# Tamkhosrow

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{{Short description|6th-century Sassanid general}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name               = Tamkhosrau
|native_name        = 
|image              = 
|image_size         = 
|alt                = 
|caption            = 
|office             = ''[Marzban](/source/Marzban)'' of [Persian Armenia](/source/Persian_Armenia)
|term_start         = 577
|term_end           = 579
|monarch            = [Khosrau I](/source/Khosrau_I), [Hormizd IV](/source/Hormizd_IV)
|predecessor        = [Vardan III Mamikonian](/source/Vardan_III_Mamikonian)
|successor          = [Varaz Vzur](/source/Varaz_Vzur)
|birth_date         = Unknown
|birth_place        = 
|death_date         = June 582
|death_place        = [Constantina](/source/Viran%C5%9Fehir)
|birth_name          = 
}}
'''Tamkhosrau''' or '''Tamkhusro''' ("strong Khosrau", in [Greek](/source/Greek_language) sources rendered as Ταμχοσρώ or Ταμχοσρόης, '''Tamchosroes'''), was a [Sassanid Persia](/source/Sassanid_Persia)n general active in the [Roman–Persian Wars](/source/Roman%E2%80%93Persian_Wars) of the late 6th century. As his honorific name indicates, he was a highly regarded man among the Persians, and one of the chief generals of the shah [Khosrau I](/source/Khosrau_I) (r. 531–579).<ref name="PLRE">{{harvnb|Martindale|Jones|Morris|1992|pp=1215–1216}}.</ref>

==Biography==
{{see|Tamkhusrau's Armenian Campaign (577)}}
Tamkhosrau first appears in early 575. A one-year truce had been negotiated in 574, interrupting the [ongoing war](/source/Byzantine%E2%80%93Sassanid_War_of_572%E2%80%93591) (since 572) between Persia and the [East Roman (Byzantine) Empire](/source/Byzantine_Empire), while negotiations were taking place to conclude an even longer truce. While the Persians insisted on a five-year truce, the Roman emissaries refused to accept it and insisted on a three-year duration. In order to apply pressure on the [Byzantines](/source/Byzantine_Greeks), the Persian general [Mahbod](/source/Mahbod_(envoy)) ordered Tamkhosrau to launch an attack. Tamkhosrau led a major raid that plundered the territory around [Dara](/source/Dara_(Mesopotamia)) in northern [Mesopotamia](/source/Mesopotamia). A three-year truce was concluded soon after, in exchange for an annual payment of 30,000 gold ''[solidi](/source/solidus_(coin))'' from the Byzantines.<ref name="PLRE"/><ref>{{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|p=152}}.</ref>

thumb|right|225px|Map of the Byzantine–Persian frontier.

As a result of the truce, fighting was refocused to [Persian Armenia](/source/Persian_Armenia); there, the Byzantines had considerable success, driving off a large Persian invasion led by Khosrau himself, and securing much of the country.<ref>{{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|pp=152–158}}.</ref> Negotiations for peace resumed, and seemed about to be concluded on terms slightly favoring the Byzantines in 577, when Tamkhosrau led a series of expeditions into [Armenia](/source/Armenia) and [defeated](/source/Tamkhusrau's_Armenian_Campaign_(577)) the East Roman general [Justinian](/source/Justinian_(magister_militum_per_Orientem)). Thereafter, the Persians abandoned the negotiations.<ref name="PLRE"/><ref>{{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|pp=159–160}}.</ref> Tamkhosrau remained in Armenia as the senior Persian commander in 578. As his forces were numerically inferior to those of the Roman ''magister militum Armeniae'' [Maurice](/source/Maurice_(emperor)), after feinting in the direction of [Theodosiopolis](/source/Theodosiopolis_(Armenia)), he led a surprise raid south and plundered the regions around [Martyropolis](/source/Silvan%2C_Diyarbak%C4%B1r) and [Amida](/source/Amida_(Mesopotamia)). His decision, however, was criticized by the Persians as the result of inexperience, and he was recalled and replaced in his Armenian command by [Varaz Vzur](/source/Varaz_Vzur).<ref name="PLRE"/><ref>{{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|pp=160–162}}.</ref>

By 581, however, he had risen to the post of ''[marzban](/source/marzban)'', and commanded the Persian army in northern Mesopotamia. After another round of peace talks broke down, Tamkhosrau, along with [Adarmahan](/source/Adarmahan), invaded Roman territory and headed for the town of [Constantina](/source/Constantina_(Osrhoene)). Maurice, who had been expecting and preparing for such an attack, [met the Persians in battle](/source/Battle_of_Constantina_(581)) outside the city in June 582. The Persian army suffered a heavy defeat, and Tamkhosrau was killed.<ref name="PLRE"/><ref>{{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|p=166}}.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|2}}
*{{cite book|last1=Greatrex|first1=Geoffrey|last2=Lieu|first2=Samuel N. C.|title=The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II, 363–630 AD)|location=New York, New York and London, United Kingdom|publisher=Routledge (Taylor & Francis)|year=2002|isbn=0-415-14687-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zc8iAQAAIAAJ}}
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Martindale|editor1-first=John Robert|editor2-last=Jones|editor2-first=Arnold Hugh Martin|editor3-last=Morris|editor3-first=J.|title=The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume III: A.D. 527–641|year=1992|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-20160-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ElkwedRWCXkC}}
{{refend|2}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef | before=[Vardan III Mamikonian](/source/Vardan_III_Mamikonian)}}
{{s-ttl | title=[Marzban](/source/Marzban) of [Persian Armenia](/source/Persian_Armenia) | years=577&ndash;579}} 
{{s-aft | after=[Varaz Vzur](/source/Varaz_Vzur)}}
{{s-end}}

{{Marzbans of Persian Armenia}}

Category:582 deaths
Category:6th-century Iranian people
Category:Military personnel killed in action
Category:People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars
Category:Sasanian governors of Armenia
Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:Generals of Khosrow I
Category:Generals of Hormizd IV

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tamkhosrow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamkhosrow) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamkhosrow?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.