Shahrbaraz Shahrwarāz or Shahrbarāz ( Modern ) ( died 17 June 629 ) was king of the Sasanian Empire from 27 April 629 to 17 June 629 . He usurped the throne from Ardashir III , and was killed by Sasanian nobles after forty days . Before usurping the Sasanian throne he was a general ( " spahbed " ) under Khosrau II ( 590 – 628 ) . His name was Farrokhan , and Shahrbaraz was his title . It means " the Boar of the Empire " , attesting to his dexterity in military command and his warlike person , as the boar was the animal associated with the Zoroastrian Izad Vahram , the epitome of victory . Early life . Shahrbaraz belonged to the House of Mihran , one of the Seven Parthian clans . When he became old enough , he joined the Sasanian army where he became Eran Spahbod of Persia , a very important rank in the Sasanian Empire . War against the Byzantine Empire . In 602 , Phocas , a middle - ranking army officer , successfully revolted against Maurice and crowned himself as the emperor of the Byzantine Empire . On 23 November Maurice was executed and then five of his six sons on the 27th were executed . One of Maurice ' s sons , Theodosius , managed to flee into Sasanian territory . He made his way eventually to Khosrau II ’ s court where he was warmly received , and was promised help by Khosrau II . Khosrau II started a new Byzantine – Sasanian wars that was going to last 26 years . Khosrau II , along with Shahrbaraz and his other best generals , conquered Dara and Edessa in 604 , and in the north , the Byzantines were driven back to the old , pre - 591 frontier before Khosrau II gave them most of Persian Armenia , parts of Mesopotamia and western half of Iberia . After reconquering lost territory , Khosrau II withdrew from the battlefield and handed military operations to his best generals . Shahrbaraz was one of them . In 610 , Heraclius , an Armenian of probable Arsacid descent , revolted against Phocas and killed him , crowning himself as Emperor of the Byzantine Empire . After becoming Byzantine Emperor , he prepared a major counter - attack against the Sasanians outside Antioch in 613 , but was decisively defeated by Shahrbaraz , who inflicted heavy losses on the Byzantine army and then captured the city . Giving the Sasanians naval access to the Mediterranean sea . After the Byzantine defeat outside Antioch , Heraclius and his brother Theodore , along with General Nicetas , had combined their armies in Syria , but were defeated by Shahrbaraz and his forces who besieged Damascus and captured it along with a large number of Byzantine troops as prisoners . One of most important events during his career was when he lead the Sasanian army towards Palaestina , and after a bloody siege captured Jerusalem , a city sacred to the Christians . After his conquest of Jerusalem the Holy Cross was carried away in triumph . In 618 , Shahrbaraz was ordered by Khosrau II to invade Egypt , and by 619 , Alexandria , the capital of Byzantine Egypt , was in Sasanian hands . This was the second time in history that Egypt had fallen under Iranian control . After the fall of Alexandria , Shahrbaraz and his forces extended Sasanian rule southwards along the Nile . By 621 , the province was securely in Sasanian hands . In 622 , Heraclius made a counter - attack against the Sasanian Empire in Anatolia , Shahrbaraz was sent over there to deal with him , but was eventually defeated by him . After Heraclius ' s victory , he marched towards Caucasian Albania and wintered there . Shahrbaraz , along with Shahin and Shahraplakan were later sent by the orders of Khosrau II to trap the forces of Heraclius . Shahin managed to rout the Byzantine army . Due to jealousy between the Sasanian commanders , Shahrbaraz hurried with his army to take part in the glory of the victory . Heraclius met them at Tigranakert and routed the forces of Shahraplakan and Shahin one after the other . After this victory , Heraclius crossed the Araxes and camped in the plains on the other side . Shahin , with the remnants of both his and Shahraplakan ' s armies joined Shahrbaraz in the pursuit of Heraclius , but marshes slowed them down . At Aliovit , Shahrbaraz split his forces , sending some 6 , 000 troops to ambush Heraclius while the remainder of the troops stayed at Aliovit . Heraclius instead launched a surprise night attack on the Persian main camp in February 625 , destroying it . Shahrbaraz only barely escaped , naked and alone , having lost his harem , baggage , and men . Heraclius spent the rest of winter to the north of Lake Van . In 625 , his forces attempted to push back towards the Euphrates . In a mere seven days , he bypassed Mount Ararat and the 200 miles along the Arsanias River to capture Amida and Martyropolis , important fortresses on the upper Tigris . Heraclius then carried on towards the Euphrates , pursued by Shahrbaraz . According to Arab sources , he was stopped at the Satidama or Batman Su River and defeated ; Byzantine sources , however , do not mention this incident . There was then another minor skirmish between Heraclius and Shahrbaraz at the Sarus river near Adana . Shahrbaraz stationed his forces across the river from the Byzantines . A bridge spanned the river , and the Byzantines immediately charged across . Shahrbaraz feigned retreat to lead the Byzantines into an ambush , and the vanguard of Heraclius ' army was destroyed within minutes . The Persians , however , had neglected to cover the bridge , and Heraclius charged across with the rearguard , unafraid of the arrows that the Persians fired , turning the tide of battle against the Persians . Shahrbaraz expressed his admiration at Heraclius to a renegade Greek : " See your Emperor ! He fears these arrows and spears no more than would an anvil ! " The Battle of Sarus was a successful retreat for the Byzantines that panegyrists magnified . In the aftermath of the battle , the Byzantine army wintered at Trebizond . Siege of Constantinople . Shahrbaraz , along with a smaller army later managed to slip through Heraclius ' flanks and bee - lined for Chalcedon , the Sasanian base across the Bosphorus from Constantinople . Khosrau II coordinated with the Khagan of the Avars so as to launch a coordinated attack on Constantinople from both European and Asiatic sides . The army of Shahrbaraz stationed themselves at Chalcedon , while the Avars placed themselves on the European side of Constantinople and destroyed the Aqueduct of Valens . Because of the Byzantine navy ' s control of the Bosphorus strait , however , the Sasanians could not send troops to the European side to aid their ally . This reduced the effectiveness of the siege , because the Sasanians were experts in siege warfare . Furthermore , the Sasanians and Avars had difficulties communicating across the guarded Bosphorus — though undoubtedly , there was some communication between the two forces . On 7 August , a fleet of Sasanian rafts ferrying troops across the Bosphorus were surrounded and destroyed by Byzantine ships . The Slavs under the Avars attempted to attack the sea walls from across the Golden Horn , while the main Avar host attacked the land walls . Patrician Bonus ' galleys rammed and destroyed the Slavic boats ; the Avar land assault from 6 to 7 August also failed . With the news that Theodore had decisively triumphed over Shahin ( supposedly leading Shahin to die from depression ) , the Avars retreated to the Balkan hinterland within two days , never to seriously threaten Constantinople again . Even though the army of Shahrbaraz was still encamped at Chalcedon , the threat to Constantinople was over . Khosrau II , disappointed by Shahrbaraz ' s failure , sent a messager bearing a letter to Kardarigan . In the letter it said that Kardarigan should kill Shahrbaraz and return his army back to Ctesiphon , but the bearers of the letter were intercepted in Galatia by Byzantine soldiers , who gave the letter to Constantine III who in turn gave the letter to Heraclius . After reading the letter , he offered to show the letter to Shahrbaraz in a meeting at Constantinople . Shahrbaraz accepted his proposal and met him at Constantinople where he read the letter and switched over to Heraclius ' side . Shahrbaraz then changed the contents of the letter , making it state that Khosrau II wanted 400 officers killed , ensuring that Kardarigan and the rest of the army remaining loyal to him . Shahrbaraz then moved his army to northern Syria , where he could easily decide to support either Khosrau or Heraclius at a moment ' s notice . Still , with the neutralization of Khosrau ' s most skilled general , Heraclius deprived his enemy of some of his best and most experienced troops , while securing his flanks prior to his invasion of Persia . However , Heraclius may have altered the letter for his own purposes before showing it to Shahrbaraz . Usurping the throne . In 628 , Khosrau II was executed by the orders of Kavadh II , who made a peace treaty with Heraclius , ending the Byzantine – Sasanian War . Following the loss of territory required for the peace treaty , the embittered aristocracy starting forming independent states within the Sassanid empire . This divided the resources of the country which resulted in a devastating plague in the western provinces of Persia , killing half of the population along with Kavadh II who was succeeded by Ardashir III . After the death of Kavadh II , Heraclius sent Shahrbaraz a letter saying : On 27 April , Shahrbaraz , besieged and captured Ctesiphon with a force of 6 , 000 men , killing many notable Iranian figures along with Ardashir III . Shahrbaraz became the new king of the Sasanian Empire . However , he was killed by Sasanian nobles after forty days and was succeeded by Borandukht .