Peroz III

Peroz III (Pirooz, Firuz or Feroz; Persian: پیروز "the Victor"; Chinese: 卑路斯; pinyin: Pílùsī) was son of Yazdgerd III, the last Sassanid king of Persia. After the death of his father at the hands of a Christian miller for his purse and jewellery,[1][2][3][4] he retreated to territory under the control of Tang Dynasty China and served as a Tang general and the head of the Governorate of Persia, an exiled extension of the Sassanid court. Most of what is known of Peroz is written in the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang.

Contents

Life

Prince Peroz was very young at the time of the reign of his father Emperor Yazdgerd III and never exercised the imperial power of the Sassanids. After the Arab conquest of Persia, Peroz and much of the imperial family escaped through the Pamir Mountains in what is now Tajikistan and arrived at Tang China, which was more supportive of the Sassanids.

According to the Old Book of Tang, Peroz asked for military help from Tang China against the Arabs in 661. The Tang court created the Area Command of Persia (波斯都督府) at what is now Zaranj, Afghanistan, with Peroz as Commander-in-chief. Between 670 and 674, Peroz arrived personally at the Tang court and was given the title of Yòuwǔwèi Jīangjūn (右武衛將軍, "Martial General of the Right [Flank] Guards"). The sister of the Sassanian Prince Peroz II was married into the imperial court, which allowed Sassanian refugees fleeing from the Arab conquest to settle in China.[5] The Emperor of China at this time was Emperor Gaozong of Tang.

In 678, the Deputy State Secretary for Personnel (吏部侍郎) of the Tang Court, Pei Xingjian (裴行儉) was ordered to escort Peroz back to Persia. Pei Xingjian got as far as Suiye (near modern Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan) before returning, while Peroz was forced to spend over 20 years in Tuhuoluo (吐火羅; likely Bactra or Tokharistan) with several thousand followers. In 708 Peroz arrived at the Tang court again and was given the title of Zuoweiwei Jiangjun (左威衛將軍 Awe-inspiring General of the Left [Flank] Guards).[6]

Death

According to the New Book of Tang, Peroz died after receiving the title Youwuwei Jiangjun. It was then that Peroz's son, Narsieh, a hostage at the Tang court, was escorted by Pei Xingjian westwards to Persia in 679 (not 678). As with the Old Book of Tang, Pei got as far as Suiye, and Narsieh (not Peroz) then spent 20 years in Tuhuoluo. Finally, it was again Narsieh and not Peroz that received the title of Zuoweiwei Jiangjun.

Descendants

Narsieh married a princess of the Tang Imperial Family and his descendants adopted the Tang Imperial Family Name Li. In the 9th century they were made Military Governor of Guangzhou.

References

  1. ^ J. Harmatta, B.N. Puri, G.F. Etemady. History of Civilizations of Central Asia, UNESCO, 1999, p.456
  2. ^ A. Palmer, S. Brock, R. Hoyland. The Seventh Century in the West-Syrian Chronicles, Liverpool University Press, 1993, p.178
  3. ^ R. N. Frye. The Heritage of Central Asia: From Antiquity to the Turkish Expansion, Markus Wiener Publishers, 1996, p.203
  4. ^ H. Ayatollahi. The Book of Iran: The History of Iranian Art, Center for International-Cultural Studies, 2003, p. 175
  5. ^ Kaveh Farrokh (2007). Shadows in the desert: ancient Persia at war. Osprey Publishing. p. 274. ISBN 1846031087. http://books.google.com/books?id=p7kltwf9yrwC&pg=PA274&dq=pirooz+sister+was+married+to+the+Chinese+emperor&hl=en&ei=K8HYTPG2OIT6lwe4mPzcCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=pirooz's%20sister%20was%20married%20to%20the%20Chinese%20emperor&f=false. Retrieved 2010-06-29. 
  6. ^ A History of chinese civilization, Jacques Gernet.
Preceded by
Yazdgerd III		 Pretender Sassanid ruler
-		 Succeeded by
Narsieh
Rulers of the Sassanid Empire (224–651)
Ardashir I (224–241) · Shapur I (241–272) · Hormizd I (272–273) · Bahram I (273–276) · Bahram II (276–293) · Bahram III (293) · Narseh (293–302) · Hormizd II (302–309) · Adhur Narseh (309) · Shapur II (309–379) · Ardashir II (379–383) · Shapur III (383–388) · Bahram IV (388–399) · Yazdegerd I (399–420) · Bahram V (420–438) · Yazdegerd II (438–457) · Hormizd III§ (457–459) · Peroz I (457–484) · Balash (484–488) · Kavadh I (488–496) · Djamasp (496–498) · Kavadh I (498–531) · Khosrau I (531–579) · Hormizd IV (579–590) · Bahram VI Chobin§ (590–591) · Khosrau II (591–628) · Bistam (Sassanid king)§ (591–595) · Hormizd V§ (593) · Kavadh II (628) · Ardashir III (628–630) · Shahrbaraz§ (630) · Khosrau III§ (630) · Borandukht (630–631) · Azarmidokht (631) · Hormizd VI (631–632) · Khosrau IV (631–633) · Yazdegerd III (632–651) · Peroz II (pretender)

§ usurpers or rival claimants