page_title: Khosrow II
hierarchical_section_title: Khosrow II
caption_attribution_description: English: Coin of Khosrau II, an Sasanian king.
context_page_description: Khosrow II, also known as Khosrow Parviz, was the last great Sasanian king of Iran, ruling from 590 to 628, with an interruption of one year.
  He was the son of Hormizd IV and the grandson of Khosrow I. Khosrow II was the last king of Iran to have a lengthy reign before the Muslim conquest of Iran, which began five years after his execution. He lost his throne, then recovered it with the help of the Byzantine emperor Maurice, and, a decade later, went on to emulate the feats of the Achaemenids, conquering the rich Roman provinces of the Middle East; much of his reign was spent in wars with the Byzantine Empire and struggling against usurpers such as Bahram Chobin and Vistahm.
  After the Byzantines killed Maurice, Khosrow II began a war in 602 against the Byzantines. Khosrow II's forces captured much of the Byzantine Empire's territories, earning the king the epithet "the Victorious". A siege of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 626 was unsuccessful, and Heraclius, now allied with Turks, started a successful risky counterattack deep into Persia's heartland. Supported by the feudal families of the empire, Khosrow II's imprisoned son Sheroe imprisoned and killed Khosrow II.
context_section_description: Khosrow II (Chosroes II in classical sources; Middle Persian: Husrō(y)), also known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: خسرو پرویز, "Khosrow the Victorious"), was the last great Sasanian king (shah) of Iran, ruling from 590 to 628, with an interruption of one year.
  He was the son of Hormizd IV (reigned 579–590) and the grandson of Khosrow I (reigned 531–579). Khosrow II was the last king of Iran to have a lengthy reign before the Muslim conquest of Iran, which began five years after his execution. He lost his throne, then recovered it with the help of the Byzantine emperor Maurice, and, a decade later, went on to emulate the feats of the Achaemenids, conquering the rich Roman provinces of the Middle East; much of his reign was spent in wars with the Byzantine Empire and struggling against usurpers such as Bahram Chobin and Vistahm.
  After the Byzantines killed Maurice, Khosrow II began a war in 602 against the Byzantines. Khosrow II's forces captured much of the Byzantine Empire's territories, earning the king the epithet "the Victorious". A siege of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 626 was unsuccessful, and Heraclius, now allied with Turks, started a successful risky counterattack deep into Persia's heartland. Supported by the feudal families of the empire, Khosrow II's imprisoned son Sheroe (Kavad II) imprisoned and killed Khosrow II. This led to a civil war and interregnum in the empire and the reversal of all Sasanian gains in the war against the Byzantines.
  In works of Persian literature such as the Shahnameh and Khosrow and Shirin, a famous tragic romance by Nizami Ganjavi (1141–1209), a highly elaborated fictional version of Khosrow's life made him one of the greatest heroes of the culture, as much as a lover as a king. Khosrow and Shirin tells the story of his love for the Aramean/Roman princess Shirin, who becomes his queen after a lengthy courtship strewn with mishaps and difficulties.
caption: Gold coin of Khosrow II, minted in 611
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