Bahram Chobin

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Bahram Chobin
𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭
King of Kings of Iran and non-Iran
Reign590–591
PredecessorKhosrow II
SuccessorKhosrow II (restored)
Died591
Fergana, Western Turkic Khaganate
Issue
Regnal name
Bahram VI
HouseHouse of Mihran
FatherBahram Gushnasp
ReligionZoroastrianism

Bahrām Chōbīn (Persian: بهرام چوبین) or Wahrām Chōbēn (Middle Persian: 𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭), also known by his epithet Mehrbandak ("servant of Mithra"),[1] was a nobleman, general, and political leader of the late Sasanian Empire and briefly its ruler as Bahram VI (r. 590-591).

Son of general

Hephthalite-Turkic invasion of the eastern Sasanian domains in 588, he was appointed as the spahbed in Khorasan
, beginning a campaign that decisively ended with Iranian victory.

Bahram earned an elevated position in Iran due to his noble descent, character, skills, and accomplishments. The Sasanian king (

a rebellion aiming to reestablish the "more rightful" Arsacid Empire, identifying himself with the promised savior of the Zoroastrian faith. Before he had reached the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon, Hormizd was assassinated in support of his son, Khosrow II, by another anti-Hormizd faction led by the two Ispahbudhan brothers, Vistahm and Vinduyih. As Bahram captured Ctesiphon, Khosrow II fled to the Byzantine Empire, with the assistance of which he launched a campaign against Bahram, who was defeated with his outnumbered forces, but managed to flee to the Western Turkic Khaganate
where he was well received. He was assassinated shortly thereafter at the instigation of Khosrow II, who was then the shah.

Bahram Chobin's legacy survived even after the

Arab conquest of Iran among Iranian nationalists, as well as in the Persian literature
.

Name

His

Old Iranian Vṛθragna. The Avestan equivalent was Verethragna, the name of the god of victory, whilst the Parthian version was *Warθagn. Bahram's surname, Chobin ("Wooden Shaft", "Javelin-like"), was a nickname given to him due to his tall and slender appearance.[2] His appearance was also emphasized by the Persian poet Ferdowsi, who in his Shahnameh ("The Book of Kings"), described Bahram as a towering and dark-complexioned warrior with black curly hair.[2] The name Bahram Chobin is attested in Georgian as Baram Č‛ubin[i].[3] His first name also appears as Vararanes in Latin[4] and Baram (Βαράμ; Theophylact Simocatta) and Baramos (Βάραμος; Joannes Zonaras) in Greek.[5]

Background

Bahram was a member of the

Ray, south of Tehran, the capital of present-day Iran. Bahram's father was Bahram Gushnasp, a military officer who had fought the Byzantines and campaigned in Yemen during the reign of Khosrow I (r. 531–579). His grandfather Gurgin Milad had served as the marzban (general of a frontier province, "margrave") of Armenia from 572 to 574.[6] Bahram Chobin had three siblings whom were named: Gordiya, Gorduya and Mardansina
.

Rise

Bahram Chobin fighting Bagha Qaghan.

Bahram Chobin originally started his career as marzban of Ray, but in 572 he commanded a cavalry force and took part in the

Badghis, and Herat.[7]

In a council of war, Bahram was chosen to lead an army against them and was given the governorship of Khorasan. Bahram's army supposedly consisted of 12,000 hand-picked horsemen.[1] His army ambushed a large army of Turks and Hephthalites in April 588, at the battle of Hyrcanian rock,[8] and again in 589, re-conquering Balkh, where Bahram captured the Turkic treasury and the golden throne of the Khagan.[9] He then proceeded to cross the Oxus river and won a decisive victory over Turks, personally killing Bagha Qaghan with an arrowshot.[1][10] He managed to reach as far as Baykand, near Bukhara, and also contain an attack by the son of the deceased Khagan, Birmudha, whom Bahram had captured and sent to the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon.[9] Birmudha was well received there by the Sasanian king (shah) Hormizd IV, who forty days later had him sent back to Bahram with the order that the Turkic prince should get sent back to Transoxiana.[9] The Sasanians now held suzerainty over the Sogdian cities of Chach and Samarkand, where Hormizd minted coins.[9][a]

Drachma of the Sasanian king (shah) Hormizd IV (r. 579–590).

After Bahram's great victory against the Turks he was sent to Caucasus to repel an invasion of nomads, possibly the Khazars, where he was victorious. He was later made commander of the Sasanian forces against the Byzantines once again, and successfully defeated a Byzantine force in Georgia. However, he afterwards suffered a minor defeat by a Byzantine army on the banks of the Aras. Hormizd, who was jealous of Bahram, used this defeat as an excuse to dismiss him from his office, and had him humiliated.[11][1]

According to another source, Bahram was the subject of jealousy after his victory against the Turks. Hormizd's minister Azen Gushnasp, who was reportedly jealous of Bahram, accused him of having kept the best part of the booty for himself and only sending a small part to Hormizd.[12] According to other sources, however, it was Birmudha or the courtiers that raised Hormizd's suspicion.[12] Regardless, Hormizd could not tolerate the rising fame of Bahram, and thus had him disgraced and removed from the Sasanian office for supposedly having kept some of the booty for himself. Furthermore, Hormizd also sent him a chain and a spindle to show that he considered him as a lowly slave "as ungrateful as a woman".[1] Enraged, Bahram, who was still in the east, rebelled against Hormizd.[1] The version of Bahram rebelling after his defeat against the Byzantines was supported by Nöldeke in 1879. However, a source found ten years later confirmed Bahram's rebellion took in fact place while he was still in the east.[1]

Rebellion

Bahram Chobin's night attack against the Sasanian loyalists at Nahrawan Canal near Ctesiphon.

Bahram, infuriated by Hormizd's actions,

responded by rebelling, and due to his noble status and great military knowledge, was joined by his soldiers and many others. He then appointed a new governor for Khorasan, and afterwards set for Ctesiphon.[1] This marked the first time in Sasanian history that a Parthian dynast challenged the legitimacy of the Sasanian family by rebelling.[13] Azen Gushnasp was sent to suppress to the rebellion, but was murdered in Hamadan by one of his own men, Zadespras. Another force under Sarames the Elder was also sent to stop Bahram, who defeated him and had him trampled to death by elephants.[14] Meanwhile, Hormizd tried to come to terms with his brothers-in-law Vistahm and Vinduyih, "who equally hated Hormizd".[1] Hormizd shortly had Vinduyih imprisoned, while Vistahm managed to flee from the court. After a short period of time, a palace coup under the two brothers occurred in Ctesiphon, which resulted in the blinding of Hormizd and the accession of the latter's oldest son Khosrow II (who was their nephew through his mother's side). The two brothers shortly had Hormizd killed. Nevertheless, Bahram continued his march to Ctesiphon, now with the pretext of claiming to avenge Hormizd.[1][9]

Khosrow then took a carrot and stick attitude, and wrote a message to Bahram, stressing his rightful claim to the Sasanian kingship: "Khosrow, kings of kings, ruler over the ruling, lord of the peoples, prince of peace, salvation of men, among gods the good and eternally living man, among men the most esteemed god, the highly illustrious, the victor, the one who rises with the sun and who lends the night his eyesight, the one famed through his ancestors, the king who hates, the benefactor who engaged the Sasanians and saved the Iranians their kingship—to Bahram, the general of the Iranians, our friend.... We have also taken over the royal throne in a lawful manner and have upset no Iranian customs.... We have so firmly decided not to take off the diadem that we even expected to rule over other worlds, if this were possible.... If you wish your welfare, think about what is to be done."[15]

Bahram, however, ignored his warning—a few days later, he reached the Nahrawan Canal near Ctesiphon, where he fought Khosrow's men, who were heavily outnumbered, but managed to hold Bahram's men back in several clashes. However, Khosrow's men eventually began losing their morale, and were in the end defeated by Bahram's forces. Khosrow, together with his two uncles, his wives, and a retinue of 30 nobles, thereafter fled to Byzantine territory, while Ctesiphon fell to Bahram.[16] Bahram declared himself king of kings in the summer of 590, asserting that the first Sasanian king Ardashir I (r. 224–242) had usurped the throne of the Arsacids, and that he now was restoring their rule.[1]

Reign

Gold dinar of Bahram Chobin, Susa mint.

Bahram tried to support his cause with the

fire altar flanked by two attendants.[1] Regardless, many nobles and priests still chose to side with the inexperienced and less dominant Khosrow II.[1]

In order to get the attention of the Byzantine emperor

Iberia and Armenia, effectively ceding control of Lazistan to the Byzantines.[16]

Illustration of the forces of Bahram Chobin and Khosrow II fighting.

In 591, Khosrow moved to

Nisibis and Martyropolis quickly defected to them,[16] and Bahram's commander Zatsparham was defeated and killed.[18] One of Bahram's other commanders, Bryzacius, was captured in Mosil and had his nose and ears cut off, and was thereafter sent to Khosrow, where he was killed.[19][20] Khosrow II and the Byzantine general Narses then penetrated deeper into Bahram's territory, seizing Dara and then Mardin in February, where Khosrow was re-proclaimed king.[18] Shortly after this, Khosrow sent one of his Iranian supporters, Mahbodh, to capture Ctesiphon, which he managed to accomplish.[21]

Map of the Roman-Sasanian frontier during Late Antiquity, including the 591 border that was established between the two empires after Khosrow II's victory over Bahram.

At the same time a force of 8,000 Iranians under Vistahm and Vinduyih and 12,000 Armenians under Mushegh II Mamikonian invaded Adurbadagan.[1] Bahram tried to disrupt the force by writing a letter to Mushegh II, the letter said: "As for you Armenians who demonstrate an unseasonable loyalty, did not the house of Sasan destroy your land and sovereignty? Why otherwise did your fathers rebel and extricate themselves from their service, fighting up until today for your country?"[22] Bahram in his letter promised that the Armenians would become partners of the new Iranian empire ruled by a Parthian dynastic family if he accepted his proposal to betray Khosrow II.[23] Mushegh, however, rejected the offer.[23]

Flight and death

Bahram was then defeated at the

rebellion of Vistahm (590/1–596 or 594/5–600).[26]

Fate of family

After Bahram's death, his sister Gordiya travelled to Khorasan, where she married

Samanids, who ruled the eastern Iranian lands of Transoxiana and Khorasan during most of their existence, stressing their ancestry from Bahram.[1]

Legacy

Bahram's life is composed in the

Kitab al-Fihrist, Ibn al-Nadim has credited Bahram Chobin with a manual of archery.[1] Long after his death in the 8th century, Sunpadh claimed that Abu Muslim had not died but he is with "al-Mahdi" (the Savior) in a "Brazen Hold" (that is, the residence of Bahram in Turkistan), and will return. This shows the persisting popularity of Bahram Chobin among Iranian nationalists.[1] Following the collapse of the Sasanian Empire, the Samanid dynasty formed of descendants of Bahram Chobin, became one of the first independent Iranian dynasties.[30]

Family tree

Bahram Gushnasp
MardansinaUnknownBahram ChobinGorduyaGordiya
NoshradMihran Bahram-i ChobinShapur
Siyavakhsh
Toghmath
Jotman
Saman Khuda

Notes

  1. ^ The Sasanians only managed to retain Chach and Samarkand for a few years, until it was re-captured by the Turks, who seemingly also conquered the eastern Sasanian province of Kadagistan.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Shahbazi 1988, pp. 514–522.
  2. ^ a b Kia 2016, p. 240.
  3. ^ Rapp 2014, pp. 195, 343.
  4. ^ Jones 1971, p. 945.
  5. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris 1992, p. 166.
  6. ^ Pourshariati 2008, p. 103.
  7. ^ Rezakhani 2017, p. 177.
  8. ^ Jaques 2007, p. 463.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Rezakhani 2017, p. 178.
  10. ^ Litvinsky & Dani 1996, pp. 368–369.
  11. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris 1992, p. 167.
  12. ^ a b Tafazzoli 1988, p. 260.
  13. ^ Pourshariati 2008, p. 96.
  14. ^ Warren, p. 26.
  15. ^ Kia 2016, p. 241.
  16. ^ a b c Howard-Johnston 2010.
  17. ^ Greatrex & Lieu 2002, p. 172.
  18. ^ a b Greatrex & Lieu 2002, p. 173.
  19. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris 1992, p. 251.
  20. ^ Rawlinson 2004, p. 509.
  21. ^ Greatrex & Lieu 2002, p. 174.
  22. ^ Pourshariati 2008, pp. 128–129.
  23. ^ a b Pourshariati 2008, p. 129.
  24. ^ Gumilev L.N. Bahram Chubin, pp. 229 - 230
  25. ^ a b Kia 2016, p. 242.
  26. ^ Pourshariati 2008, p. 133-134.
  27. ^ Pourshariati 2008, p. 201.
  28. ^ Pourshariati 2008, p. 206.
  29. ^ online at http://persian.packhum.org/persian/
  30. ISBN 978-1-55876-419-4
    ., pages 77-78.

Sources

Further reading

  • Daryaee, T. (2015). "Wahrām Čōbīn the Rebel General and the Militarization of the Sasanian Empire". In Krasnowolska, A. (ed.). Studies on the Iranian World: Before Islam: Medieval and Modern, Vol. 1. Kraków: Jagiellonian University Press. pp. 193–202.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bahram VI.
Bahram Chobin
 Died: 591
Preceded by
King of Kings of Iran and non-Iran

590–591 		Succeeded by
Khosrow II (restored)
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