Bawi was a

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

military officer from the Ispahbudhan family who was involved in the Anastasian War and the

Iberian War The Iberian War was fought from 526 to 532 between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire over the eastern Georgian kingdom of Iberia—a Sasanian client state that defected to the Byzantines. Conflict erupted among tensions over tribut ...

between the Sasanian and

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. He is also known as Aspebedes, which is a corruption of the title ''

spahbed ''Spāhbad'' (also spelled ''spahbod'') is a Middle Persian title meaning "army chief" used chiefly in the Sasanian Empire. Originally there was a single ''spāhbad'', called the , who functioned as the generalissimo of the Military of the Sasani ...

''.

Biography

Roman-Persian Frontier in Late Antiquity

According to

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...

, coins of Bawi were minted during the reign of

Kavadh I Kavad I ( ; 473 – 13 September 531) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 488 to 531, with a two or three-year interruption. A son of Peroz I (), he was crowned by the nobles to replace his deposed and unpopular uncle Balash (). Inhe ...

(r. 488-496, 499-531) due to the marriage of the latter with his sister, and, therefore, he became the uncle of the future king

Khosrau I Khosrow I (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; ), traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan ("the Immortal Soul"), was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 531 to 579. He was the son and successor of Kavad I (). Inheriting a rei ...

(r. 531-579). Apparently he was the father of a person known as Asparapet, whose original name was Shapur, who was the grandfather of Shah

Khosrau II Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; and ''Khosrau''), commonly known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran, ruling from 590 ...

(r. 591-628), the son of Shapur's daughter and

Hormizd IV Hormizd IV (also spelled Hormozd IV or Ohrmazd IV; ) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 579 to 590. He was the son and successor of Khosrow I () and his mother was a Khazar princess. During his reign, Hormizd IV had the high aristoc ...

(r. 579-590); beyond this relationship, it is known that Shapur was the father of

Vistahm Vistahm or Bistam (also transliterated Wistaxm, wsthm), was a Parthian dynast of the Ispahbudhan house, and maternal uncle of the Sasanian king of kings of Iran, Khosrow II (). Vistahm helped Khosrow regain his throne after the rebellion of a ...

and

Vinduyih Vinduyih (Middle Persian: ''Windōē'') or Bendoy () was a Sasanian nobleman from the Ispahbudhan family. His sister was the mother of Khosrau II, thus making Vinduyih the uncle of Khosrau. Vinduyih and Vistahm played an important role in rest ...

. According to some sources, Bawi participated in the negotiations that led to the peace of 506 between Anastasius I (r. 491-518) and Kavadh I, which ended the Anastasian War. After the Sasanian defeat at the battle of Dara during the

, Kavadh organized an invasion of Byzantine territory, in which a large army, commanded by

Mihr-Mihroe Mihr-Mihroe (died 555), in Middle Persian either ''Mihr-Mihrōē'' Encyclopaedia Iranica, edited by Ehsan Yar-Shater, Routledge & Kegan Paul Volume 6, Parts 1-3, page 281a or ''Mihrmāh-rōy''; in Byzantine sources Mermeroes (), was a 6th-century ...

, Chanaranges and Bawi, who invaded

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

and besieged the city of Martyropolis, which at that time was being protected by Buzes and Bessas. While commanding a large force, with winter approaching and Byzantine reinforcements coming from Amida and the sudden death of Kavadh, the Sasanians lifted the siege in November or December. At the beginning of

's reign in 531, Bawi, along with other members of the Persian aristocracy became involved in a conspiracy in which they tried to overthrow Khosrau and make Kavadh, the son of Kavadh's second eldest son Djamasp (Zames), the king of the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

. Upon learning of the plot, Khosrau executed all his brothers, their offspring, along with Bawi and the other "Persian notables" who were involved. Khosrau also ordered the execution of Kavadh, who was still a child, and was away from the court, being raised by Adergoudounbades. Khosrau sent orders to kill Kavadh, but Adergoudounbades disobeyed and brought him up in secret, until he was betrayed to the shah in 541 by his own son, Bahram (Varranes). Khosrau had him executed, but Kavadh, or someone claiming to be him, managed to flee to the

.; ; .

Family tree

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{refend 531 deaths 6th-century Iranian people Generals of Kavad I People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars Year of birth unknown House of Ispahbudhan Spahbeds People executed by the Sasanian Empire Iberian War Anastasian War Diplomats of the Sasanian Empire