The Sassanid Empire's Canal System That Became Its Achilles' Heel

The Sassanid Empire's Last City: How Ctesiphon Fell to the Arabs

In this episode of The Biggest Mistakes That Destroyed Great Empires, Lucas and Luna focus on the fall of Ctesiphon, the magnificent capital of the Sassanid Empire. After the defeat at al-Qadisiyyah in 636 CE, the Rashidun Caliphate's army marched on the city. Lucas describes the city's legendary architecture, including the massive arch of Taq Kisra and the imperial treasury. He explains how the Romans and Parthians had failed to take Ctesiphon for centuries, but internal decay and the disastrous reign of Khosrow II left it vulnerable. The episode covers the Arab siege, the plundering of the Drafsh-e Kavian and the Takht-e Tāqdis throne, and the discovery of a hidden chamber of spices that perfumed the entire camp. Luna draws parallels to the fall of Constantinople, and Lucas reflects on how the loss of their capital shattered Sassanid morale. The episode ends with a note on the legacy of Persian culture in the Islamic world. #SassanidEmpire #Ctesiphon #TaqKisra #RashidunCaliphate #BattleOfAlQadisiyyah #YazdegerdIII #KhosrowII #DrafshEKavian #Zoroastrianism #PersianHistory #IslamicConquests #ArchOfCtesiphon #AncientCities #FallOfEmpires #SiegeWarfare #History #FexingoHistory #Mesopotamia Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Sassanid Empire's Deadly Royal Feud: The Suren vs the Mihran

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore one of the most destructive internal fractures within the late Sasanian Empire: the bitter rivalry between two of the Seven Great Houses, the Suren and the Mihran. While earlier episodes have covered military defeats and religious divisions, this episode zeroes in on how aristocratic infighting destabilized the empire from within during its final decades. We discuss the origins of the Suren and Mihran clans, their roles in the royal court and military, and how their personal vendettas — particularly the feud between the Suren spahbed Rostam Farrokhzad and the Mihran general Bahman Jadhuyih — directly contributed to defeats at al-Qadisiyyah and Nihavand. We also examine the wider political context: how Khosrow II's reliance on the wuzurgan (grandees) backfired, and how these ancient families prioritized clan loyalty over imperial survival. Using primary sources like Tabari and the Shahnameh, we piece together the web of alliances, betrayals, and assassinations that drained Persia's strength just as the Rashidun Caliphate was rising. #Suren #Mihran #SassanidEmpire #SevenGreatHouses #RostamFarrokhzad #BahmanJadhuyih #al-Qadisiyyah #Nihavand #wuzurgan #KhosrowII #Tabari #Shahnameh #spahbed #PersianHistory #LateAntiquity #RashidunCaliphate #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Sassanid Empire's Final Crisis: The Plague of Sheroe

In 628 CE, the Sassanid Empire was struck by a devastating plague that swept through Ctesiphon and the heartland of Persia, killing tens of thousands, including the newly crowned King Kavadh II (known as Sheroe) just months after he overthrew his father Khosrow II. This episode explores the Plague of Sheroe — a catastrophic epidemic that wiped out the royal court, shattered the succession, and left a power vacuum that the Arab conquerors would exploit within a decade. Lucas and Luna discuss what the sources tell us about the outbreak, how it compared to the earlier Plague of Justinian, and why it was the empire's final, fatal blow. Drawing on the accounts of Tabari, Sebeos, and the Chronicle of Khuzistan, they examine how the plague ravaged the capital, extinguished the male line of the Sasanian dynasty, and demoralized the Zoroastrian clergy. No previous Fexingo episode has focused on this specific catastrophe, making it a fresh angle on the empire's collapse. #SassanidEmpire #PlagueOfSheroe #Ctesiphon #KavadhII #KhosrowII #SasanianPlague #Tabari #Sebeos #ChronicleOfKhuzistan #PersianEmpire #LateAntiquity #EpidemicHistory #Zoroastrianism #History #FexingoHistory #EmpireCollapse #PlagueOfJustinian #AncientDisease Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Sassanid Empire's Last Spahbed: How Mahui Suri Betrayed Yazdegerd III

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the tragic final chapter of the Sassanid Empire, focusing on the betrayal of Yazdegerd III by his own governor, Mahui Suri, at Merv in 651 CE. Drawing on accounts from Tabari, the Shahnameh, and Chinese sources, they uncover how Mahui Suri, a Zoroastrian nobleman and spahbed, conspired with the Hephthalite mercenary Nezak Tarkan to murder the last Shahanshah, hoping to secure his own power but instead sealing the empire's doom. The discussion also delves into Yazdegerd's desperate flight from Ctesiphon to Khurasan, the crumbling alliance with the Marzban of Merv, and the aftermath: the Rashidun conquest of Greater Khorasan and the exile of Yazdegerd's son Pirooz to Tang China. This episode connects the dots between previous episodes about the Sassanid decline, showing how internal treachery, not just Arab military prowess, finished one of antiquity's greatest empires. #SassanidEmpire #YazdegerdIII #MahuiSuri #Merv #NezakTarkan #Tabari #Shahnameh #Spahbed #Marzban #Hephthalites #Khurasan #RashidunCaliphate #Pirooz #TangChina #Betrayal #History #FexingoHistory #WorldHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

How the Sassanid Empire Lost Its Crown Jewels

The Sassanid Empire's treasury was legendary—gold, silver, gems, and the fabled Drafsh-e Kavian, a jewel-encrusted banner that supposedly brought victory. When the Arabs sacked Ctesiphon in 637 CE, they found the Takht-e Tāqdis, the throne of Khosrow I, covered in thousands of sapphires, emeralds, and pearls. But the real story is what happened before: how the empire drained its reserves funding endless wars against Byzantium, how debasement of the silver drachm destroyed economic trust, and how the crown jewels became a desperate last-ditch tool for paying mercenaries. Lucas and Luna trace the glittering path from Cyrus the Great's tomb to the jewel markets of Medina, examining why the Sassanid wealth—once the envy of the world—couldn't buy loyalty or time. #SassanidEmpire #CrownJewels #Drafsh-eKavian #Takht-eTaqdis #Ctesiphon #KhosrowI #al-Qadisiyyah #PersianWealth #ByzantineWars #SilverDrachm #CurrencyDebasement #Zoroastrian #SasanianTreasury #BattleOfNihavand #RashidunCaliphate #LootingOfCtesiphon #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]