The Unknown Ahd (Will) of Ḵhosrow Parvīz to His son Šīiroye

During almost five centuries of Sassanid history, great warrior kings like Ardašir son of Bābak (224-240 A.D), Šāpuhr I (240-270 A.D), Kavād I (484-531 A.D), and Ḵhosrow Anošīrvan (531-579 A.D) chose one of their sons, usually the eldest one, as the crown prince, and via writing him a political testament (in Persian: andarz; in Arabic: ahd), introduced him to imperial elders, nobles and agents as their legal successor. Written or cited before the death of the kings, and considered as political testament of rulers, Ahd was the royal decrees and advices concerning rituals of monarchy addressed to king’s successor or his future successors and to royal elders and agents. Despite the fact that in Sassanid literature, a royal political testament or Ahd, such as “the Ahd of Ḵhosrow Parvīz to his son Šīiroye, is unknown, this study aims to show that like some of his ancestors, Ḵhosrow Parvīz chose his eldest son as the crown prince and wrote him a testament. The signs of such testament can be found within some historical records.