Khosru

Khosru, or Khusru I, surnamed NUSHIRVAN (the noble soul), and known in Byzantine history as Chosroes I, the greatest monarch of the Sassanian dynasty, a son of Kobad, king of Persia, mounted the throne in A.D. 531. lie is noted in ecclesiastical history for his contests with Justinian (q.v.), and gave shelter to great numbers of those whom Justinian, the Byzantine emperor, persecuted for their religious opinions. He also waged war with Justin II (570), and Justinian, grand-nephew of the emperor of that name. Khosru, however, did not live to see the end of the contest, as he died in 579. His government, though very despotic, and occasionally oppressive, was yet marked by a firmness and energy rarely seen among the Orientals. It was during the reign of this prince that the fanatical followers of Mazdak, who had obtained numerous proselytes to the inviting doctrine of a communism of goods and women, were banished from the lands of the Sassanidae. Persia, during his reign, stretched from the Red Sea to the Indus, and from the Arabian Sea far into Central Asia. " The virtues, and more particularly the justice of this monarch, form to the present day a favorite topic of Eastern panegyric, and the glories and happiness of his reign are frequently extolled by poets as the golden age of the Persian sovereignty. His reign forms an important epoch in the history of science and literature: he founded colleges and libraries in the principal towns of his dominions, and encouraged the translation of the most celebrated Greek and Sanscrit works into the Persian language. A physician at his court, of the name of Barzziyeh, is said to have brought into Persia a Pehlvi translation of those celebrated fables which are known under the name of Bidpai or Pilpay, and it was from this translation of the Indian tales that these fables found their way to nearly every other nation of Western Asia and Europe. The conquests of Khosru were great and numerous; his empire extended from the shores of the Red Sea to the Indus; and the monarchs of India, China, and Thibet are represented by Oriental historians as sending ambassadors to his court with valuable presents to solicit his friendship and alliance" (English Cyclopaedia). See Ewald, Zeitschrijf fur die Kunde des Alorgenlandes, i, 185 sq.; Malcolm, History of Persia (see Index). SEE PERSIA.