Khosrow II
King of Kings (Shahanshah) of the Sasanian Empire
"I shall not spare the Romans until they deliver up the crucified whom they call God."
Biography
Khosrow II Parvez ('the Victorious') brought the Sasanian Empire to its greatest extent since the days of the ancient Achaemenids. Restored to his throne as a young man by the emperor Maurice, he used the murder of his benefactor by Phocas as the pretext for the last great war against Rome — and for nearly two decades it went astonishingly well, as his generals overran Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and much of Asia Minor and twice reached the Bosporus. But Khosrow overreached. Arrogant and increasingly tyrannical, he rejected Heraclius's peace overtures and demanded total submission, only to see the emperor turn the tables and ravage his heartland. As his empire collapsed in defeat, his own nobles and his son Kavad II turned against him; he was overthrown, imprisoned, and executed in 628. His fall plunged Persia into the ruinous civil war that left it helpless before the Arab conquest a decade later.
Did you know?
His love for his Christian queen Shirin became one of the most celebrated romances of Persian literature, immortalised centuries later in Nizami's epic poem 'Khosrow and Shirin.'
Key Battles
The Overthrow of Maurice
Sasanian Persian Empire victoryNovember 602 · 100 total casualties
The usurpation of Phocas and the murder of Maurice gave Khosrow the excuse to launch the last and greatest Roman–Persian war. The internal Byzantine chaos under the tyrant Phocas let the Persians make catastrophic early gains.
Heraclius's Invasion of Persia
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire victory627 · 8,000 total casualties
Heraclius's audacious deep strike into Persia — one of the boldest campaigns in military history — unhinged the entire Sasanian war effort, turning the tables on an enemy that had stood at the gates of Constantinople only months before.
The Fall of Khosrow and the Peace
Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire victory628 – 630 · 500 total casualties
The peace of 628 and the restoration of the True Cross marked the total victory of Byzantium and the humiliation of Persia. But both empires had bled themselves white in the twenty-six-year war — and neither had any strength left to resist the storm that was about to break out of Arabia.
Life Journey
Timeline
c. 570
🌅 Birth
Born a Sasanian prince
614
⚔️ Battle
His armies take Jerusalem and the True Cross
February 28, 628
✝️ Death
Overthrown and executed at Ctesiphon