It is generally acknowledged among scholars in the field of Late Antiquity that relations
between the Roman and Iranian Empires reached its climax in the early fifth century. Countless
sources report a variety of co-operative events depicting positive dealings between the Iranian
shah Yazdgird and the Roman emperors Arcadius and Theodosius II. On the other hand, there
exist just as many accounts that Yazdgird persecuted the Christians of his realm towards the end
of his life. We are thus left with opposing narratives about the Iranian monarch, and no
clarification about what truly transpired.
This thesis seeks to clarify the ambiguities surrounding Yazdgird‟s reign. In order to
achieve this goal, the events and circumstances that led to the apogee of Roman-Iranian relations
is first retraced. An examination of potential sources of tension follows this, with the thesis
culminating in the final chapter directly engaging the question of whether Yazdgird persecuted
the Christians of his realm or not.
The focus of this study is not solely to answer the question outlined above, but also to
analyze and revise the entire topic utilizing a more holistic approach. Recent scholarship on East
Syrian Christianity and the Sasanian Empire aided in providing alternative perspectives to the
traditionally unilateral Roman views of the outlined issues. These different viewpoints in turn
helped shape new interpretations and conclusions concerning the apogee and decline of RomanoIranian relations in the early fifth century.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/39075 |
| Date | 16 April 2019 |
| Creators | Amanatidis-Saadé, George |
| Contributors | Greatrex, Geoffrey |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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