THE TERRITORIAL AMBITIONS OF
CHOSROES II, AN ARMENIAN VIEW?
J.D . Frendo
The Arm enian h i s t o r i c a l work commonly a t t r i b u t e d to Sebeo s reco rds a
rem a rkab le l e t t e r p u r p o r t in g to ha ve b een s e n t by the P e r s i a n Emperor C hosroes
II
d u r i n g the
letter
34th y e a r o f h i s
t o g e t h e r w it h i t s
r e i g n to the B y z a n t in e Emperor H e r a c l i u s .
T h is
im m e diately s u r r o u n d in g n a r r a t i v e c o n t e x t may be
r e n d e r e d a p p ro xim ately as f o l l o w s :
"A n d i t
came to p a s s in the t h ir ty - fo u r t h y e a r o f k in g C hosroes
t h a t he w ro te to H e r a c l i u s
i n g term s:
an o f f i c i a l
com m unication i n the f o l l o w ­
C h o s r o e s , esteem ed by the gods and lo r d and k in g o f a l l
the e a r th and d e s c e n d a n t o f the g r e a t A ra m a zd,
w o r t h le s s s l a v e ,
to o ur w i t l e s s
and
H e ra c liu s .
"Y o u ha ve n o t w is h e d to sub m it y o u r s e l f to s e r v in g u s , b u t
i n s t e a d you c a l l y o u r s e l f l o r d and k i n g .
A nd my t r e r s u r e s w h ich
a re in y o u r p o s s e s s i o n , y o u sq u a n d er and my s l a v e s yo u c o r r u p t an d ,
h a v in g assem bled an army o f b r i g a n d s ,
you do n ot l e t me r e s t .
I
And y o u say t h a t yo u p u t your
n o t in d e e d a n n i h i l a t e d the Greeks?
t r u s t i n your GodJ
Have
Why d i d they n o t save C aes a r ea and J e r u s a le m
a nd g r e a t A l e x a n d r i a from my H a nds?
Is i t po ssible
t h a t yo u even
now do n o t know t h a t I have s u b j e c t e d la n d and s e a to my sway?
Can i t be t h a t C o n s t a n t in o p le alo n e I s h a l l n o t b e a b le to reduce
by s i e g e c r a f t ?
B u t now I
rem it a l l yo ur t r a n s g r e s s i o n s :
take your w i f e a nd y o u r sons and come h i t h e r .
30
a rise ,
A nd I s h a l l g iv e
you e s t a t e s ,
v in e y a rd s and o l iv e - g r o v e s , whereby y ou may l i v e ,
and we s h a l l look upon you w it h a f f e c t i o n .
you j o i n t l y e n t e r t a in
d ec eiv e y o u :
L e t n o t the empty hope
fo r t h a t C h r i s t who c o uld not
save h im s e l f from the J e w s , b u t they k i l l e d him by
to a t r e e ,
how can he save y o u from my hands?
in t o the very depths o f the s e a ,
se ize you,
w ish
f a s t e n in g him
For,
i f y ou d esc end
I s h a l l s t r e t c h o ut my hand and
and then y ou s h a l l see me in a manner t h a t y ou w i l l n ot
fo r .
"A n d the Emperor H e r a c l i u s ,
gave o r d e r s
fo r i t
and the n o b l e s .
And,
the ro y al d is p a t c h in
e n t e r in g
letter,
the house o f G o d,
they s p r ead o ut
fr o n t o f the h o ly a l t a r , p r o s t r a t e d them­
se lv e s on the ground b e fo r e
the L o r d ,
m ig ht see the in s u l t s w hic h h is
"H e r a c l iu s
on r e c e i p t o f the k i n g 's
to be rea d o u t in the p r es en ce o f the P a t r ia r c h
and a l l
and wept b i t t e r l y ,
th at he
enem ies h ad h ea p ed upon h im .
the S e n a to r s d e c id e d to p l a c e on the throne
o f the kingdom H e r a c l i u s '
s o n , C o n s t a n t in e , who was a sm all c h i l d .
And H e r a c liu s e q u ip p e d h im s e l f to take h is w if e and s e t o f f fo r
the E ast."'*'
B e fo r e a tt em p t in g to a n a ly z e the c o n ten ts o f t h is
h o w ev er,
to i t s
I s h o u ld l i k e
to draw a t t e n t io n to the seem ing ly w e ig h t y o b j e c t io n s
a u t h e n t i c i t y p u t fo rw ard i n 1 9 0 6 by E . W .
P e r n i c e 's work L ’Im p era to re E r a c l i o .
the o b v io u s
p o se d o f ,
l e t t e r in any d e t a i l ,
c o n s id e r a t io n t h a t ,
2
Brooks i n a rev iew o f A ng elo
The rea s o n fo r d o in g t h i s ,
u n le s s such o b j e c t io n s
a p a r t from
are in some way d i s ­
fu r t h e r d i s c u s s i o n w i t h i n a l l b u t the most l i m i t e d terms o f r e f e r ­
ence must prove
fu tile ,
is
t h a t the o nly way in w h ic h they can be d is p o s e d o f
r a is e s q u e s t io n s o f h i s t o r i c a l method o f an ex tre m ely im p o rtan t and farr e a c h in g n a t u r e .
B r o o k s 's
a c t u a l words run as f o l l o w s :
the l e t t e r o f K hosrau as g en u in e he
th at i t
is
(i .e .,
an im i t a t i o n o f S e n n a c h e r i b 's
ch ap ter 36 Sebeo s r e la t e s
P e r n ic e )
letter
a s i m i l a r s to ry o f
has
"A g a in ,
i n a c c e p t in g
f a i l e d to n o t ic e
to H e z e k i a h ,
and t h a t in
the C alip h^U thm an and the g r a n d ­
son o f H e r a c l i u s . " 3
F irst o f a l l ,
S e n n a c h e r i b 's
l e t us exam ine the c o n t e n t io n t h a t " i t
l e t t e r to H e z e k i a h . "
The b i b l i c a l
ment is b a s e d was s u p p l ie d by M acler in
t r a n s l a t io n o f S e b e o s , where he r e f e r s
p assa ge
is
it s e lf
c o n tex t on w h ic h t h is s t a t e ­
in a fo o tn o te to h i s French
4
the re a d e r to I s a i a h 3 6 - 37,
w hich
a r e p e t it i o n o f I I K in g s 1 8 : 1 3
o r adapts h is n a r r a t i v e
an im i t a t i o n o f
190 4
f f .5
where a w r i t e r o r h i s so urc e e x p l i c i t l y o r i m p l i c i t l y
dates,
is
Now,
i f every in s t a n c e
assim ila te s,
accommo­
acc o u n t to some well-known b i b l i c a l p a r a l l e l
w ere
taken as c o n c lu s iv e
o f w hat i s
actually
ev id e n c e
s a id ,
fo r im pugning the v e r a c it y o f the s u b s ta n c e
then we sh o u ld be l e f t w it h n e x t to n o t h in g ,
n ot
j u s t from Arm enian w r it e r s b u t even from the s u r v iv in g contem porary Greek
record,
upon w h ic h
to i n f e r
to b a s e most o f the l i t t l e
a b o u t the r e ig n o f H e r a c l i u s .
t h at we do know and can hope
Such extrem es o f s c e p t i c i s m are
p erhap s an a c c i d e n t a l by- product o f the e x c e s s iv e lit e r a l- m in d e d n e s s w h ich
o c c a s io n a lly
c ritic a l
c h a r a c t e r iz e s
in te llig en c e.
n arra tiv e
and h is
the n in ete enth- and tw entieth - c entury w es ter n
What Sebeos has d o n e,
in
fact,
l e t t e r to s e l e c t e d s i m i l a r i t i e s
is
to accommodate h i s
in the H e z e k ia h sto r y w h ich
a dm it o f suc h a t r e a t m e n t , w h i l s t p a s s i n g o ver in s i l e n c e w hole s e c t io n s o f
m a terial,
w h ic h are o m it t e d fo r the very good reaso n t h a t they have no b e a r i n g
w h a t s o e v e r on the a c t u a l im port o f what he is
M o re o v e r,
suffice
to make my m eaning c l e a r .
Is a ia h ,
who f i g u r e s
part m
Sebeos.
C hosro es
t e c t io n o f
Seco n dly ,
s t o n e ."^
I n the f i r s t p l a c e the r o le o f the p r o p h e t
h a s no c o u n t e r ­
the l i s t o f B y z a n t in e c i t i e s w h ich have
a p a rtia l parallel
th e ir trib a l
o ut, because
A few exam ples s h o u ld
so p ro m ine ntly in the b i b l i c a l n a r r a t i v e ,
forms o n ly
A s s y r ia n k i n g .
reco rding .
the p r o c e ss a ls o works the o t h e r w a y .
fallen
to
to the l i s t o f p e o p le s un d er the p r o ­
gods who have succumbed to the o n s la u g h t o f the
T h at h a s h a p p e n e d ,
as H e z e k ia h h i m s e l f i s n ot s lo w to p o in t
" t h e s e w ere n ot gods b u t the work o f m e n 's h a n d s , wood and
S till
the a c c o u n t o f
less
is
the c u rio u s c la im made on b e h a l f o f S e n n a c h e r ib in
the embassy le a d i n g up to the l e t t e r to H e z e k i a h ,
namely t h a t
the i n v a s i o n has b e e n u n d erta k en a t the s u g g e s t io n o f Yah w eh , even rem otely
ec h o ed o r t a k e n u p . ^
On the o t h e r h a n d , C h o s r o e s '
p r iv ile g e d existen c e
in e x c h an g e
fo r s u b m is s io n h a s no p a r a l l e l
rem inisce nt o f ,
p receding
to
is
su b sta n tia lly
the l e t t e r ,
letter ends,
in S e n n a c h e r i b 's
d i f f e r e n t from the c a l l ,
le t te r and, w h ils t
made i n the embassy
fo r the r e s i g n a t io n and s u b m is s io n o f an e n t i r e n a t io n
the p r o s p e c t o f im m inent d e p o r t a t i o n .
happ en to H e r a c l i u s
o f f e r to H e r a c l iu s o f a
un d er the p r o t e c t io n and p at r o n a g e o f the K in g o f K in g s
in
A g a in ,
the t h r e a t o f w hat w i l l
the c a s e o f non - co m plian ce, w ith w h ich C h osro es '
has no p a r a l l e l
in e i t h e r S e n n a c h e r i b 's
le tte r or in it s
surround­
in g c o n t e x t .
L i k e w i s e , H e z e k ia h reads a lo n e the l e t t e r w h ich he r e c e i v e s and
h is m in is t e r s
a r e c o n c ern ed t h a t the s i m i l a r c o nten ts o f the e a r l i e r embassy
s h o u ld n o t b e p r o c la im e d i n p u b l i c ;
H e r a c l iu s has h i s
a d is t in g u is h e d
Chosroes'
o pens h a ve
a u d ie n c e .
F in a lly ,
l e t t e r r e a d alo u d to
t i t l e s w it h w h ic h the l e t t e r
an a u t h e n t i c contem porary r in g about them and c o rresp o n d to n o t h ­
in g i n S e n n a c h e r i b 's
letter.
Exam ples c o u ld be m u l t i p l i e d , b u t i t s h o u ld by
now be a p p a r e n t t h a t we a r e d e a l i n g h e re w it h a s o p h i s t i c a t e d l i t e r a r y
tech­
n iq u e,
to
w h ic h by a d r a s t i c a l l y
sele c t iv e
use o f p a r a l l e l m a t e r ia l seek s
tra n sfo rm the r e c i t a l o f g re a t and s t i r r i n g e v en ts o f r e c e n t and contem porary
h i s t o r y in to a d ra m a tic re- enactm ent o f e q u a lly g r e a t and s t i r r i n g e v e n ts o f
p ast h isto ry ,
it
w it h o u t s e r i o u s l y im p in g in g on the contem porary r e a l i t y which
a lso s e t s o u t to d e s c r i b e .
tio n .
Indeed,
t h is i s
a ve ry f a r cry from mere f a b r i c a ­
the o nly t h in g t h at has a l l
A ll
the app ea ran c e o f h a v in g been i n ­
ve n ted by the a u t h o r in o r d e r to reproduce an e p is o d e from the B i b l e i s
sc en e in
the church where C h o s r o e s '
l e t t e r is
sp r e a d out i n
the
f r o n t o f the
altar .
B r o o k s 's
second o b j e c t i o n ,
t h at " i n
c hap ter
36 Sebeos r e l a t e s
sto ry o f the C alip h*U thm an and the grandson o f H e r a c l i u s , "
c a t io n
t h at one sto ry is
a d o u b le t o f the o t h e r w it h o u t ,
a s im i l a r
carries
h o w ev er,
the i m p l i ­
s p e c ify in g
in w h ic h d i r e c t i o n
the d ependency is thought to l i e .
to
f i r s t o b j e c t i o n t h at the r e d u p l i c a t i o n in q u e s t io n i s one
fo llo w from h is
n ot o f
real but o f f ic t it io u s
im p l ic a t i o n
e v e n t s , w hich l a s t p o i n t c a r r i e s
How much su b s ta n ce th er e i s
can b e s t be seen from a q u ic k g lan c e in
passage.
the f u r t h e r
t h at o ur a u th o r has somehow managed to combine fo n d n es s
in v e n t io n w it h p o verty o f im a g i n a t i o n .
t h is
I t w o u ld a l s o appear
I t runs
as
"If
fo r
in any o f
t r a n s l a t i o n at the r e l e v a n t
fo l l o w s :
you w i s h , " he s a i d ,
"t o
l i v e o ut yo ur l i f e
in p e a c e ,
a ba n ­
don t h a t v a in r e l i g i o n o f y o u r s , w h ic h y o u have b e e n t a u g h t from
c h ild h o o d .
I w o r s h ip ,
Renounce t h at Jesu s and r e t u r n to the g r e a t G od, whom
the God o f o ur f a t h e r Abraham .
the m u lt it u d e o f y o u r f o r c e s ,
And sen d away from yo u
each one to h i s own p l a c e .
A nd I
s h a l l make y ou a g r e a t r u l e r i n yo ur own t e r r i t o r y and I s h a l l
se n d o u t a s s e s s o r s
a nd g iv e o r d e r s
and one fo r y o u .
w is h
and to take
yo u do n o t
to your c i t y ,
and I s h a l l seek o u t a l l
to d i v i d e them up in t o
fo u r p a r t s :
from yo u as much t r i b u t e as yo u can g i v e .
t h at J e s u s , whom you c a l l C h r i s t ,
he was n o t a b le to sa ve h im s e l f from the J e w s ,
g
from my h a n d s ? "
In s t r i k i n g
in
the t e x t .
t h at
t h is
document is
fo rm ula and makes a n ,a b r u p t and u n h e r a ld e d app earan ce
About a page l a t e r ,
ho w ev er,
and in
is
t h is
r e s p e c t too the con­
a l e t t e r , by whom i t was
fo r whom i t was in t e n d e d , and how i t was d e l i v e r e d .
le tte r,
And i f
seeing
how can he sa ve you
c o n t r a s t to C h o s r o e s ’ l e t t e r to H e r a c l i u s ,
t r a s t is no le s s m arked, we a re t o l d that i t
sent,
t o r me
And I am g o in g to g iv e yo u as many tro o p s as you
(c o m p ly ),
d e v o id o f in t r o d u c t o r y
th r ee
treasures
b r i e f and in c o n s e q u e n t ia l
though i t
is,
is
9
Y e t the a c t u a l
an e lo q u e n t testim on y not
o nly
to the h i s t o r i a n 's
d e lib e r a te
s ta n c e s
efforts,
fa ls ific a tio n ,
in to
am ounting in two cases to what looks l i k e
to transform both i t s
co ntents
and a tt e n d a n t circ um ­
a re- enactm ent o f those o f the e a r l i e r l e t t e r ,
how p r o fo u n d ly
b u t a ls o to ju s t
a l t e r e d was the h i s t o r i c a l r e a l i t y tow ards w h ic h h is
litera ry
e n d e av o u r was by to rc e ot c h r o n o lo g ic a l seq uence in e s c a p a b l y d i r e c t e d .
F irst,
the in s t a n c e s o f f a l s i f i c a t i o n .
p e r o r to c o n v e rt to I s l a m ,
in- law o f
the p r o p h e t ,
m ention o f
p erhap s
"liv in g
to a C h r i s t i a n Em­
from the t h i r d C a l ip h and son-
w ould app ear to b e lo n g to the realm o f f a n t a s y .
The
in p e a c e ," ho w ev er, w it h w h ich the l e t t e r opens might
s u g g e s t an o f f e r o f ç u l h ,
i .e .,
a p eace t r e a t y r e s u l t i n g from c a p i t ­
u l a t i o n , w h ic h might c o n s t it u t e an o r i g i n a l
A lso
The a d v ic e
coming as i t does
the r e fe r e n c e
core o f g e n u in e h i s t o r i c a l
to the c r u c i f i x i o n , w it h which the l e t t e r e n d s ,
fact.
a p a rt
from b e i n g a much a b b r e v i a t e d v e r s io n o f the c o n c lu d in g words o f C hosro es*
letter,
is
a t v a r ia n c e w it h the K o r a n , Su ra I V ,
not s l a y h im ,
ve rse 1 5 7 :
" Y e t they d id
n e i t h e r c r u c i f i e d him , o n ly a lik e n e s s o f t h a t was shown to
them."'*'0
The f i r s t
r e lig io u s
c o n f r o n t a t i o n w h ic h i n the a l t e r e d h i s t o r i c a l
fa bric a tio n
o t h e r w is e l a c k a r t i s t i c
makes i t p o s s i b l e
i s d e s ig n e d to c r e a t e an im p r e s s io n o f
v e risim ilitu d e,
to p o r t r a y the new o p p r e s s o r in
o l d one and to f i t him in t o an i d e a l
circ um sta nc es w o uld
and the seco nd p ie c e o f in v e n t io n
an i d e n t i c a l
l i g h t to the
framework o f blasphem ous c h a l l e n g e to
d i v i n e a u t h o r i t y a nd p r o t e c t io n m eetin g w it h s w i f t r e t r i b u t i o n and c o ndign
p u n is h m e n t .
in t e r e s t in g
On the s i d e o f aw areness to h i s t o r i c a l
to note
t h a t the r e fe r e n c e to
r e a l i t y , ho w ev er,
it
is
"t h e God o f o u r f a t h e r Abraham "
shows a n i c e a p p r e c i a t i o n o f one o f the b a s i c t e n e ts o f I s l a m .
I t seems a p p r o p r ia t e a t t h is p o in t to re t u r n to o ur o r i g i n a l l e t t e r in
o r d e r to a n a ly z e i t s
c o n ten ts i n some d e t a i l
a g a in s t the back gro u nd o f
B y z a n t in e - Ir a n i a n r e l a t i o n s over a p e r i o d o f more than t h i r t y y e a rs and o f the
career
II.
throu gho u t a s i m i l a r le n g t h o f time o f the S a s a n ia n m onarch, Chosroes
F irs t o f a l l ,
o rig in al
t h is l e t t e r
ly in g S e b e o s'
lit e r a r y
l e t me s t a t e c l e a r l y my own p o s i t i o n
is .
v e r s io n ,
I have no d oubt w h a tso ev er t h a t i n some way un d er ­
i n w hic h due a llo w a n c e m ust be made f o r the s o r t o f
a d a p t a t io n a lr e a d y e x e m p l i f i e d and d is c u s s e d ,
docum ent w r it t e n i n P e r s i a n ,
the Royal P e r s i a n C h a n c e r y ,
o r n o t there was i n
in r e g a r d to j u s t how
th er e was an o r i g i n a l
d r a f t e d i n acco rdan ce w it h the p r i n c i p l e s o f
a nd su b se q u e n t ly
t r a n s l a t e d in t o G r e e k .
W hether
the c o urse o f t r a n s m is s io n a fu r t h e r s ta g e o r s ta g es o f
l i t e r a r y m e d ia tio n on the p a r t o f some l o s t Greek h i s t o r y o r h i s t o r i e s
fu tile ,
in
the p r e s e n t s t a t e o f o ur k n o w le d g e ,
im p o r t a n t , h o w e v e r,
Greek e v id e n c e
is
to s p e c u l a t e .
it
What is
that we have a p i e c e o f in d e p e n d e n t contem porary
fo r the e x is t e n c e o f j u s t such an o r i g i n a l docum ent.
The
is
P a s c h a l C h r o n ic le r ec o rds a l e t t e r ‘d
from the Emperor H e r a c l i u s , w h ic h was
rea d from the p u l p i t o f S t S o p h ia on May 1 5 t h ,
628.
I n t h a t l e t t e r , w h ic h
o pens w it h an e x u l t a n t p a s t ic h e o f b i b l i c a l q u o ta t io n s s e l e c t e d to c e l e b r a t e
the overthro w and d eath o f C h o s r o e s , we are
t o ld how ,
" a f t e r C hosroes
abom inated by God had s p e n t fo u r days in c h a in s and in
th at same u n g r a t e f u l ,
G od,
a r r o g a n t a nd blasphem ous w r e t c h , who made w ar a g a in s t
e x e c u t e d by a most c r u e l
form o f d e a t h ,
i n o r d e r t h at he m ight l e a r n
t h at Jesu s the son o f Mary who as he had w r i t t e n ,
a nd a g a in s t whom he had b la sp h e m e d ,
Now to the a n a l y s i s
fo r us,
was c r u c i f i e d by the J e w s ,
is A lm ighty God and h as
acco rdance w it h what we s a i d i n answ er to h i s
h as rec o rd e d i t
torm ent, S h e r o e h ad
l e t t e r ."
o f the l e t t e r i t s e l f .
I n the form i n w h ic h Sebeos
i t o pens w it h a c o m bina tion o f h ig h - s o u n d in g t i t l e s
a tt a c h e d to
the name o f the se n d e r and a b u s iv e e p it h e t s
addressee:
"C h o s r o e s ,
the tone
is
I s e n t to s a n c t io n the fift y - y e a r p e a c e t r e a t y o f 5 6 2 .
towards the a d d r e s s e e is
t h r e a t e n in g and i n s u l t i n g ,
know ot s t a n d a r d S a s a n ia n p r a c t i c e . ^
courteous and c o n c i l i a t o r y ,
monarch to monarch b u t as
means i s n o t h in g le s s
as su c c e s s o r
w hereas
b u t t h at marks no b re a k w ith what we
I t m erely r e f l e c t s
ence o f both c irc u m sta n c es and o c c a s i o n .
K in g s ,
the
and w o r t h le s s s l a v e
the Greek t r a n s l a t i o n , p r e s e r v e d by M enander p r o t e c t o r , o f the
l e t t e r w hic h C hosro es
h ere i t
to our w i t l e s s
An e q u a lly g r a n d io s e and even more p r o l i x o p e n in g seq ue nc e is
to be found in
There
d i r e c t e d a g a in s t the
esteem ed by the gods and l o r d and k i n g o f a l l
ea r th and d e s c e n d a n t o f the g r e a t Aram azd,
H e r a c l i u s ."
r e q u i t e d him in
12
a p r o fo u n d d i f f e r ­
The l e t t e r does n ot rea d as from
from monarch to r e b e l l io u s
sub ject.
What t h is
than the o f f i c i a l p ro c la m at io n by the S a s a n ia n K in g o f
to the A c h a e m e n ia n s , o f h is h i s t o r i c
o v e r the b u lk o f the then B y z a n t in e Em pire a nd s t a t e .
r i g h t to s o v e r e ig n t y
The f a c t t h a t such a
c laim had n o t been s e r i o u s l y p u r s u e d fo r w e ll o v e r three h u nd red y e a r s i s
an
in dic atio n of
j u s t how abnorm al r e l a t i o n s betw een the two g r e a t em pires o f
14
B y za ntium and S a s a n ia n Ir a n h a d become
by the time o f H e r a c l i u s ' s ec o nd
cam p aig n, b e fo r e w h ic h d ate
t h is
and r e c e i v e d .
In c id e n ta lly
and w it h o u t e n t e r in g h ere in t o d is p u t e d p o in t s
o f c h r o n o lo g y ,
i t seems a r e a s o n a b le guess
ponse
he
to H e r a c l i u s '
l e t t e r must have been w r i t t e n ,
ultim atum to C h o sro e s,
d isp a tch e d ,
t h a t the l e t t e r was s e n t in r e s ­
in w h ic h ,
a c c o r d in g to Theopftanes, ^
t h r e a t e n e d the l a t t e r w it h an in v a s io n o f P e r s i a u n le s s he a g r e e d prom ptly
to come to terms and make p e a c e .
O f g r e a t i n t e r e s t a ls o i s
letter,
the s o - c a lle d "b la s p h e m o u s " p a r t ot t h is
16
A ng elo P e r n ic e
regarded
and i t has b e e n fr e q u e n t l y m is u n d er sto o d .
i t as fu r t h e r p r o o f o f the l e t t e r 's
trifle
n aively ,
that no C h r i s t i a n
a u t h e n t ic it y bec au se he
co u ld have
felt,
fo r g e d such s t u f f .
I t h in k a
As a m atter
ot
fact,
fla tio n
i t rea ds
o f A cts
Mark 1 5 : 3 1 :
in i t s p r e s e n t form very much l ik e an a d a p t a t io n and c o n ­
1 0 :3 9 :
"T h ey k i l l e d him by h a n g in g him on a t r e e " and
"H e s a v e d o t h e r s .
He can n ot save h i m s e l f . "
d e c id e w h eth er the c rud e im p uta tio n o f J e w is h d e ic id e
C h r i s t i a n m a lic e o r Z o r o a s t r ia n i g n o r a n c e .
the o r i g i n a l was p h r a s e d ,
a d a p t a t io n o f
on the C h r i s t i a n
w it h
a n o t io n
the w o r d s :
"r e s
it
C hosroes*
T h is b r i n g s
how i s
n ot as an a tt a c k
Romana d e i e s t ,
17
terren is
in h i s p a n e g y r ic o f J u s t i n
non e g e t a r m is " —
"T h e
i t needs no e a r t h l y w e a p o n s ."
l e t t e r to H e r a c l iu s was s e n t in answer to an ultim atum
left
us to w h a t ,
tio n o f a l l :
that i s ,
a t t e s t e d more than f i f t y y e a r s
C re sco n iu s C o rip p u s
dem anding a c e s s a t io n o f h o s t i l i t i e s ,
i n w hic h no room is
i t s m o tiv a tio n was p r o b a b ly p o l i t i c a l
fir s t ex p lic itly
Roman s t a t e b e lo n g s to Go d,
But,
B ut how ever
as such b u t on the n otio n o f C o n s ta n tin o p le as the
e a r l i e r by the p o e t F l a v iu s
II
i s h a r d to
I t c o uld be e i t h e r .
I t was in t e n d e d p r i n c i p a l l y ,
r e lig io n
God-guarded c i t y ,
It
a product o f
and i t m ight c o n c e iv a b ly have c o n t a i n e d a m ocking
the C h r i s t i a n S c r i p t u r e s ,
r a t h e r than r e l i g i o u s .
is
it
it
reads l i k e a m a n ife s to o f t o t a l war
tor the c o n t in u e d e x is t e n c e o f the B y za n t in e s t a t e .
h is t o r ic a lly speaking ,
is
the most i n t e r e s t i n g q u e s ­
t h a t two m ighty em pires w hich
f o r o v e r th ree c e n t u r ie s
had e s t a b l i s h e d and m a in t a in e d a modus v i v e n d i o f p e a c e f u l i f
u n f r ie n d l y
c o - existen c e p u n c tu a t e d by s p o r a d ic b u t l im i t e d w a r f a r e , were s u d d e n ly in
the
c o urse o f the f i r s t h a l f o f the s ev en th c e n tu ry p lu n g e d in t o a life- andd eath s t r u g g l e l a s t i n g n e a r ly two d e c a d e s ,
w hich was to r e s u l t in the t r a n s ­
fo rm atio n and p erm anent w e a k en in g o f the o ne and the t o t a l c o l l a p s e o f the
o ther?
To the e x t e n t to w h ic h p o l i c i e s
activ itie s
a r e the d i r e c t r e s u l t o f the
o f those who are in c o ntin uo u s c o n t r o l o f the m achinery o f g o v er n ­
ment and p o w e r,
the c h i e f policy- m aker t h rou gh o u t t h is
was u n d o u b ted ly C hosro es I I .
H is p u b l ic
c a t a s t r o p h ic p e r io d
u t te ra n c e s on the s u b j e c t o f
B y z a n t in e - Ir a n i a n r e l a t i o n s h a d once b een very d i f f e r e n t a nd ,
s e q u e n t d e c i s i o n s w ere to have such t a t e f u l co nseq uences
i t m ight prov e i n s t r u c t i v e
s in c e h i s
sub­
f o r b oth e m p ir e s ,
to t ra c e b r i e f l y how h i s own v ie w p o in t seems to
have s h i f t e d in r e s p o n s e to i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l circ um sta nc es and to h is
own h i s t o r i c
r o le and p e r s o n a l a m b it io n .
I n the y e a r 5 90 H o rm izd I V ,
and h i s
life ,
after h is
a ttem pted to h u m il ia t e
a g a i n s t B y za n t iu m ,
Vahram ,
ro se
g ene ral,
the fa t h e r o f C hosroes I I ,
the h e a d o f h i s
throne
Vahram C h o b in , whom ne h a d d is m is s e d and
f o r the u n s u c c e s s fu l conduct o f m il i t a r y o p e r a t io n s
up in
r e b e l l io n a g a i n s t h im .
W h en ,
r e f u s i n g to r e c o g n iz e the a u t h o r it y o f C hosroes I I ,
time h a d s u c c e e d e d h i s
l o s t h is
f a t h e r , H o rm izd ,
in the same y e a r ,
who in the mean­
to the throne o f P e r s i a ,
m arched at
troops on C t e s ip h o n and w it h h i s own hands assumed the diadem
o f the K in g o f K i n g s ,
seek re fu g e
in g
C hosro es was
a t the c o u r t o f
to note here
fo rc ed to f l e e a cro ss
the f r o n t i e r a nd to
the B y z a n t in e Em peror,
M a u r ic e .
I t i s in te r e s t18
t h a t the h i s t o r i a n T heo p h yla c t S i m o c a t t a ,
puts in t o the
mouths o f the envoys s e n t by C hosro es to M aurice some rem arkable r e f l e c t i o n s
c o n c e r n in g the i m p o s s i b i l i t y o f u n i t i n g
r u le o f a s i n g l e s o v e r e ig n
the two em pires
under the e f f e c t i v e
and t h a t A le x a n d e r the G rea t is
r o un dly c a s t ig a t e d
f o r h a v in g attem pted to do j u s t t h a t .
By an a c t o f c a l c u l a t e d g e n e r o s i t y ,
M aurice n o t o nly o f f e r e d sa n c tu a ry
to the f u g i t i v e Emperor b u t a ls o p r o v id e d him w it h m il i t a r y
e n a b l e d him to w in back h i s
fact,
throne.
a s s is t a n c e w h ich
The q u id pro quo fo r t h is h e l p w a s ,
a p r i o r u n d e r t a k in g by C hosro es
to abandon a l l
in
claim s on Arm enia and
to cede to B y za ntium the f o r t r e s s e s o f Dara and M a r t y r o p o l is , b o th o f them
under P e r s i a n m i l i t a r y o c c u p a t io n a t the t im e .
Thus was an u n t r ie d monarch
r e s t o r e d to a weak throne by a t r a d i t i o n a l l y h o s t i l e
tw elve y ea rs
life
f o r e ig n p o w e r .
i a t e r C hosro es was a f f o r d e d fo r the f i r s t and l a s t
But
time in h is
the o p p o r tu n ity o f c o m bining s e l f - in t e r e s t w it h v ir tu o u s c o n d u c t :
f r i e n d and b e n e f a c t o r ,
M a u r ic e , was p u t to death by the u s u r p e r P h o c a s,
ly p r e t e x t enough f o r an in v a s i o n o f B y za n t in e t e r r i t o r y .
H e ra c liu s ,
the son ot
h is
the E xa rc h o f A f r i c a ,
t y r a n t and a s ce n d ed h i s
t h r o n e ,"
The embassy s e n t by H e r a c l iu s
19
in G ib b o n 's words
C hosroes*
in 610
clear­
When in 6 1 0 ,
"p u n is h e d
a
p o s i t i o n became more c o m p l ic a t e d .
to the P e r s i a n
co urt to announce h i s
a c c e s s io n and to sue fo r p eac e was p e r f u n c t o r il y d is m is s e d and i t s members
were p u t to d e a t h ;
Senate,
p o s s i b l y in
and the em bassy s e n t f iv e y e a r s l a t e r by the B y z a n t in e
the hope ot
o f the S a s a n ia n m onarch,
l e g i t i m i z i n g H e r a c l i u s 1 p o s i t i o n in the eyes
f a r e d even w o r s e .
A few more y e a rs o f ev e r more
d a z z l i n g v i c t o r i e s p ro v e d s u f f i c i e n t to c o n v ert C hosroes*
t io n a l n i c e t i e s
o r o f M au rice
from r e f u s a l
to r e f u s a l
v ie w s o f c o n s t i t u ­
to re c o g n iz e H e r a c l iu s as the l e g it im a t e s u c c e s s ­
to r e c o g n iz e the B y za n t in e s t a t e 's
c o n t in u e d r i g h t
to e x i s t .
H a v in g s t a r t e d w it h a p u z z l e ,
w ith a p a r a d o x .
i t m ig ht not be in a p p r o p r i a t e
The g r e a t A rm enian s c h o l a r , A b g a r ia n ,
d is c r e p a n c y b etw een the t i t l e
have is
drew a t t e n t io n to the
"H i s t o r y o f H e r a c l i u s " a nd the f a c t t h a t ,
the work t h at has come down to us under t h a t t i t l e ,
o nly ten o u t o f f i f t y
chapters.
He d e c id e d ,
"a g e n e r a l h is t o r y o f A r m e n i a ."
20
H e r a c l iu s
th erefo re,
But,
f ig u r e s
o f a g e n e r a l h is t o r y o f A rm enia?
t h a t fo r the f i r s t
in
in
t h at w hat we a c t u a l l y
to p u t i t
the o t h e r way
r o un d, why s h o u ld a B y z a n t in e Emperor fig u r e in ten o ut o f f i f t y
o f H e r a c l iu s
to co nc lu de
c h ap ters
Perhaps Decause i t was d u r in g the r e ig n
time in i t s e x is t e n c e
the h i t h e r t o
in v in c ib le
em pire f a c e d a nd s u r v iv e d under the l e a d e r s h ip o f an Emperor o f Arm enian
ex tra ction
21
what had b e e n
the age- old ex p e rie n c e o f the Arm enian p e o p le —
the problem o f how to l i v e
U n iv e r s it y C o l l e g e ,
under the c o n st a n t t h r e a t o f a n n i h i l a t i o n .
Cork
NOTES
*
The p r e s e n t a r t i c l e
is
E le v e n t h A n n u a l B y z a n t in e S t u d ie s
I n s t i t u t e o f M ed iaev a l S t u d i e s ,
^ S.
l in e
a m o d i f ie d v e r s io n o f a p ap er r e a d a t the
C o n fe r e n c e , h e l d a t the P o n t i f i c a l
T o r o n t o , O c to be r 2 5 - 2 7 ,
M a l x a s i a n , S e b e o s i E p is k o p o s i Patmut iwn
22 - p .
92,
lin e
2
EHR 21
(1 9 0 6 )
3
I b i d .,
142.
1985.
(E rev an 1 9 3 9 )
^ H i s t o i r e D 'ft è r a c lï u s p a r l 'é v è q u e Sébéos t r a d u it e de
^ C f.
Otto E is s f e l d t ,
Ackroyd
6
(O x fo r d 1 9 6 5 )
2 K in g s 1 9 : 1 8 ;
^ 2 K in g s
0
1 8 :2 5 ;
A rm enian t e x t ,
^ I b i d .,
148,
A rt h u r J .
A r a b ic
11
(P a r i s
The O ld
3 7 :1 9 .
Isaia h
3 6 :1 0 .
lin e s
A rberry,
80,
n.
PG 9 2 .
1 1 arm énien e t
3.
Testam en t: An I n t r o d u c t i o n ,
t r a n s . Peter
328.
Is a ia h
ed.
1905)
M a lx a s ia n
(a t n .
1)
147,
lin es
11- 24.
12- 1 3 .
The /Coran In t e r p r e t e d
(O x fo r d 1 9 64)
t e x t w it h a n ew t r a n s l a t i o n by Muhammad Z a f r u l l a Khan
D u b l in 1 9 7 1 )
91,
141- 43.
annotée p a r F r e d e r ic M ac ler
R.
p.
19.
95;
The Q u r a n :
(London and
96.
1017B - 25 B .
12 I b i d . , 1020B- C.
^
C t.
A rt h u r C h i s t e n s e n , L 'I r a n
so us l e s S a s s a n id e s
(Copenhagen 1 9 4 4 )
Chosroes1 retusal
4-5)
(c f.
to r e c o g n iz e H e r a c l iu s
s is t e n c e
that
"T h e o d o s io s
Sebeos,
ed.
M a lx a s ia n
[at n .
1] p .
80,
lin e s
as the le g it im a t e s u c c e s s o r o f M aurice and i n ­
"t h e kingdom is
m in e" and t h a t he has p l a c e d on the throne
the son o f M a u r i c e ," su g g e s t that a lr e a d y in 6 1 0 he was to y in g
w it h
the id e a o f tu r n in g B y za ntium in to a semi-autonomous d ep e n d e n c y .
t h is
i n t e r p r e t a t io n
is c o r r e c t ,
the a tt ain m en t o f such an o b j e c t i v e ,
e n v is a g e d h e r e , w o uld mark a s o r t ot half-way house
r e a l i z a t i o n o f S a s a n ia n
i r r e d e n t i s t a m b it io n s .
in s t a n c e o f c o n s is t e n c y
as betw een
to H e r a c l iu s
to the
If
as
f u l l and f i n a l
I f s o , we a l s o have here an
the c o n t e n ts o f C h o s r o e s '
la ter letter
and S e b e o s ' o v e r a l l h i s t o r i c a l n a r r a t i v e .
Thçophanis C h r o n o g r a p h ia , e d . C .
De B o o r
(L e i p z i g 1 8 8 3 )
306,
l in e s
23-
24.
A.
1905)
P em ice,
i n t r o .,
p.
L 'I m p e r a t o r e E r a c l i o : S a g g io a i
17 F l a v iu s C re s c o n iu s C o r i p p u s :
Lib er I I I ,
l in e
sto ria b iza n t in a
(F lo r en c e
ix .
333.
I n la ud em l u s t i n i A u g u s ti m i n o r i s ,
E d . w it h t r a n s . and commentary by A v e r i l Cameron
(London 19 7 6 ) .
1Ω
T hen phy la cti S im o ca tta e H i s t o r i a e , e d .
C,
De Boor
(S t u t t g a r t 1 9 7 2 )
174- 75.
19
Edward G ib b o n ,
(London 1 8 9 8 )
20
G.
N .S .
o f the Roman E m p ir e ,
ed.
1
"Remarques s u r l 'h i s t o i r e
Bury
(1 9 6 4 )
✓
✓
de S é b é o s ," Revue d e s E tu d e s
215.
C o n v in c in g ly dem o nstrated from a contem porary Greek source
Sim o catta)
J .B .
174.
A b g a r ia n ,
a r m é n ie n n e s ,
21
V,
The D e c l in e and F a ll
by P e m i c e
(a t n .
16)
25.
(T h eo p h y la c t