Niketas the Persian
Niketas the Persian | |
|---|---|
| Born | patrikios |
| Parent | (father) |
| Relatives | Nike (sister) |
Niketas was a 7th-century
shahanshah, Shahrbaraz
.
Biography
Niketas was the son of
patrikios, while his sister Nike was married to Theodosios, one of Heraclius' sons.[1] Niketas and another of his brothers came to live in the Byzantine court, practically as hostages. As a token of their alliance, in summer/early autumn 629, Niketas returned the Christian relics of the Holy Sponge and the Holy Lance to Heraclius from Jerusalem, then still under control of Shahrbaraz's Persian troops. It is probable that at this time, Niketas converted to Christianity; as he was his father's heir-apparent, this opened the prospect of the Christianization of Persia should Shahrbaraz be able to maintain his power there.[2]
Following his father's murder, Niketas remained in Byzantine service, and re-appears in 636 as one of the many Byzantine commanders during the
Emesa, from where he contacted the Caliph Umar. Niketas allegedly offered to help the Arabs conquer Persia, but Umar distrusted him and had him executed.[3]
References
Sources
- ISBN 0-521-81459-6.
- Martindale, John R.; Jones, A.H.M.; Morris, John (1992). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume III: AD 527–641. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20160-8.