Compiled by Lewis Loflin
As a Deist, I see the Byzantine-Persian wars (6th-7th centuries) as a human saga of exhaustion, not divine fate. Khosrow I’s raids, Heraclius’ counterstrikes, and relentless conflict bled both empires dry, paving the way for Islam’s swift rise. Reason reveals how war, plague, and intolerance—not celestial will—crumbled these powers by 652 AD, ending Sassanid Persia and shrinking Byzantium.
The Byzantine-Persian wars of the 6th century weakened both empires, priming them for Islamic conquest. Khosrow I (r. 531-579) offered peace in 532, which Justinian (r. 527-565) accepted to secure his east while reconquering the West. Khosrow jokingly sought spoils; Justinian sent gifts. In 540, alleging treaty breaches, Khosrow invaded Syria—likely exploiting Byzantium’s western focus—sacking Hierapolis, Apamea, and Aleppo for ransoms, then storming Antioch, massacring many and deporting survivors to Persia.
In 541, Belisarius arrived but didn’t pursue Khosrow, who retreated with spoils across the Euphrates. Neither side could hold enemy land long, resorting to raids. The Lazic War (542-562) over Lazica (modern Georgia) ended inconclusively with a 562 truce—Justinian paid 30,000 gold pieces annually for Persia to cede Caucasus claims. Earlier, in 545, he paid 2,000 pounds of gold for five years, extended by 2,600 more.
In 570, Khosrow aided Himyarites against Abyssinians, irking Justin II (r. 565-574), who declared war in 572 with Turk allies. Khosrow captured Dara; his general Adarmaan sacked Apamea. Justin abdicated after defeats; Tiberius II (r. 574-582) secured a three-year peace. In 578, Khosrow, fearing a Byzantine buildup, invaded but lost at Melitene to Tiberius’ forces, dying in 579. Succession turmoil installed Khosrow II Parviz (r. 590-628), backed by Maurice (r. 582-602).
When Maurice was murdered by Phocas (r. 602-610) in 602, Khosrow II declared war, avenging his ally. From 605-613, Sassanids seized Dara, Amida, Edessa, Hierapolis, Aleppo, Apamea, Caesarea, and Damascus. In 614, aided by 26,000 Jews, he took Jerusalem, massacring Christians and seizing the True Cross. By 616, Alexandria fell; by 619, Egypt was Persian. Another army captured Chalcedon (617-627), taxing provinces into ruin, weakening both empires for Arab conquest.
Heraclius (r. 610-641) faced near collapse—only coastal enclaves remained. Initially planning to flee to Carthage, he rallied, launching a 624 counterattack via Armenia. He razed Clorumia (Zoroaster’s birthplace), defeated Persian armies, and, in 627, won at Nineveh. Khosrow II fled; his son Kavadh II (r. 628) killed him and ceded all gains plus the True Cross. Exhausted, both empires regained old borders, oblivious to Arab raids starting in 629.
A 629 plague ravaged Persia, killing Kavadh II and thousands. Shattered Byzantine provinces and a weakened Persia fell swiftly to Arabs—Sassanid Persia ended by 652. Wars, plague, and intolerance left both defenseless.
Heraclius I rescued Byzantium from Justinian’s financial ruin, settling Huns in the Balkans and defeating Persia by 628, ending its empire. Yet, in 610, Muhammad’s message birthed Islam, raiding Byzantine Syria by 641. Focus shifted east, fading Western ties.
Muslims conquered Syria and Egypt, exploiting Christian and Jewish discontent from Justinian’s persecutions. Umayyad attacks (670, 717-718) failed against Leo III (r. 717-741). Byzantium retook Syria by the 10th century but lost Anatolia to Seljuks at Manzikert (1071).
Alexius I (r. 1081-1118) sought European aid, sparking Crusades. They pushed back Seljuks but sacked Constantinople in 1204. Byzantium limped on, retaking the city in 1261, until Ottomans ended it in 1453, renaming it Istanbul.
Sources: Durant, *The Age of Faith* (1950), pp. 142-151; Hooker, http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MA/BYZ.HTM. Thanks to Grok, an AI by xAI, for aiding refinement.
As a Deist, I see reason, not divine will, in history’s turns. Early Christian schisms—Monophysitism, Nestorianism, Arianism—fractured unity, as explored in What Split Early Christianity? and Arian Goths and Jews in the West. The Byzantine Empire Overview and Byzantine-Persian Wars Overview reveal how relentless conflicts with Sassanid Persia (Religion in the Persian Sassanid Dynasty) drained both empires by the 7th century. Persecution of heretics and Jews under Catholic rule, replacing Arian tolerance, alienated populations. Exhausted and divided, these powers crumbled before Islam’s swift advance post-630 AD—a human tale of strife opening doors to a new faith.
