Sasanian Empire

last pre-Islamic Iranian empire (224–651 AD)

179 dated entries naming Sasanian Empire, drawn from 145 separate years between 243 BCE and 705 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

Also written as Sasanid Empire, Sassanian Empire, Sassanid, Sassanid Dynasty, Sassanid Empire, Sassanides, Sassanids in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

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3rd century BC

243 BCEPtolemy III returns from his conquests of Seleucid territory with a large amount of treasure and works of art, including many statues of Egyptian gods carried off to Persia by Cambyses. He restores the statues to the Egyptian temples and earns the title of Euergetes ("Benefactor").source

2nd century

178In India, the decline of the Kushan Empire begins. The Sassanides take over Central Asia.source
180Ardashir I, founder of the Sasanian Empire (died 242)source

3rd century

224April 28 – Battle of Hormozdgan: King Ardashir I defeats Artabanus V, destroying the Parthian Empire, and establishing the Sassanid Dynasty. Artabanus V's brother Vologases VI will continue to rule, with Armenian and Kushan support, over outlying parts of Parthia.source
228King Ardashir I, four years after establishing the Sassanid Persian Empire, completes his conquest of Parthia.source
230Emperor Alexander Severus decides that Thessaly should be a separate province from Macedonia. He increases taxes, in order to maintain the war against the Sassanids, and strengthen the defenses of the Roman Empire.source
230King Ardashir I of the Persian Empire invades the Roman province of Mesopotamia, and unsuccessfully besieges the fortress town of Nisibis (Turkey). His army threatens the border outposts of Syria and Cappadocia.source
231Emperor Alexander Severus accompanies his mother Julia Mamaea to Syria, and campaigns against the Persians. Military command rests in the hands of his generals, but his presence gives additional weight to the empire's policy.source
232Roman–Persian Wars: Emperor Alexander Severus launches a three-pronged counterattack against the Persian forces of King Ardashir I, who have invaded Mesopotamia. However, the Roman army advancing through Armenia is halted. Alexander gives the order to march to the capital at Ctesiphon, but the Romans are defeated, and withdraw to Syria. The result is an acceptance of the status quo, and after heavy losses on both sides, a truce is signed.source
233Emperor Alexander Severus celebrates a triumph in Rome to observe his "victory" the previous year over the Persians (in reality, Severus Alexander advanced towards Ctesiphon in 233, but as corroborated by Herodian, his armies suffered a humiliating defeat against Ardashir I). He is soon summoned to the Rhine frontier, where the Alamanni invade what is now modern-day Swabia. German tribes destroy Roman forts, and plunder the countryside at the Limes Germanicus.source
240April 12 – Prince Shapur I becomes co-ruler of the Sasanian Empire with his father King Ardashir I.source
241Prince Shapur I succeeds his father Ardashir I as ruler of the Sassanid Empire. He begins his expansion in India.source
242Ardashir I, king of the Sassanid Empire (born 180)source
242King Ardashir I, founder of the Sassanid Empire, dies after a 30-year reign. He is succeeded by his son and co-ruler Shapur I.source
243Timesitheus becomes ill and dies under suspicious circumstances. Shapur I retreats to the Sassanid Empire, giving up all the territories he has conquered.source
244Philip the Arab (Marcus Julius Philippus) declares himself co-emperor, and makes a controversial peace with the Sassanian Empire, withdrawing from their territory and giving Shapur 500,000 gold pieces. The Sassanians occupy Armenia.source
251Sassanid King Shapur I orders an invasion of Syria, with the intent of finally capturing the city of Antioch during the campaign of 251–254.source
252Georgia submits peacefully to Shapur I, and becomes a vassal of the Sassanid Empire.source
253Aemilianus rules the Roman Empire for three months; he promises to fight in Thrace and goes to war against Persia. The Senate gives him the rank of Pontifex Maximus.source
253Valerianus I splits the Roman Empire in two; Gallienus taking control of the West and his father ruling the East, where he faces the Persian threat.source
254The Roman Empire is threatened by several peoples on their borders: the Germanic confederations, such as the Franks on the Middle Rhine, the Alemanni on the upper Rhine and Danube, and the Marcomanni facing the provinces at Noricum and Raetia. On land the confederation of Goths threaten the lower Danube provinces, and on the sea they threaten the shores of Thracia, Bithynia et Pontus, and Cappadocia. In the eastern provinces, the Sassanid Persians had the previous year defeated a Roman field army at Barballisos, and afterwards plundered the defenseless provinces. This period of time is called today the Crisis of the Third Century.source
256King Shapur I of the Sasanian Empire invades Mesopotamia and Syria. He conquers and plunders Antioch, destroys Dura-Europos, and sacks the Anatolian city of Zeugma on the Euphrates. A devastating fire and an earthquake soon follow, causing Zeugma to be abandoned.source
257Emperor Valerian recovers Antioch, Syria from King Shapur I of Persia.source
266King Odaenathus of Palmyra invades Persia to conquer the capital, Ctesiphon, and twice comes as far as the walls of the Persian capital, but fails to take it. After his victories in the East, he pronounces himself with the title "king of kings".source
270Shapur I (the Great), ruler of the Sassanid Empiresource
271King Shapur I builds the Academy of Gundishapur (Iran), which becomes the intellectual center of the Sassanid Empire.source
271Hormizd I (or Ohrmazd), ruler of the Sassanid Empiresource
272Aurelian besieges Palmyra. Zenobia attempts to escape to Persia but is captured on the Euphrates. Palmyra surrenders soon after.source
272Shapur I (the Great), king of the Sassanid Empiresource
273King Hormizd I of Persia dies after a brief reign in which he has shown tolerance toward the ascetic, anti-materialist Manichean faith. He is succeeded by his brother Bahram I, who has been governing the province of Atropatene. Bahram proceeds to crush a rebellion by various vassal kings.source
273Hormizd I, king of the Sassanid Empiresource
274March 2 – Mani, a sage of Persia, dies at Gundeshapur after 30 years of preaching his "heresy" at the court of the late Sassanian King Shapur I and on long journeys to Khorasan, India and China. He is executed or allowed to die in prison, and claims to be a prophet of God. Mani combines Zoroastrian dualism with Christian theology, and his disciples gain wide support for Manichaeism, despite opposition from Roman Emperors.source
274September – Bahram I, king of the Sassanid Empiresource
276Bahram I, king of the Sassanid Empiresource
276King Bahram I of Persia dies after a 3-year reign, in which the Zoroastrian priests at Ctesiphon (Iran) put pressure on him to persecute Buddhists, Christians, and Manichaeans. He is succeeded by his son Bahram II.source
280King Bahram II of the Sassanid Empire (Persia) sends envoys to seek peaceful relations with Rome.source
283Exploiting the Persian civil war, Carus leaves Carinus in charge of much of the Roman Empire and, accompanied by his younger son Numerian, invades the Sassanid Empire. They sack Seleucia and Ctesiphon, the capital of the Persian kingdom, and they press on beyond the Tigris. For his victories, Carus receives the title of Persicus Maximus.source
287Diocletian signs a peace treaty with King Bahram II of Persia, and installs the pro-Roman Arsacid Tiridates III as king over the western portion of Armenia.source
293King Bahram II of the Persian Empire dies after a 17-year reign; his son Bahram III ascends to the throne. After four months, Bahram III's great-uncle Narseh, the king of Persarmenia, marches on the Persian capital Ctesiphon with the support of a faction of the nobility and the eastern Satraps. Bahram is overthrown and Narseh is declared the new King of Kings.source
293Bahram II, king of the Sassanid Empiresource
298Caesar Galerius restores Tiridates III to the throne of Armenia and invades the Sassanid Empire. His army marches through Adiabene, Atropatene, Susiana and Lower Mesopotamia. He then retakes the strategically important city of Nisibis in Upper Mesopotamia.source

4th century

302Narseh (or Narses), ruler of the Sassanid Empiresource
302Narseh, ruler (Shahanshah) of the Sassanid Empire, dies after a 9-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Hormizd II.source
309King Hormizd II, ruler of the Sassanid Empire, demands that the king of the Ghassanids pays tribute. After the king refuses, Hormizd invades Ghassanid territory. The Ghassanids seek aid from Maximinus Daza, but before a Roman army can arrive, Hormizd defeats the Ghassanid army and kills their king. A Ghassanid force then ambushes Hormizd's small retinue while the latter is on a hunting trip, and the Sasanian king is mortally wounded. He dies after a 7-year reign.source
309Shapur II (the Great), king of the Sassanid Empire (died 379)source
337King Shapur II of Persia begins a war against the Roman Empire. He sends his troops across the Tigris to recover Armenia and Mesopotamia.source
338Shapur II, king of the Persian Empire, begins a widespread persecution of Christians. He orders forcible conversions to the state religion, Zoroastrianism, lest the Christians disrupt his realm while he is away fighting the Romans in Armenia and Mesopotamia.source
339Emperor Constantius II hastens to his territory in the East, where a revived Persia under King Shapur II is attacking Mesopotamia. For the next 11 years, the two powers engage in a war of border skirmishing, with no real victor.source
343The Eastern Roman Emperor Constantius II campaigns in Adiabene, a vassal kingdom of Armenia (Persian Empire).source
344The Eastern Roman Emperor Constantius II campaigns in eastern Mesopotamia, against the Sassanid Persians.source
348In Persia, women are enrolled in the army to perform auxiliary services.source
350About this time the Huns begin to invade the Sassanid Empire.source
357Winter – Constantius II receives ambassadors from the Persian Empire. They demand that Rome restore the lands surrendered by King Narseh.source
359King Shapur II the Great of the Persian Empire invades southern Armenia. The Romans implement a scorched earth policy and place strong guards at the Euphrates crossings.source
362July 18 – Emperor Julian arrives at Antioch with an expeditionary force (60,000 men), and stays there for nine months, to launch a campaign against the Persian Empire. He secures the co-operation of King Arsaces of Armenia, who fights a bloody guerrilla war against the Persians.source
363June 16 – The Roman army starts its retreat northward to Corduene (Armenia). Julian marches back up the Tigris and burns his fleet of supply ships. During the withdrawal Julian's forces suffer several attacks from the Persians.source
369King Shapur II occupies the pro-Roman kingdom of Armenia. He besieges Artogerassa in modern Georgia, where Papas (Pap), son of King Arsaces II (Arshak II), defends the fortress and the royal treasure against Persian forces.source
371The Persian Empire attains the zenith of its power under King Shapur II as the Romans renew their war against Persia. Hostilities will continue for the next 5 years.source
373King Shapur II declares war as a result of Valens' support of Armenia. Emperor Valens makes Antioch his military base for the campaign against Persia.source
377Valens concludes a peace with the Persian Empire and leaves enough troops to defend the eastern frontier. The Saracens under Queen Mavia revolt and devastate a swath of territory stretching from Phoenicia and Palestine as far as the Sinai (Egypt). Valens successfully brings the uprising under control.source
379King Shapur II, ruler of the Persian Empire, age 70, dies after a 69-year reign in which he conquered Armenia and transferred multitudes of people from the western lands to Susiana (Khuzistan). The great town Nishapur in Khorasan (eastern Parthia) is also founded by him. His brother Ardashir II, governor-king of Adiabene, is placed by the nobles on the throne.source
379Shapur II (the Great), ruler of the Sasanian Empire (born 309)source
384King Shapur III signs the Peace of Acilisene with Theodosius I. Armenia is divided in two kingdoms and becomes a vassal state of the Roman Empire and Persia. The friendly relations survive for 36 years.source
386Emperor Theodosius I signs a peace treaty with King Shapur III; they divide Armenia into two kingdoms (vassal states). The treaty establishes friendly relations between the Roman Empire and Persia for the next 36 years.source
387Peace of Acilisene: King Shapur III signs a treaty with Theodosius I. Armenia is divided in two kingdoms, and becomes a vassal state of the Roman Empire and Persia.source
388King Shapur III dies after a reign in which he has partitioned Armenia with the Roman Empire. He is succeeded by his son Bahram IV, who becomes the twelfth Sassanid king of Persia.source
388Shapur III, king of the Sassanid Empire (Persia)source
399Bahram IV, king of the Sassanid Empire (Persia)source
399King Bahram IV dies after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by Yazdegerd I, who becomes the thirteenth Sassanid Emperor of Persia.source
400Anthemius, praetorian prefect of the East, is sent on an embassy to the Persian capital, Ctesiphon, to congratulate King Yazdegerd I on his accession the year before.source
400Bahram V, Sasanian King of Kings (shahanshah)source

5th century

408King Yazdegerd I of Persia maintains cordial relations with the Roman Empire. He becomes an executor of Arcadius' will and is entrusted with the care of the young Theodosius II until he comes of age.source
414Abdas, bishop of Susa, burns down a Zoroastrian temple; in retaliation, King Yazdegerd I of Persia orders the destruction of churches.source
420Yazdegerd I dies after a 21-year reign, and is succeeded by his son Bahram V, who becomes head of the Persian Empire.source
420January 21 – Yazdegerd I, king of the Sassanid Empiresource
421Roman–Sassanid War: Theodosius II starts a war against the Sassanids, sending an expeditionary force under command of Ardaburius, and invades Mesopotamia.source
422End of the Roman–Sassanid War: Emperor Theodosius II signs a 100-year peace treaty with Persia after 2 years of war. He agrees to a status quo ante bellum ("the state in which things were before the war"), and both parties guarantee liberty of religion in their territories.source
427The Ephthalites (White Huns) invade Western Asia and reduce the Sasanian Empire threat to the Eastern Roman Empire. King Bahram V sends an expeditionary force into Khorasan.source
428Artaxias IV, last king of Greater Armenia, is deposed by Bahram V. The Arshakuni Dynasty ends and the kingdom becomes a province of the Persian Empire.source
438Bahram V dies after an 18-year reign as Sassanid king of the Persian Empire. He is succeeded by his son Yazdegerd II.source
438Bahram V, king of the Persian Empiresource
440The Hephthalites (White Huns) move south from the Altai Mountains region into Transoxiana, Bactria, Khorasan and eastern Persia.source
441King Yazdegerd II of Persia signs a peace treaty after a short war with the Eastern Roman Empire. Theodosius II sends his commander, Anatolius, to conclude his terms and promise not to build any new fortifications along the border territories.source
442Veh Mihr Shapur, Sasanian military officer and Marzban of Armeniasource
449Kavadh I, king of the Persian Empire (died 531)source
450King Yazdegerd II summons the leading Armenian nobles to the Persian capital Ctesiphon, pressuring them to cut their ties with the Western Church.source
457Yazdegerd II dies after a 19-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Hormizd III who seizes the Persian throne. His elder brother Peroz I rebels against him in Sistan (Iran). After months of civil war he defeats Hormizd and becomes the seventeenth Sasanian king of the Persian Empire.source
457Yazdegerd II, king of the Persian Empiresource
459Hormizd III, king of the Sasanian Empire (approximate date)source
460A famine that will last for several years begins in the Persian Empire (approximate date).source
473Kavad I, king (shah) of the Sasanian Empire from 488 to 531, with an interruption of two yearssource
481The Armenians revolt against Persian rule, in an uprising that continues until 484. Led by Vahan Mamikonian, nephew of the late Vartan, they obtain religious and political freedom in return for military aid. Vahan is installed as governor (marzban).source
488Kavadh I is crowned by the nobles, and succeeds his blind uncle Balash as the 19th king of Persia.source
488Balash, king of the Persian Empiresource
496King Kavadh I of Persia is deposed and exiled to Susiana by his younger brother Djamasp. He is installed by the nobles to the Sassanid throne.source
498Kavadh I returns from exile with support of 30,000 Hephthalites (White Huns), and again assumes the Sassanid throne. He punishes his opponents and probably his brother Djamasp, who usurped the throne from him.source

6th century

505The white Huns (Hephthalites) from the Caucasus invade the Persian Empire.source
506November – Emperor Anastasius I accepts a peace agreement with the Sasanian Empire (Persia), based on the status quo. He upgrades the fortifications at Batnae, Edessa and Amida (Northern Mesopotamia).source
510The Sasanian Persians conquer the independent kingdom of Caucasian Albania, a state converted to Christianity in the 4th century by Armenian missionaries (approximate date).source
529The Academy, originally founded at Athens by Plato around 387 BC, closes down by order of Justinian I, on charges of un-Christian activity. Many of the school's professors emigrate to Persia and Syria.source
530Spring – Battle of Dara: Belisarius and Hermogenes (magister officiorum) defeat a combined Persian-Arab army of 50,000 men at Dara (modern Turkey), by entrenching his infantry in a refused position in the centre line, then carrying out a cavalry envelopment to culminate a classic defensive-offensive battleplan.source
531Kavadh I, king of the Persian Empire (born 449)source
532September – Justinian I signs a peace treaty, the "Eternal Peace", with the Persian king Khosrau I, ending the Iberian War (527-531). Both sides agree to return all occupied territories, and Justinian makes a one-off payment of 110 centenaria (11,000 pounds of gold), as a contribution to the defense of the Caucasus passes.source
540King Khosrow I breaks the "Eternal Peace" treaty with the Byzantine Empire after eight years. Responding to an embassy from the Ostrogoths urging action against Emperor Justinian I's expanding power, he leads the Persian army up the River Euphrates. Extracting tributes from towns along the way, Khosrau I besieges and captures Antioch. He plunders the city extensively, transporting valuable artworks, including marble statues and mosaics, back to Persia.source
541Lazic War: King Khosrau I intervenes in Lazica (modern Georgia), and supports the weakened king Gubazes II against a full-scale uprising. He sends an expeditionary force under Mermeroes and captures the Byzantine stronghold of Petra, located on the coast of the Black Sea, which provides the Persians a strategic port.source
542Lazic War – Justinian I sends a Byzantine army (30,000 men) to Armenia. The Persians, severely outnumbered, are forced to retreat, but at Dvin the Byzantines are defeated by a force of 4,000 men in an ambush, and are completely routed.source
543Summer – Khosrow I, Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire, invades Syria again, and turns south towards Edessa to besiege the fortress city.source
544King Khosrau I unsuccessfully attacks the Byzantine fortress city of Dara. The siege of Edessa is repulsed, and the Persians are forced into a stalemate.source
548Lazic War: King Gubazes II revolts against the Persians, and requests aid from Justinian I. He sends a Byzantine expeditionary force (8,000 men) to Lazica (modern Georgia).source
549Spring – Lazic War: The Byzantine army under Bessas combines forces with King Gubazes II, and defeats the Persians in Lazica (modern Georgia) in a surprise attack. The survivors retreat into Caucasian Iberia.source
550The Sassanid Empire, under the reign of King Khosrow I, controls the trade of silk destined for Europe and the Byzantine Empire.source
553The Sassanid commander Mihr-Mihroe force the Byzantines to retreat from Telephis and later Ollaria. (See Battle of Telephis–Ollaria).source
555King Gubazes II is invited to observe the siege of a Persian-held fortress, and is murdered by the Byzantine military staff after accusing them of incompetence.source
556Lazic War: A Byzantine expeditionary force under Justin retakes Archaeopolis (modern Georgia), and routs the Persian army.source
557The Göktürks under Muqan Qaghan ally with the Persian Empire, and destroy the Hephthalites (White Huns) in Central Asia.source
562Emperor Justinian I signs a peace treaty with the Sasanid Empire. The status quo ante is restored, with Lazica (modern Georgia) in Byzantine hands.source
568The Turks and Sassanids succeed in destroying the Hepthalites on the eastern frontier (approximate date).source
570Ctesiphon, capital of the Sassanid Empire, becomes the largest city in the world, taking the lead from Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.source
572Byzantine–Sassanid War of 572–591: Emperor Justin II refuses to pay the annual tribute to Khosrau I, putting an end to the 50-year peace treaty established ten years earlier. The Armenians are considered allies to the Byzantine Empire, and Justin sends a Byzantine army into Persian territory, besieging the fortress city of Nisibis (modern Turkey).source
573Byzantine–Sassanid War: Persian forces under the command of King Khosrau I capture the Byzantine stronghold of Dara, after a six-month siege. Meanwhile, a smaller Persian army under Adarmahan advances from Babylon through the desert, crosses the Euphrates River and ravages Syria. The cities of Apamea and Antiochia are plundered.source
574The Persian Empire overthrows the Axumite- and Byzantine-affiliated regimes in Yemen (Arabian Peninsula).source
575Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Byzantine army under command of Maurice drives the Persians from Cappodocia (modern Turkey), and strengthens the Byzantine position in Caucasian Albania.source
576Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Persian army under King Khosrau I breaks through the Caucasus into Anatolia (modern Turkey). They attack the cities of Theodosiopolis and Caesarea, but are thwarted. Khosrau is forced to retreat and sacks Sebasteia. On the way home, he is intercepted by a Byzantine force under Justinian (magister militum of the East), and severely defeated near Melitene. The royal baggage is captured, and many Persians drown, while escaping across the Euphrates.source
577Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Byzantine expeditionary force under command of Justinian (magister militum) invades Caucasian Albania, launching raids across the Caspian Sea against the Persians.source
579Khosrau I, king of the Persian Empiresource
579Khosrau I dies after a 48-year reign, during which he has extended his realm from the River Oxus to the Red Sea. He is succeeded by his son Hormizd IV, who becomes king of the Persian Empire.source
581Byzantine–Sasanian War: A Byzantine army commanded by Maurice, and supported by Ghassanid forces under King Al-Mundhir III, fails to capture the Persian capital, Ctesiphon, along the Euphrates.source
582A Persian army under Tamkhosrau crosses the Euphrates River and attacks the city of Constantina (modern Turkey), but he is defeated by the Byzantines and killed.source
582Tamkhosrau, Sassanid Persian general (marzban)source
582August 14 – Emperor Tiberius II Constantine, age 47, dies (possibly from deliberately poisoned food) at Constantinople, after a 4-year reign during which Thrace and Greece have been inundated by the Slavs. He is succeeded by his son-in-law Maurice, former notary who has commanded the Byzantine army in the war against the Persian Empire.source
585The Persian commander, Kardarigan ("black hawk"), begins an unsuccessful siege of Monokarton (modern Turkey).source
586Battle of Solachon: A Byzantine army under command of Philippicus defeats the Sassanid Persians, near Dara.source
588Byzantine-Sassanid War: Unpaid Byzantine troops mutiny against Priscus (magister militum per Orientem). King Hormizd IV begins a Persian offensive, but is defeated at Martyropolis (modern Turkey).source
589Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Persian army under Bahrām Chobin captures the fortress city of Martyropolis (modern Turkey).source
590Hormizd IV, king of the Persian Empiresource
590February 15 – Hormizd IV is deposed and assassinated by Persian nobles. Having ruled since 579, he is succeeded by his son Khosrau II as king of the Persian Empire.source
591Khosrau II is reinstalled as king of the Persian Empire. Peace with Constantinople is concluded after a war of almost 20 years. Maurice receives the Persian provinces of Armenia and Georgia. The recognition of the traditional frontiers, and the cessation of subsidies for the Caucasus forts, leaves the Byzantines in a dominant position in their relations with Persia.source
599King Khosrau II sends a Persian expedition to South Arabia and conquers Yemen. He establishes a military base to control the sea trade with the East (approximate date).source
600The Persians begin to use windmills for irrigation (approximate date).source
600Possibly the first reference to chess is made in the Persian work Karnamak-i-Artakhshatr-i-Papakan.source

7th century

604Byzantine–Persian War: King Khosrau II captures the Byzantine positions east of the Euphrates; the Persians destroy many cities in the Levant region, after prolonged sieges such as the Byzantine fortress of Dara (modern Turkey).source
605As a result of a quarrel between the Lakhmid kingdom (Southern Iraq) and King Khosrau II, the Persian frontier with Arabia is no longer guarded (approximate date).source
609Battle of Dhi Qar: Arab tribesmen of Bakr ibn Wa'il defeat a Persian force (5,000 men), at a watering place near Kufa (Southern Iraq).source
611Byzantine–Persian War: The Persian army under Shahrbaraz captures Antioch, and most of the remaining Byzantine fortresses in Syria and Mesopotamia. King Khosrau II is re-establishing a neo-Persian Empire, and intensifies his war effort. The Byzantine army, ruined by defeat and corruption, offers only half-hearted opposition.source
614The Sudarium of Oviedo is taken from Palestine, after the invasion of the Sassanid Persians.source
616Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628: The Jews of Jerusalem gain complete control over the city; much of Judea and Galilee becomes an autonomous Jewish province of the Persian Empire. The Jewish Temple is rebuilt by Nehemiah ben Hushiel (exilarch of Jerusalem), who establishes a High Priesthood.source
617Byzantine-Sassanid War: The Persian army under Shahin Vahmanzadegan conquers Chalcedon in Anatolia, and reaches the Bosporus, threatening Constantinople. Emperor Heraclius begins peace negotiations, promising an annual tribute of 1,000 talents of gold and silver. Shahin withdraws with his army to Syria, to focus on the invasion of Egypt.source
618Byzantine–Sassanian War: A Persian expeditionary force under Shahrbaraz invades Egypt, and occupies the province. After defeating the Byzantine garrisons in the Nile Valley, the Persians march across the Libyan Desert as far as Cyrene.source
620Byzantine–Sassanid War: King Khosrau II captures Ancyra, an important Byzantine military base in central Anatolia. After the conquest of Egypt and Palestine, he restores the Persian Empire as it existed in 490 BC under Darius I.source
621Emperor Heraclius concludes a peace agreement (in exchange for an annual tribute) with the Avars on the Balkan Peninsula, giving him a free hand to assemble Byzantine forces in Asia Minor, for non-military expenditure against the Persian Empire.source
621Ardashir III, king of the Persian Empire (died 629)source
622Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius sails from Constantinople with an expeditionary force (probably 50,000 men), and starts a counter-offensive against the Persian Empire (his young son, Constantine III, is left behind as regent under the charge of Sergius I, patriarch of Constantinople, and patrician Bonus). He lands a few days later at the junction of Cilicia and Syria, near Alexandretta and ancient Issus.source
623Byzantine–Sassanid War: Emperor Heraclius invades Armenia, leaving his son Constantine (age 11) and co-regent Bonus to defend Constantinople against the Persians still at Chalcedon (modern Turkey). He sails with 5,000 reinforcements to join the Byzantine army at Trapezus. Raising additional forces in Pontus, Heraclius strikes through the mountains of Armenia and the northern sub-Caucasian principalities. He plunders Media (Azerbaijan), and avoids the Persian armies who attempt to trap him.source
624Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius advances with an expeditionary force (40,000 men) along the Araxes River, destroying the fortress city of Dvin, capital of Armenia, and Nakhchivan (modern Azerbaijan). At Ganzak, Heraclius defeats the Persian army and destroys the famous fire temple at Takht-e Soleymān, an important Zoroastrian shrine. He winters his army in Caucasian Albania to gather forces for the next year.source
624Yazdegerd III, king of the Persian Empire (died 651)source
626Winter – Heraclius makes an alliance with Tong Yabghu Qaghan, ruler (khagan) of the Western Turkic Khaganate, for a joint invasion of the Persian Empire the following spring. He promises his daughter Eudoxia Epiphania, age 15, in marriage to Tong Yabghu and sends her under escort with wondrous gifts.source
627Spring – Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius sweeps through southern Armenia with a 50,000-man expeditionary force, recapturing most of the Byzantine fortresses lost to the Persians ten and fifteen years earlier. The army of Shahrbaraz, still in Anatolia, is now cut off completely. Hearing from Byzantine agents (showing him letters) that King Khosrau II, dissatisfied with his failure to capture Constantinople, is planning to have him executed, he surrenders to Heraclius, refusing to join the Byzantine army against his ungrateful sovereign.source
628February 25 – Khosrau II, the last great king of the Sasanian Empire, is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.source
628February 28 – Khosrau II, king of the Persian Empiresource
628September 6 – Ardashir III, age 7, succeeds his father Kavadh II as the twenty-fourth king of the Sasanian Empire on the latter's death from plague.source
628September 6 – Kavadh II, king of the Persian Empiresource
629April 27 – Shahrbaraz usurps the throne of the Sasanian Empire from Ardashir III, but is himself deposed forty days later by nobility in favour of Borandukht. Khosrow III briefly rules Khorasan in the confusion, until he is assassinated by the governor of the province.source
629September – Jerusalem is reconquered by the Byzantines (after 15 years of occupation), from the Persian Empire.source
630April 27 – King Ardashir III, age 9, is murdered after an 18 month reign. He is succeeded by Shahrbaraz who becomes ruler (shah) of the Sasanian Empire.source
630April 27 – Ardashir III, king of the Persian Empiresource
631Azarmidokht (daughter of king Khosrau II) succeeds her sister Borandukht, as monarch of the Persian Empire.source
631Borandukht, queen of the Persian Empiresource
632June 16 – Yazdegerd III, age 8, ascends to the throne as king (shah) of the Persian Empire. He becomes the last ruler of the Sassanid Dynasty (modern Iran).source
633March 18 – The Arabian Peninsula is united under the central authority of Abu Bakr. This sets the stage for the Islamic conquest of Persia and the fall of the Sassanid dynasty.source
633May – Battle of Walaja: The Rashidun Caliphate army under Khalid defeats the Persians and their Arab Christian allies. The Persian army is at least three times the size.source
634Battle of Firaz: The Rashidun Arabs (15,000 men) under Khalid ibn al-Walid defeat the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire, Persian Empire and Arab Christians (at least 10 times larger than Khalid's army) in Mesopotamia (Iraq).source
636The city of Basra (modern Iraq) is founded on the Shatt al-Arab, at the head of the Persian Gulf. The port will become a major trading center for commodities from Arabia, India, and Persia.source
637March – Siege of Ctesiphon: The Rashidun army (15,000 men) under Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas occupies the Persian capital of Ctesiphon, after a two-month siege. King Yazdegerd III flees with the imperial treasure eastward into Media. Muslim forces conquer the Persian provinces as far as Khuzestan (modern Iran).source
643Peroz III, son of Yazdegerd III, the last Sassanid king of Persia, flees to territory under the control of the Tang dynasty in China (approximate date).source
651Yazdegard III, king of the Sassanid Empiresource
651King Yazdegerd III of Persia is murdered in a miller's hut near Merv by his followers, ending both Persian resistance to Arab conquest, and the Sassanid Empire.source
662Muslim Conquest: Arab forces of the Umayyad Caliphate resume the push to capture Persian lands, and begin to move towards the lands east and north of the plateau, towards Greater Khorasan (Iran) and the Silk Road along Transoxiana.source
664Muslim Conquest: Arab forces under Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra begin launching raids from Persia, striking at Multan in the southern Punjab (modern Pakistan). Muslims conquer the city of Kabul, invading from eastern Afghanistan.source

8th century

705October 8 – Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan dies in his winter resort at Al-Sinnabra (Palestine), after a 20-year reign. During his rule, the financial administration of the Umayyad Caliphate has been reorganized. Arab coins have replaced former Byzantine and Sassanian coins, and regular postal service has been established between Damascus and the provincial capitals. Abd al-Malik is succeeded by his son Al-Walid I.source