Sassanian Persia and control of Silk Road passages (3rd–7th centuries CE)

1. Ardashir I founds the Sasanian Empire

   Jan 1, 224Labels: Ardashir I, Sasanian Empire, Mesopotamia

   • Britannica
   • Met Museum

2. Sasanians seize key Upper Mesopotamian gateways

   Jan 1, 238Labels: Nisibis, Harran, Upper Mesopotamia

   • Britannica

3. Shapur I’s victory at Edessa shifts frontier balance

   Jan 1, 260Labels: Shapur I, Edessa, Roman Empire

   • Britannica
   • Met Museum

4. Peace of Nisibis makes Nisibis the legal trade mart

   Jan 1, 299Labels: Peace of, Nisibis, Roman Sasanian

   • Peace of Nisibis

5. Treaty of 363 returns Nisibis to Sasanian control

   Jan 1, 363Labels: Treaty of, Jovian, Shapur II

   • Sasanian Empire

6. Peroz I is defeated by the Hephthalites in the east

   Jan 1, 484Labels: Peroz I, Hephthalites, Balkh

   • Hephthalite War
   • Britannica Iran

7. Khosrow I takes power and stabilizes the empire

   Jan 1, 531Labels: Khosrow I, Sasanian administration, Imperial reforms

   • Britannica Iran
   • Khosrow I

8. Perpetual Peace treaty reduces western border pressure

   Jan 1, 532Labels: Perpetual Peace, Byzantium, Sasanian Empire

   • Perpetual Peace
   • CEDRUS

9. Lazic War contests Caucasus passes and Black Sea access

   Jan 1, 541Labels: Lazic War, Lazica, Caucasus

   • Lazic War
   • Siege of Petra

10. Sasanian–Turkic diplomacy challenges Sasanian middleman role

    Jan 1, 568Labels: Turkic embassy, Sasanian Turkic, Constantinople

    • War 602 628

11. Khosrow II’s wars and overthrow weaken Silk Road security

    Feb 28, 628Labels: Khosrow II, Byzantine Sasanian, palace coup

    • Britannica
    • War 602 628

12. Battle of al-Qadisiyyah opens Iraq to Arab conquest

    Nov 16, 636Labels: Battle of, Arab forces, Iraq

    • Britannica
    • Qadisiyyah

13. Ctesiphon falls, breaking Sasanian control of Mesopotamia

    Mar 1, 637Labels: Ctesiphon, Siege of, Tigris

    • Ctesiphon Siege

14. Death of Yazdegerd III ends the Sasanian Empire

    Jan 1, 651Labels: Yazdegerd III, Sasanian collapse, Islamic expansion

    • Britannica Iran
    • Yazdegerd III