How not to inspire your troops
Pavel asked how far east a Roman army ever campaigned.
Heraclius invaded central Persia in the spring campaigning season of 624. He reached as far east as Isfahan- then called Aspaban- farther east than any Roman army before (or after) would ever go. There was nothing preventing him from continuing on, but by then there was little need to. The Persians had seen their rash emperor nearly swallow Byzantium only to lose it all and more in the blink of an eye. When Shar-baraz, Persia’s best general, refused to engage Heraclius in battle, Chosroes II ordered him to be arrested and executed. Unfortunately for the paranoid Shah, Heraclius intercepted the letter bearing the command and- after adding a few names for good measure- passed it along to Shar-baraz. The ill-advised Persian housecleaning was the last straw. People and army rose up and Chosroes II was overthrown.
Never thought he went that far east.
A couple of corrections, though Shahrbaraz did seemingly betray his increasingly paranoid sovereign- or at the very least not come to his aide, it wasn’t because he was sent a woman’s dress- that action taken by the preceding Shahanshah Hormizd against the general Bahram Chobin was what sparked Bahram’s own rebellion. Also the shahanshah who was overthrown as a result of Heraclius’s victories was Chosroes ( orXusroes or Khusrau etc) II, Kavadh II was his son and successor.
Regards,
Samuel.
Thanks for putting up the articles on this blog. I always enjoy reading them. Keep up the good work.
[…] Finding History » How not to inspire your troops […]