The Role of Elders and Aristocrats in Trial and Death of Ḵosrow Parviz

On February 628 A.D a group of Iranian elders and members of the noble families and military commanders who were furious at the policies and ruling of Ḵosrow Parviz (628-590 A.D), threw him into the prison and set Šīroy, his eldest son, on the thrown. They rudely asked their puppet ruler to kill Ḵosrow, but Šīroy who did not want to kill his father, sent him a message by the order of elders who hated Ḵosrow, and recalled him all his sins to find answer for them, perhaps they avoided killing him. Although Ḵosrow answered Šīroy scoldingly and gave reasoning for all his deeds and policies, but elders insisted to kill him furiously and finally did that. Šīroy’s letter to his father can be called as report of trial of Ḵosrow in which Iranian elders asked Šīroy to recall Ḵosrow’s oppressions and his harmful way of ruling to reveal his wickedness and to show the rightfulness of Iranian elders. Ḵosrow’s answer to Šīroy’s letter is Ḵosrow’s defense in this trial in which he attempted to retell legitimacy and rightfulness of his own policy and the way of his ruling. In this paper, Šīroy’s letter to his father and Kosrow’s answer and his trial and the way of his murder are studied and the historical importance of this letter is considered for the knowledge of some of the Ḵosrow’s policies and events of his reign.