Part 30: Breakthrough
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Part 30: Breakthrough
Kavad, first King of Kings to bear that name, knew before taking office that the task ahead of him was likely an impossible one. Huge amounts of money and tens of thousands of soldiers had been lost in the last couple of years thanks to the brief civil war, Ardashir III's attempt to subdue the Huns, which ended catastrophically, and finally Khushnavaz's invasion of the east, which led to the defeat of Shapur II and the utter destruction of his mighty army. His enthronement ceremony was, perhaps unsurprisingly now but not to his contemporaries, nowhere near as dazzling and bombastic as it was supposed to be. Not that the man himself cared: he had mingled with commoners anonymously since his childhood, after all, and had grown to privately despise the excessive pomp and snobbery of the inner court, which reminded him of his more indolent, wasteful days.
Nevertheless, it was still a reminder of just how little gold there was left in the treasury. Were he to even have a slim chance of winning the war, Kavad needed more money fast, and there was no easy way of getting that, so tough, controversial measures were required. The first such move was to promove Farrukhan to the extremely prestigious and important position of wuzurg framadar ("grand lord", practically a prime minister) soon after being enthroned, a decision that caused an uproar inside the court thanks to the suspicions that the Surenid noble, the last of whom still loyal to Ctesiphon, was a traitor.
Though we'll likely never truly know what was in the Shah's mind (and the sources, from Pabag of Ahvaz (1) to Honorius of Olissipo, all contradict each other) we can always speculate why he acted the way he did:
Part 30: Breakthrough
Kavad, first King of Kings to bear that name, knew before taking office that the task ahead of him was likely an impossible one. Huge amounts of money and tens of thousands of soldiers had been lost in the last couple of years thanks to the brief civil war, Ardashir III's attempt to subdue the Huns, which ended catastrophically, and finally Khushnavaz's invasion of the east, which led to the defeat of Shapur II and the utter destruction of his mighty army. His enthronement ceremony was, perhaps unsurprisingly now but not to his contemporaries, nowhere near as dazzling and bombastic as it was supposed to be. Not that the man himself cared: he had mingled with commoners anonymously since his childhood, after all, and had grown to privately despise the excessive pomp and snobbery of the inner court, which reminded him of his more indolent, wasteful days.
Nevertheless, it was still a reminder of just how little gold there was left in the treasury. Were he to even have a slim chance of winning the war, Kavad needed more money fast, and there was no easy way of getting that, so tough, controversial measures were required. The first such move was to promove Farrukhan to the extremely prestigious and important position of wuzurg framadar ("grand lord", practically a prime minister) soon after being enthroned, a decision that caused an uproar inside the court thanks to the suspicions that the Surenid noble, the last of whom still loyal to Ctesiphon, was a traitor.
Though we'll likely never truly know what was in the Shah's mind (and the sources, from Pabag of Ahvaz (1) to Honorius of Olissipo, all contradict each other) we can always speculate why he acted the way he did:
- First, the Shah and Farrukhan were old acquaintaces, and the promotion could be a way of rewarding the very wealthy noble and showing that he hadn't been forgotten during his days as governor of Meshan;
- A way to sway Farrukhan from Khushnavaz's camp, in case he was truly an enemy spy;
- A way to put him on a position where he could be closely scrutinized and dealt with as soon as possible if necessary.
But if this was a controversial decision, it was nothing next to what became infamously known as the Samarra Decree, which was given this name because Kavad briefly fled to the city in question to excape its immediate aftermath. Said decree ordered that every single valuable religious image or decoration, no matter which faith it belonged to, be given to the state in order to finance the training of a new army. Fire temples, churches (whether Christian or Manichean) and synagogues were all pillaged and laid bare by soldiers enforcing the order, who likely saw a chance to enrich themselves in the process. Though the members of the clergy tried to reassure their followers that this was being done for a good cause, lack of proper communication and acts of brutality commited by the enforcers led to the eruption of riots in multiple cities, the situation in Ctesiphon itself only calming down after two weeks and thousands of deaths.
Iranian soldiers destroying a church on the orders of Kavad I (left), as shown in a Roman manuscript.
But while the short term effects of the decree were horrendous, in the end it had its intended results as the treasury suddenly received a massive influx of cash in the following months, cash that was duly invested in the military immediately after. No expense was spared, and soldiers were raised from every possible source: common citizens were conscripted (and sometimes straight up abducted) to serve as paighan infantrymen (a light levy armed with spears and wicker shields), while Hunnic horse archers, renowned for their proven skill, as well as hardy Arab tribesmen were hired as mercenaries. Even a few ambitious Romans, looking for a way to get rich, answered the call, the most famous of them by far being Honorius of Olissipo, due to his long life and many travels as a mercenary and later a civilian (2).
But while this force began to steadily grow to a formidable size, it was desperately lacking in both heavy infantry and cavalry, since the former's primary recruting grounds were in Daylam, outside of the Sasanians' reach, and the latter's numbers were slaughtered. And unless this new army was given some time to be trained properly, it would be annihilated in a pitched battle. The sudden influx of internal troubles and misfortunes that befell Khushnavaz's enourmous empire gave them exactly that, but would that be enough? No one wanted to answer.
All they could to do now was gather their strength until the invader inevitably crossed the Zagros, and Kavad had already done multiple preparations for that. Wanting for the Hephthalites to come from through the northern passes, the longest route to Ctesiphon, the Shahanshah ordered for their defenses to be deliberately undermanned. Canals and ditches were dug along the Tigris, so they could be deliberately flooded and slow down the enemy's advance, so that by the time they finally reach the capital and attempt to besiege it, they would be exhausted, trapped between the city walls and the field army, and finally starved until they had no choice but to surrender.
But these preparations would take a long time to be completed, and the siege of Nahavand suddenly put the whole strategy at risk, since there would be nothing stopping Khushnavaz from taking the shortest rout and invading Asoristan from Media if the fortress was taken. Thankfully, the garrison, composed of around 10.000 men, was more than able to defend itself, at least for the moment, repelling multiple enemy frontal assaults and even torching much of their siege equipment in a daring night sortie. But as time went on and the Hephthalites settled in for a long siege instead of fruitlessly trying to scale or breach the walls, supplies began to dwindle for the defenders.
By the fourth month of the siege (so around February 389) the situation was getting desperate, and the commander of the garrison, a noble of the House of Karen named Vistahm (or Bistam) managed to slip through the besiegers to Ctesiphon a message that said that unless something was done quickly, he would have no choice but to surrender.
But while this force began to steadily grow to a formidable size, it was desperately lacking in both heavy infantry and cavalry, since the former's primary recruting grounds were in Daylam, outside of the Sasanians' reach, and the latter's numbers were slaughtered. And unless this new army was given some time to be trained properly, it would be annihilated in a pitched battle. The sudden influx of internal troubles and misfortunes that befell Khushnavaz's enourmous empire gave them exactly that, but would that be enough? No one wanted to answer.
All they could to do now was gather their strength until the invader inevitably crossed the Zagros, and Kavad had already done multiple preparations for that. Wanting for the Hephthalites to come from through the northern passes, the longest route to Ctesiphon, the Shahanshah ordered for their defenses to be deliberately undermanned. Canals and ditches were dug along the Tigris, so they could be deliberately flooded and slow down the enemy's advance, so that by the time they finally reach the capital and attempt to besiege it, they would be exhausted, trapped between the city walls and the field army, and finally starved until they had no choice but to surrender.
But these preparations would take a long time to be completed, and the siege of Nahavand suddenly put the whole strategy at risk, since there would be nothing stopping Khushnavaz from taking the shortest rout and invading Asoristan from Media if the fortress was taken. Thankfully, the garrison, composed of around 10.000 men, was more than able to defend itself, at least for the moment, repelling multiple enemy frontal assaults and even torching much of their siege equipment in a daring night sortie. But as time went on and the Hephthalites settled in for a long siege instead of fruitlessly trying to scale or breach the walls, supplies began to dwindle for the defenders.
By the fourth month of the siege (so around February 389) the situation was getting desperate, and the commander of the garrison, a noble of the House of Karen named Vistahm (or Bistam) managed to slip through the besiegers to Ctesiphon a message that said that unless something was done quickly, he would have no choice but to surrender.
The mighty castle of Nahavand.
Kavad, not willing to risk his entire army to relieve the fotress, contemplated abandoning it to its fate, but then decided to send a small raiding party in a diversionary attack directed to Adurbadagan, hoping that it could be enough to distract the besiegers. This force, composed of lightly armored and fast Arab and Hunnic mercenaries, was strictly ordered to wreak as much havoc as possible until Khushnavaz either gave up or loosened the siege to stop them. 10.000 men, led by a certain Shahin, crossed the northern passes of the Zagros and, as instructed, burned and looted everything on their way, not stopping to attack any important settlements but devastating the landscape around them.
Pabag of Ahvaz, the most important historian of the war and someone who usually described the many atrocities of the war in great detail, was, perhaps unsurprisingly considering his main sponsor was the Shah himself, rather vague when describing what happened in Adurbadagan, but, considering other, scarcer sources, it is safe to say that many civilians were killed in this campaign. The only place worthy of note to not suffer any damage was the great fire temple of Adur Gushnasp, since pillaging what is to this day one of the most important places in the Zoroastrian religion would surely whip the Magi into a burning rage to the point where they would deliver Kavad's head to Khushnavaz on a silver platter. The Samarra Decree was bad enough.
Although the invader wanted to press on the siege with his entire army, fully aware that victory was now within his sight and that the raid was made out of desperation, in the end he was trapped between a rock and a hard place: if he simply let the raiders have their way in Adurbadagan, they would eventually move into other provinces and devastate them as well, and besides, the Iranian nobles loyal to him would return to the Sasanian fold if he didn't try to defend their estates. With a heavy heart, the king split his army in half, leaving one to press on against Nahavand's defenders while the other one, under his personal command, scattered the Huns and Arabs before they could return to Mesopotamia.
Neither of these aims were achieved: the raiders quickly retreated back to friendly territory with all their booty as soon as the army meant to crush them got close, while the besiegers were unable to prevent a convoy full of supplies and reinforcements from reaching Nahavand. But even though Khushnavaz was infuriated, he had no intention to withdraw now. The success of that convoy was only a matter of luck, all that had to be done was make sure none of those slipped through again, with hunger and disease doing the rest of the work for him.
But things could always get worse. Much, much worse.
Everything began when several diplomats arrived in the port of Meshan and made their way to Ctesiphon as fast as they could, where they duly informed the Shahanshah that help was in the way. Kavad was perplexed at who this new ally could be, but he needed any assistance he could get.
That ally just so happened to be the mighty emperor of Magadha, Chandragupta II.
Pabag of Ahvaz, the most important historian of the war and someone who usually described the many atrocities of the war in great detail, was, perhaps unsurprisingly considering his main sponsor was the Shah himself, rather vague when describing what happened in Adurbadagan, but, considering other, scarcer sources, it is safe to say that many civilians were killed in this campaign. The only place worthy of note to not suffer any damage was the great fire temple of Adur Gushnasp, since pillaging what is to this day one of the most important places in the Zoroastrian religion would surely whip the Magi into a burning rage to the point where they would deliver Kavad's head to Khushnavaz on a silver platter. The Samarra Decree was bad enough.
Although the invader wanted to press on the siege with his entire army, fully aware that victory was now within his sight and that the raid was made out of desperation, in the end he was trapped between a rock and a hard place: if he simply let the raiders have their way in Adurbadagan, they would eventually move into other provinces and devastate them as well, and besides, the Iranian nobles loyal to him would return to the Sasanian fold if he didn't try to defend their estates. With a heavy heart, the king split his army in half, leaving one to press on against Nahavand's defenders while the other one, under his personal command, scattered the Huns and Arabs before they could return to Mesopotamia.
Neither of these aims were achieved: the raiders quickly retreated back to friendly territory with all their booty as soon as the army meant to crush them got close, while the besiegers were unable to prevent a convoy full of supplies and reinforcements from reaching Nahavand. But even though Khushnavaz was infuriated, he had no intention to withdraw now. The success of that convoy was only a matter of luck, all that had to be done was make sure none of those slipped through again, with hunger and disease doing the rest of the work for him.
But things could always get worse. Much, much worse.
Everything began when several diplomats arrived in the port of Meshan and made their way to Ctesiphon as fast as they could, where they duly informed the Shahanshah that help was in the way. Kavad was perplexed at who this new ally could be, but he needed any assistance he could get.
That ally just so happened to be the mighty emperor of Magadha, Chandragupta II.
A coin depicting Chandragupta II.
After the men returned to their homeland and brought the news to their sovereign, a huge fleet composed of hundreds of ships, most of them transports, entered the Persian Gulf in May and landed in Meshan, its richly decorated occupants, all of them wearing expensive silks and carrying several jewels, marched in an enormous, splendid procession to Ctesiphon. This huge group was led by none other than the long lost prince Narseh, who fled to India in order to escape the wrath of Ardashir III and had, as the years passed, become a member of the Gupta court. Said court had no interest in allowing Khushnavaz to fully conquer Iran, since India may well become his next target, and so they sent many gifts to the Sasanian dynasty in order to strengthen their position, the most important of them being:
- 20.000 heavily armored elite infantrymen;
- 100 war elephants;
- At least two tons of gold.
Now you may ask, why would Chandragupta send so many people and valuables on a long journey where several things could go horribly wrong? Other than the reason said above (preventing the Hephthalites from conquering Iran while also winning over a new ally) there was also the simple reality that, at this point, such an amount of money and soldiers was nothing to him. As the undisputed ruler of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, one of the richest regions on the planet, he could easily replace any losses in case this particular enterprise went south thanks to, say, a storm.
Kavad was overjoyed when he received the news, and Narseh reputedly refused to believe at first that the fine, hardworking man who stood in front of him was, in fact, his embarrassing younger brother. After the initial shock from this dramatic reunion was overcome, the Shahanshah eagerly signed a treaty of alliance and already intended to cement it by marrying one of Chandragupta's daughters once everything was over.
Kavad was overjoyed when he received the news, and Narseh reputedly refused to believe at first that the fine, hardworking man who stood in front of him was, in fact, his embarrassing younger brother. After the initial shock from this dramatic reunion was overcome, the Shahanshah eagerly signed a treaty of alliance and already intended to cement it by marrying one of Chandragupta's daughters once everything was over.
An Egyptian artist's impression of Kavad I (seated, wearing blue) receiving a Gupta ambassador (wearing green).
Predictably, word about the new alliance and the magnificent ceremonies involved spread like wildfire and soon reached the ears of the Hephthalite king, who was thrown into a panic over the possibility of fighting a war on two fronts. He could hold his own against the Guptas and definitely could defeat the Sasanians, as his previous successes showed, but fighting both of them at the same time was suicide. Knowing that he couldn't keep wasting time anymore, but go straight for the heart, Khushnavaz lifted the siege of Nahavand (whose garrison successfully resisted him for seven months) and set about assembling one of the largest armies ever organized by what was still primarily a nomadic empire. Alongside its elite, veteran core, Iranian nobles and even the king of Albania were pressed and bribed into giving troops to him, swelling Khushnavaz's army to a whooping 100.000 men.
Upon receiving the news that the castle had been saved, Kavad also ramped up his own preparations, knowing that a Hephthalite crossing of the Zagros was now imminent. Ctesiphon's civilian population was slowly evacuated, a task that was more easily said than done considering that the Iranian capital, though not exactly deserving of the title of "Darling of the World" just yet, still had at least 500.000 people living within its walls. If these people, who began to march along the Royal Road to Syria and Palestine, stayed, it would be impossible to supply the local garrison in case of a siege.
Starting in August, reports came in from the northern passes that the Hepthalites were sending probing attacks that were only barely repulsed by the soldiers stationed there. Soon enough, the main army would barge in.
All the court had to do was wait while their city slowly became less and less busy as its people were sent away.
Any moment now, a message would come in, and the ditches and canals that were built on the backs of thousands of hardworking laborers would prove their worth.
Any day now...
Finally, the invaders had come!
Wait, what do you mean they're coming from the south?
Upon receiving the news that the castle had been saved, Kavad also ramped up his own preparations, knowing that a Hephthalite crossing of the Zagros was now imminent. Ctesiphon's civilian population was slowly evacuated, a task that was more easily said than done considering that the Iranian capital, though not exactly deserving of the title of "Darling of the World" just yet, still had at least 500.000 people living within its walls. If these people, who began to march along the Royal Road to Syria and Palestine, stayed, it would be impossible to supply the local garrison in case of a siege.
Starting in August, reports came in from the northern passes that the Hepthalites were sending probing attacks that were only barely repulsed by the soldiers stationed there. Soon enough, the main army would barge in.
All the court had to do was wait while their city slowly became less and less busy as its people were sent away.
Any moment now, a message would come in, and the ditches and canals that were built on the backs of thousands of hardworking laborers would prove their worth.
Any day now...
Finally, the invaders had come!
Wait, what do you mean they're coming from the south?
The Hephthalites attack Ahvaz.
Rather than take the bait and sweep from the north, Khushnavaz led his soldiers into crossing the Persian Gates, which were unguarded since they were deep within Sasanian territory, and blitzed into Khuzestan with lightning speed. By the time Kavad and the rest of the court got word of what was happening, the invaders were already on the gates of Ahvaz, capital of the province, and brushed the defenders aside effortlessly.
Since Pabag's words about what happened to the city and its surroundings are very... charged, for obvious and very understandable reasons (Ahvaz was his birthplace, after all) we'll use Honorius' version of the aftermath of what happened to the provincial capital and its surroundings:
"The people hid in any place they could find - forests, wells, graves, pits, no place was too foul - and a great many of them, all ill-dressed, starving and afraid, lacked noses, ears and hands. Even those whose bodies were otherwise unharmed clearly carried horrible scars on their souls. The city (Ahvaz), not comparable to the shining metropolis on the Tigris (Ctesiphon) but still a respectable place, had been reduced to ashes, a fate shared by the surrounding villages and fields. Any items, be they food, water or gold, were taken away by the invaders." (3)
Although some details should be taken with a grain of salt, considering Khushnavaz's concern with showing himself to the Seven Great Houses as a reasonable, just ruler rather than a barbaric conqueror, an army as large as the one he commanded at that time was surely not only very difficult to control, but also consumed extremely high quantities of supplies. Combining these factors with the fact that Khuzestan, along with its neighboring province of Meshan, were very loyal to the Sasanians, their loyalty second or third only to Pars and Asoristan, it is possible that the Hephthalite king turned a blind eye to these atrocities not only out of necessity but also because he knew he just wasn't going to win any local inhabitants or notables over.
Now it was Kavad's turn to panic. He had placed most of the defenses on the north, and only a few in the south, and these were only put due to Farrukhan's constant nagging about how it was always prudent to be prepared for the worst, as if their position wasn't already really bad (4). Ctesiphon was flooded by thousands of terrified refugees, ruining the Shah's steady, slow evacuation of the place. It was now impossible for the shining jewel of the Tigris to withstand a prolonged siege.
After they were done pillaging Khuzestan, the Hephthalites moved into Meshan and, using the Royal Road that had been built by Yazdegerd I more than a decade ago, advanced to the Iranian capital at lightning speed, reaching the outskirts of the city on September 8.
With no choice but to throw his carefully elaborated plan out of the window or witness the destruction of his dynasty, Kavad sallied forth with his own army (which, numbering 120.000 men, was slightly larger than the enemy force but also a mishmash of mercenaries and levies) to meet them in a pitched battle, the exact scenario he so desperately hoped to avoid.
One of the bloodiest battles in the history of the Middle East was about to begin.
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Notes:
(1) The same Pabag from the previous update.
(2) A soldier-historian not too different from someone like, say, Ammianus Marcellinus.
(3) What did you think of that? If you guys like it, I might put similar citations in future updates.
(4) So, was Farrukhan a spy or not? We'll likely never know. It is safe to guess that his biggest concerns, as with any good prominent noble, were his own safety and status.
Since Pabag's words about what happened to the city and its surroundings are very... charged, for obvious and very understandable reasons (Ahvaz was his birthplace, after all) we'll use Honorius' version of the aftermath of what happened to the provincial capital and its surroundings:
"The people hid in any place they could find - forests, wells, graves, pits, no place was too foul - and a great many of them, all ill-dressed, starving and afraid, lacked noses, ears and hands. Even those whose bodies were otherwise unharmed clearly carried horrible scars on their souls. The city (Ahvaz), not comparable to the shining metropolis on the Tigris (Ctesiphon) but still a respectable place, had been reduced to ashes, a fate shared by the surrounding villages and fields. Any items, be they food, water or gold, were taken away by the invaders." (3)
Although some details should be taken with a grain of salt, considering Khushnavaz's concern with showing himself to the Seven Great Houses as a reasonable, just ruler rather than a barbaric conqueror, an army as large as the one he commanded at that time was surely not only very difficult to control, but also consumed extremely high quantities of supplies. Combining these factors with the fact that Khuzestan, along with its neighboring province of Meshan, were very loyal to the Sasanians, their loyalty second or third only to Pars and Asoristan, it is possible that the Hephthalite king turned a blind eye to these atrocities not only out of necessity but also because he knew he just wasn't going to win any local inhabitants or notables over.
Now it was Kavad's turn to panic. He had placed most of the defenses on the north, and only a few in the south, and these were only put due to Farrukhan's constant nagging about how it was always prudent to be prepared for the worst, as if their position wasn't already really bad (4). Ctesiphon was flooded by thousands of terrified refugees, ruining the Shah's steady, slow evacuation of the place. It was now impossible for the shining jewel of the Tigris to withstand a prolonged siege.
After they were done pillaging Khuzestan, the Hephthalites moved into Meshan and, using the Royal Road that had been built by Yazdegerd I more than a decade ago, advanced to the Iranian capital at lightning speed, reaching the outskirts of the city on September 8.
With no choice but to throw his carefully elaborated plan out of the window or witness the destruction of his dynasty, Kavad sallied forth with his own army (which, numbering 120.000 men, was slightly larger than the enemy force but also a mishmash of mercenaries and levies) to meet them in a pitched battle, the exact scenario he so desperately hoped to avoid.
One of the bloodiest battles in the history of the Middle East was about to begin.
------------------
Notes:
(1) The same Pabag from the previous update.
(2) A soldier-historian not too different from someone like, say, Ammianus Marcellinus.
(3) What did you think of that? If you guys like it, I might put similar citations in future updates.
(4) So, was Farrukhan a spy or not? We'll likely never know. It is safe to guess that his biggest concerns, as with any good prominent noble, were his own safety and status.
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