Peroz I

During the dynastic struggle between Peroz and Hormizd III, the Arsacid king of Caucasian Albania, Vache II (r. 440–462), took advantage of the tumultuous situation and declared independence.[12] He allowed the Huns into the city of Derbent, and with their aid attacked the Iranian army. Peroz responded by allowing the Huns to pass through the Darial Gorge, and they subsequently ravaged Albania.[13] The two kings negotiated an accord; Vache II would return his mother (Peroz's sister) and daughter to Peroz, while he would receive the 1,000 families he had originally been given by his father as his share of the inheritance. Vache II abdicated in 462,[14] leaving Albania kingless until 485, when Vachagan III (r. 485–510) was installed on the throne by Peroz's brother and successor Balash (r. 484–488).[13] Peroz also freed some of the Armenian aristocrats who had been jailed by his father in the aftermath of the Armenian uprising in 451.[15] The previous year (461), Iran suffered from a severe drought, which caused a large-scale famine that would last until 467.[15][16][17]

Map of the Roman-Iranian frontier

Early in Peroz's reign, tensions began to rise between Iran and Byzantium. In the mid-460s, the Byzantines discovered that their general Ardaburius had been secretly corresponding with the Iranian court, urging Peroz to attack the Byzantines, with the promise of military support and presumably also intelligence. Ardaburius's letters were intercepted and given to Byzantine emperor Leo I (r. 457–474), who had him removed from office and summoned to the capital, Constantinople.[18] Ardaburius's fate is not known.[19] Leo responded to the Iranian activity by reinforcing his borders with them, which included the fortification of Callinicum in Syria.[20]

Since the Byzantine–Iranian peace treaty of 387, both empires had agreed that they were obligated to cooperate in the defense of the Caucasus against nomadic attacks from the northern steppes.[21] The Iranians took the major role in this, while the Byzantines contributed roughly 500 pounds (230 kg) of gold at irregular intervals.[22] The Byzantines saw this payment as a contribution to their mutual defense, but the Iranians saw it as tribute which established Byzantium as a subordinate of Iran.[23] Since the foundation of the Sasanian Empire, its rulers had demonstrated the sovereignty and power of their realm through collection of tribute, particularly from the Byzantines.[24] Retaliating for Iran's plot with Ardaburius, Leo stopped the payments. Repeated negotiations failed to resolve the issue.[20] The Byzantines also appealed for the return of the city of Nisibis, which had been ceded to Iran as part of a treaty in 363.[20][25] Tensions continued to increase until the accession of the Byzantine emperor Zeno (r. 474–491) in 474, who resumed payment to Iran and also ransomed Peroz from captivity by the Hephthalites.[26] Regardless, war almost erupted in the early 480s, when some Tayy clients of the Sasanians made incursions into Byzantine territory due to suffering from a two-year drought. The Iranian general Qardag Nakoragan, who was stationed at the frontier, quickly pacificed the Tayy raiders and ensured peace with the Byzantines.[27][28]

5th-century drachma of the Kidarite ruler, Kidara. The legend, in Brahmi letters, reads: kidara kushana shah.

Since the reign of Shapur II (r. 309–379), Iran had to deal with nomadic invaders in the east known as "Iranian Huns" and made up of Hephthalites, Kidarites, Chionites and Alkhans.[29] They seized Tokharistan and Gandhara from Shapur II and his Kushano-Sasanian clients, and eventually Kabul from Shapur III (r. 383–388).[30][31] Archaeological, numismatic, and sigillographic evidence demonstrates that the Huns ruled a realm just as refined as that of the Sasanians. They swiftly adopted Iranian imperial symbolism and titulature, such as imitating Sasanian imperial coinage.[32] The modern historian Richard Payne states: "Far from the destructive xyonan of the Iranian accounts or the marauding barbarians of the Roman historians, the Hun kingdoms of post-Iranian Central Asia were city-based, tax-raising, ideologically innovative states the kings of kings found themselves hard pressed to unseat."[33] The loss of the Armenian cavalry contingent after the revolt of Armenia in 451 weakened Sasanian efforts to keep their eastern enemies in check.[34][35][lower-alpha 3]

Gold dinar of Peroz I minted at Balkh in 466, shortly after he put an end to Kidarite rule in Tokharistan. He is depicted on the obverse, wearing his second crown

The Sasanian efforts were disrupted in the early 5th century by the Kidarites, who forced Yazdegerd I (r. 399–420), Bahram V (r. 420–438), and/or Yazdegerd II to pay them tribute.[24][36] Although this did not trouble the Iranian treasury, it was nevertheless humiliating.[37] Yazdegerd II eventually refused to pay tribute, which would later be used as a justification for the war that the Kidarites declared against Peroz in c. 464.[38][36] Peroz lacked enough manpower to fight, and therefore asked for financial aid from the Byzantine Empire, which declined.[39] He then offered peace to the king of the Kidarites, Kunkhas, and offered his sister in marriage, but sent a woman of low status instead.[39]

After some time Kunkhas found about Peroz's deception, and in turn attempted to trick him, by requesting him to send military experts to strengthen his army.[39] When a group of 300 military experts arrived at the court of Kunkhas at Balaam (possibly Balkh), they were either killed or disfigured and sent back to Iran, with the information that Kunkhas did this due to Peroz's false treaty.[39] Around this time, Peroz allied himself with the Hephthalites and other Huns, such as Mehama, the ruler of Kadag in eastern Tokharistan.[40] With their help, he finally vanquished the Kidarites in 466, and brought Tokharistan briefly under Sasanian control, issuing gold coins at Balkh.[32][41] The style of the gold coin was largely based on the Kidarite coins, and displayed Peroz wearing his second crown.[42][43] The legend of the coin displayed his name and title in Bactrian. The following year (467), an Iranian embassy journeyed to Constantinople, where the victory over the Kidarites was announced. An Iranian embassy sent to the Chinese Northern Wei dynasty in 468 may have done the same.[18]

The Kidarites continued to rule in Gandhara, and possibly Sogdia. They were eventually conquered by the Alkhans in Gandhara, and by the Hephthalites in Sogdia.[44] According to Bactrian chronicles, Mehama was subsequently promoted to the position of "governor of the famous and prosperous king of kings Peroz".[9] However, a power vacuum followed in Tokharistan, which allowed Mehama to gain autonomy, or possibly even independence.[9]

Drachma minted by a Hephthalite ruler, with the obverse showing a close imitation of the coinage of Peroz I wearing his third crown

Peroz's war with the Hephthalites is reported by two contemporary sources—the account of the Byzantine historian Procopius and the Syriac text of Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite. However, both sources are marred by errors and oversights. According to Pseudo-Joshua, Peroz fought three wars with the Hephthalites, but he only briefly mentions them. Procopius' report, although detailed, has only two wars.[45] Many modern historians agree that he fought the Hephthalites three times.[45][46][47]

With the fall of the Kidarites, their former subjects–the Hephthalites, who were based in eastern Tokharistan–took advantage of the power vacuum, extending their rule over all of Tokharistan.[48] Their capital was most likely near the city of Kunduz in eastern Tokharistan, which the medieval scholar al-Biruni calls War-Waliz.[48] The Hephthalite king is often given the name of Akhshunwar, which according to the Iranologist Khodadad Rezakhani was probably a title used by the Hephthalite kings, similar to other contemporary Central Asian titles such as Ikhshid and Afshin.[49] In order to halt the Hephthalite expansion, Peroz attacked them in 474, but was ambushed and captured near the border of Gurgan.[50][51] He was ransomed by Zeno, who helped him restore good relations between the Sasanians and the Hephthalites.[51] According to Procopius, Akhshunwar demanded that Peroz prostrate before him in exchange for his release. Following the advice of his priests, Peroz met Akhshunwar at dawn and pretended to prostrate before him, while in reality he was doing it before the rising sun, i.e. Mithra, the sun god.[46][51][52]

In the late 470s or early 480s, Peroz launched a second campaign, which ended in his defeat and capture once more; he offered to pay thirty mule packs of silver drachms in ransom, but could only pay twenty. Unable to raise the rest, he sent his youngest son, Kavad, to the Hephthalite court in 482 as a hostage until this balance was paid.[48][50][53][lower-alpha 4] Payne notes that "The sums involved were modest in comparison with late antique diplomatic subsidies or state revenues. But rumors of a caravan delivering tribute from the Iranian court to the Huns spread across the Iran and the Mediterranean worlds, as far as Sidonius Apollinaris in Gaul."[36] After this, Akhshunwar minted coins of himself wearing a winged, triple-crescent crown, which was the third crown of Peroz, indicating that the Hephthalite king considered himself to be the legitimate ruler of Iran.[36][55] Peroz imposed a poll tax on his subjects to raise the ten mule packs of silver, and secured the release of Kavad before he mounted his third campaign.[53]

Map of the Caucasus[56]

Besides Caucasian Albania, the two other Iranian provinces in the Caucasus—Armenia and Iberia—were also dissatisfied with Zoroastrian Sasanian rule. In Armenia, Yazdegerd II's policy of integrating the Christian nobility into the bureaucracy by forcing them to convert to Zoroastrianism had resulted in a large-scale rebellion in 451, led by the Armenian military leader Vardan Mamikonian. Although the Sasanians defeated the rebels at the Battle of Avarayr, the impact of the rebellion was still felt, and tensions continued to grow.[57][58][59] Meanwhile, in Iberia, Peroz had favoured Varsken, the viceroy (bidaxsh) of the Armeno-Iberian frontier region of Gugark. A member of the Mihranids of Gugark, Varsken was born a Christian, but when he travelled to the Iranian court in 470, he converted to Zoroastrianism and shifted his allegiance from the Christian Iberian monarchy to the Sasanian Empire.[60][61] As a reward for his conversion, he was given the viceroyalty of Albania and a daughter of Peroz in marriage.[62] Espousing his pro-Iranian position, he attempted to force his family to convert to Zoroastrianism, including his first wife Shushanik (a daughter of Vardan), whom he eventually killed, which made her a martyr.[62][63][64] Varsken's policies were unacceptable to the Iberian king Vakhtang I (r. 447/49–502/22), who had him killed and then revolted against Iran in 482.[65] Almost simultaneously, the Armenians rebelled under the leadership of Vahan Mamikonian, a nephew of Vardan.[66]

In the same year, the marzban of Armenia, Adhur Gushnasp was defeated and killed by Vahan's forces, who installed Sahak II Bagratuni as the new marzban.[67][68] Peroz sent an army under Zarmihr Hazarwuxt of the House of Karen to Armenia, while another army led by the Sasanian general Mihran, of the Mihranid family, was sent to Iberia.[69] During the summer, an army led by Shapur Mihran, the son of Mihran, inflicted a defeat on a combined Armenian-Iberian army at Akesga, resulting in the death of Sahak II Bagratuni and Vahan's brother Vasak,[70][71] while Vakhtang fled to Byzantine-controlled Lazica.[64] The role of Shapur Mihran in command of the army in Iberia implies that Peroz may have recalled his father, Mihran, to participate in his Hephthalite war.[72]

Vahan retreated with the rest of his forces to the mountains in Tayk, from where they engaged in guerrilla warfare.[73] Shapur Mihran restored Sasanian rule in Armenia, but was summoned to the court in Ctesiphon, resulting in Vahan regaining control of over the Armenian capital of Dvin, where he fortified himself.[74] In 483, Iranian reinforcements arrived under Zarmihr Hazarwuxt, who laid siege to Dvin. Heavily outnumbered, Vahan mounted a surprise attack on the Iranians, defeating them at the Battle of Nerseapate, near Maku.[75] Vahan retreated to the mountains once more, close to the Byzantine border.[70][76] He hoped that the Iranians would not pursue and attack him there, in order to avoid risking a conflict with the Byzantines. However, after a night march, Zarmihr Hazarwuxt attacked the Armenian camp and managed to capture several princesses. Vahan and most of his men withdrew further into the mountains.[77]

An unexpected turn of events changed the tide of the war: Peroz's death in 484 during his war with the Hephthalites caused the Iranian army to withdraw from Armenia.[70] Peroz's brother and successor, Balash, made peace with Vahan, and appointed him as hazarapet (minister) and later as marzban of Armenia.[78] Peace was likewise made in Iberia, where Vakhtang was able to resume his rule.[79]

15th-century Shahnameh illustration of the defeat and death of Peroz I

Against the counsel of the aristocracy and the clergy, Peroz prepared in Gurgan for a third campaign against the Hephthalites.[80][81][82] Ghazar highlights the opposition amongst his men towards the campaign, stating that the Iranian forces were demoralised at the prospect of facing the Hepthalites to the point of near mutiny.[83] Peroz left his brother Balash in charge of the empire,[84] launching his Hephthalite campaign at the head of a large army in 484.[82] When Akhshunwar learned of Peroz's campaign, he sent his deputy with the following message "You concluded peace with me in writing, under seal, and you promised not to make war against me. We defined common frontiers not to be crossed with hostile intent by either party."[85]

A tower erected as a boundary marker near the Oxus by Peroz's grandfather, Bahram V,[86] was destroyed by Peroz.[82] This event is reported by both Dinawari (d. 896) and al-Tabari (d. 923). The latter reported that Peroz had the tower tied to fifty elephants and three hundred men linked together and dragged it in front of his men, while he walked behind the tower, feigning not to have violated his grandfather's peace treaty.[82] Akhshunwar, unwilling to face Peroz directly, had a large trench dug across the battleground, concealing it with shrubbery and loose wood, and positioning his forces behind it. Charging at Akhshunwar's forces, Peroz and his army fell into the trench, where they were killed. Their bodies were not recovered by the Iranians.[36][82] The Iranian dead included many distinguished aristocrats,[36] including four of Peroz's sons or brothers.[50] The site of the battle is uncertain; according to the modern historian Klaus Schippmann, it took place in present-day Afghanistan, possibly near Balkh.[12]

Pseudo-Joshua, who portrays Peroz in a hostile manner, proposed that Peroz may have been able to escape from the trench, but subsequently either died of hunger in a cleft in a mountain or was killed and eaten by wild animals in a forest.[82]

The main Sasanian cities of the eastern region of Khorasan−Nishapur, Herat and Marw were now under Hephthalite rule.[87] Peroz's retinue, including his daughter Perozdukht and his priests, were captured by Akhshunwar.[82] Perozdukht was married to Akhshunwar, and bore him a daughter, who would later marry Peroz's son Kavad I (r. 488–496, 498/9–531).[88] Due to Peroz's defeat, a law was allegedly made that forbade pursuit of a withdrawing army.[89] His wars against the Hephthalites have been described as "foolhardy" in both contemporary and modern historiography.[90][91] His defeat and death introduced a period of political, social and religious tumult.[92] The empire reached its lowest ebb: the shahanshah was now a client of the Hephthalites and was compelled to pay tribute; while the nobility and clergy exerted great influence and authority over the nation, being able to act as king-makers.[93] According to Payne, "No other event in the history of the Sasanian dynasty so clearly vitiated the pretensions of [the Iranian Empire], and contemporaries were aghast at the foolhardiness of the king of kings."[91] Taking advantage of the weakened Sasanian authority in the east, the Nezak Huns seized the region of Zabulistan.[94] Peroz was the last shahanshah to mint unique gold coins in the Indian region of Sindh, which indicates that the region was lost around the same period.[95]

The Iranian magnate Sukhra quickly raised a new army and prevented the Hephthalites from achieving further success.[91] A member of the House of Karen, Sukhra's family claimed descent from the mythological heroes Karen and Tus, who had saved Iran after its king Nowzar had been killed by the Turanian Afrasiab, which Payne calls "in circumstances too similar to those of Peroz's death for the resemblance to be coincidental."[91] According to the Iranologist Ehsan Yarshater, some of the Iranian–Turanian battles that are described in the medieval Persian epic Shahnameh ('The Book of Kings') were seemingly based on the Hephthalite wars of Peroz and his successors.[96] Peroz's brother, Balash, was elected as shahanshah by the Iranian magnates, most notably Sukhra and Shapur Mihran.[81] Order was be restored under Kavad I, who reformed the empire and defeated the Hephthalites, reconquering Khorasan.[87] Peroz was avenged by his grandson Khosrow I (r. 531–579), who in collaboration with the First Turkic Khaganate destroyed the Hephthalites in 560.[97]

Since Bahram I (r. 271–274), the Sasanian monarchs had primarily resided in Gundeshapur in southern Iran, due to its convenient position between the Iranian plateau and the Mesopotamian plain. Due to the increasing importance of the Tigris-Euphrates floodplains, the main residence of the shahanshah was moved to Ctesiphon after Peroz.[98]

• Ghazar Parpetsi, History of the Armenians.
• Procopius, History of the Wars.

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• Hewsen, Robert H. (1987). "Avarayr". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume III/1: Ātaš–Awāʾel al-Maqālāt. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-71009-113-0.
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