The Scorpion Bite - A VIth century Sassanid/Roman TL with a possible Christian China

Introduction

In the early 570s AD, both the Sassanian Persian Empire (SPE) and the Eastern Roman Empire (ERE) appear stronger than ever. But appearances are deceiving.

Under Justinian (d. 565) the ERE has reconquered many territories lost to the Romans when the West fell: part of Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, southern Spain and Tunisia (the province of "Africa" in Latin). Hagia Sophia has been built in Constantinople and the "second Rome", as it is called, is more magnificent than ever before. All this however, both building activities and wars, cost money and as a result the coffers are empty. On a more fundamental level, the Empire is overstretched. By pursuing the dream of a renewed Roman Empire, Justinian has put a burden on the shoulders of the citizenry that is beyond what it is able, or willing, to bear. More worryingly, the ERE is wracked by internal divisions which find expression through religious controversy. Ostensibly, the main issue is between the Diophysites (the "orthodox" imperial position), who maintain that Christ has two separate natures (φύσις, phýsis in Greek) and the Monophysites according to whom Christ, who is fully God, cannot be thus split in two. Beyond the religious acrimony, however, lies another conflict which cannot find any expression directly and thus uses religion as a channel to manifest itself. Increasingly, Monophysitism appears as the creed of the non-Greek South-East of the Empire (Syria and Egypt) while Dyophysitism is becoming ever more entrenched in the throughly Hellenized regions of Asia Minor and Greece proper. As years and decades pass by, the conflict becomes more intractable and bitter. So much so that it is starting to look like it might tear the Empire apart.

The SPE, for its part, has also been doing rather well militarily. In the East, it has waged war, with the help of the Gökturks, against its old foes the Hephtalites. The latter have been destroyed as a regional power and their territories, in Central Asia and present day Afghanistan, distributed between the Sassanids, Turks and a series of Sassanid vassal kingdoms. In the South, the Sassanian control of the Persian Gulf has been strengthened and an armed expedition has been sent as far as Yemen where it has successfully turned the local rulers into Sassanid vassals. One may wonder what Afghanistan, the straits of Hormuz and Yemen have in common. The answer is trade. By controlling these three regions, the Sassanids have a choke-hold on the three possible commercial routes between east and west: the red sea, the Persian Gulf and the so-called "Silk Road". As a result, the Sassanid dynasty is becoming extravagantly rich and is therefore able to lavish ever more sumptuous gifts onto vassal kings and potential enemies like the Roman Emperor, Indian princes or even the Chinese Emperors. But all this wealth has its downside: it excites envy. This is most conspicuous, and worrisome, internally. The SPE is based on a dynasty, the "sons of Sassan", which founded the Empire in the early IIIrd century and is still in power, more than three centuries later. With such a long, and successful, tenure their legitimacy should be unassailable. However, usurpation attempts are increasingly frequent, both by cadet branches of the ruling house or even by members of the so called "seven Parthian clans" which constitute the higher nobility of the Empire. As a result, the Sassanid Emperors are increasingly distrustful of the traditional elites, and therefore always searching for ways to undermine them. This in turn increases the resentment of said elites, whose role is still vital in the running of the Sassanian military machine. Resentment and envy are a dangerous mix. In the second half of the VIth century, this atmosphere of suspicion and resentment between ruler and grandees has reached potentially explosive levels.

In 570 AD, the Emperor of the ERE is Justin II, a weak-willed and mentally unstable nephew of Justinian. During the first 5 years of his reign, he has had to contend with a seemingly intractable problem: how to maintain his uncle's policy of buying the peace with the barbarian enemies of the Empire (mostly the Avars) while funding an army stretched from Gibraltar to Armenia, all on an empty treasury. The mental strain is proving too severe and Justin II is slowly descending into madness.

In the SPE, the situation is quite different. Khosrow I Anushiruwan is Shah'n Shah and he is widely regarded as one of the best ruler the SPE ever had since its foundation. Fond of Chess and philosophical debate, he enjoys the reputation of a wise and just king. Wary of the nobility like all Sassanian Emperors of the period, he has successfully implemented reforms which widen both the tax base and the recruitment of the army. Of course, these reforms are deeply resented by the grandees though they cannot express these feelings for now, due to the personal prestige of the ruler.

In order to help guard their common frontier, both empires have developed similar relationships with two different confederations of Arabian tribes, the Ghassanids and the Lakhmids. Both the ERE and the SPE are heavily focused on their northern border, in upper Mesopotamia and Armenia, as this is where most wars between them are fought (most often inconclusively). As a result, the southern borders, along the Arabian desert seem relatively inconsequential and thus unworthy of the expense needed to directly defend them. Both empires have increasingly adopted the same approach: subcontracting desert border defenses to two Arab lineages who each command the loyalty of a large group of tribes. This allows for a defense in depth as some of these tribes are still nomadic and can thus patrol the desert. But, as with all attempts at military privatization, this has unforeseen consequences. In the ERE, for example, the Ghassanid dynasty has become one of the staunchest champions of Monophysitism, which is very embarrassing for Dyophysite Constantinople. In the SPE, there are similar issues as the Lakhmids become ever closer to the Nestorian Church.


Finally, here are a few Bollywood film song videos. Yes Bollywood videos! It so happens that the Persian courtly culture was transmitted with few changes from the Sassanians to the new Muslim masters of Iran and thence to northern India through the Mughals and previous Muslim dynasties. Watching Bollywood songs (those set in "the past") is the best way available today to get a feeling of the Sassanian courtly life. The clothing (trousers for both sexes), the jewellery, the carpets, the music and dance, the leisure of the harem and the gardens are still depicted in a way that is quite close to their Sassanian originals. Even the language is related. Urdu, the variant of Hindi that is still used in northern India for poetry and songs, is heavily influenced by Persian. Enjoy.

• An Outdoor scene (movie about Akbar)
• A garden scene
• A Private dance
• A wedding scene (modernized in certain respects of course yet still close in spirit)
• A private scene with dance in the beginning
• Another dance scene

Of course, none of these songs are attempts to faithfully recreate the setting of the Sassanian era. They do not even try as it is not their purpose. Yet they testify to a living memory, one that goes all the way back to the VIth century Persian kings and, before them, to their Achaemenid, Assyrian and Babylonian models.

SB 2

A Scorpion for Butterfly - The POD

572 AD: Armenia is in rebellion against the SPE, as it has been on multiple occasions since it became a Sassanian vassal state in the late IVth century. Twenty years before, the Sassanian governor of Armenia and a relative of Khosrow, Chihor-Vishnasp (also known as Suren), had built a Zoroastrian fire temple at the Armenian capital Dvin. This was of course perceived as an affront by the Christian majority of the Armenian people. In 572, Chihor-Vishnasp puts to death a popular and influential member of the Mamikonian family. This execution creates tremendous civil unrest and leads to a revolt and massacre of the governor including the capture of Dvin. Justin II takes advantage of this revolt and uses it as an excuse to stop paying annual tribute payments to Khosrow, effectively putting an end to the peace treaty that was established ten years earlier under Justinian. Khosrow, who wants to avoid another war, sends a Christian diplomat named Sebokht to Constantinople in order to try to persuade Justin to change his mind. Justin, however, refuses to listen to the diplomat, and prepares to help the Armenians, whom he considers his allies, in their war against Khosrow.

A Byzantine army is sent into Sassanian territory and besieges Nisibis in the same year. Meanwhile, Khosrow sends an army under Golon Mihran to Armenia with "the order to exterminate the population of Armenia, to destroy, to kill, to raze the land without mercy.", but the latter is defeated in Taron by the Armenian rebel leader Vardan II Mamikonian, who captures his elephants as war booty. Sometime later, however, Golon Mihran manages to seize Angl. During the same time, the pro-Sassanian Siunian Armenian prince Vahan asks for Khosrow's permission to move his court from Dvin to the capital of Paytakaran, a region in eastern Armenia. Furthermore, Vahan also requests that Paytakaran should be merged with the Atropatene province. Khosrow accepts, presumably in an effort to divide the Armenians and prevent an alliance between the Mamikonian and the Siunian.

573-574 AD Khosrow sends an army under Adarmahan to invade Syria, while he himself along with the three Mihranid military officers Izadgushasp, Fariburz and Bahram Chobin. leads an army towards Dara, where they capture the city after four months, while Adarmahan sacks several cities in Syria, including Apamea[1]. Hearing about these disasters, Justin finally loses his mind completely and abdicates. He is succeeded by Tiberius, a high-ranking military officer, who ascends the throne with the help of Sophia, the Empress consort of Justin II. After seizing Dara, Khosrow, surrounded by his court, celebrates his victory with a massive hunt in the hills north of the city. One night, while resting in his tent with his wives, he is bitten by a scorpion hidden under a pillow. The bite itself is non-fatal but Khosrow proves to be allergic to the venom. Despite the best efforts of his Jewish[2] doctors, he goes into anaphylactic shock and dies[3] within a few days.

574-575 AD Hormizd IV, the heir of Khosrow ascends the thrown without difficulty. He even has the initial backing of many nobles who expressed their approval when Khosrow had announced his nomination as heir-presumptive. However, the initial goodwill dissipates quickly. While Khosrow was cunning but tactful in his schemes to control the grandees, Hormizd is just harsh and blunt. Using a minor defeat as a pretext, he recalls Adarmahan and humiliates him in public. several sons of noble families, against whom Hormizd held a grudge, are executed on trumped up charge. The new emperor makes a show of siding with the lower classes against the nobles, which has everyone worried including the said lower classes, as this attitude reminds everyone of the Mazdakites-related upheavals under Khosrow's father Kavadh.

On the day of Nowruz 575, after the celebrations, Hormizd receives the traditional delegation of religious dignitaries, headed by the Mowbedan Mowbed, in his palace at Ctesiphon. The chief priest presents a request which echoes a widespread consensus among the Persian elites: compel the Christians to make a sacrifice to Ahura Mazda at least once a year, on pain of death. With the still ongoing rebellion in Armenia and the war with the ERE, the feeling that Christians form a dangerous "fifth column" within the population of the Empire is stronger than ever. Surely, testing their loyalty with such a token show of Persian-ness is the least the Shah-n-Shah can do. To everyone's surprise, Hormizd refuses angrily and the tone of his voice makes everyone fear for the life of the terrified Mowbedan Mowbed.

Following this incident, a number of shaken members of the Aristocracy decide to start plotting the overthrow of Hormizd. The key plotters are Bahram Chobin, Fariburz, Adarmahan, Simah-i Burzin, a member of the powerful Karenid family, and Vistahm and Vinduyih of the Ispabudhan clan. The leader is Fariburz. He argues that the plot must go beyond the overthrow of Hormizd but aim at the complete removal from power of the House of Sassan. "Let one of those sons of shepherds ascend the throne again and he will once more disrespect us with his reforms and devious schemes. We of Arsacid ancestry cannot tolerate these sons of kurds[4] any more if we have any respect left for our lineages", he says. For this to be successful, a large number of people have to be assassinated simultaneously. Persian Shas have many wives and therefore many sons. Hormizd has 6 living uncles, 17 brothers and 78 male first cousins. All have to be killed or at least removed from the line of the succession for the plot to be certain of success. It is decided that all of Hormizd's uncles and brothers will be killed while his cousins will have a hand or a feet amputated to prevent them from being eligible to the throne (only physically "intact" males are).

In the summer of 575, a great family gathering is hosted by the Ispahbudhans at the Atash Behran (great sanctuary) of Burzen-Mihr in Khorasan. Each of the plotters has summoned as many of his sons and nephews as he can or dare, a little under 200 in all. In a secret ceremony headed by a Mihranid mowbed, they swear an oath by Mithra to complete the deeds of killing or maiming required by the plot. Each brother or cousin of Hormizd is assigned as an objective to a team of 2 or 3 knife-wielding sons of the Mihranid, Karenid or Ispahbudhan nobility. Bozorgmehr, the elderly Karenid former vizier of Khosrow gives his blessing to the assembled youths. The date for action is set at Nowruz the following year as it is a time when most of the Sassanid family is gathered at Ctesiphon.

On the day of Nowruz 576 AD, as planned, the conspirators spring into action at dawn when the priests start chanting the Yasnas to begin the day's celebrations. By and large, the plot is remarkably successful. All of Hormizd's uncles, as well as 16 out of his 17 brothers are killed. The surviving one, left for dead, will eventually recover but as a lifelong cripple he will be barred from the throne. 54 of Hormizd's 78 first cousins are maimed according to plan. 12 die of their wounds. Hormizd, however, manages to escape, warned by Vistahm and Vinduyih's sister, who is also his wife. He leaves with her and two of his junior wives, both Christian, one the daughter of the bishop of Arbela and the other the sister of Al-Mundhir ibn al-Mundhir, the Lakhmid king of al-Hira. They are smuggled out of the palace during the night by a group of loyal Arab bodyguards, manage to cross the Euphrates north of the old city of Babylon before daybreak and, mounted on camels, quickly disappear into the western desert. After a harrowing three weeks journey through little-travelled desert tracks, they reach Palmyra where they ask for asylum to the local Roman magistrate, one Abdallatos who, having ascertained their identity, eagerly accepts their request.

[1] A city on the bank of the Euphrates, opposite Zeugma. Not to be confused with the much larger Apamea further to the south.
[2] Jews had a reputation as physicians in Mesopotamia and often served at court in this capacity.
[3] This is the POD. IOTL, Khosrow dies in 579 AD.
[4] At the time, the word "kurd" is not ethnically specific in Persian and just means "nomad", with the usual pejorative connotation that all middle-eastern cultures attach to the notion of having no permanent dwelling.

fi11222 said:

snip

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Please continue.

I will be attentive to see this Timeline development.

Wow, its a reversal of the Maurician situation. Eagerly going to watch this.

Thank you for the words of encouragement. I have prepared 5 more postings that I will publish in the next few days. After that, I will try to keep updating the thread but will probably not be able to do it as often.

Suggestion / criticisms are of course most welcome.

The Sassanids are always a great place for PoDs keep it up.

SB 3

Hormizd's War - Opening moves

576 AD: After a few months spent in Syria, Hormizd and his small retinue embark at Antioch and reach Constantinople in early autumn. The news of the coup in Persia and of Hormizd's arrival in Syria has reached the city during the summer. After much debate within the court, it has been decided to help Hormizd regain the Persian throne if such is his wish. Most of Tiberius councillors agree that this is a golden opportunity to weaken the eternal Roman nemesis to the East. The moment is all the more favourable as the Armenian rebellion is still in a strong military position and will certainly be willing to help in exchange for religious and political concessions. When Hormizd arrives in Constantinople, he is received warmly and ceremoniously. A separate palace is set aside for his use and all his needs are provided for. After a few days, he is received in audience by Tiberius and his council. Hormizd declares :
After a few weeks of negotiations, it is agreed that the ERE will place an army at Hormizd's disposal to help him recover his throne in exchange for the following concessions:

• Armenia becomes a client kingdom of the ERE again, as it was at the end of the IVth century
• Doura Europos and Nisibis are ceded to the Romans
• Christians within the SPE are granted a perpetual tolerance and immunity

As the season is already far advanced, military operations are set to start in the next spring after snows melt. Couriers are sent to Armenia in order to coordinate with Vardan Mamikonian's rebel forces.

577 AD: Two weeks past Easter, the weather being favourable, military operations commence. In the north, a small force gathered in Theodosiopolis crosses the Byzantine/Armenian border and joins the rebel forces of Vardan Mamikonian in Dvin after two weeks of marching. This detachment is mostly composed of mercenary archers from Lazica together with a small core of Roman heavy cavalry. Altogether, the combined Armenian-Roman force gathered in Dvin numbers around 15 000, of which about half are heavy cataphract-type cavalry.


In the South, the main Roman force has been assembled at Circsenium on the Euphrates. The plan is to bypass Dara and Nisibis, still in Persian hands, and descend the Euphrates straight to Ctesiphon. It is not a very imaginative plan (Julian already tried it in 363) but Tiberius, experienced military commander as he is, believes that the sound logistical pathway provided by the river will more than make up for any kind of military wizardry. "An army walks on its stomach", he says. The Persian garrisons at Dara and Nisibis will be no threat as their maintenance has been neglected during the disastrous early reign of Hormizd and the anarchy following the coup. Furthermore, there will be plenty of Ghassanid light cavalry to patrol the desert on the north shore of the Euphrates and prevent any threat to the river-borne supply lines.

A far more serious issue is the matter of troop payment. The ERE is broke and its army is overstretched. However, this campaign has a hugely attractive potential in terms of booty. Whole Persian cities, unconquered for centuries, might be taken and looted. As a result, it has been decided to rely heavily on Avar and Bulgarian mercenaries, who are the most likely to be enticed by such promises. Of the 20 000 troops gathered at Circsenium, around 3/4th are of this category; most of them cavalry. Of course, Hormizd is none too happy with the prospect of looting cities within his own realm but he has no choice. Besides the barbarian cavalry, the Roman army, which traditionally excels at investing and taking cities has mustered an impressive siege train. The southern army is placed under the overall command of Heraclius, a middle-aged general of Armenian ancestry with an already solid military career under his belt.

Doura Europos is invested within a week, and taken in three days against a token opposition by a demoralized garrison. Heraclius, not wanting to burden his troops with booty, forbids looting. The next stop on the way to Ctesiphon is Peroz-Shapur, which is invested in late may 577. This siege is expected to be far tougher, and therefore much longer, than the one at Doura as the population here is mostly Persian and the garrison is well entrenched and well supplied. Meanwhile, Vardan Mamikonian has been moving with lightning speed. Instead of going due south as was expected, he went to the south east, on the eastern shore of lake Urmmia through Nakhichevan and towards Ganzak. A few miles before the latter, the Roman-Armenian forces meet the army of Vahan Siunian. Soldiers on both sides prepare for battle but are dumbfounded when they see two small groups of riders, one from each side, detach from their respective armies and meet in the middle. Soon, everyone recognizes the banners of Vardan Mamikonian and Vahan Siunian and shouts of joy erupt when they see the two leaders embrace each other after dismounting. Mamikonian diplomacy and Armenian solidarity has prevailed over supposed Persian loyalties. The Siunian army adds 3000 horse and 5000 foot soldiers to the Roman-Armenian Army.

On the Persian side, leadership is the trickiest issue. Though united in their wish to see the Sassanids gone, the leading Persian families have a hard time deciding which one among them should hold the pre-eminent position. For the moment, a "regency council" has been agreed upon in order to avoid rushing the issue. It is composed mostly of members of the Ispahbudhan, Karen and Mihran families, with a few representatives of the Zik, Spandiyah and Waraz clans, which have decided to join the coalition. The Suren, one of the most important families, are non-committal and wait for events to unfold from the safety of their Sakastan fief. The Lakhmids are equally ambivalent, sending mixed signals to both sides. Fariburz, the plot organizer, is still the de facto leader but his position is far from secure. Everyone expects that the upcoming war will be the deciding factor, with the clan reaping the most glory on the battlefield emerging on top. There is therefore a tendency to form separate clan-based armies. After news of the siege of Peroz-Shapur and of the Siunian-Mamikonian alliance reach Rey, where the council is gathered, the grandees agree upon a plan of action. A Mihran-Zik army, led by Bahram Gushnasp, will go west, to cut off the route of the Armenian-Roman northern group. Meanwhile, a Karenid army will go straight towards Peroz-Shapur to relieve the siege and an Ispahbudhan army with Spandiyah and Waraz elements will follow and act as a reserve to be used in response to subsequent events.

Vardan Mamikonian, hearing of the Mihranid advance in his direction, moves toward Adur-Gushnasp and devastates the sanctuary there. As he expected, this infuriates the old and devout Bahram Gushnasp who rushes forward to meet him. The battle is joined on the plain to the east of the Adur-Gushnasp peak. The Persian cavalry, eager to display its martial prowess and contemptuous of the Armenian "goat herders", charges head on. The Armenian-Roman forces feign retreat, shower the Persian troops with arrows and manage to execute a nearly perfect Cannae-style double envelopment. The Persians are slaughtered and routed. More than 7000 saravans are killed, including Bahram Gushnasp and his son Bahram Chobin. Hearing of the disaster, Simah-i Burzin, leader of the Karenid army decides to slow his advance as his right flank is now exposed and his force is comparatively small (6000 horse, 2000 foot). He reaches Ctesiphon where his troops reinforce the garrison and he spends the month of June strengthening the defences of the city.


[1] It was customary to use the word "brother" to address a ruler of equal rank even if not actually related by blood.

Interesting Idea. Nice TL. Keep going.

Don't you think the reaction of the Persian nobility against Hormizd is a bit too harsh? The Sassanids had tremendous prestige. Is it possible to have a coalition form against them so fast after the sucessful reign of Khosrow ?

The Persians are in a bad spot. Privatization of armies is never a good idea.

Zartog said:

Don't you think the reaction of the Persian nobility against Hormizd is a bit too harsh? The Sassanids had tremendous prestige. Is it possible to have a coalition form against them so fast after the sucessful reign of Khosrow ?

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I believe so. There were tremendous sources of rivalry and mutual hostility within the Persian eltes at the time. Of course, there was the usual King vs. grandees problem that all monarchies faces. But there much more serious problems too. In the religious sphere, for example, the Sassanids had been trying to impose a form of standardized Zoroastrian orthodoxy on the whole of Iran. But until the end, they failed. In the North and East, which is where the Mihrans, Karens and Ispabudhans were most powerful, the prevalent religion remained more Mithraic than Zoroastrian. It is not even sure that Ahura-Mazda was recognized as the supreme deity in those parts. And there was also the matter of Mazdakism, Zurvanism and other heresies. Finally, there was the revolt of Bahram Chobin in the 590s. For all these reasons, the Persian empire was a very fractured polity at the end of the VIth century and it is why it did not survive long in the VIIth IOTL.

All these factors lead me to believe that it is not at all unlikely that an internal explosion might have occured a little earlier than it did IOTL.

i wonder how the sassanids and byzantines relations going to be after the war if Hormizd wins though i feel like in the future its going to be a bad day for islam

SB 4

Hormizd's War - Endgame

In early July 577 the main Roman force is still before Peroz-Shapur and the siege does not seem likely to end soon. The garrison inside the walls has an ample supply of water thanks to the river and food supplies are far from being depleted. Outside, the life of the besiegers is starting to become miserable as midday temperatures routinely exceed 40°C (over 105 °F). Fortunately for them, the small Christian population of the city decides to betray the Persian garrison. Some of them exit the outer walls through irrigation canals at night and, acting as scouts, lead a small Roman elite force inside through the same tunnels. In the early hours of the morning, the Roman detachment takes control of a gate and opens it after sending a prearranged signal. Thousands of Avar and Bulgarian horsemen pour in and slaughter the garrison. This time, there is an orgy of looting. Only the few remaining Christian families, who have been forewarned to come out before the assault, are spared.


A few days later, Simah-i Burzin learns about the Christian treachery that caused the fall of Peroz-Shapur. He immediately orders a full-scale massacre targeting the Christian population of Ctesiphon. The sizeable Jewish population of the city joins in the pogrom and more than 20 000 people are killed in 3 days. From Ctesiphon, the anti-Christian violence spreads to Babylon and other neighbouring cities. In all, around 50 000 men, women and children are killed. As the news of these pogroms spread, some cities with a predominantly Christian population rise in revolt and kill their Persian garrisons. This happens in particular at Arbela, Tagrit and Gundeshapur. The first two of these cities open their gates to Vardan Mamikonian as he is reaching the Mesopotamian valley from the east. In late July, he makes his junction with the main Roman force before Ctesiphon, and the city is then invested by the combined Armenian-Roman force.

The garrison of Ctesiphon under Simah-i Burzin is a formidable force and the city is even better supplied than Peroz-Shapur was. But the besieging army is also powerful, now numbering over 40 000 troops. Furthermore, its logistical situation is also secure. The Euphrates guarantees a steady flow of supplies from the Roman territory to which may be added the resources of Arbela, Tagrit and their neighbouring villages. Ghassanid cavalry patrols provide the necessary security for the rear areas. Given this situation, it is clear that time favours the besiegers; a fact Fariburz and the rest of the Persian regency council are well aware of. As a result, the remaining, Ispabudhan-led Persian army is urged to reach Ctesiphon with all haste and engage in a decisive battle at the soonest possible moment. It reaches Ctesiphon in mid August, with 25 000 cavalry and 8000 foot soldiers. Before battle is joined, Vistahm, the Ispabudhan Persian Commander, sends a herald reading an open letter to Hormizd in front of the two assembled armies. It says:


After this, Vistahm sounds the signal to attack. The Persian Saravan cavalry charges in good order but the strength of its assault is blunted by the prepared positions in which the Armenian-Roman forces are dug in. Heraclius, following old Roman military manuals has made his soldiers set up the traditional array of trenches, sharp wooden sticks and palisades designed to negate cavalry advantage on flat terrain. As a result, both sides take casualties but nothing decisive takes place. Over the course of several days the same scenario is repeated. The Persian cavalry attacks, inflicts some casualties, take some and then retreat without any significant achievement. On the Roman side, many are growing nervous. The Avar and Bulgarian horsemen, in particular, not used to this kind of fighting, insist on mounting their own cavalry charge. Heraclius, however, talks them out of it and manages to rein them in with renewed promises of booty. The following day, the situation becomes perilous for the Roman side as the Persian garrison launches a sortie in coordination with an attack by the relief army, while Vistahm sends skirmishers to try and outflank the Roman line. It takes all the leadership skills of Heraclius and Vardan Mamikonian to prevent a disaster and shore up the Roman-Armenian positions.

The following day, to everyone's dismay in the Persian camp and to almost everyone's delighted surprise in the Roman camp, a sound of trumpets is heard at dawn, coming from the south. It signals the arrival of the Lakhmid forces, which have finally been persuaded (bribed) into joining the Roman-Armenian side. As often in the past, the well honed Byzantine skills in diplomacy and intelligence have paid off. This time, Heraclius allows his Avar and Bulgarian horsemen to charge, soon joined by the heavy Armenian cavalry and the Lakhmids. The psychological effect of the surprise attack, joined to the pincer movement have a devastating effect on the exhausted Persians. They are routed in less than an hour and the rout turns into a slaughter. When the dust settles, more than 15 000 Persian bodies are counted on the field. But suddenly, someone realizes that one of those bodies is Hormizd's. Foolishly brave and wanting a share of the glory for himself, he had joined the fight together with the few Persian noblemen he had managed to rally to his cause and all have died without anybody noticing.


[1] An Achaemenid king.
[2] All of the seven major noble clans of the Sassanian era claimed descent from the Arsacid Parthian dynasty and through them from the Achaemenids ("Darius son of Darius") and the mythical Avestan Kayanids.

I thoroughly enjoy this TL. Keep it up.

However, I am a bit surpised at the content of Vistahm's "open letter". How can Sassanian nobles claim to have Arsacid ancestry?

Zartog said:

However, I am a bit surpised at the content of Vistahm's "open letter". How can Sassanian nobles claim to have Arsacid ancestry?

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Actually, most Sassanian top noble house claimed to have Arsacid blood in their veins. Given the large number of offspring made possible by polygamy and the high degree of intermarriage practiced by all noble houses in Parthian times, this claim is by no means outlandish.

Regarding the text of the "open letter", it is modeled very closely on an actual historical text, a letter sent by the same Vistahm to Khosrow II against whom he had rebelled IOTL.

I'm enjoying this TL as well. Anything involving the Eastern Romans and the Sassanids always get me.

fi11222 said:

But, as with all attempts at military privatization, this has unforeseen consequences. In the ERE, for example, the Ghassanid dynasty has become one of the staunchest champions of Monophysitism, which is very embarrassing for Dyophysite Constantinople. In the SPE, there are similar issues as the Lakhmids become ever closer to the Nestorian Church.

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I'm very curious about this "unforessen consequences". Technically the Lakmid backstab in Cteseiphon was already one of them, but I'm particularly hoping that the Ghassanids will evict Rome out of Syria and Egypt (as much as I'm a fan of the later) and that the Ghassanids will occupy Mesopotamia and Persia, relegating their former "contractors" to the sidelines of the Middle East.

With Hormizd dead the situation is going to change drastically. Rome'll have no compunctions now about seizing as much loot and territory as they can before they pack up and fortify their borders.

And at the same time, the various Arabian tribes might just be bribed to go on a full scale conquest of Mesopotamia. Same with Armenia and their eastern territories.

I feel after all is said and done Persia will be pushed back across the Zagros- an absolutely disastrous outcome.

SB 5

Aftermath

At the end of the summer 577, it is obvious that the Roman-Armenian-Lakhmid alliance has won a great victory. It will still take many months before the siege of Ctesiphon is ended and the Christian population of Gundishapur, which evicted its Persian Garrison but is now being besieged, needs to be rescued. Yet, no Persian forces remain to mount a serious counter attack in Mesopotamia it is therefore clear who the victors are. Yet, now that Hormizd is dead, the question is: what to do with this victory?

Heraclius, as the representative of the ERE, is in the position to broker a deal. He suggests that the 10 year old son of Hormizd, Khosrow be crowned as Shah-n Shah, while Vardan Mamikonian would act as regent. Al-Mundhir disagrees and argues that it is his arrival that clinched victory. Yet, he is eventually won over with additional land grants in southern Mesopotamia and Khuzestan. However, this political arrangement is only part of the answer as there is the much bigger issue of religion to address. Since it is likely that the new state will be in a position of semi-vasselage to the ERE, it is vital that religious controversy be kept at a minimum lest it erupts in conflict and compromise a relationship which, though potentially beneficial for both parties, will no doubt be complex. This is definitely not something that Heraclius, or any other of those present at Ctesiphon in the autumn of 577, can tackle on their own. A messenger is thus duly despatched to Contantinople and the answer comes back within a month: a general council of the Church is to be convened at Nisibis in the spring of 578. Since it is a general council and not a simple synod that is being held, it is quite clear that more will be at stake than just the religious situation in the newly conquered territories. But what exactly?

Christianity in the VIth century

In the late 570s AD, Christianity has been a majority mass movement for only about 250 years. For the first three centuries of its existence, Christianity was a fringe movement, sometimes persecuted, but above all systematically pushed away on the margins of society. Christians themselves viewed their own situation in similar terms. The world was seen by them as fallen and it was therefore only natural for most men to be pagan sinners and for just a few to be saved and suffer for it because, as Christ had said: "Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you" (1 John 3:13). Nobody expected this situation to change until judgement day. And then it did. In 313, Christianity was made legal and then lavishly supported by Constantine and his heirs. Within about a century, most large pagan temples had been destroyed within the boundaries of the Roman Empire and Christians found themselves in a majority. Of course, some of this was achieved through violence, but in fact surprisingly little. Most large temple closures were the result of local initiatives that often admittedly involved riots but rarely more than property damage. Almost no one was ever forced to convert at sword-point and the authorities, though led by Christian emperors, mostly restricted the initiatives of the temple-toppling bishops for fear that the resulting unrest might upset tax collection. Yet, the Christian wave was unstoppable.

The fall of paganism and its replacement by Christianity was a world-shattering event. For as long as anyone remembered, there had been temples to a myriad of gods everywhere. Each city had one or two large ones, sometimes world-famous, together with many smaller ones. But suddenly, all of these temples were gone and everyone found themselves nominally "of the same religion", an altogether new and unfamiliar concept. However Christianity was by no means monolithic or static. Like lava which has just poured out of a volcano and is only starting to cool, the new religion was sill experiencing landslides, cracking and violent internal stresses. In the VIth century, the main points of contention revolved (at least ostensibly) around the human nature of Christ. Everyone, except fringe "heretical" groups, agreed that Christ was God incarnate, born of a virgin. But there were important differences regarding what this actually meant. There were those, called "Monophysites", who considered that his human nature was somehow absorbed into his godhood, resulting in one single alloyed nature ("mono-phusis" in Greek). Then there were those for whom the fact that Christ was "fully man" meant that his human nature must be somehow separate, though related, to his divine nature. This was the official "orthodox" position. Finally, there were those who considered that Christ's two natures, human and divine, were wholly separate. They were called "Nestorians" after the man whose name had become associated with this doctrine.

All three currents were entangled with a large number of historical, political and ethnic issues. Nestorianism had been the first current to be condemned as heresy at a council in 431. This had not seemed like a major issue at the time and only resulted in a number of priests, monks and bishops emigrating out of the ERE to the safety of northern Mesopotamian towns inside Persian territory (Nisibis, Arbela, etc.) At the time, Christianity was thriving in this region, which was culturally very close to Aramaic speaking Roman Syria. At first, Nestorianism did not make a very big impact though the refugee churchmen were welcomed with open arms as they were well read and energetic. They founded schools and monasteries where their doctrines were taught. So much so that after a few decades, every Christian in Mesopotamia was familiar with the doctrine of the two natures though not necessarily a firm believer in it. Then it occurred to the top Christian hierarchy in Mesopotamia, especially the Catholicos in Ctesiphon, that the Nestorian label, if not the doctrine, could be put to good political use. Christians were always suspected in Persia to be an Eastern Roman fifth column. Here was an opportunity to appear otherwise by saying: "Look, we are considered heretics by the Romans because we are Nestorians, and they want to persecute us. So they are not our friends and we are not theirs". So from then on, the church of the east made every effort to be seen, at least by the Persian authorities as "the Nestorian Church".

Meanwhile, within the ERE, another controversy had started. Cyril of Alexadria, the opponent of Nestorius and ultimate victor in the council which condemned him, had used the Greek word "phusis" in a rather obscure and unusual way in some of his writings. What he wanted to say was that Christ was "one person of two underlying substances (human and divine)", yet for the word person which would had normally been "prosopon" in Greek, he had used "phusis". He had thus written that Christ was one "phusis" with two different "hypostases" (substances, in the sense of "nature" or "stuff one is made of"). Soon, some enterprising young theologians eager to make a name for themselves, seized on this opportunity to interpret the writings of Cyril (which had great authority) as meaning that Christ was of a single nature ("phusis") in which the two hypostases (human and divine) were somehow mixed to the point of becoming only one, which could of course be only divine. This doctrine soon became very popular as it added grist to the mill of those who wanted to see the cult of the Virgin Mary, which was gaining in popularity at the time, get a more official recognition. For a quite a long time already, it had become commonplace to call the Virgin "Theotokos" (mother of God) and this name made many churchmen uneasy as it seemed to imply that a human could give birth to God. Most preferred to say that Mary was only the mother of the human nature of Christ and that therefore she should not be called "Theotokos". But if the two hypostases of Christ were indissolubly mixed in one single nature, this objection was no longer valid. Mary was the mother of Jesus and therefore of his single (divine) nature, and thus she could, and indeed should, be called "Theotokos".

Monophysitism, as the latter doctrine became known was eventually condemned as heretical at the council of Chalcedon (451 AD), the name of which came to be used to refer to the official position which came to be enshrined as orthodox on that occasion, henceforth known as "Chalcedonian". One way to look at Chalcedonian orthodoxy is to describe it as "moderate" dyophisitism, in contrast to the supposed "extreme" dyophisitism of Nestorian doctrines. But it is probably more accurate to say that what was canonized at Chalcedon was actually Nestorianism under a new name together with an outward concession to Virgin Mary worship. Nestorianism had been condemned, yet orthodoxy was still dyophisite. But one could yet call the Virgin "Theotokos" if one felt like it! Given these contradictions, it is hardly surprising that Monophysitism proved impossible to eradicate. There was no exodus of dissenting churchmen this time. They simply dug in and stayed put, despite the political manoeuvrings, the removal of bishops, and sometimes outright persecution. Between 450 and 550 AD, there were repeated attempts to find common ground. Justinian, in particular, made every effort to heal the division in the Church. One of his initiatives, which proved particularly misguided, was the condemnation of the so-called "three chapters", a group of ecclesiastical writings of the Vth century that Justinian decreed to be condemned because they were tainted with "Nestorianism". In a nutshell, Justinian was trying to appease the Monophysites by being "hard on Nestorianism", which was by then quite obviously a straw man since there were very few Nestorians left within the ERE. No one was fooled, and especially not the Monophysites. All that Justinian achieved was to antagonise the Christians on the other side of the Persian border.


By that time anyway, Monophysitism had also become an ethnic and regional issue, which made it even more intractable. Most Monophysites were found in Syria and Egypt where many areas even had a Monophysite majority. Most of these area were non-Greek speaking. Some were Syriac or Arabic-speaking, mostly in Syria, or Coptic-speaking in Egypt. As was said earlier, some local power-brokers, like the Ghassanids, had become overt supporters of Monophysitism. Through them, the religious opposition to Constantinople was entrenched not only within the ERE but also outside, in the hinterland of Arabia where Ghassanid influence extended quite far. This is the situation that Justin II inherited when he donned the purple in 565. At first he made the wise decision to ignore the issue and later was prevented to pay much attention to it anyway due to the urgency of external issues and finally because of his mounting mental incapacitation. Since his accession to the throne in 574, Tiberius had also opted for a policy of prudence in religious matters. But with the recent victory in Persia, an opportunity presented itself. The church was now forced to acknowledge the presence of all the "Nestorians" residing in Mesopotamia that one had, some way or other, to welcome back into the fold. This opened a lot of interesting possibilities.

[1] This diagram is of course very simplified and even inaccurate, as it seems to imply that the council of Ephesus endorsed Monophysitism which is of course not the case, but it is an attempt to provide the reader with some sense of orientation into a notoriously difficult set of terms and issues.

SB 6

The Council of Nisibis

The small Persian garrison left in Nisibis, having been granted safe passage, has vacated the city in late 577 AD and the council duly opens in the spring of 578 with grand celebrations for the feast of Easter. Over 350 bishops are in attendance, most of them from Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Greece, fewer from Syria and Egypt and even fewer from the West. The bishop of Rome, not present for lack of time to travel such a long distance, sent his legate in Constantinople. As a number of bishops had died, together with many of their flocks, in the recent outbreaks of plague, many attendants at the council have been recently installed in their sees and are unusually young. The very choice of Nisibis as a venue is at the same time a declaration of sovereignty by the ERE over newly won territory and a a gesture of openness towards the Church of the East. The city is famous for its schools and it has played a large part in the spreading of Nestorian theology within Persian territories since the middle of the previous century. But it is not a very large city and the bishops and their retinues have to make do with whatever accommodation they can find with the townsfolk. The Emperor has found relatively suitable lodgings at the palace of the erstwhile Persian governor but the main church, Saint Jacob, is also too small and many of the participants have to attend mass from the outer courtyard. Gregory, the patriarch of Antioch, remarks to those around him in the crowd : "The Lord thus reminds us of the humble beginnings of the Church". He is of course accustomed to more luxurious surroundings.

The proceedings, held in a pavilion within the garden of the governor's palace, are opened with an address by emperor Tiberius:

The agenda of the council is then read from a scroll by a secretary:

• Position of the Church regarding the Henoticon.
• Its position regarding the three chapters.
• The date of the feast of Easter.
• The order of precedence of the patriarchal sees of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and Etchmiadzin relative to the sees of Rome, Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria and Antioch.

All of these items are quite technical and the fundamental question of the nature of Christ is not explicitly mentioned. However, no one doubts that it is the main and indeed the only important issue of the council. The technical nature of the agenda is a customary tool of Church diplomacy to promote compromise and allow a maximum of face saving for the losing side, if any. The council's debates then start with a number of lengthy and intricate theological expositions by leading bishops or sometimes by monks, abbots or deacons used as proxies by the various factions. Most are delivered in Greek and strictly adhere to the classical rules of the finest rhetorical art. But they are not what matters. What does are the back-room dealings held outside of the debate chambers by church faction representatives together with imperial emissaries. Indeed, negociations have started long before the council even formally opened.

Tiberius is already an old man. He has survived the plague but he knows that his days may be counted as his health is not that good. Widely regarded as a man of humane and gentle character, he has become Emperor more by accident than by design and he is a deeply devoted servant of the Empire as well as a devout Christian. All of this leads him to be bold and innovative. He has witnessed all the failed attempts of his predecessors to win back the Monophysites either by threat and persecution or by blandishments and compromise. In his preliminary dealings with the Monophysite envoys before the council he has encountered the usual stubbornness. After some deliberation with his close adviser and confidante Eutychius[URL/], he decides to push for a rapprochement with the Church of the East regardless of what the Monophysites may think. In any case, he reasons, the Monophysites will be unhappy unless Chalcedon is repealed, and that is impossible. The latter council was a fully ecumenical gathering and the one with the biggest attendance ever. It is just not possible to undo it without tearing the Church to shreds.

The proposed compromise with the easterners will require some tact, but the way forward is quite readily apparent. The Church of the East has never declared itself "Nestorian" formally. It has just used that label for political benefit. Likewise, though the Armenian Church never endorsed the council of Chalcedon (it even formally rejected it at the council of Dvin in 554) this was mostly for the same reasons as the Church of the East portrayed itself as "Nestorian". It allowed for a formal protestation of independence from Constantinople and thus was mostly an attempt to counter the accusation of being pro-Roman traitors. After a number of meetings in the cloister of the monastery of [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Febronia_of_Nisibis"]Saint Febronia located in the outskirts of the city, a common position is agreed upon between the representatives of the Emperor, and those of the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Seleucia-Ctesiphon and Etchmiadzin (Gregory, the patriarch of Antioch, presented wit a fait accompli, will later rally grudgingly to the agreement):

• The canons of all the previous Ecumenical Councils, including Ephesus and Chalcedon, will be endorsed.
• A declaration will be made to the effect that "Although Nestorius was led astray by demons, many of those who have been subsequently portrayed as his followers were branded as such unjustly".
• In particular, this means that there is nothing objectionable in the three chapters, which is very welcome news for the easterners as Theodore of Mopsuestia, one of the incriminated writers, is held in high regard in Mesopotamia.
• The Henoticon will be rejected once again, as it does not add anything of value to what was previously stated in the coucil's canons.
• The date of Easter is fixed according to the Nicene formula. This does not change much but is just a way to reaffirm that the eastern churches accept the discipline of the Universal Church over and above possibly diverging local traditions.
• The precedence order of the patriarchates is set as follows :
  1. Rome
  2. Alexandria
  3. Antioch
  4. Seleucia-Ctesiphon
  5. Jerusalem
  6. Constantinople
  7. Etchmiadzin
  This order is in accordance with the generally accepted traditions of apostolic succession and should not therefore be controversial.

The rest of the above pronouncements, however, undoubtedly is. From the perspective of the few Monophysite-leaning bishops who have been lured to the council with promises of "compromise", this amounts to a bald endorsement of Nestorianism. Of course, it is nothing of the sort from a legal perspective, as the proposed canons scrupulously respect the findings of previous councils and are impeccably worded according to church law. The few deeply offended Egyptian and Syrian bishops storm out of the council and start to head home. Letters have already been sent for their removal from their sees. Most are arrested on the road, on charges of disrespecting both Emperor and Holy Council. They are imprisoned in Antioch pending trial or recantation. Armenian and Mesopotamian bishops are overjoyed and the final canons are endorsed "unanimously" by 328 bishops. The Armenian church will have to repeal the canons of Dvin (through which it rejected Chalcedon) but this will not be too difficult as it can easily be argued that these were passed "under duress by tyrants". The Church of the East can now consider itself fully part of the universal church. It will no longer be allowed to call itself "Nestorian" but this is not a major hindrance as it can now consider its "Mopsuestian" theology fully orthodox.


Vardan Mamikonian, Vahan Siunian and Al-Mundhir ibn al-Mundhir have been present at Nisibis during the council and they have been consulted through the intermediation of their respective Patriarch's entourages. The results satisfies them completely. They can now come back to Ctesiphon without having to deal with a religious thorn in their sides. As the council adjourns and the bishops start to disperse, the news of the fall of Ctesiphon and the successful end of the siege reach Nisibis. The city has held for over nine months and the Persian garrison finally fell victim to hunger and disease as cadavers of men and beasts were regularly lobbed over the walls by the besiegers using catapults. As the Roman, Armenian and Arab troops enter the city, looting starts as well as a full scale massacre of the surviving Jews. These are held responsible for the earlier killing of Christians (in which they indeed had a hand) and are also targeted because they are traditional allies of the Persians. From Ctesiphon, the anti-Jewish pogrom spreads to Babylon and to the other Mesopotamian cities with a substantial Jewish population like Tagrit, Borsippa, Shumra and Susa. A significant portion of the Mesopotamian Jewish community (the largest in the world at the time) is slaughtered while the survivors flee en masse. Some emigrate to Persian lands while other go to cities on the southern shore of the Persian Gulf and to Oman. Most however emigrate to Yemen where a Jewish kingdom was once in existence in the early VIth century and where a strong local Jewish community remains. Some of these later spread to the Arabian oases of Tayma, Yathrib and Taif as well as to others further south.

[1] This diagram is of course very simplified and even inaccurate, as seems to implies that the council of Ephesus endorsed Monophysitism which is of course not the case, but it is an attempt to provide the reader with some sense of orientation into a notoriously difficult set of terms and issues.

Really well done. Detailed but also engrossing.