"I wish that between the Suwad and the Persian hills there were walls which would prevent them from getting to us, and prevent us from getting to them. The fertile Suwad is sufficient for us; and I prefer the safety of the Muslims to the spoils of war." – Caliph Umar
Few Persians dare to admit, today, that their world nearly came to an end during the tense weeks following the battle of Hulwan. A severe rift existed between many in the Sassanid court. Yazdegerd, merely a boy, could not have possibly chosen well for himself. It therefore came to the magi to discuss possible peace with the Caliphate. Many leaned towards continuing the war. After all, Mesopotamia belonged to Persia and these upstarts could not take it with the hand of Ahura Mazda guiding Persia on its battles. However, a member of the Magi, the great religious leaders of Persia, persisted that the Persians should surrender Mesopotamia to the Arabs, explaining that the Arabs appeared less powerful than they really were. Using the examples of what had happened in the Levant and Syria, This priest, by the name of Nagerzed, presented his case to the court of the Sassanids, in the presence of the king, Yazdegerd. The God-king himself was just a boy in his teens, and had been under immense pressure, having come to the throne as the Arabs assailed Mesopotamia. Therefore, most of his decisions rested on the shoulders of the Magi. The Magi at this point, besides Nagerzed, firmly placed their opinions on further attacking the Arabs.
One thing worked against these members of the religious aristocracy: Few had a closer emotional relationship to Yazdegerd than Nagerzed. Indeed, he had raised the regent as a boy, taught him most of the Zoroastrian theology, and helped the boy make difficult decisions. Still, the loss of Mesopotamia to a new force in the region which had previously been living in dirty oases disturbed many in the court. Nagerzed at this point had many enemies in the court, and his contradictory opinions chipped away at his reputation in the court. However, as long as he had the support of the king, nothing could be done about the priest. The friend of the king harried him, giving him suggestions and explaining to him how peace could benefit his nation. Still, the king did not receive his advice very well. Thus, under the pretence of taking the king to receive his soldiers, Nagerzed took Yazdegerd, according to legend, to the reliefs of Persepolis and Bishapur, where he explained to the king the importance of keeping such artefacts Persian, and not in the hands of the kingdom of the lie. That sealed the metaphorical deal for Yazdegerd, and on Febuary the 3rd, he declared to his court he was going to make peace with the Saracens.
Naturally most of the court felt great outrage. One of the Magi, according to legend, stood atop the palace for three days and three nights without food or water declaring the king a disciple of Ahriman before the palace guards took him down. While this story is undoubtedly false, it tells us about how much the declaration of a peace shook the Magi. Indeed, most of the ruling aristocracy felt outraged at what they saw as a betrayal of traditional Persian pride. Nevertheless, the decisions of the Divine king could not be questioned by mere mortals, at least in theory. In reality this declaration caused a conspiracy against the king which would have grave consequences later in his reign. For now, however, we must concern ourselves with the details of the peace promised by Yazdegerd.
On the 15th of February The Persian king met with the leaders of the Caliphate. Assisting the king was Nagerzed and accompanying Umar were Ibn Al-Walid, and Qa’qa. The details of the meeting between the opposing forces are shady at best and both sides seem to have had their official story behind it. According to Muslim sources, with Al-Qalani[1] as our best source, the Persian king reportedly kissed the feet of each member of the Caliphate’s negotiating party three times and gave them his sword, representing the whole of Mesopotamia. According to Persian sources the Caliph fell down with envy after sighting the figure of Yazdegerd on a majestic horse riding towards him and surrendered the land of Susiana to Yazdegerd. Both stories seem very sketchy if not outright lies and are probably fabrications by both sides to show how glorious they were. Once fact is certain, however: On that day Yazdegerd III surrendered the lands of Mesopotamia, as defined by the western border of Susiana, and the plain of Mesopotamia, with the cities of Ctesiphon and Bassora [2] given to the caliphate. In addition, a sum of 500 talents would have to be paid to the caliphate every ten years. The terms of the treaty dictated that Zoroastrians and Muslims in the territories of the Caliphate and Sassanid Persia respectively were to be treated with tolerance and that missionary work by either side signing the treaty would violate this agreement.
While in reality this agreement did not hold up in the long run it was surprisingly advanced for its time and because of it a distinctive Zoroastrian community existed in Ctesiphon until the 1300s, eventually succumbing to several terrible calamities that befell the region during that time. Nevertheless, this community remained a sort of remnant of older Zoroastrianism before the council of Persepolis in AD 699. Regarding cutting of contacts with the Eastern Roman empire, Yazdegerd ran into a roadblock in that respect. He had been married to the daughter of Heraclius and at this point it would be difficult to shove her out of the way. The Romans later accused him of murdering her after a ceremonial rape and then sacrificing her, but again, it seems that hatreds have managed to fabricate rather colourful lies. Yazdegerd eventually, on the suggestion of Nagerzed, exiled her to the city of Samarkand in Transoxiana. From that ‘betrayal’, as the Eastern Romans called it, sprung forth the end of the Eastern Roman empire. Without Persian support and with the full brunt of the Arab caliphate against her, she would be reduced, much to Heraclius’ horror, to a small strip of Anatolia. With the peace treaty between the Arabs and the Persians signed, Umar turned to the Eastern Roman empire. For them, this would be their darkest era. The Eastern Roman empire would enter a fight for its life, grave changes would occur in Persia, North Africa and Spain would fall under the heel of the Arabs, and in India, a strange change, regarding the Indo-Sassanids, began.
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1- An Arab writer in the 8th century.
2- Basra.
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