Sukhra

Sukhra

Sukhra in the Shahnameh.
Born 450s (?)
Shiraz, Ardashir-Khwarrah, Pars
Died 493
Ctesiphon, Asoristan
Allegiance Sasanian Empire
Battles/wars Hephthalite–Persian Wars

Sukhra (also spelled Sufaray, Sufray, Surkhab, Sarafra'i) was an Iranian nobleman from the House of Karen, who was the de facto ruler of the Sasanian Empire from 484 to 493. He was active during the reign of shah Peroz I (r. 457-484), Balash (r. 484 – 488) and Kavadh I (r. 488-496). He is often confused with his father Zarmihr Hazarwuxt and son Zarmihr Karen.

He first appears in 484, when Peroz I appoints him as the minister (wuzurg framadār) of the empire. Peroz I was defeated and killed the same year during a campaign against the Hephthalite Empire, which seized much of the empire's eastern territory. Sukhra then avenged Peroz I by invading Hephthalite territory and inflicting a major defeat on them.

When he returned from his campaign, he was praised by the Sasanian nobles, and Balash was elected as king. However, it was in reality Sukhra that had control over the empire. In 488, Kavadh I made a major revolt in order to seize the throne, and was supported by several prominent Iranian statesmen, including Sukhra, who had Balash deposed and Kavadh installed as the new king. However, Sukhra still remained the power behind the throne. In 493, Kavadh I had Sukhra exiled to Shiraz in order to minimize his power. Fearful of rebellion, Kavadh I asked for the assistance of Shapur of Ray, who defeated Sukhra's loyalists, and had him captured and sent to Ctesiphon, where he was executed.

Biography

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The death of Peroz I and the reign of Balash

Sukhra was born in Shiraz in the administrative division of Ardashir-Khwarrah in Pars—he was the son of Zarmihr Hazarwuxt, a Sasanian commander who was active in Armenia. In 484, Peroz I, before invading the territory of the Hephthalite Empire, had his brother Balash installed as viceroy, and Sukhra appointed as his minister. Peroz I, however, suffered a major defeat to the Hephthalites and was killed at the battle of Herat. According to al-Tabari, Sukhra was the governor of Sakastan before his appointment as minister.

Sukhra then set out to avenge his death, and took the majority of the Sasanian army with him; when he reached Gorgan, the Hephthalite king Khushnavaz got informed of his plan to attack him, and quickly prepared his men for war. He then sent a message to Sukhra "asking him about his intentions and enquiring what his name and his official position were." Sukhra shortly sent a message back to Khushnavaz, informing him about his name and position. Khushnavaz thereafter sent another message, warning him of doing the same mistake as Peroz I.

However, his words did not discourage Sukhra, who then marched against Khushnavaz, and inflicted a heavy defeat on his men. Khushnavaz thereafter sued for peace, which Sukhra would only accept if he would give him everything Khushnavaz had seized from Peroz I's camp, which included his treasuries, the chief priest (mowbed) of the empire, his daughter Perozdukht, and his son Kavadh. Khushnavaz accepted his demands, and peace was made.

Sukhra fighting the Hephthalites in the Shahnameh.

After his victory, he returned to Ctesiphon, where the nobles "received him with great honor, extolled his feats, and raised him to a lofty status such as none but kings were able to attain after him" Balash was thereafter crowned as the new king of the empire. However, in reality it was Sukhra who had control over the Sasanian Empire. Gushnaspdad, the kanarang of Abarshahr, urged Sukhra and the rest of the Sasanian nobles to have Kavadh, whom Sukhra had rescued, executed.[1]

However, the Sasanian nobles declined the suggestion and instead had Kavadh imprisoned. He later managed to escape and take refugee in the territory of the Hephthalites. In 488, Kavadh returned to Iran with the aid of the Hephthalites,[2] and was joined by many prominent Sasanian nobles, including Adergoudounbades, a relative of Gushnaspdad. During the revolt of Kavadh, Sukhra told Balash that he was unsuitable to rule as the king of Iran and had him deposed in favor of Kavadh.[3] The new Sasanian king then had Gushnaspdad executed.[4]

Reign of Kavadh I and Sukhra's fall from power and death

Even after the ascension of a new Sasanian king, Sukhra still possessed a massive amount of power; according to Ferdowsi, Sukhra controlled all except the kingly crown.[5] Al-Tabari says the following thing about Sukhra's power: "Sukhra was in charge of government of the kingdom and the management of affairs. The people came to Sukhra and undertook all their dealings with him, treating Kavadh as a person of no importance and regarding his commands with contempt."[6]

In 493 Kavadh tried to reduce the power of Sukhra by sending him to his native Shiraz, and later with the aid of Shapur of Ray, he defeated Sukhra's loyalists, and captured the latter. Sukhra was then brought to Ctesiphon, where he was executed.[7][8]

Legacy

Even after Sukhra's death, his family still possessed much power within the Sasanian Empire. His son, Zarmihr Karen, helped Kavadh in 488 to reclaim the Sasanian throne from his younger brother Djamasp. In the same year, one of Sukhra's other sons, Bozorgmehr, was appointed as the minister of the empire, and continued serve under the office during the reign of Kavadh's successor, Khosrow I (r. 531–579). He thereafter served as spahbed under Khosrow I's successor Hormizd IV. Zarmihr Karen, along with Sukhra's other son Karin, aided Khosrow I in his war against the Turks. As a reward for their aid, Zarmihr Karen was rewarded with land in Zabulistan, while Karin was rewarded with land in Tabaristan,[9] thus starting the Qarinvand dynasty, which ruled until the 11th-century.

Sukhra's son Simah-i Burzin served as the spahbed of the kust of Khorasan during the reign of Khosrow I. A descendant of Sukhra, Burzin Shah, was the governor of Nishapur during the reign of Yazdegerd III (r. 632–651).[10]

References

  1. ↑ Pourshariati (2008), pp. 268–269
  2. ↑ The Hephthalite Empire, B.A. Litvinsky, History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations, volume 3, Ed. Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, (UNESCO, 1996), 140.
  3. ↑ Pourshariati (2008), p. 78
  4. ↑ Pourshariati (2008), p. 268
  5. ↑ Pourshariati (2008), p. 79
  6. ↑ Pourshariati (2008), p. 78
  7. ↑ Pourshariati (2008), p. 81
  8. ↑ Schindel (2013), pp. 136-141
  9. ↑ Pourshariati (2008), p. 113
  10. ↑ Pourshariati (2008), pp. 273-274

Sources

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