Khosrow III (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Xosrow; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩;

New Persian New Persian ( fa, فارسی نو), also known as Modern Persian () and Dari (), is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into thr ...

: ) was a

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

rival claimant who briefly ruled a part of Khorasan for a few months in 630.

Name

"Khosrow" is the

variant of his name used by scholars; his original name was

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle ...

, ''Husraw'', itself derived from Avestan ''Haosrauuah'' ("he who has good fame").; The name is transliterated in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

as ''Chosroes'' (Χοσρόης) and in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

as ''Kisra''.

Biography

The background of Khosrow III is obscure; in some sources he has been described as a son of

Kavad II Shērōē (also spelled Shīrūya, New Persian: ), better known by his dynastic name of Kavad II ( pal, 𐭪𐭥𐭠𐭲 ''Kawād''; New Persian: قباد ''Qobād'' or ''Qabād''), was king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire briefly in 628. He was t ...

(), whilst other state that he was a son of Khosrow II (). The latter seems more likely according to the English historian C. E. Bosworth. Khosrow III originally lived in the "land of the Turks", but after hearing of the friction in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, went to the country and succeeded in ruling some of Khorasan for three months, before being killed by its governor. On his coinage, Khosrow III is portrayed wearing the same crown as Khosrow II, with the two wings being a reference to Verethragna, the god of victory. He is portrayed without a beard on his portrait on the front, making him along with

Ardashir III Ardashir III ( pal, 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Ardašir; 62127 April 630) was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 6 September 628 to 27 April 630. Name ''Ardashir'' is the Middle Persian form of the Old Persian ''Ṛtaxšira'' (also s ...

() the only Sasanian monarchs without a beard.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Sassanid Rulers 630 deaths 7th-century Sasanian monarchs Year of birth unknown Murdered Persian monarchs 7th-century murdered monarchs