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Azarmidokht
Queen of Queens of Iran
Drachmaof Azarmidokht with the bust of her fatherKhosrow IIto the left
Queen of the Sasanian Empire
Reign630–631
PredecessorShapur-i Shahrvaraz
SuccessorBoran
Died631
Ctesiphon
HouseHouse of Sasan
FatherKhosrow II
ReligionZoroastrianism

Azarmidokht(Middle Persian:Āzarmīgdukht;New Persian:آزرمیدخت,Āzarmīdokht) wasSasanianqueen (banbishn) ofIranfrom 630 to 631. She was the daughter of king (shah)Khosrow II(r. 590–628). She was the second Sasanian queen; her sisterBoranruled before and after her. Azarmidokht came to power in Iran after her cousinShapur-i Shahrvarazwas deposed by theParsigfaction, led byPiruz Khosrow,who helped Azarmidokht ascend the throne. Her rule was marked by an attempt of a nobleman and commanderFarrukh Hormizdto marry her and come to power. After the queen's refusal, he declared himself an anti-king. Azarmidokht had him killed as a result of a successful plot. She was, however, killed herself shortly afterwards byRostam Farrokhzadin retaliation for his father's death. She was succeeded by Boran.

Name

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"Azarmidokht" is theNew Persianvariant of her name used by scholars; her original name wasMiddle Persian,Āzarmīgdukht,meaning "daughter of the respected one", referring to her fatherKhosrow II(r. 590–628).[1]

Background and early life

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Gold dinarofKhosrow II

Azarmidokht was the daughter of the last prominentSasanianshah of Iran, Khosrow II, who was overthrown and executed on 28 February 628 by his own sonKavad II,who proceeded to have all his brothers and half-brothers executed, including the heirMardanshah.[2][3]This dealt a heavy blow to the empire, which it would never recover from. Azarmidokht and her sisterBoranreportedly criticized and scolded Kavad II for his barbaric actions, which caused him to become remorseful.[4]

The fall of Khosrow II culminated in acivil war lasting four years,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 split up the wealth of the nation.[5]A few months later, adevastating plagueswept through the western Sasanian provinces, killing half of its population including Kavad II.[5]He was succeeded by his about eight-year-old sonArdashir III,who was killed two years later by the distinguished Iranian generalShahrbaraz,who was in turn murdered forty-three days later in a coup by leader of thePahlav,Farrukh Hormizd,who helped Boran ascend the throne.[6]She was, however, the following year deposed and replaced with her cousinShapur-i Shahrvaraz(who was also Shahrbaraz's son).[7]His rule proved even more brief than that of his predecessor−being deposed after less than a year by theParsigfaction led byPiruz Khosrow,who helped Azarmidokht ascend the throne.[7]

Reign

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DrachmaofFarrukh Hormizd

When Azarmidokht was made queen of Iran, she stated that the management of the country would be the same of her father, Khosrow II.[8]Farrukh Hormizd, in order to strengthen his authority and create amodus vivendibetween thePahlavandParsig,asked Azarmidokht (who was aParsignominee) to marry him.[9]Azarmidokht, however, declined.[10]After having his proposal declined, Farrukh Hormizd "no longer shied away from the throne itself", declaring "Today I am the leader of the people and the pillar of the country of Iran."[10]He started minting coins in the same fashion as a monarch, notably inIstakhrinParsandNahavandinMedia.[10]In order to deal with Farrukh Hormizd, Azarmidokht supposedly allied herself withMihraniddynastSiyavakhsh,who was the grandson ofBahram Chobin,the famous military commander (spahbed) and briefly shah of Iran.[11]With Siyavakhsh's aid, Azarmidokht had Farrukh Hormizd killed.[12]

Farrukh Hormizd's sonRostam Farrokhzad,who was at that time stationed in the northeastern region ofKhorasan,succeeded him as the leader of thePahlav.In order to avenge his father, he led troops toCtesiphon,the capital of the Sasanian Empire, "defeating every army of Azarmidokht that he met".[13]He then defeated Siyavakhsh's forces at Ctesiphon and captured the city.[13]Azarmidokht was shortly afterwards blinded and killed by Rostam, who restored Boran to the throne.[13][1]After this incident the center of power for the empire possibly drifted to the northeast, which was the homeland of thePahlav,and was the area where Yazdegerd III, the last Sasanianking of kings,ultimately fled to seek aid against theArab invasion of Iran.[14]

Coin mints and imperial ideology

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Drachma of Azarmidokht showing her own face to the left

During her brief reign, Azarmidokht hadcoinsminted with the image of her father on the obverse, with the inscriptionkhwarrah abzūd( "Increase inGlory") and the wingedcrownrepresentingVerethragna,the name of the god of victory.[15]On the reverse there is the regular late Sasanian fire-altar with two custodians.[15]Her reason for putting her father was not so due to her gender, as it was not so significant compared to the rulers relation to the royal Sasanian family, and most essentially to Khosrow II, who was considered the last proper and legitimate king of kings of Iran.[15]Azarmidokht's reason for minting coins with the image of her father was thus to restore his image and that of the Sasanian house, an attempt which was first made by Azarmidokht's sister, Boran, who did not however use an image of their father, but instead resorted to pay tribute to him by referring to him in her inscriptions.[16]However, at the time when Azarmidokht ascended the throne, an inscription may have not been enough, thus resulting in the placement of Khosrow II's image on the obverse of the coins.[8]

Personality, appearance and accomplishments

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Islamic sources describe Azarmidokht as an intelligent and very captivating woman. According to the 10th-century historianHamza al-Isfahani,the now lost book ofKitāb ṣuwar molūk Banī Sāsān( "The Sasanian picture book" ) portrayed her as "seated, wearing a red embroidered gown and sky-blue studded trousers, grasping a battle-axe in her right hand and leaning on a sword held in her left hand." The construction of a castle atAsadabadis attributed to her. Her title was "the Just."[1]

References

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  1. ^abcGignoux 1987,p. 190.
  2. ^Kia 2016,p. 284.
  3. ^Howard-Johnston 2010.
  4. ^Al-Tabari 1985–2007,v. 5: p. 399.
  5. ^abShahbazi 2005.
  6. ^Pourshariati 2008,p. 185.
  7. ^abPourshariati 2008,p. 204.
  8. ^abDaryaee 2014,p. 80.
  9. ^Pourshariati 2008,pp. 205–206.
  10. ^abcPourshariati 2008,p. 205.
  11. ^Pourshariati 2008,pp. 206, 210.
  12. ^Pourshariati 2008,pp. 206.
  13. ^abcPourshariati 2008,p. 210.
  14. ^Daryaee 2014,pp. 78–80.
  15. ^abcDaryaee 2014,p. 79.
  16. ^Daryaee 2014,pp. 79–80.

Sources

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  • Al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir(1985–2007). Ehsan Yar-Shater (ed.).The History of Al-Ṭabarī.Vol. 40 vols. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
  • Daryaee, Touraj (2014)."The Last Ruling Woman of Iranshahr: Queen Azarmigduxt".International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeology.1(1).
  • Gignoux, Ph. (1987)."Āzarmīgduxt".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 2.p. 190.
  • Howard-Johnston, James (2010)."Ḵosrow II".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition.
  • Kia, Mehrdad (2016).The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia.ABC-CLIO.ISBN978-1610693912.
  • Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2008).Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran.London and New York: I.B. Tauris.ISBN978-1-84511-645-3.
  • Shahbazi, A. Shapur (2005)."Sasanian dynasty".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition.

Further reading

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Azarmidokht
Died:631
Preceded by Queen of Queens of Iran
630–631 		Succeeded by
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