Disorder at The Church of the East in Mesopotamia from The Reign of Khosrow Parviz to the fall of the Sassanian Dynasty

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Candidate of History of Iran, Islamic Azad University, Olum va Tahghighat branch, Tehran, Iran;

2 Assiastan Professor of History, University of Theran, Tehran, Iran

3 Associate professor of History, Islamic azad university, Olum va Tahghighat branch, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

During the reign of Khosrow Parviz, many Christians lived in Mesopotamia. The Church of the East in Mesopotamia, as one of the most important subdivisions of the Church of the East, was in disarray in that era. The purpose of this study is to examine the situation of this Church from the Reign of Khosrow Parviz until the fall of the Sasanian Dynasty. This research seeks to answer the question: what were the causes of the disorder of Church of the East in Mesopotamia in the reign of Khosrow Parviz until the fall of the Sasanian Dynasty? One of the important sources for the study of this period is the letters that Išō‘yahbIII (d.659 CE), Patriarch of the Church of the East in Mesopotamia which had been sent to the leaders of the Church at the time of Islamic Conquests. Analyzing the data and focusing on Išō‘yahbIII’s letters with a descriptive-analytical approach based on the historical method, showed that internal conflicts in this Church, which were political and doctrinal discrepancies, had endangered its existence. In fact, differences between the Nestorians and the Monophysites’ Christology had severely weakened the Church. Furthermore, the contradiction of the internal institutions of the Church had disturbed its consolidation. Some Zoroastrians, perceiving the lack of support from some Christians groups, began to disturb Christians and destroyed some churches and intensified the unrest. In fact, the disorder in the Church of the East in Mesopotamia had begun before the Islamic Conquest and from the beginning of the Islamic conquest until at least the fall of Sasanian dynasty, the Muslim rulers did not pose an acute problem for this Church.

Keywords

References

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Religions and Mysticism
Volume 54, Issue 2
March 2022
Pages 301-281

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