Sukhra

Sukhra was a Iranian nobleman from the House of Karen. He was a native of Ardashir-Khwarrah and was de facto ruler of the Sasanian Empire from 484 to 493. He is often confused in some sources with his son Zarmihr.

Biography

In 484, Peroz I was killed by the Hephthalites at the battle of Herat. Sukhra then set out to avenge his death, defeating the Hephthalite king Khush-Newaz and rescuing Kavadh from captivity. After his victory, he returned to Ctesiphon where Balash was crowned as 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 took refugee in Central Asia. In 488, Kavadh returned to Persia with the aid of the Hephthalites,^[2] and was joined by other Sasanian nobles, which included Adergoudounbades, a relative of Gushnaspdad. During the revolt of Kavadh, Sukhra told Balash that he was unsuitable to rule as the king of Ērānshahr and had him deposed in favor of Kavadh.^[3] The new Sasanian king then had Gushnaspdad executed.^[4] 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 city in Pars, 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, later helped Kavadh reclaim the Sasanian throne from Djamasp, who then appointed one of Sukhra's another sons, Bozorgmehr, as his minister. Bozorgmehr was later appointed as Grand Vizier during the reign of Khosrau I, and then served as spahbed under Hormizd IV. Zarmihr, along with another of Sukhra's sons, Karin, aided Khosrau in his war against the Turks. As a reward for their aid, Zarmihr was rewarded with land in Zabulistan, while Karin was rewarded with land in Tabaristan,^[9] where his descendants would continue to rule until 839/840.

References

Sources

• Schindel, Nikolaus (2013). "KAWĀD I i. Reign". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XVI, Fasc. 2. pp. 136–141. 
• Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2008). Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-645-3.