his actions provided short term gain, and long term misery. The culmination of Kavad’s efforts with Mazdak saw him being deposed in 496 and being replaced by his brother, Jamasp. A man who by all accounts wanted nothing to do with the throne.
Kavad’s deposition and exile would lead to him meeting his next opportunity to radically shift the dynamics of his former empire. After his escape from the prison of Oblivion (love that name) Kavad would end up residing in the Hephthalite court. The Hepthalites were the aforementioned peoples who were raiding the east of the Sassanid Empire. During this stay, he became close to their leadership, and was subsequently able to use their power to return to Eran. This saw his brother peacefully surrender the throne, and thus started the second reign of Kavad.
Join me next time as we cover Kavad's second reign, the crumbling of his alliance with Mazdak, and a better understanding of the Byzantine/Iranian relationship.
When discussing medieval Persia/Iran/Eran (From here on out referred to as Eran) there are two key versions which must be understood. The first is Sassanid Eran, or the Sassanian Empire, which predates the fall of Rome by around one hundred and seventy-five years. This empire was the last zoroastrian iteration of Eran before the Islamic conquests in the middle of the seventh century. The second and more prevalent medieval entity is the Islamic Empire which replaced the house of Sasan. This work will specifically focus on Sassanian Eran, however, will be happy to take questions about Islamic Eran after it has made its point.
The focus of this mini essay will be on Khosrau Anushiruwan. Seen as the most successful of the Sassanids, and as one of the most successful leaders in Iranian history; Khosrau inherited a bad situation, yet enacted wide sweeping administrative reforms and strategic warfare in order to restore Eran’s status as a powerhouse of antiquity. But that’s enough of the spoiler, let’s look at his early life. Khosrau’s father, Kavad, had also inherited a crumbling empire, being sworn in at the age of fifteen to replace the deposed Balash; his uncle. Upon his accession to the throne, the biggest problem facing the young Kavad was the lack of authority given to him. As mentioned, his uncle had been deposed by his nobles, which was emblematic of Eran in the Early Antiquity. The noble aristocracy held regional power bases, making them able to rally against the monarch. In addition, there were many outdated staples still present in Eran; namely allowing people to pay taxes with goods and allowing the nobility to serve as tax collectors in their provinces. The former allowed for perishable goods such as wheat to be collected as taxation. The latter led to much of the taxable wealth being skimmed by the nobility. Both of these combined to put great financial strain on the empire. In a country that had dealt with civil strife, drought, famine, constant raiding in the east, and perpetual rebellion in the west, Eran’s financial situation was dire.
To exemplify the lack of power Kavad held over his empire, it is commonly accepted that in Kavad’s early years, he served as a figurehead, and the main power of the empire lay in the hands of a noble named Sukhra. Parvaneh Pourshariati made note in their book Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran, that many regions of Eran paid tribute to Sukhra and not Kavad. In addition, the country’s dwindling resources were controlled by Sukhra, and not the Shahanshah himself. It would be apt to denote the king of kings as merely the puppet with the biggest crown. Kavad would eventually have Sukhra imprisoned and executed, however this led to a distaste in the mouth of his nobility. Ultimately, this distaste would lead Kavad to more extreme attempts to rectify this situation. This leads famously to Kavad’s support for the Mazdekite movement. If touted today, one might link it to communism, but in medieval Eran, it surfaced in a religious movement seeking to undo the power of the nobility and the Zoroastrian Clergy and redistribute said wealth. This philosophy appealed to Kavad as it provided a philosophy with which to weaken the nobility with. Touraj Daryaee and Matthew Canepa have argued that the nobility would have viewed this as an affront to their lineage and power. With regards to the former, it should be noted that Zoroastrianism held certain tenets that would allow for noble families to arrange incestuous marriages. Yet due to video games like Crusader Kings II, this fact is often overplayed. The alliance between monarch and preacher proved fruitful, but as could be seen as the main story of Kavad’s reigns, his actions provided short term gain, and long term misery. The culmination of Kavad’s efforts with Mazdak saw him being deposed in 496 and being replaced by his brother, Jamasp. A man who by all accounts wanted nothing to do with the throne.
Kavad’s deposition and exile would lead to him meeting his next opportunity to radically shift the dynamics of his former empire. After his escape from the prison of Oblivion (love that name) Kavad would end up residing in the Hephthalite court. The Hepthalites were the aforementioned peoples who were raiding the east of the Sassanid Empire. During this stay, he became close to their leadership, and was subsequently able to use their power to return to Eran. This saw his brother peacefully surrender the throne, and thus started the second reign of Kavad.
Join me next time as we cover Kavad's second reign, the crumbling of his alliance with Mazdak, and a better understanding of the Byzantine/Iranian relationship.
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