| Bahram Chobin 𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians | |||||
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| Shahanshah of theSasanian Empire | |||||
| Reign | 590–591 | ||||
| Predecessor | Khosrow II | ||||
| Successor | Khosrow II (restored) | ||||
| Died | 591 Fergana,Western Turkic Khaganate | ||||
| Issue |
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| House | House of Mihran | ||||
| Father | Bahram Gushnasp | ||||
| Religion | Zoroastrianism | ||||
Bahrām Chōbīn (Persian:بهرام چوبین) orWahrām Chōbēn (Middle Persian:𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭; died 591), also known by his epithetMehrbandak ("servant ofMithra"),[1] was a nobleman, general, and political leader of the lateSasanian Empire and briefly its ruler asBahram VI (r. 590–591).
Son of generalBahram Gushnasp and hailing from the nobleHouse of Mihran, Bahram began his career as the governor ofRay, and was promoted to the army chief (spahbed) of the northwestern portions of the empire after capturing theByzantine stronghold ofDara, fighting in thewar of 572–591. After a massiveHephthalite-Turkic invasion of the eastern Sasanian domains in 588, he was appointed as thespahbed inKhorasan, beginning a campaign that ended in a decisive Iranian victory.
Bahram earned an elevated position in Iran due to his noble descent, character, skills, and accomplishments. The Sasanian king (shah)Hormizd IV (r. 579–590) was already distrustful of Bahram and stripped the increasingly popular general of his commands. Bahram begana rebellion aiming to reestablish the "more rightful"Arsacid Empire, identifying himself with the promised savior of theZoroastrian faith. Before he had reached the Sasanian capital ofCtesiphon, Hormizd was assassinated in support of his son,Khosrow II, by another anti-Hormizd faction led by the twoIspahbudhan brothers,Vistahm andVinduyih. As Bahram captured Ctesiphon, Khosrow II fled to theByzantine Empire, with the assistance of which he launched a campaign against Bahram. Bahram's outnumbered forces were defeated, but he managed to flee to theWestern 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 theArab conquest of Iran among Iranian nationalists, as well as inPersian literature.
Histheophoric nameBahram is theNew Persian form of theMiddle PersianWarahrān (also spelledWahrām), which is derived from theOld Iranian *Vṛθragna. TheAvestan equivalent isVerethragna, the name of the god of victory, whilst theParthian version is *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 poetFerdowsi, who in hisShahnameh described Bahram as a towering and dark-complexioned warrior with black curly hair.[2] The name Bahram Chobin is attested inGeorgian asBaram Č‛ubin[i][3] and in Armenian asVahram Ch’obin.[4] His first name also appears asVararanes inLatin[5] andBaram (Βαράμ) andBaramos (Βάραμος) inGreek.[6]
Bahram was a member of theHouse of Mihran, one of theseven Great Houses of Iran. The family was ofParthian origin, and was centered inRay, south ofTehran, the capital of present-day Iran. Bahram's father wasBahram Gushnasp, a military officer who hadfought the Byzantines and campaigned inYemen during the reign ofKhosrow I (r. 531–579). His grandfatherGurgin Milad had served as themarzban (general of a frontier province, "margrave") ofArmenia from 572 to 574.[7] Bahram Chobin had three siblings: a sister,Gordiya, and two brothers, Gorduya andMardansina.
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Bahram Chobin originally started his career asmarzban of Ray, but in 572 he commanded a cavalry force and took part in thesiege and capture of the key Byzantine stronghold ofDara and was promoted to army chief (spahbed) of the "North" (Adurbadagan andGreater Media).[1] After being promoted he foughta long, indecisive campaign in 572–591 against the Byzantines innorthern Mesopotamia. In 588, theTurkickhaganBagha Qaghan (known as Sabeh/Saba inPersian sources), together with hisHephthalite subjects,invaded the Sasanian territories south of theOxus, where they attacked and routed the Sasanian soldiers stationed inBalkh, and then proceeded to conquer the city along withTalaqan,Badghis, andHerat.[8]
In a council of war, Bahram was chosen to lead an army against them and was given the governorship ofKhorasan. 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,[9] and again in 589, re-conquering Balkh, where Bahram captured the Turkic treasury and the golden throne of the Khagan.[10] He then proceeded to cross the Oxus river and won a decisive victory over Turks, personally killing Bagha Qaghan with an arrowshot.[1][11] He managed to reach as far as Baykand, nearBukhara, and also contain an attack by the son of the deceased Khagan, Birmudha, whom Bahram had captured and sent to the Sasanian capital ofCtesiphon.[10] 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.[10] The Sasanians now held suzerainty over theSogdian cities ofChach andSamarkand, where Hormizd minted coins.[10][a]
After Bahram's great victory against the Turks he was sent toCaucasus to repel an invasion of nomads, possibly theKhazars, where he was victorious. He was later made commander of the Sasanian forces against the Byzantines once again, and successfully defeated a Byzantine force inGeorgia. However, he afterwards suffered a minor defeat by a Byzantine army on the banks of theAras. Hormizd, who was jealous of Bahram, used this defeat as an excuse to dismiss him from his office, and had him humiliated.[12][1]
According to another source, Bahram was the subject of jealousy after his victory against the Turks. Hormizd's ministerAzen 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.[13] According to other sources, however, it was Birmudha or the courtiers that raised Hormizd's suspicion.[13] 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 aspindle 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 byNöldeke 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]
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Bahram, infuriated by Hormizd's actions,responded by rebelling. Due to his noble status and great military knowledge, he was joined by his soldiers and many others. He then appointed a new governor for Khorasan and afterwards set out for Ctesiphon.[1] This marked the first time in Sasanian history that a Parthian dynast challenged the legitimacy of the Sasanian family by rebelling.[14] Azen Gushnasp was sent to suppress to the rebellion but was murdered inHamadan by one of his own men, Zadespras. Another force underSarames the Elder was also sent to stop Bahram, who defeated him and had him trampled to death byelephants.[15] Meanwhile, Hormizd tried to come to terms with his brothers-in-lawVistahm andVinduyih, "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 by the two brothers occurred in Ctesiphon, which resulted in the blinding of Hormizd and the accession of the latter's oldest sonKhosrow 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][10]
Khosrow then took acarrot 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.[16]
Bahram, however, ignored his warning—a few days later, he reached theNahrawan 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 aretinue of 30 nobles, thereafter fled to Byzantine territory, while Ctesiphon fell to Bahram.[17] Bahram declared himself king of kings in the summer of 590, asserting that the first Sasanian kingArdashir I (r. 224–242) had usurped the throne of theArsacids, and that he now was restoring their rule.[1]
Bahram tried to support his cause with theZoroastrianapocalyptic belief that by the end ofZoroaster's millennium, chaos and destructive wars with the Hephthalites/Huns and the Romans would be followed by the appearance of a savior. Indeed, the Sasanians had misidentified Zoroaster's era with that of theSeleucids (312 BC), which put Bahram's life almost at the end of Zoroaster's millennium; he was therefore hailed by many as the promised savior Kay Bahram Varjavand.[1] Bahram was supposed to re-establish theArsacid Empire and commence a new millennium of dynastic rule. He started minting coins, where he is on the front represented as an exalted figure, bearded and wearing acrenellation-shaped crown with two crescents of the moon, whilst the reverse shows the traditionalfire 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 emperorMaurice (r. 582–602), Khosrow II went toSyria and sent a message to the Sasanian-occupied city ofMartyropolis to stop their resistance against the Byzantines, but to no avail.[18] He then sent a message to Maurice requesting his help to regain the Sasanian throne, to which the Byzantine emperor assented; in return, the Byzantines would regain sovereignty over the cities ofAmida,Carrhae,Dara and Martyropolis. Furthermore, Iran was required to stop intervening in the affairs ofIberia andArmenia, effectively ceding control ofLazistan to the Byzantines.[17]
In 591, Khosrow moved toConstantia and prepared to invade Bahram's territories in Mesopotamia, while Vistahm and Vinduyih were raising an army inAdurbadagan under the observation of the Byzantine commanderJohn Mystacon, who was also raising an army in Armenia. After some time, Khosrow, along with the Byzantine commander of the south,Comentiolus, invaded Mesopotamia. During this invasion,Nisibis and Martyropolis quickly defected to them,[17] and Bahram's commander Zatsparham was defeated and killed.[19] One of Bahram's other commanders, Bryzacius, was captured inMosil and had his nose and ears cut off, and was thereafter sent to Khosrow and killed.[20][21] Khosrow II and the Byzantine general Narses then penetrated deeper into Bahram's territory, seizing Dara and thenMardin in February, where Khosrow was once again proclaimed king.[19] Shortly after this, Khosrow sent one of his Iranian supporters, Mahbodh, to capture Ctesiphon, which he managed to accomplish.[22]
At the same time a force of 8,000 Iranians under Vistahm and Vinduyih and 12,000 Armenians underMushegh II Mamikonian invaded Adurbadagan.[1] Bahram tried to disrupt the force by writing a letter to Mushegh II, which 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?"[23] In his letter, Bahram promised that the Armenians would become partners of the new Iranian empire ruled by a Parthian dynasty if he accepted his proposal to betray Khosrow II. Mushegh, however, rejected the offer.[24]
Bahram was then defeated at theBattle of Blarathon, forcing him to flee eastwards with 4,000 men. He marched towardsNishapur, where he defeated a pursuing army as well as an army led by aKarenid nobleman atQumis. Constantly troubled, he finally arrived inFergana[25][1] where he was received honorably by the Khagan of the Turks, who was most likely Birmudha–the same Turkic prince that Bahram had defeated and captured a few years earlier during his wars against the Turks.[10] Bahram entered his service, and was appointed as a commander in the army, achieving further military accomplishments there.[26][1] Bahram became a highly popular figure after saving the Khagan from a conspiracy instigated by the latter's brother Byghu (conceivably a corruption ofyabghu, a Turkic title).[10] Khosrow II, however, could not feel safe as long as Bahram lived, and had him assassinated.[1] The assassination was reportedly achieved through the distribution of presents and bribes to members of the Turkic royal family, notably the queen.[26] What remained of Bahram's supporters went back to northern Iran and joined therebellion of Vistahm (590/1–596 or 594/5–600).[27]
After Bahram's death, his sister Gordiya travelled to Khorasan, where she marriedVistahm, who during that time was also rebelling against Khosrow II. Bahram had three sons: Shapur,Mihran Bahram-i Chobin and Noshrad. Shapur continued to oppose the Sasanians and later joined theRebellion of Vistahm. After the end of the rebellion, Shapur was executed.[1] Mihran is mentioned in 633 as a general in the Sasanian forces that fought against the Arabs at theBattle of Ayn al-Tamr during theArab invasion of Iran.[28] His sonSiyavakhsh ruled Ray and killed Vinduyih's sonFarrukh Hormizd in retribution for the family's role in Bahram's downfall and death.[29] Bahram's last son, Noshrad, was the ancestor of theSamanids, who ruled the eastern Iranian lands ofTransoxiana and Khorasan during most of their existence, stressing their ancestry from Bahram.[1]
Bahram's life is recorded in thePahlavi romanceBahrām Chōbīn Nāma ("Book of Bahram Chobin"), which was later translated by Jabalah ibn Salim, and found its way—mixed with a pro-Khosrow II account—into the works ofDinawari,Ferdowsi, andBal'ami.[1] There are many fables attributed to Bahram VI, as is the norm for many heroes inPersian literature. The chapters in Volume VIII of Ferdowsi's 11th-centuryShahnameh[30] on the reigns of Hormizd IV and Khosrow II are both almost as much about Bahram Chobin. In his catalogueKitab al-Fihrist,Ibn al-Nadim credited Bahram Chobin with a manual of archery.[1] Long after his death in the 8th century,Sunpadh claimed thatAbu 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, which descended from Bahram Chobin, became one of the first independent Iranian dynasties.[31]
| Bahram Gushnasp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mardansina | Unknown | Bahram Chobin | Gorduya | Gordiya | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Noshrad | Mihran Bahram-i Chobin | Shapur | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Siyavakhsh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toghmath | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jotman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saman Khuda | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The history of ancient iran.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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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