Introduction to Khosrow Parviz
Khosrow II, nicknamed Khosrow Parviz, which means Khosrow the Conqueror, was the twenty-fourth Sassanid king and one of the most famous princes of the Sassanid dynasty. He was the son of Hormozd IV and the grandson of Khosrow I, Anoushirvan, who ruled from 590 to 628 AD. He came to power amidst strife between courtiers, military commanders, and government officials; A kingdom so powerful that it pushed the borders of Persia to its peak. At the end of the reign of Hormozd IV, there was a man, famous among other commanders of his army named Bahram Choobin, who was the son of Gashnasb and one of the nobles of the Mehran family.
Khosrow and Byzantine Emperor Union
Due to being insulted by the king, he revolted against Hormozd and marched with his army to the capital. Khosrow, the son and crown prince of Hormozd, who was ruled by his father in Azerbaijan and Armenia at that time, took the opportunity and came to Ctesiphon and ascended the throne. He tried to persuade Bahram to obey him with many promises, but Bahram refused to compromise and recognize Khosrow Parviz. As a result, Khosrow inevitably fled the capital and took refuge in Maurice, the Byzantine emperor. Morricius helped him by giving him an army, and Khosrow, backed by Byzantine soldiers and other forces that had joined him, was able to defeat Bahram, who had ruled for about a year. The Roman emperor also gave his daughter, Maryam, to Khosrow, who gave birth to a son, Shirviyeh, who succeeded his father.
Khosrow and Shirin
After Maryam, Khosrow Parviz married the Princess of Armenia, Shirin. The story of Khosrow’s love for this Armenian prince and the love triangle between them and Farhad that led to Farhad’s death is one of the most famous love stories in Persian literature. One of the most important events during the reign of Khosrow Parviz was his long wars with the Roman Empire, which began in support of the slain Roman emperor who supported the king of Persia and ended in twenty-four years in 627 AD. Also, the appearance of Hazrat Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam in Mecca, and the letter the Prophet sent to him. In this letter, while inviting Khosrow to monotheism, he considered the continuation of his reign conditional on the acceptance of Islam, which Khosrow Parviz tore it up.
Khosrow Parviz Reign
The reign of Khosrow Parviz was the golden age of music during the Sassanid era. Even though Anoushirvan the Great, Bahram Goor, and Ardeshir I were so interested in music, the peak of the development of Sassanid music occurred during the reign of Khosrow Parviz. Among the musicians of this era, the names of Barboud, Sarkesh, Sarkab, and Nakisa have remained as masters of ancient Persian music. Khosrow Parviz is considered to be the last powerful and glorious king of ancient Sassanid Persia. After him, chaos and civil war, along with the plague, swept the country, and many riots broke out that brought the country to the brink of destruction and paved the way for the opening of Persia to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Khosrow Parviz hunting ground
One of the customs of the Sassanid kings was to go for hunting. Kings were a pastime that was practiced until the end of the Qajar period, and at that time anyone who was an elder was allowed to do that. One of the most important hunting grounds of the ancient history of Persia is the Hunting ground of Khosrow Parviz which is also known as Khosrow wall or Khosrow Parviz hunting ground wall. This place was found in Kermanshah, near the Bostan Arch. During the excavations carried out in this place, it was found that the brick wall was built here before the formation of it. Much before that, during the Parthian period, this place was used as a place to form a city, and later, during the Sassanid period, this place was used as Khosrow Parvis hunting ground.
Architecture of the hunting ground
Sassanid architecture with large and wide arches showed the greatness of the Sassanid kings and what historians have quoted from the magnificent Sassanid court is mostly related to the court of Khosrow Parviz. The hunting ground of Khosrow Parviz Paradise was a large area including 1100 meters long and 800 meters wide, was surrounded by this thick wall with 14 meters height, and 60 centimeters wide, made of bricks with dimensions of 40 to 45 centimeters, and the thickness of 10 to 12 centimeters. This place includes various vegetation and trees in this hunting ground.
It is believed that there was a water pond in front of this hunting ground which would create a delightful atmosphere during the Sassanid period. There was also a place considered for keeping animals. Apart from its walls, items such as pottery, large bones, jars related to food have been found in the eastern part of this place. Unfortunately, not much accurate information has been obtained from any of them. According to one of the excavation supervisors, many of the images we see in the Bostan arch were inspired by animals from this hunting ground.