Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

642 22a. the sasanid monarchy
other external problems which faced successive rulers: developments in the
west and the Balkans, as well as internal problems in Isauria, commanded
the attention of the emperor at Constantinople, while Sasanid kings had to
contend with the equally serious threat posed by the Hephthalites on their
north-east frontier. This Sasanid problem is not regularly reported in our
sources. The succession of Greek classicizing historians from Priscus of
Panium through to Theophylact Simocatta narrate diplomacy and warfare
that involved Romans and Sasanids, but only rarely extend their horizons
further east. 8 Sasanid sources are mostly preserved for us through compilations
from the Islamic period, of which the most important are the Annals
of al-Tabari in Arabic and the Shahnama or Book of Kings of Firdawsi in new
Persian. Both date from the tenth century and depend on lost Iranian
sources in which anecdotal material had substantially ousted reliable information,
so that the resulting narratives are dominated by charming and
exotic stories. Though al-Tabari attempted to cut his way through the more
sensational of his source material and produce a sober historical narrative,
he still incorporated two parallel versions of Sasanid history; it is not safe
to trust his information uncritically. 9 Furthermore, these Iranian sources
are more informative for the royal court and internal affairs and, like their
Roman counterparts, are silent about a difficult frontier relationship in
which the Persians were often at a disadvantage. Only for the reign of
Peroz (459–84) is there substantial information about Persian–Hephthalite
relations, partly because Peroz was defeated in 464/5 when the Roman
ambassador Eusebius was accompanying the royal army, partly because
two decades later Peroz perished with much of his army in a catastrophic
attempt to reverse the previous humiliation. 10
The death of Peroz was followed by a period of dynastic weakness in Iran:
Peroz’ brother Valash ruled for four years (484–8) before being overthrown
by Peroz’ son Kavadh (488–96), who relied on Hephthalite support. Kavadh,
however, was in turn ousted by the nobility and replaced by his brother
Zamaspes (496–8), but he was returned to power (498–531) with
Hephthalite assistance, after marrying the king’s daughter. His reign witnessed
the rise of the Mazdakite ‘movement’ (see p. 655 below), which advocated
communal rights over property, and perhaps also women; it appears to
have received some support from the king, and can be interpreted as an
attempt to undermine the entrenched power of the hereditary aristocracy.
An indirect consequence of Kavadh’s dynastic problems was the resurgence
of warfare with Rome: Kavadh undoubtedly needed money to repay the
Hephthalites and to enhance his position as supreme patron within Persia,
and this led to a request to the Romans for contributions towards the costs
8 Discussions in Blockley (1981); Cameron (1969/70); Cameron, Procopius; Blockley (1985); Whitby,
Maurice. 9 Howard-Johnston (1995) 169–72. 10 Procop. Wars i.3–4.
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