Vahriz
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Wahrez (born Boe or Bōē) 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 ...
general of Daylamite origin, first mentioned in the prelude to the Iberian War and then during the Aksumite–Persian wars.


Name

He was born Boe (
Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...
: ''Bōē'', ''Bōyah/Büyah''), which is Hellenized as ''Boes''. He is better known by his title of Wahrīz (
Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...
: wḥlyč; in ''Bahrīz''; in Greek: ''Ouarizes'', in ; Modern Persian: ).


Biography

Wahrez is first mentioned in the prelude to the Iberian War, where he was sent by the Sasanian king (''
shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
'')
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. 498–531) to Caucasian Iberia in order to subdue a revolt under
Vakhtang I of Iberia Vakhtang I Gorgasali ( ka, ვახტანგ I გორგასალი, tr; or 443 – 502 or 522), of the Chosroid dynasty, was a king (''Mepe (title), mepe'') of Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity), Iberia, natively known as Kartli (eastern Ge ...
. During the reign of Kavadh's son, Khosrau I, the Yemenites had requested assistance against
Axum Axum, also spelled Aksum (), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015). It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire. Axum is located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Re ...
dominance, who had occupied their country. Sayf ibn Dhi-Yazan, the son of Dhu Yazan, went to Khosrau and offered him all of Yemen if his army would defeat the Axumites. Khosrau then sent Wahrez and his son Nawzadh to
Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
at the head of a small expeditionary force, numbering around 800, of low-ranking Azatan (Azadan) nobility. According to other traditions, it consisted of prisoners that were sentenced to death, while according to another version, the force also included (or entirely consisted of) warriors from Daylam and nearby regions. Only two out of eight ships (i.e. 600 men) safely reached the Yemeni coast, who joined the local Himyarite allies and engaged the combined forces of the Aksumites, their Himyarite allies, and certain " Bedouins". During the fighting, Nawzadh was killed, which made Wahrez furious at Masruq ibn Abraha, the Axumite ruler of Yemen. Wahrez then met Masruq in battle and killed him with an arrow, which made the Axumites flee. He then conquered
Sana'a Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...
, where he is known to have refused to lower his banner to enter via the city gate. Wahrez then restored Sayf ibn Dhi-Yazan to his throne as a vassal 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 ...
.
Al-Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present- ...
reports that the main reason behind victory of Wahrez over the Axumites was the use of the '' panjagān'' (meaning "having five (arrows?) and probably a
ballista The ballista (Latin, from Ancient Greek, Greek βαλλίστρα ''ballistra'' and that from βάλλω ''ballō'', "throw"), plural ballistae or ballistas, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an Classical antiquity, ancient missile weapon tha ...
equipped with heavy darts), a piece of military technology with which the local peoples were utterly unfamiliar. After having conquered Yemen, Wahrez then returned to Persia with a great amount of booty. However, in AD 575 or 578, the vassal king was killed by the
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
ns, which forced Wahrez to return to Yemen with a force of 4000 men, and expel the Axumites once again. He then made Maʿdī Karib, the son of Sayf, the new king of Yemen. Wahrez was then appointed as governor of Yemen by Khosrau I, which would remain in Sasanian hands until the arrival of
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. Wahrez was succeeded by his son Marzubān as governor of Yemen.


References


Sources

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Further reading

* {{EI2, last=Bosworth, first=C.E., title=Wahriz, volume=11, url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/wahriz-SIM_7825?s.num=16&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&s.q=Georgia 6th-century Iranian people Daylamites Ancient history of Yemen Governors of the Sasanian Empire Generals of Khosrow I Abyssinian–Persian wars