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 PERSIA

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PERSIA

of the "middle school", under the leadership of Dorotheus, and the spread of monasticisni tlirough Persia and Mesopotamia were conterapoi'ary vvitli the disasi rows expedit ion and peace of Jovian. The great bishop, .lacol) of Nisihis, forms a connecting link between all three: as hisliop he was contemporary with Sapor II; he encouraged Nisibis in its first resistance to the army of Sapor; his school at Nisil)is was mock'lled on that of Diodorus at Antioch, and he was the patron and ijenefactor of the monastery foundeil by Awgin on Mount Izla.

In 399 Bahram IV was succeeded by his younger brother Yezdegerd (399-420). Early in this reign Maruthas, Bishop of Maiperkat, in Mesopotamia, was employed by the Roman Emperor as envoy to the Persian Court. Maruthas quickly gained great in- fluence over the Persian king, to the annoyance of the Zoroastrian magi, and Yezdegerd allowed the free spread of Christianity in Persia and the building of churches. Nisibis once more became a Christian city. The Persian Church at this period seems to have re- ceived, under Maruthas (q. v.), the more developed organization under which it lived until the time of the Mohammedan conquest. (See III, below.) Later in the reign of Yezdegerd, the Persian bishop, Abdas of Susa, was associated with Maruthas, and, by his impetuosity, put an end to the good relations between the Persian king and the Christians. Abdas de- stroyed one of the fire temples of the Zoroastrians; complaint was made to the king, and the bishop was ordereil to restore the building and make good all damage that he had committed. Abdas refused to rebuild a heathen temple at his own expense. The result was that orders were issued for the destruction of all churches, and these were carried out by the Zoroastrians, who had regarded with great envy the royal favour extended to Maruthas and his co-reli- gionists. Before long the destruction of churches developed into a general persecution, in which Abdas was one of the first martyrs. When Yezdegerd died in 420, and was succeeded by his son Bahram V, the persecution continued, and large numbers of Chris- tians fled across the frontier into Roman territory. A bitter feeling between Persia and Rome grew out of Bahram's demand for the surrender of the Christian fugitives, and war was declared in 422. The conflict commenced with Roman success in Armenia and the capture of a large number of Persian prisoners; the Romans then advanced into Persia and ravaged the border province of Azazena, but the seat of war was soon transferred to Mesopotamia, where the Romans besieged Nisibis. The Persians, hard pressed in this siege, called in the Turks to their assistance, and the united armies marched to the relief of the city. The Romans were alarmed at the news of the large numbers of the Persian forces and raised the siege, but soon afterwards, when the Turks had retired, there was a general engagement in which the Romans inflicted a crushing defeat upon their adversaries, and compelled them to sue for peace. Although the latter half of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth cen- tury was a period of so much distress in the Eastern provinces, which were exposed to the growing ambi- tion of Persia, it was a time of extension of the Chris- tian Church and of literary activity. This literary and ecclesiastical development led to the formation of a Syriac literature in Persia (Syriac being the litur- gical language of the Persian Church), and ultimately of a Christian Persian literature.

Towards the middle of the fifth century, the Persian Emperor Yezdegerd (442-59) was compelled to turn his attention to the passes of the Cauc;xsus; troops of Hun.s and Scythians had already broken through into Iran. Peroses (Firuz), his successor, made war on the nomads of the Caspian regions, and in 484 lost his life in battle with them. Four years later the throne of Persia was occupied by Qubad I, who

reigned from 488 to 531. During this reign there developed in Persia a new sect of the Fire- worshippers (the Nlazdakcaris'l, who were at first favoured by the king, b\it wliii sul)M'(iuently involved the empire in serious coiiiplicutions. The last decade of Qubad's reign was cliieliy occupied by wars with the Romans, in which he found a good means for diverting the at t ention of his people from domestic affairs. During the very last days of his life Qubad was compelled once more to lead an army to the West to maintain Persia's influence over Lasistan in southern Caucasia, the prince of which country had become a convert to Christianity, and consequently an ally of the Byzan- tine Empire. It was during the same reign that the Nestorians began to enter more fvdly into Persian life, and under him that they began their missionary ex- pansion eastwards. About the year 496 the patri- archal See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon fell into the hands of the Nestorians, and henceforth the Catholicos of Seleucia became the Patriarch of the Nestorian Church of Persia, Syria, China, and India. After the death of Qubad the usual quarrels as to the succession arose, and finally ended, in 531, with the accession of Chosroes I Anushirwan, whom Qubad had looked upon as the most capable of his sons. Chosroes was a champion of the ancient Iranian spirit, a friend of the priest class, and an irreconcilable enemy of the Mazda- kites, who had chosen one of his numerous brothers as their candidate for the throne. During his reign the Persian Empire attained the height of its splen- dour; indeed, the government of Chosroes I, "the Just", was both equitable and vigorous. One of his first acts was to make peace with Byzantium, the latter agreeing to pay a large contribution towards the fortification of the Caucasian passes. In addition to strengthening the Caucasus, Chosroes also sought to fortify the north-eastern frontier of his empire by constructing a great wall, and he asserted his claims to a portion of north-western India by force of arms, but soon turned his attention once more to the West. In 531 he proclaimed a general toleration, in which not only Christians, but also Manichaans and Mazda- kites, were included.

The period 532-39 was spent in the extension and strengthening of the eastern frontiers of Persia. In 539 Chosroes returned to Ctesiphon, and was per- suaded by the Bedouin Al Mondar to renew Qubad's attempted conquest of Syria. The pretext was that Justinian was aiming at universal dominion, but there is no doubt that the real reason was that Al Mondar remembered the ease with which he had once plun- dered Syrian territory. In 540 the Persians invaded Syria and captured the city of Shurab. The prisoners taken from this city were released at the request of Candidus, bishop of the neighbouring town of Sergi- opolis, who undertook to pay a ransom of 200 pounds of gold. Then Chosroes took Mabbogh, which paid a ransom, then Beroea, and finally proceeded against Antioch itself, which was captured after a short re- sistance. From Antioch Chosroes carried otT many works of art and a vast number of captives. On his way homewards he made an attack upon Edessa, a city generally regarded as impregnable, but was taken ill during the siege.

During Chosroes's illness trouble occurred in Per- sia. He had married a Christian wife, and his son Nushizad was also a Christian. When the king was taken ill at Edessa a report reached Persia that he was dead, and at once Nushizad seized the crown. Very soon the rumour was proved false, but Nushizad was persuaded by persons who appear to have been in the pay of Justinian to endeavour to maintain his position. The action of his son was deeply distressing to Chosroes; but it was necessary to take prompt measures, and the commander, Ram Berzin, was .sent against the rebels. In the battle which followed Nushi- zad was mortally wounded and carried off the field.