Sasanian Persia had had a relatively peaceful relationship with Rome over the course of the fifth century AD. Other then brief border skirmishes, the Sasanian kings were generally content to abide by the generous terms of the peace negotiated with Jovian, and the Romans were too involved in their own internecine struggles to contemplate any aggression in the east. However, Kavadh, after disposing of the usurper Jamasp in 499 AD turned his attention to Byzantium, perhaps assuming that the elderly emperor Anastasius would be unwilling to engage in a broader war with Persia. The war ended with a truce in 506, and with the accession of Justin II Kavadh sought to link to two empires by having the Byzantine emperor formally adopt Kavadh's son Khosrau as his son. The deal did not go through, and Kavadh and later Khosrau himself resumed hostilities. Justin successor Justinian did not want to have deal with disruptions on his eastern frontier while planning his great re-conquest of Italy, and in 532 the "Eternal Peace" was negotiated between the two rival empires, a peace that lasted barely six years. Khosrau briefly seized Antioch in 540, and fighting broke out repeatedly throughout his reign, a situation aggravated when Justin II refused to continue the tribute payments required by the 532 AD treaty. The tables were turned in 590 AD, when Khosrau II found himself out of power after Bahram VI usurped the throne and had to appeal to Maurice Tiberius for assistance. Khosrau and Maurice remained on friendly terms, but when Phocas overthrew Maurice in 602 AD, Khosrau had no compunction about renewing the conflict. The Byzantines were unable to mount an effective resistance, and by 616 AD, most of the east was in Persian hands again, including the holy city of Jerusalem, a devastating and humiliating loss to the Christian World. It took ten years for the methodical Heraclius to organize a counter-offensive, but when he do so he thoroughly smashed Sasanian power. Khosrau was ultimately defeated at Ninevah in 627, and the following year was deposed and executed by his son Khavad II Shiruya. The Sasanian Empire never recovered from this defeat and the subsequent internecine struggles, and collapsed in front of the Arab invasion in the 630s AD.
SASANIAN KINGS of PERSIA. Ardashir III. 628-630 AD. AR Drachm (4.17 gm). AYLAN (Susa?) mint. Dated year 2 (629 AD). "Ardashir" to right, "prosperity" to left in Pahlavi, crowned and cuirassed bust right, ribbon over right shoulder; crescent and ribbon over left, star behind crown, star in crescent before / Fire altar with attendants and ribbon, star and crescent flanking flames, regnal year to left, mint signature to right. Göbl II/1; Paruck 473 var. (mint); Alram 925; MACW 1231; De Morgan pg. 729, 224.
