Bahram Chubin

Military Service

According to sources, Bahram Chubin, the son of Marzban (governor) Ray Bahram Gushnasp, came from the Mihran clan, one of the 7 leading Parthian clans that went back to the Arshakids and retained its influence even under the Sassanids, and had the nickname Mihrbandak (in Merkhandandak ^{[1] ]} ). Tall, with a proud bearing, lean, dark-skinned (for which he received the nickname "Chubin" - "Spear-like", "Like a spear shaft"), he was very physically strong and a wonderful archer. During the time of Khosrov I, Anushirvan Bahram Chubin was enlisted in the royal bodyguards, and then became the commander of an equestrian detachment and participated in the siege of Dara in 572 .

“Together with the Persian king Khosrov the Elder Varah (that is, Bahram Chubin) made an invasion of Armenia; famous for his exploits in the war, a little time later he was appointed commander in chief of the Persian army. In a short time, fate raised him so high that he received the title of darigbedum of the royal table (the Romans call him a partridge ). ” ^[2]

In the 570s, he was appointed spahbad (supreme military leader) of the North (Great Media and Azerbaijan) and, as such, fought with some success with the Byzantines in Mesopotamia.

Reflection of the Turkic threat

In the fall of 589, a huge army invaded Iran from the east (sources say its number is 300-400 thousand soldiers) Turks under the leadership of Saw Shah , who, having entered into an alliance with the Byzantines, threatened the very existence of Iran. The border armies retreated under the onslaught of enemies, opening the way to Khorasan . The decision of Shah Hormizd IV at such a critical moment to entrust protection to the Turks to such a prominent commander and administrator as Bahram Chubin was quite natural, but the Herat historian Mirhond , who lived in the 15th century, conveys a beautiful legend about the appointment of Bahram, also given by Firdousi :

"... he (Hormizd IV) arranged a consultation with people of reason and experience on the reflection of Save Shah. Then one of those present at the meeting reported:“ Oh sovereign! My father knows such a person who, because of his advanced age, is dismissed from service and is sitting at home ". Khormizd said:" Yes, I know your father well. He brought my mother from Turkestan to Iran during Khosroy. Now what do you say about his words? "That person continued:" When my father heard from me what the sovereign needed from me the man, in order to send him to the war with Save Shah, then said: “I’m in this the case should be told, and I have to bring to the hearing of the king. " When Hormizd heard this, he ordered himself to be informed of this secret.
The elder said: “At the time when the fair sovereign, Shah Nushirvan , sent me to Turkestan to marry the daughter of the Khakan, the Khakan granted me all sorts of gifts and caresses, and, knowing the purpose of the embassy, ​​ordered that his daughters be presented to me so that I would be alone of which he chose, he delivered to Madain (that is, to Ctesiphon ). However, since the Hansha mother, who was the great-grandmother of the sovereign of the land and time and a relative of the hakan, did not want her daughter to be separated from her, she ordered the princes and slaves to be shown to me, and they showed me, and the daughter of the hakan without decorations was among them . But I, casting a glance at that pure pearl, similar to the highest hakan, chose it, and the hakan showed frustration. Hakan, having sent to the astrologer, ordered him to look at the horoscope of this magnificent star and report on the outcome of the girl’s life in Persia. After careful study, the astrologer reported: “From a heavenly location it is clear that this worthy woman will give birth to a son from a Persian king, short in stature with big eyes and a great mind, and his kingdom will pass to him after his father; someone from this country (Turkestan) will take up arms to conquer his country, but this lucky leader, a tall husband, with a big forehead, curly hair, a full face, dark-skinned, with fused eyebrows, thin and evil, he will send him to war with him He will kill the king, the army will destroy him and plunder the property. When the hakan learned the secrets of heaven, then with royal luxury he equipped his daughter on the road so that I would bring her to Madain. "
Having uttered these words in the council of Hormizd, a long-standing old man died. The Shah and those present were very surprised by this, and all those gathered from the steps of the highest throne went on the wanted list; carefully dealt with them and then reported to the sovereign: “A person with the above signs is Bahram Chubin.” He was one of the king’s scahbad, and from the Nushirvan era to the time of Hormizd he had under his jurisdiction the regions of Armenia and Azerbaijan. He surpassed other Persian marzbans with an abundance of valor, talent and vivacity. After meeting with the nobles of the kingdom of Hormizd, Bahram was appointed to the war with Save Shah. ” ^[3]

Hormizd IV ordered that Bahram be given power over the treasury and the arsenal and that armies be handed over to him, so that he himself would choose those who suit him. However, Bahram selected only twelve thousand experienced military men from the horsemen ( Savaran ), among whom there was no one who was younger than forty years old. The Persians also had devices for throwing fire.

Simultaneously with the army, the shah sent Ambassador Khurrad-Burzin to the Turks. Arriving at Save’s headquarters, the Persian ambassador deliberately delayed negotiations, waiting for Bahram Chubin’s army to appear, and then fled from the Khan’s headquarters. Most likely, it was Khurrad-Burzin who persuaded Save Shah to go not immediately to central Iran or Azerbaijan, but to Herat . ^[four]

The Persians did not accidentally choose the Herat Valley for battle. In it, enclosed by mountains and the river Gerirud , the Turks could not realize their main advantage - numerical superiority. Save was trying to start negotiations, but Bahram refused to resolve the matter peacefully. Aiming the army only at victory, he ordered liquid roads to be sent to the rear with liquid clay and defensive detachments set up. When the opponents converged, the commander ordered the archers to aim the Turkic elephants on the trunks, and the animals blinded by pain, in fury, began to trample their soldiers. In the midst of the battle, Chubin personally shot Save from the bow, the Turks faltered and fled. The Persians pursued them until evening, and by night the army of Turks ceased to exist as an organized force. The sorcerers who (according to legend) sent wind and obsession to the Persians did not help either: a black cloud seemed to everyone, from which arrows flew. The Turkic company ended with the capture of the Dalka fortress (Paykend in the Bukhara oasis). The son of Save Shah arrived at Ktesiphon and signed a peace treaty. It was a brilliant and very necessary victory for the country. The threat to Iran was eliminated, and Bahram Chubin received possession in Kushanshahr for his services, and was declared the hero and savior of the country. He enjoyed the highest authority in the country, which rather became the reason for his disgrace.

Rise of Bahram Chubin

After this, the shah instructed Bahram to lead the war against Byzantium, but here his army began to suffer defeat. Hormizd not only ousted him from the post of commander in chief, but sent in a mockery a spinning wheel and a woman's dress, as more fitting for him than the clothes of a warrior. ^[5] Dinavari adds that, in addition to slandering his courtiers, the shah suspected that Bahram Chubin had concealed most of the spoils captured during the defeat of the Turks. ^{[6] The} enraged Bahram rebelled against central authority; he was supported by an army dissatisfied with the rule of Hormizd IV ^[7] .

The rebel army marched on Ctesiphon, but even before the rebels appeared in the capital, a coup occurred; Windu and Vistakhm, the brothers of one of the wives of the Shahinshah, deposed Hormizd. They enthroned their nephew, son of Hormizd IV, Khosrov II . Chubin rejected all attempts by the new Shah to reconcile and continued his campaign in the capital.

Having occupied Ktesifon, Bahram Chubin announced that he would rule on behalf of Shahriyar, one of the sons of Hormizd IV. Bahram demanded that the representatives of the nobility, who did not support him, leave Ctesiphon, threatening to cut off the heads of those who did not obey. Many left the city, accompanied by troops of their armed bodyguards. It is known that Chubin was welcomed by the metropolitan Jews.

Bahram VI was crowned on March 9, 590 . The usurper was not a Sassanid, but since farr could not overshadow a man of non-royal origin (albeit a very noble one), they said that he was a descendant of the Arshakids . Bahram VI hated the family of ousted Shahinshahs and said that he wanted to stop this “world punishment” ( Firdousi repeatedly emphasizes Bahram’s hostility to all descendants of Sasan ).

The authority of the new Shah recognized only part of the regions of Iran. For example, usurper coins were minted only in the northern and eastern Khorasan ( Merv , Nishapur , Abarshahr, Balkh ), the lower Mesopotamia (Meshan), Khuzestan ( Susa ), Isfahan , Ahvaz and its ancestral nest Reye . It is only natural that at court there was a strong opposition to the usurper - he himself felt this. Not wanting to tempt fate, Bahram ordered the imprisonment of some military leaders, including Vindoy. The latter managed to conspire with supporters, flee and organize an attack on the palace. The guards broke up the rebellion, and Windy barely managed to hide at Vistakhm.

Iran’s external opponents, primarily the Turks and Byzantines, received a respite. “Hormizd was defeated in the war by Waram and deprived of the kingdom, and a rebellion arose against Khosrov the Younger, the son of Hormizd, during his proclamation. Therefore, he made peace with the Romans, and thus this long-standing Persian war, which lasted almost two decades, finally ceased. ” ^[eight]

A few months after the accession of Bahram, Khosrov II returned to Iran, accompanied by a dissatisfied usurper, and most importantly, with Byzantine legions and gold sent by the emperor of Mauritius .

According to Theophylact Simokatta , before the decisive battle that took place in Aderbadgan , the allies had about 60,000 soldiers, Bahram Chubin had a forty-thousand army, and his troops were unreliable. Chubin tried to break away from the army of the Romans and Khosrov the Armenian regiments - at first promises, then threats, but did not succeed, was defeated, and his army was dispersed. The next morning, after the battle, Bahram counted with him only four thousand people. The rest either died or were captured by Khosrov II. Among the latter was the son of the usurper. The captured horsemen and elephant-warriors, Khosrov ordered the bound men to throw the fighting elephants under their feet.

Flight to the Turks and death

Bahram Chubin with little strength went to Khorasan, and from there - to the Turks. According to Firdousi, Khosrov sent a three-thousandth detachment for Bahram, but the experienced commander defeated his pursuers and safely disappeared from Iran, crossing the Amu Darya . The coins of the second year of the reign of Bahram VI are known only to the eastern courtyards (Abarshahr, Balkh, Merv) and Rhea.

Bahram's wanderings ended at his recent enemies - the Turks. According to medieval legends, having saved the kagan from his brother intriguing against him (Chubin killed him in a “duel” - the opponents fired from bows), Bahram got an unprecedented honor. Kagan not only refused to give him to Khosrov, but allowed him to build a fortress, where Bahram "built an arena, led slaves, artisan slaves and hunting animals ...".

Being at the Turks, Bahram continued to be very dangerous for Khosrov II Parviz, because he could return at any time. And what official diplomacy was not able to do, was accomplished by secret forces: Bahram killed a Turk, trained by the Iranian ambassador Khurrad-Burzin. ^{[9] The} joy at the Ctesiphon court was such that before the fall of the Sassanids, the day of Chubin's death was celebrated as a public holiday. The remnants of Bahram’s troops left for Dale , where they connected with the highlanders there.

The son of Chubin, Mihran, remained alive and fought with the Arabs under Yazdigerd III . The life and deeds of Bahram Chubin himself served as the basis for medieval legends. According to Arab historians, the descendants of Bahram Chubin gave rise to the Central Asian Samanid dynasty, which for some time owned Khorasan.

The nickname "Chubin" meant "Raven" ^{[10] [11]} , received because of the image of the raven on the birth shield.

• Dashkov S. B. Kings of kings - Sassanids. History of Iran III - VII centuries. in legends, historical chronicles and modern research. - M .: Media-ASIA, 2008 .-- 352 p. - 4000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-91660-001-8 .

• Encyclopedia of Iranik: Bahram VI Chubin
• L. Gumilyov “The Feat of Bahram Chubin”
• “On the issue of the origin of the Samanids”, part 1 Bahram Chubin. Sh. Kamoliddin (unavailable link from 01/31/2018 [557 days])