Fariburz, known in

Byzantine 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

sources as Phabrizus (), was a 6th-century

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

military officer from the Mihran family, who served under the

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 ...

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).

Biography

He was the brother of the diplomat and military officer

Izadgushasp Izadgushasp (also spelled Yazdgushnasp), known in Byzantine sources as Isdigousnas Zikh, was an Iranian nobleman from the House of Mihran, who served as one of Khosrow I's ''viziers'' ('' wuzurg framadar''). Biography Izadgushasp is first mention ...

. The Byzantine historian

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 ...

describes them as: "both holding most important offices ... and at the same time reckoned to be the basest of all Persians, having a great reputation for their cleverness and evil ways." In 548, Fariburz was ordered by Khosrau I to transport the Byzantine prisoners of war captured in the ongoing

Lazic War The Lazic War, also known as the Colchidian War or in Georgian historiography as the Great War of Egrisi, was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire for control of the ancient Georgia (country), Georgian region of Lazica. The ...

to Iran, where they were to be settled. Some time later, Fariburz, along with another Iranian officer named Pharsanses, at the head of a small army numbering 300, marched to

Lazica The Kingdom of Lazica (; ; ), sometimes called Lazian Empire, was a state in the territory of west Georgia in the Roman era, Georgia in the Roman period, from about the 1st century BC. Created as a result of the collapse of the kingdom of Colc ...

, where they planned to assassinate the vassal king Gubazes II. However, Pharsanses betrayed the Sasanians and revealed the plan to Gubazes, after which both defected to the Byzantine camp. Fariburz then instructed the Sasanian garrison of the Lazic fortress of

Petra Petra (; "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: or , *''Raqēmō''), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, P ...

to prepare for a Byzantine siege, and returned to the Sasanian capital of

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern ba ...

with his troops. In 549, Fariburz, along with three other commanders and an army numbering 5,000 men, were left in the garrison in Petra 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 ...

. However, in a surprise attack, the Byzantine military officer

Dagisthaeus Dagisthaeus (, ''Dagisthaîos'') was a 6th-century Eastern Roman military commander, probably of Gothic origin, in the service of the emperor Justinian I. Dagisthaeus was possibly a descendant of the Ostrogothic chieftain Dagistheus.* In 548, ...

and Gubazes managed to defeat Fariburz, who along with the rest of the survivors fled from the country.; ; . In 550, Fariburz suppressed the rebellion of Khosrau's eldest son

Anoshazad Anōshazād, known in the ''Shahnameh'' as Nōshzād (), was a Sasanian prince who led a revolt in the southwestern province of Khuzistan in the 540s. He was the oldest son of king Khosrow I (), while his mother was a Christian and the daughter of ...

, and then along with his brother Izadgushasp left Iran on a diplomatic mission to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. Nothing more is known about Fariburz..

References

Sources

* * * *{{cite book, last1=Greatrex, first1=Geoffrey, last2=Lieu, first2=Samuel N. C., title=The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II, 363–630 AD), location=London, United Kingdom, publisher=Routledge, year=2002, isbn=0-415-14687-9, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnLDQgAACAAJ 6th-century births 6th-century deaths 6th-century Iranian people House of Mihran People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars Lazic War Generals of Khosrow I