Khosrau Anushirawan: Like Father, Like Son - Extra History - #1
Added 2017-12-08 18:00:00 +0000 UTCDisaster had struck Iran. The power of the shah seemed in peril. Yet somehow this turbulent age gave rise to Khosrau Anushirawan, one of the greatest shahs of the Middle Ages. How did it all begin?
Comments
... Sorry, Christina Maria, I just realized I misused the P word (Persia). I was trying to remember all the details, and couldn't, and "Persia" was handy.
Bill Lemmond
2017-12-22 21:05:34 +0000 UTCThanks for yet another great look at history, in this case a subject about which and whom I knew nothing. Hmm. Persia and the Hepthalites argued over a border town? France and Germany argued over the Sudetenland. Wouldn't mutually recognizing a buffer state be the best solution? What's wrong with people?
Bill Lemmond
2017-12-22 21:03:52 +0000 UTCIt's so rare to explore this period, and I have been a fan of the Persian Empire ever since I read Gore Vidal's CREATION
Sudarshan Ramani
2017-12-13 02:45:41 +0000 UTCChristina is amazing. :) To add a little further note to that, rulers of the Sasanian Dynasty went by "Shahanshah Eran" ("King of Kings of the Aryan People") as part of their official royal title, so the specific word and name Iran itself was very much in active use during their time, and would have been how Khosrau described his land as well. The Encyclopedia Iranica (which is fantastic) has a pretty detailed article about it: <a href="http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/eran-eransah" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/eran-eransah</a>
Extra History
2017-12-12 01:07:46 +0000 UTCI promise there will be more years given in the next episode! Sorry for causing confusion. :) -Soraya
Extra History
2017-12-12 01:00:10 +0000 UTCNo worries, though I appreciate the kind words and I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Very few primary sources from this era survived; what we have are sources from later eras which copied down things that were written in this one. For example, later on we'll talk (though not by name) about the Xaday-namag, the great compilation of Iranian history patronized by Khosrau, and how it disappeared but not before it formed the basis for later works like the Shanahmeh (which we DO still have). There's also Justinian's historian, Procopius, who gives the Roman perspective on some of these affairs. Then we have a few Armenian bishops and some later Arabic sources like al-Dinawari (which, admittedly, I could only find snippets of in translation).
Extra History
2017-12-12 00:59:26 +0000 UTCOhhhh yes. You're about to get yourself in some trouble, Justinian. >:)
Extra History
2017-12-12 00:52:41 +0000 UTCThe one-time donation model isn't built into Patreon but you can absolutely do it just by choosing to bump your donation for a given month! Word to the wise, it's still a raffle (i.e. the choice happens randomly) but whenever you're feeling lucky, go for it. I'd probably recommend checking with me beforehand though just to make sure that the raffle for the month hasn't already happened yet; you're welcome to DM us any time to ask!
Extra History
2017-12-12 00:52:24 +0000 UTCHaha true, the "fifth century hippie"
Marcel Haddad
2017-12-11 23:41:12 +0000 UTCWow, fantastic answer. Thanks Christina!
Joël Quenneville
2017-12-11 20:31:43 +0000 UTCChristina, is there nothing you don't Know about History?
Martin Verran
2017-12-11 20:00:09 +0000 UTCIranian is a larger ethnic and linguistic group. Persian refers to the people of the southwestern highlands of modern Iran, the region of Fars/Pars. While the people from that region were dominant in the Achaemenid empire, it heavily integrated much of the southwestern Iranian cultures and later Persian empires weren't necessarily dominated by that region. A notable number of medieval and early modern Shahs were Kurdish, for example, including the founder of the Safavid dynasty. And in Iran, the empire has always been known as Iran, not Persia which is only that one region in the southwest. The Parthian Empire specifically is actually not named for a dynasty, but rather an ethnic group. The Parni or Parthians from the region of Parthia in northeastern Iran, near the border to Turkmenistan. That said, the dominant language of Iran is Farsi/Parsi/Persian, not Iranian, which is an entire branch of the Indoeuropean language family.
Christina Maria Jessen
2017-12-11 12:29:47 +0000 UTCI notice you use the term "Iranian" for the people in this episode. Is this what they would have called themselves? For some reason I was under the impression that the Achaemenid/Parthian/Sassanian empires called themselves Persians. Is "Persian" just what Greek/Western writers have called these people? Have they called themselves Iranians all along?
Joël Quenneville
2017-12-10 22:41:17 +0000 UTCAs someone unfamiliar with with Persian/Iranian history, I also struggled to place this in its historical time context. The use of the term "Sassanians" gave me a rough feel of what time period they're talking about. Eventually, they mention "5th Century" at the 6:23 mark :)
Joël Quenneville
2017-12-10 22:37:36 +0000 UTCThe video does mention events that occur in 488 CE, but yeah, it is hard to piece together a timeline of things.
Will Weaver
2017-12-10 16:39:48 +0000 UTCNot a single mention of the century when all this happened!! It would be nice to know I think :)
Marcel Haddad
2017-12-10 10:09:52 +0000 UTCThis is a wonderful, hilarious and genuinely informative episode. I might have come off as harsh in my Bismarck videos so I want to praise this time. This is awesome. I wonder what primary sources are available from the Sasanian years for this/
Sudarshan Ramani
2017-12-10 05:22:58 +0000 UTCHaha, thanks! I had a lot of fun researching this episode; I'm sure there were still some things that slipped by me but I sure as heck tried. As far as the crowns go, I read in one of my books that the primary way historians can tell different monarchs apart on their coinage was to look at the crown, since each shahanshah made a different crown for himself. We figured it'd be a fun way to give them a different look in the series as well! -Soraya
Extra History
2017-12-10 05:13:25 +0000 UTCLil winds up using them for the rest of the series. I think they may be a feature now. ;)
Extra History
2017-12-10 05:11:54 +0000 UTCI love how whenever you guys bring up Iran or the Persians; you always depict the models/characters as having a diverse makeup. Some characters are tan, some lighter, some brown...Iran has always been a diverse/multi-ethnic society. & the attention to detail & accuracy I MEAN COME ON!!! :D when I saw how the different kings had different crowns & the other noble's clothes & u even wrote Iranshahr in the original Pahlavi script...I MEAN WOW! Mad props guys! do-do-do-doot-IRAN!
Ramin Hafezi
2017-12-10 02:19:03 +0000 UTCWOW! U guys finally did it!! I remember suggesting something like this topic waaaay back in the Justinian vids. Never thought i'd get to see it. EC u guys rock!
Ramin Hafezi
2017-12-10 01:47:47 +0000 UTCLook out, Justinian!
Will Weaver
2017-12-10 01:38:19 +0000 UTCOne should always read the fine print before accepting the charges. Have a metal winter solstice everyone.
Calvin McClory
2017-12-10 00:10:41 +0000 UTCAww... that's unfortunate. But understandable. That's still pretty impressive you've managed to find out what you had then! Thanks guys!
Colin
2017-12-10 00:03:10 +0000 UTCI don't want to become an 8$ patron, but I would pay a one time fee to make a suggestion. Has EH consider this one time model before? I'm not sure how topic suggestion works exactly, but I'm going to find out before the price hike.
Calvin McClory
2017-12-10 00:00:02 +0000 UTCHonestly, I don't think I did vote when this was selected (or if I did, I forgot which one I voted for). Extra Credits has always done a great job with these series that I would be happy regardless of which topic won. I love learning about the areas of history not really covered in US schools. One problem I have is keeping all the names straight and EC really helps with that in the way things are presented.
Jason Youngberg
2017-12-09 22:40:35 +0000 UTCI just needed to say how much i adored the image of the peas as a stand in for peace lol
Aimée
2017-12-09 21:44:57 +0000 UTCHey, maybe now you'll have some cool stories to share with the family about Middle Ages Iran! And then, if your family is anything like my father always is when I learn new Moroccan history, it'll turn out they already know and just never thought to tell those stories to you. Sigh. :) -Soraya
Extra History
2017-12-09 21:19:43 +0000 UTCSadly, I don't think there's enough information on Mazdak to do a good series or even one-off on him! Most of the information we do have on him is already contained in this episode; the sources on him are so scanty that I've read a few scholarly texts debating whether or not he actually existed or was a figurehead made up by later historians so they'd have someone to scapegoat. I do personally lean towards "did exist" because I do think there are enough supporting references to justify that, but we don't have anything detailed like "where was he born" or "what inspired him to start teaching this way." -Soraya
Extra History
2017-12-09 21:15:44 +0000 UTCHe massively lost favor and got jumped! Kavadh was wielding the only weapon still available to him there: political intrigue. ;)
Extra History
2017-12-09 21:13:10 +0000 UTCComparing Mazdak's reforms to communism has been a trend in a lot of the books I read about him; as Christina says, it's not a terribly uncommon response to suppression by higher classes. I did find it very interesting to see that rough concept already being passed around (and even taking hold) here in Middle Ages Iran.
Extra History
2017-12-09 21:12:24 +0000 UTCYep, she and Nick are now the ones taking turns on each series! They're both so fun to work with.
Extra History
2017-12-09 21:10:56 +0000 UTCWon't be long now! He'll poke his face in with Episode 2.
Extra History
2017-12-09 21:10:18 +0000 UTCThey're gonna face a lot of problems next episode, though Mazdak is not necessarily the driving factor behind the economic ones. Dun dun DUN!
Extra History
2017-12-09 21:10:05 +0000 UTCYou folks voted for it, it was my pleasure to write the series! It's been a lot of fun.
Extra History
2017-12-09 21:06:40 +0000 UTCI gave the time twiiiiice (2:56 and6:23) but I'm learning that I need to signpost that info better, which is good feedback for me. Pavel, the Fortress of Oblivion was called that because it was meant to be a political prison where, once someone was sent there, they were supposed to be cast into oblivion i.e. forgotten and their name completely erased from memory. Doesn't work when the prisoner keeps breaking out, though! -Soraya
Extra History
2017-12-09 21:06:18 +0000 UTCAlas! Poor Fortress of Oblivion and its Very Cool Name.
Extra History
2017-12-09 21:05:05 +0000 UTCMan, I miss Total War. I gotta get back into it.
Extra History
2017-12-09 20:47:53 +0000 UTCHoly cow, how is it I grew up in a Persian home and NOT hear about this! This is game of thrones set in Iran how is this not a thing! And that prison title, granted in Farsi the words can also mean forgotten castle, how awesome is that!
Farzad Mansouri
2017-12-09 14:01:04 +0000 UTCThis is amazing! Thank you so much for doing this series! I'm looking forward to seeing how Khosaru's reign goes! Mazdak sounds like a really interesting character. I'd heard of him and his proto-communism before, but I'd love to see a whole series on him someday!
Colin
2017-12-09 12:19:23 +0000 UTC467AD therabouts
Darren Loo
2017-12-09 06:31:55 +0000 UTCso long as there are people in power who have their boots on someones neck, there will be someone who wants to remove that boot
Robert S
2017-12-08 22:45:12 +0000 UTCIt's been a perennial issue for religious reformers. When the Lollard rebellion following the thoughts of Wycliffe started in England during the 100-years war, the slogan was "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the noble man?" The goal was as much about overthrowing the nobility and distributing the land as it was about finer points of theology. Early Hussites expressed similar thoughts and also inspired peasant rebellions. The Yellow Turbans in China, a Daoist rebellion that ended the Han dynasty, had similar thoughts. So did the Taiping Rebellion in the 19th century.
Christina Maria Jessen
2017-12-08 21:30:41 +0000 UTCWhen Sudakh was defeated did he openly revolt or did he just lose massive favor with his king and get jumped by the other nobles?
Sean Sarff
2017-12-08 21:21:38 +0000 UTCHold on... Redistributing the wealth and removing the higher ups in the political system? Is that communism I her? *Soviet Union anthem starts blasting*
Aidan Forero
2017-12-08 20:49:08 +0000 UTCI thought that looked like Lili's art. A great episode! Looking forward to the rest. -Happy Kitty-
Kathyrne
2017-12-08 20:22:26 +0000 UTCAwesome episode, can't wait for Justinian to show up!
Ryan Wojciechowski
2017-12-08 20:04:16 +0000 UTCMazdak is not only a damn hippie, but also a damn commie. Calling it now: if this guy continues to do what he's doing, no later than in 2nd or 3rd episode Persia will face huge economic problems.
Pavel Yakushevich
2017-12-08 19:48:57 +0000 UTCGot to give it to them, it does sound badass even in English. Wonder how it was called in Persian; there's probably some double entendre missed in translation or some interesting story behind this name.
Pavel Yakushevich
2017-12-08 19:42:25 +0000 UTCIt's great to learn about the history of other areas of the world! Thanks!
Jason Youngberg
2017-12-08 18:53:56 +0000 UTCBy the way, what year are we talking about here? The episode seemed somewhat lacking in dates... (Also, calling something the "Fortress of Oblivion" is just kind of asking for trouble...)
Cifer
2017-12-08 18:34:36 +0000 UTCThe Fortress of Oblivion just wasn't as good as the Fortress of Morrowind.
Christopher Smith
2017-12-08 18:25:11 +0000 UTCI was Playing Total War: Rome II a couple of Months ago as the Romans with Two Armies and One was in a Straight Line while the other had formed up diagonally, and I envisioned a Conversation between the Two Generals in which One was saying to the other, "You call THAT a Battle Line?!? I Call it a DISGRACE!!!"
Martin Verran
2017-12-08 18:00:46 +0000 UTC
