Search

Flourishing of the culture and civilization of a country is closely linked to wisdom and sophistication of its rulers, and if these features are combined with a ruler’s tolerance and open-mindedness, make elites and intellectuals be inclined to him. According to Iranian and non-Iranian historical sources, Khosrow Anoushiravan, as an educated and wise king of the Sassanid, was a lover of knowledge and also had great religious tolerance and openness. Therefore, during his reign, scientists from other lands came to Iran; arrival of foreign philosopher and physician to Jundishapur city in Khuzestan is an example. Khosrow Anoushiravan who was fascinated with science and philosophy and always talked to and had conversations with philosophers, did a lot of effort to collect scientific books from Hindi and Greek and their translation into Pahlavi (Middle Persian). Khosrow Anoushiravan also carried out many activities to spread the security in Iran, and institutionalize the culture of work and effort, and create empathy and integrity in the country all of which prepared the ground for the emergence and flourishing of Iranian culture and civilization. This study, by using the historical sources and through a descriptive-analytic method, tries to examine Khosrow Anushiravan’s deeds for the flourishing of Iranian culture and civilization

During almost five centuries of Sassanid history, great warrior kings like Ardašir son of Bābak (224-240 A.D), Šāpuhr I (240-270 A.D), Kavād I (484-531 A.D), and Ḵhosrow Anošīrvan (531-579 A.D) chose one of their sons, usually the eldest one, as the crown prince, and via writing him a political testament (in Persian: andarz; in Arabic: ahd), introduced him to imperial elders, nobles and agents as their legal successor. Written or cited before the death of the kings, and considered as political testament of rulers, Ahd was the royal decrees and advices concerning rituals of monarchy addressed to king’s successor or his future successors and to royal elders and agents. Despite the fact that in Sassanid literature, a royal political testament or Ahd, such as “the Ahd of Ḵhosrow Parvīz to his son Šīiroye, is unknown, this study aims to show that like some of his ancestors, Ḵhosrow Parvīz chose his eldest son as the crown prince and wrote him a testament. The signs of such testament can be found within some historical records.