Geoffrey Greatrex (2005). Byzantium and the East in - Kaveh Farrokh

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The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian adopted in 562, although he preferred to make several years’ payments together. 18 The real danger in such a policy was the appearance it gave – that the Romans were, in effect, tributaries of the Persians. This could be and was exploited by the Persians, but its impact closer to home was more damaging: the people (and many of the nobility) of Constantinople and the eastern provinces preferred a tougher approach to the traditional enemy. There was general resentment at the lavish hospitality accorded to the Persian ambassador Yazdgushnasp in the 550s, particularly at a time when hostilities were still active in the Caucasus. Roman commanders, unhappy with the softer line being pursued by the emperor, might even sabotage or undermine negotiations on the frontier on occasion. 19 As we shall see, Justinian appears to have maintained a consistent policy towards Persia right from the outset of his reign; in today’s terms, one might call it “constructive engagement.” Persian embassies were treated with courtesy and proposals for peace well received. Hostile incursions were met by force (when possible), but invasions of Persian domains were undertaken seldom and only in response to Persian attacks. Justinian was prepared to pay for peace, whether a general peace or a truce confined to part of the frontier, but took steps so as not to be perceived as weak or too ready to make concessions. He therefore sought to separate his payments from the actual terms of agreements, for instance in the treaty of 562, no doubt to give them the appearance of being voluntary. 20 Maximum publicity was given to any success against the Persians, such as the victory of Belisarius at Dara in 530. Monuments were erected, works of history commissioned, and epigrams composed, in order to emphasise the emperor’s success and his victory over the traditional enemy 21 (See Fig. 1). Such propaganda must not be taken at face value; rather, it assuaged public opinion and served to emphasise the emperor’s personal involvement in the victory, even though he rarely left the capital. Persia in the Sixth Century The sixth century in many ways marked the apogee of Sasanian rule. Not only was Persia itself prosperous and powerful, but the ruling dynasty, at least under Kavadh (488–496, 499–531) and Khusro I (531–579), was also firmly established in its ascendancy. In the late fifth century, however, Persian prospects had seemed very bleak. During the reign of Peroz (459–484), a new and dangerous enemy, the Hephthalite Huns, appeared 482 Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006
Byzantium and the East in the Sixth Century on the vulnerable northeastern frontier of the Persian Empire. Two campaigns by the king against the Hephthalites proved spectacularly unsuccessful; in the second, Peroz himself and many of his sons perished. At the same time, the kingdom was struck by a long drought. 22 Thus, as a result of military disasters and declining revenues, Peroz’s successor Balash (484–488) found the Persian treasury empty. When he failed to resolve this problem, the army and the Zoroastrian clergy removed him in favour of Peroz’s son Kavadh. Although he too was subsequently ousted from the throne in 496, he was able to recover it three years later with the military support of the Hephthalites. Until his death in 531 his rule went unchallenged, and he was able to ensure the succession of his preferred son, Khusro I. 23 Internal instability had also threatened the Persian Empire during Kavadh’s reign. At some point during his rule, a popular movement, usually known as that of the Mazdakites, after its founder, Mazdak, but also called the sect of the Zaradushtakan, rose to prominence. Much debate still surrounds all aspects of this uprising – when exactly it broke out (before or after Kavadh’s expulsion), what precisely its followers believed, and to what extent it was supported by Kavadh. We may here briefly note that its followers, drawn from the common people, seem to have favoured the communal holding of various goods, as of women too, thereby challenging conventional inheritance patterns. The movement thus undermined and set itself against the entrenched landholding aristocracy, as also against the Zoroastrian church – two of the pillars of Persian society. Whether out of genuine sympathy or political calculation, Kavadh lent his support to the Mazdakites; in this way he was able to strengthen his own grip on power and avoid being ousted again by the nobles and clergy, as Balash was in 488 and he himself had been in 496. But by the end of his reign, the Mazdakites themselves had become a threat. Therefore Khusro, having attained the throne, conducted a purge of the sect, eliminating its followers, together with his older brother Kaoses, whom the Mazdakites had hoped to make king in his place. 24 The rise of the Mazdakites was undoubtedly linked to the difficulties besetting the Persian kingdom at the time, but it should not obscure the fact that during the sixth century the heartlands of the Persian Empire – Lower Mesopotamia and Khuzistan – continued to prosper: under the Sasanians the region was more densely populated and cultivated than at any point hitherto (Map 13). Cities expanded, major irrigation works were undertaken (under Khusro I), and new populations transplanted there from Roman territory (and elsewhere). 25 483 Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006
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Geoffrey Greatrex (2005). Byzantium and the East in - Kaveh Farrokh

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