THE PERSIAN EMPIRE: THE SASANIDS | PERSIAN HISTORY
The Sassanid empire… The Sassanids, who expanded their lands rapidly after it was established in Iran in 224, took the lands from Khorasan to Egypt and from the Caucasus to Constantinople. Although they embarked on a great siege movement to take Constantinople in 626, this empire, which collapsed rapidly after being repelled by the Romans, was erased from the stage of history by the Islamic State, whose foundation was laid by the Prophet Muhammad in 651. Let’s examine in more detail the Sassanid Empire, the second empire founded by the Persians…
The beginning of the 3rd century… King Pabag, the ancestor of the Sassanids, was the ruler of the city of Istakhr, dependent to the Parthians. Taking advantage of the internal conflicts that took place in the Parthian empire in 210, King Pabag began to expand his lands with his eldest son Shapur. While the Sassanids conquered all of Persia by 220, King Pabag died in a war that same year. After Pabag’s death, a struggle for the throne began between his eldest son Shapur and his younger son Ardashir. This struggle lasted for about 2 years and ended in 222 when Shapur died suspiciously on the way to reconciliation with his brother Ardashir. On this occasion, Ardashir I became the head of the Persis region after his father. Ardashir I, who moved the capital of his country to Firuzabad, which is at a high altitude and dominating the environment, as soon as he came to the throne, took precautions against the possible Parthian raids. After a short while, he continued his expeditions from where he left off and continued his expansion by capturing nearby cities such as Kerman, Isfahan, and Susa. Disturbed by this expansion, the Parthian king Artabanus marched on Ardashir with his army in 224. While the Sassanids won the bloody war between the two armies in Hormozgan, the Parthian king Artabanus lost his life during the war. While this war in 224 caused the collapse of the Parthian empire, it resulted in the establishment of the Sassanid empire instead. Ardashir I, who was at the peak of his power, then turned east and captured the Khwarezm region of the Kushan empire without encountering any resistance. After this expedition, he moved his country’s capital from Fizurabad to Ctesiphon. Then the Sassanid army, which turned west, entered the Arabian peninsula and annexed the northern Arabian coasts and Bahraini lands. Thus, the Sassanid empire reached its greatest extent during the reign of Ardashir I. While Ardashir I died in 242, his eldest son Shapur I became the new ruler of the Sassanid empire. After coming to the throne, the 1st Shapur, who marched on the Roman Empire due to the raids made by the Romans to seize the Sassanid capital Ctesiphon, defeated the Roman army in Misiche at the end of 244. Having suffered a heavy defeat and had to ask for peace, the Romans left the Armenian region to the Sassanid Empire for war reparations. In this period, when the Kushan Empire attacked the Sassanid lands to take back the Merv Region it had lost, Shapur I once again set out on an expedition to the east. After the bloody war of these armies in the east of Kirman in 250, the winning side was the Persians, while the lands from Karachi to Kandahar passed into the hands of the Sassanids. Thus, Sassanid lands reached India.
By 255, Shapur 1st once again turned to the west and attacked the Roman lands, while he first captured Syria and then captured and looted important Roman cities such as Antakya. Hearing the news of this, the Roman Emperor Valerian came to Antakya with his army and managed to take the city back after a short war. He then began to follow the rapidly retreating Persian army. The two great armies that came face to face in Edessa, which is known as Urfa today, engaged in a tough battle. As a result of this war, which went down in history as the Battle of Edessa, the Roman army was destroyed, and the Roman Emperor Valerian was captured by Shapur I. This success of the First Shapur caused the name of the Sassanid empire to be heard and increased its prestige in the surrounding countries. Shapur I, who achieved many successes and expanded the territory of the country during his 30-year reign, died in 272. After Shapur’s death, the throne changed hands briefly for about 37 years, and many cities were occupied by the Romans and Arabs during this period. When the dates showed the year 309, the Sassanids returned to their former mighty days with the accession of the 2nd Shapur. Shapur II made his first expedition to the Arabian peninsula to take revenge because his country was invaded by Arabs during his childhood. He first captured the Persian Gulf and then reached as far as present-day Saudi Arabia. Here he killed a large number of Arab populations, blocked water wells with sand, and destroyed water sources. In addition, the Sassanids tried to impose the religion of Zoroastrianism by oppressing the Arabs during their time in the Arabian peninsula.
Shapur the second, after completely suppressing the Arabs, headed north toward the Roman lands. After first conquering Roman Mesopotamia and then Armenia, he besieged Diyarbakir, which was called Amida at that time. After the 73-day siege, in which both the Roman army and the Persian army suffered heavy losses, Amida fell and the way to Anatolia was opened to the Sassanids. Roman emperor Julian was wounded and died while retreating against the Persian army, which was rapidly advancing toward Anatolia. Thereupon, the Romans had to ask for peace from the 2nd Shapur. With the peace treaty signed in 369, the Roman Empire renounced its rights over Armenia and recognized this region as Sassanid territory forever. Shapur II, who almost brought Rome to its knees and expanded the Sassanid lands towards Anatolia, died in 379. While the reigns of Ardashir II and Shapur III, who came to the throne after the 2nd Shapur, lasted 5 years each, Bahram 4th came to the throne in 388. In the first years of his reign, many Sassanid lands, especially Armenia and Mesopotamia, were plundered by the European Huns. A short time later, as a result of the joint struggle between Rome and the Sassanids, the Hun forces were defeated and completely expelled from Anatolia and the Caucasus. After this joint struggle, the lands of Armenia were divided into 2 as a result of an agreement between the Romans and the Sassanids in 397. Bahram IV, who did not experience any important incidents during the rest of his reign, died in 399. He was succeeded by his brother Yazdegerd I. The Yazdegerd period was generally uneventful, as he had cordial relations with the Eastern Roman Empire throughout his reign. Although he was interested in Christianity in the first years of his reign and thought of changing the religion of his country to Christianity, this thought changed after a short time. After remaining on the throne for 21 years, he died in 420 and was succeeded by Bahram the 5th. When Bahram the 5th came to the throne, the Transoxiana region in the Sassanid borders began to be invaded by the Hephthalites, also known as the White Huns. Bahram the 5th, who moved immediately to the east with his army, made a series of battles with the White Huns in Transoxiana. While the white Huns were the victorious side of these wars, the Sassanids had to give up the Transoxiana region. Bahram the 5th, who spent the rest of his life in border conflicts with the eastern roman empire, died in 438 without making any significant gains. After the 5th Behram, Yazdegerd II came to the Sassanid throne. The most important event of the second Yazdegerd period is the period of wars with the European Hun Empire. Especially during the reign of Attila, the Hun expeditions to the Caucasus left both eastern Rome and the Sassanid empire in a very difficult situation. Therefore, Yazdegerd II, who joined forces with the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II, managed to protect his lands against the Huns. He then died in 457. From 457 to 531, there was no significant gain or loss in Sassanid history. In 531, Khosrow I, who would make the Sassanid empire strong again, came to the throne. Khosrow’s first act was to sign peace with the eastern roman empire. In this way, he gained time and carried out many reforms within the country. He executed pro-Roman statesmen, strengthened his army, and most importantly, introduced a new tax system to the country. After accomplishing all these in a short time, Khosrow I, who was convinced that he had consolidated his power, broke the peace in 540 and went on an expedition to eastern Rome. Khosrow I, who besieged Antakya after capturing Syria, destroyed the city after sacking it. Khosrow, who turned north from here, attacked Lazica, which was dependent to the Roman Empire, in 542. However, the Lazica war, which was thought to be easy, would last for 20 years, contrary to expectations.
Upon the prolongation of the war, Khosrow I, who turned his direction to Transoxiana, took action to eliminate the White Hun threat that had been going on for nearly a century. However, when he realized that he could not do this alone, he offered an alliance to the Gokturk Khanate. With the Gokturks accepting this offer, Khosrow I attacked the white Hun Empire from two sides. After the bloody war, while the white hun lands were completely occupied, the empire was completely disintegrated in 560. Returning to the Lazica war, after the two sides suffered heavy losses for 20 years, a peace treaty known as the Daraa treaty was signed in 562. According to this agreement, the Sassanids would not claim land by withdrawing from the Lazica. In return, Eastern Rome would agree to pay 30 thousand gold coins to the Sassanid empire every year. Although this agreement, which both parties left satisfied, was made for 50 years, it only lasted 10 years. In 572, the Roman Emperor Justinian II encouraged the Armenians to revolt and organized an uprising against the Sassanid rule. Then he took advantage of this uprising and besieged Amida, that is, present-day Diyarbakir. Thereupon, the Sassanid army of 10 thousand people, who set out from Ctesiphon, came to the region and broke the Amida siege, and bloodily suppressed the Armenian rebellion. After 10 years, while the Roman-Persian wars continued from where they left off, Oman, which was an important place for the Red Sea maritime trade, was attacked by a group of Ethiopian gangs. Although the Arabs of Oman initially repulsed this attack, they later turned to the Sassanids for help. Responding positively to this call for help, Khosrow I passed to Oman through the Persian navy. After he destroyed the invading Ethiopians, he made Oman a kingdom under the Sassanid Empire. Thus, he expanded the Sassanid lands to the south of the Arabian peninsula. Khosrow I, who restored the Sassanid empire to its former power and expanded its territory during his 48 years on the throne, died in 579. He was replaced by Hormizd IV. In this period, the Sassanids had great difficulty in protecting the border line by being attacked by Göktürk in the east. The Transoxiana region, where violent conflicts took place from time to time, was eventually captured by the Göktürks. Hormizd IV did not achieve any military success, and throughout his reign, he treated the nobles and clergy harshly. Because of this behavior, a rebellion broke out against his reign in 589. These rebellions, which turned into a civil war in time, were the end of Hormizd IV, and he was assassinated by the nobles in 590. He was succeeded by his son Khosrow II, who would bring the golden age of the Sassanid empire to life. When he came to the throne, the west of the Sassanid lands was occupied by the Romans, who took advantage of the civil war. He also had to engage in a series of struggles with his uncles, cousins, and siblings who had an eye on the throne. Khosrow II, who was trying to strengthen his reign for 10 years, won this fight. Khosrow II, who ruled out his opponents until 600 and had those who had a hand in his father’s death executed, secured his reign in this way. Then, in 602, he set out on an expedition towards Eastern Rome to regain the lands he had lost. He captured Dara and Edessa first, with his large army and his best generals with him. He recaptured the Armenian lands lost until 604. After restoring its borders, the Second Khosrow, who withdrew from the battlefield, left the military operations to his elite generals. The Sassanids, advancing to the south, turned north again after capturing Aleppo, Hama, and Antakya. The Persians, who had completely captured Anatolia until 608, began to advance toward Constantinople. Meanwhile, Emperor Heraclius was frightened by the Sassanid army that came upon him, and Khosrow II sent envoys for peace.
However, Khosrow rejected this offer and replied, “That kingdom belongs to me, and I shall enthrone Maurice’s son, Theodosius, as emperor. [As for Heraclius], he went and took the rule without our order and now offers us our treasure as gifts. But I shall not stop until I have him in my hands” After these words, Khosrow II had the peace envoys executed. While advancing to Constantinople on the one hand, the Persian generals, on the other hand, besieged Damascus and Jerusalem and captured them in a short time. Continuing to advance with an irresistible army, the Sassanids captured the Arabian Peninsula coasts and Egypt until 618. In this period, Eastern Rome could not break this advance of the Persians due to the attacks of the Lombards from the West and the Avars from the North. In 622, Rhodes and several Aegean islands fell into the hands of the Sassanids to launch a naval attack on Constantinople. Constantinople was so besieged from the east that the emperor Heraclius even considered moving the government to Carthage in Africa. As things were going badly for Rome, the emperor Heraclius began to gather a large army to defend Constantinople. In 626, the Persians came to the Anatolian shores and tried to seize the city by besieging Constantinople with their Avar and Slavic allies. However, the Persians could not get their main forces across the Anatolian side, as the Roman navy guarded the strait very tightly. The destruction of the Persian navy by the Roman navy, which entered the Bosphorus intending to attack from the sea, made matters worse. Realizing that the siege would fail, the Persians, left alone with the retreat of the Avars, had to end the siege in 627. Encouraged by this incident, the Roman army attacked and began to sweep the Persian forces eastward. Meanwhile, the Roman army on the shores of the Black Sea allied with the Göktürks and marched toward the Sassanids. The army of 110 thousand people advanced toward Mesopotamia over the Caucasus and encountered the Sassanid army of 12 thousand people in today’s Mosul region. While the Sassanid army was destroyed in the battle of Ninova on 12 December 627, this defeat was the end of Khosrow II. Khosrow’s enlargement of his territory so far at first seemed like a success. However, spreading his army on 4 fronts was his biggest mistake. Aware of this mistake, the generals, nobles, and clergy started an uprising against Khosrow II. Kavad II, son of the second Khosrow, took the Sassanid throne by making a coup against his father with the rebels he took behind him. He then had his father and about 20 of his brothers executed. This action of Kavad II is seen as a turning point in Sassanid’s history. Because, according to almost all historians, these executions underlie the collapse of the Sassanid Empire. As a matter of fact, after only 2 years on the throne, he died as a result of an assassination supported by the nobles. Between 630 and 632 there was a period of civil war. This civil war ended in 632 with the accession of the 8-year-old grandson of the 2nd Khusraw, the 3rd Yazdigirdin. 3. Yazdegerd would also become the last ruler of the Sassanid empire.
The Islamic state, which was established in the Arabian peninsula the year he came to the throne, started raids on Sassanid lands. Years of wars and internal turmoil with the Eastern Roman Empire weakened the Sassanids. Therefore, even though he asked for help from the Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius against the Arab threat, he could not get a positive response. The first battle between the Sassanids and the Muslim Arabs took place in Hira in April 633. The Arab army under the command of Khalid bin Walid, one of the chosen companions of the Prophet Muhammad, won the war of 10 thousand people against the Sassanid army of 40 thousand people. After this war, nine more battles took place between the Sassanids and the Arabs, and all of these battles resulted in the victory of Khalid bin Walid. In the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah in 637, when a large Sassanid army was defeated by a much smaller Arab army, the capital Ctesiphon fell into the hands of the Muslims. This defeat was the battle that brought the end of the Sassanid empire. When Yazdegerd III fled east, leaving most of the imperial treasury, this treasury fell into the hands of the Muslims. When the Sassanid Empire, which had no financial resources, was in a desperate situation, its lands were completely captured by the Muslim Arabs until 651. Although Yazdegerd III fled to the inner parts of the Khorasan region with the Sassanid nobles he took with him, he died in Merv in the same year. Thus, the Sassanid empire, which returned from the gates of Constantinople for a period, took its place among the dusty leaves of history.
