| Boran | |
|---|---|
| Queen of Queens of Iran | |
 Gold dinar of Boran (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) | |
| Queen of the Sasanian Empire | |
| 1st Reign | 630 |
| Predecessor | Shahrbaraz |
| Successor | Shapur-i Shahrvaraz |
| 2nd Reign | June 631 – June 632 |
| Predecessor | Azarmidokht |
| Successor | Yazdegerd III |
| Died | June 632 Ctesiphon |
| Spouse | Kavad II |
| House | House of Sasan |
| Father | Khosrow II |
| Mother | Maria |
| Religion | Zoroastrianism |
Boran (also spelledBuran,Middle Persian:
) wasSasanian queen (banbishn) ofIran from 630 to 632, with an interruption of some months. She was the daughter of king (orshah)Khosrow II (r. 590–628) and theByzantine princessMaria. She is the second of only three women to rule inIranian history, the others beingMusa of Parthia, and Boran's sisterAzarmidokht.
In 628, her father was overthrown and executed by her brother-husbandKavad II, who also had all Boran's brothers and half-brothers executed, initiating a period of fractionalism within the empire. Kavad II died some months later, and was succeeded by his eight-year-old sonArdashir III, who after a rule of nigh two years, was killed and usurped by the Iranian military officerShahrbaraz. Boran shortly ascended the throne with the aid of the military commanderFarrukh Hormizd, who helped her to overthrow Shahrbaraz. She and her sister were the only legitimate heirs who could rule at the time. Boran inherited a declining empire that was engulfed in acivil war between two major factions, thePersian (Parsig) andParthian (Pahlav) noble-families. She was committed to reviving the memory and prestige of her father, during whose reign the Sasanian Empire had grown to its largest territorial extent.
She was however not long afterwards replaced by Khosrow II's nephewShapur-i Shahrvaraz, whose reign was even briefer than hers, being replaced by Azarmidokht, who was aParsig nominee. She was in turn deposed soon afterwards and killed by thePahlav under Farrukh Hormizd's sonRostam Farrokhzad, who restored Boran to the throne, thus making her queen for a second time. During her second reign, power was mostly in the hands of Rostam, which caused dissatisfaction among theParsig and led to a revolt, during which Boran was killed by strangulation. She was succeeded by her nephewYazdegerd III, the last Sasanian ruler, making her the penultimate ruler of the Sasanian Empire.
Albeit her two tenures of rule were shortlived, she did try to bring stability to Iran by the implementation of just laws, reconstruction of the infrastructure, and by lowering taxes and minting coins. Diplomatically, she desired good relations with her western neighbours theByzantines, sending them an embassy which was well received by emperorHeraclius (r. 610–641).
Boran's name appears asBōrān (orBurān) on her coinage,[1] which is considered by theFrench historian Gignoux to be ahypocoristic from*baurāspa ('having many horses').[2] The medieval Persian poetFerdowsi refers to her asPūrāndokht in his epic poem, theShahnameh ('The Book of Kings'). The suffix ofdokht (-dukht inMiddle Persian), meaning 'daughter', was a new development made inMiddle Iranian languages to more easily differentiate a female's name from that of a male.[3][4] The suffix should not be taken too literally.[3] Her name appears as Boran (and similar) in theChronicle of Khuzestan (7th-Century),Jacob of Edessa'sChronicle (8th-Century), in theChronicle of Seert (9th-Century ?), inAgapius of Hierapolis'sKitab al-'Unwan (10th-Century) and inMichael the Syrian'sChronicle (12th-Century), as Βοράνη(ς) (Boránes) inTheophanes the Confessor'sChronicle (9th-Century), as Բորն (Born) inTovma Artsruni'sHistory of the House of Artsrunik (9th-Century),Baram in theChronicle of 1234,George Kedrenos'sSynopsis historion (11th-Century) andBar Hebraeus'sChronicle (13th-Century),[5]Tūrān Dukht in the works of the 10th-century Persian historianMuhammad Bal'ami,[6]Queen Bor by the7th-century Armenian historianSebeos,[7] andDukht-i Zabān by the 8th-centuryArab historianSayf ibn Umar.[8]
Boran was the daughter of the last prominent shah of Iran,Khosrow II (r. 590–628) and theByzantine princessMaria.[2] Khosrow II was overthrown and executed in 628 by his own sonSheroe, better known by his dynastic name of Kavad II, who proceeded to have all Boran's brothers and half-brothers executed, including the heirMardanshah.[9][10] This dealt a heavy blow to the empire, from which it would never recover. Boran and her sisterAzarmidokht reportedly criticized and scolded Kavad II for his barbaric actions, which caused him to become remorseful.[11] According toGuidi's Chronicle, Boran was also Kavad II's wife, demonstrating the practice inZoroastrianism ofKhwedodah, or close-kin marriage.[12][2][a]
The fall of Khosrow II culminated in theSasanian civil war of 628–632, with the most powerful members of the nobility gaining full autonomy and starting to create their own government. The hostilities between the Persian (Parsig) andParthian (Pahlav) noble-families were also resumed, which broke up the wealth of the nation.[15] A few months later, the devastatingPlague of Sheroe swept through the western Sasanian provinces. Half the population, including Kavad II himself, perished.[15] He was succeeded by his eight-year-old son, who becameArdashir III. Ardashir's ascension was supported by both thePahlav,Parsig, and a third major faction named theNimruzi.[16] However, sometime in 629, theNimruzi withdrew their support for the king, and started to conspire with the distinguished Iranian generalShahrbaraz to overthrow him.[17]
ThePahlav, under their leaderFarrukh Hormizd of theIspahbudhan clan, began supporting Boran as the new ruler of Iran, who subsequently started minting coins in thePahlav areas ofAmol,Nishapur,Gurgan andRay.[17] On 27 April 630, Ardashir III was killed by Shahrbaraz,[18] who in turn was murdered, after a reign of forty days, in a coup by Farrukh Hormizd.[19] Farrukh Hormizd then helped Boran ascend the throne, sometime in late June 630.[20] Her accession was most likely due to her being the only remaining legitimate heir of the empire able to rule, along with Azarmidokht.[21][b]
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Boran was the first queen to rule the Sasanian Empire. However, it was not unusual for royal women to occupy political offices in the management of the country, and many such women before Boran had risen to prominence. A 5th-century Sasanian queen,Denag, had temporarily ruled as regent of the empire from its capital,Ctesiphon, during the dynastic struggle for the throne between her sonsHormizd III (r. 457–459) andPeroz I (r. 459–484) in 457–459.[22] The German classical scholarJosef Wiesehöfer also highlights the role of noblewomen in Sasanian Iran, stating that "Iranian records of the third century (inscriptions, reliefs, coins) show that the female members of the royal family received an unusual amount of attention and respect".[23] The story of the legendaryKayanian queenHumay Chehrzad and veneration towards the Iranian goddessAnahita probably also helped with the approval of Boran's rule.[24]
When Boran ascended the throne, she appointed Farrukh Hormizd as the chief minister (orwuzurg framadār) of the empire.[13] She then attempted to bring stability to Iran by the implementation of justice laws, reconstruction of the infrastructure, and by lowering taxes and minting coins.[12] Her rule was accepted by the nobility and clergy, which is apparent by her coin mints in the provinces ofPars,Khuzestan,Media, andAbarshahr.[12][25] No opposition was voiced towards her gender.[26] However, she was deposed in 630, andShapur-i Shahrvaraz, the son of Shahrbaraz and a sister of Khosrow II, was made shah of Iran.[27] When he was not recognized by theParsig faction of the powerful generalPiruz Khosrow, he was deposed in favor of Azarmidokht, the sister of Boran.[28]
Farrukh Hormizd, in order to strengthen his authority and create a harmoniousmodus vivendi between thePahlav andParsig families, asked Azarmidokht (who was aParsig nominee) to marry him.[29] Not daring to refuse, she had him killed with the aid of theMihranid aristocratSiyavakhsh, who was the grandson ofBahram Chobin, the famous military commander (spahbed) and briefly shah of Iran.[30] Farrukh Hormizd's sonRostam Farrokhzad, who was at that time stationed inKhorasan, succeeded him as the leader of thePahlav. In order to avenge his father, he left for Ctesiphon, in the words of the 9th century historianSayf ibn Umar, "defeating every army of Azarmidokht that he met".[31] He then defeated Siyavakhsh's forces at Ctesiphon and captured the city.[31] Azarmidokht was shortly afterwards blinded and killed by Rostam, who restored Boran to the throne in June 631.[32][33] Boran complained to him about the state of the empire, which was at that time in a state of frailty and decline. She reportedly invited him to administer its affairs, and so allowed him to assume overall power.[31]
A settlement was reportedly made between the family of Boran and Rostam: according to Sayf, it stated that the queen should "entrust him [i.e., Rostam] with the rule for ten years,” at which point sovereignty would return "to the family ofSasan if they found any of their male offspring, and if not, then to their women".[31] Boran deemed the agreement appropriate, and had the factions of the country summoned (including theParsig), where she declared Rostam as both the leader of the country and its military commander.[31] TheParsig faction agreed, with Piruz Khosrow being entrusted to administer the country alongside Rostam.[34]
TheParsig agreed to work with thePahlav because of the fragility and decline of Iran, and also because their Mihranid collaborators had been temporarily defeated by Rostam.[34] However, the cooperation between theParsig andPahlav would prove short-lived, due to the unequal conditions between the two factions, with Rostam's faction having a much more significant portion of power under the approval of Boran.[34] Boran desired a good relationship with theByzantine Empire, therefore she dispatched an embassy to its emperorHeraclius (r. 610–641), led by thecatholicosIshoyahb II and other dignitaries of the Iranian church.[13][21] Her embassy was amicably received by Heraclius.[35]
In the following year a revolt broke out in Ctesiphon. While the imperial army was occupied with other matters, theParsig, dissatisfied with the regency of Rostam, called for the overthrow of Boran and the return of the prominentParsig figureBahman Jaduya, who had been dismissed by her.[36] Boran was killed shortly after; she was presumably strangled by Piruz Khosrow.[36][35] Hostilities were thus resumed between the two factions.[36] Not long afterwards, both Rostam and Piruz Khosrow were threatened by their own men, who had become alarmed by the declining state of the country.[37] Rostam and Piruz Khosrow thus agreed to work together once more, installing Boran's nephewYazdegerd III (r. 632–651) on the throne, and so putting an end to the civil war.[37] According to the Muslim historianal-Tabari (died 923 AD), Boran reigned for a total of sixteen months.[35] The name of the Iranian appetizerBorani may be derived from Boran.[38]
During her reign, Boran'scoinage was reverted to the design used by her father, due to her notions of the past and her personal respect for him.[39] Her minted coins included some that were more formal in design and were not intended for general use.[39] On her coins, it is declared that Boran was the restorer of her heritage, i.e., the race of gods. The translated inscription on her coins reads: "Boran, restorer of the race of Gods" (Middle Persian:Bōrān ī yazdān tōhm winārdār).[40] Her claim of being descended from the gods had not been used since the 4th-century, when it was used by the Sasanian shahShapur II (r. 309–379).[41]
As with all Sasanian rulers, Boran's main denomination was the silverdrachm (Middle Persian:drahm).[42] Between the reigns of Khosrow II and Yazdegerd III, Boran appears to have been the only ruler who mintedbronze coins.[42] Only one gold issue of Boran is known, stored at theMuseum of Fine Arts in Boston.[42] The obverse of Boran'sdrachms and bronze issues depict her turned to the right, while on the reverse theZoroastrianfire altar is depicted together with two attendants.[43] Boran's gold issue depicts her facing out instead of being in profile.[43]
On Boran's silver and bronze coins, double or triple row of pellets surround her portrait and astral signs of a crescent and a star are placed on the outer margin.[43] Boran is depicted wearing a round cap with three jewels or rosettes and adiadem; her bejewelledbraids of hair fall from beneath the cap.[43] The diadem consists of two rows of pellets, presumably pearls, tied around Boran's forehead with segments visible.[43] The top her crown terminates in a pair of feathered wings, meant to represent the Zoroastrian divinityVerethragna, thehypostasis of 'victory'.[43] A crescent and globe is depicted between the feathered wings.[43] More astral signs are depicted at the top right (a star and crescent) and left of the crown (a single star).[43]
Boran Died: June 632 | ||
| Preceded by | Queen of Queens of Iran 630 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Queen of Queens of Iran June 631–June 632 | Succeeded by |
