Chosroes II

fl. 590-628

King of Persia, 590-628

Chosroes was the son of King Hormizd IV, in whose overthrow and assassination in 590 he participated. After his father's death he escaped to the Byzantine Empire and was adopted by Emperor Maurikos, who also concluded a peace treaty with him. In 603, after the overthrow of Maurikos and the collapse of the friendship treaty under his successor, Chosroes declared war against Byzantium.

The Persians captured Jerusalem and the Holy Cross, which they bore back to Ctesiphon in triumph. The Persian empire was considerably expanded during his reign. Although he himself was a Zoroastrian, he interested himself in the affairs of the eastern churches, especially the conflict between the Nestorians and the Monophysites. His military expeditions and extravagance bled the country dry. He was blinded and then assassinated by his own son, Siroe-Chavad, in 628.

References

Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon. (Herzberg: Verlag Traugott Bautz, 2001). Also available at: http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/

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Arab, Middle Eastern
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1st to 10th Centuries Ce
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