It's unclear whether Maria was the mother of King Kavidh II of Iran or his wife... Perhaps the mother of King Kavidh was Sheharezade, one of the wives of King Khosro II of Iran. Or perhaps--as the tree here presumes--Maria was King Khosro's wife.

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• from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maria is the name of a supposed daughter of Maurice, Byzantine Emperor and wife of Khosrau II. Her existence is recorded in the Chronicle of Michael the Syrian. "Maurice accorda sa fille Marie en mariage à Khosrov"

Historicity

Shirin. Christian - Queen - Myth of Love. A woman of late antiquity - Historical reality and literary effect (2004) by Wilhelm Baum examines the sources concerning Maria and her relation to another consort of Khosrau II, Shirin. The historical setting for a marital alliance between the Justinian Dynasty and the Sassanids would be 590. At the time Khosrau was an exiled prince who sought assistance from Maurice to claim the throne against Bahrām Chobin.[3]

The Shahnameh by Ferdowsi reports Khosrau and Shirin to have married prior to his exile. Sebeos reports Shirin being a native of Khuzestan, while the Chronicle of Edessa reports Shirin to be an Aramean, implying an origin from Suristan. The Rawżat aṣ-ṣafāʾ by Mīr-Khvānd has Shirin being originally a servant in a house frequented by Khosrau, and introduced to the future monarch there. They are all later accounts and could be influenced by legends.[3]

Maria is notably absent from Byzantine sources. She appears instead in accounts by the Chronicle of Edessa, Dionysius Telmaharensis (as preserved in the Chronicle of 1234), Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Patriarch Eutychius of Alexandria, Ferdowsi, the Chronicle of Seert, Michael the Syrian, Bar-Hebraeus and Mīr-Khvānd. The Chronicle of Seert and Mari ibn Sulaiman are unique in mentioning that Maria was also called "Shirin" and in equating the two figures. Both also feature her as a daughter of Maurice. However, Theophylact Simocatta, the most detailed historical resource on Maurice, never mentions her.[4]

Concerning her age, Baum notes the known facts on Maurice's marriage. Maurice and his wife Constantina were married in August 582. If a legitimate child of Maurice, Maria would be less than eight-years-old in 590.[4] There are nine children of Maurice and Constantina named in primary sources, six sons (Theodosius, Tiberius, Peter, Paul, Justin, Justinian) and three daughters (Anastasia, Theoctiste, Cleopatra)[2]

The Shahnameh features a tale of Maria dying, poisoned by Shirin. Later tales featuring the two as rival queens occur in later texts. In several cases, their struggle is based on trying to elevate different heirs to the throne. Primary sources indicate that Siroe (Kavadh II) was the eldest son of Khosrau and not a son of Shirin. Various accounts have Maria as his mother, with Shirin supporting her own son, Mardanshah.[5]

Baum considers Shirin to be a historic figure, Maria being a figure of legend, perhaps originating with a historical Maria from the Byzantine Empire, one who was a member of Khosrau II's harem but neither a queen, nor an imperial princess.[6]

References

1. Michel Le Syrien, "Chronicle". French translation
2. Cawley, Charles, Profile of Maurice, his wife and children, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, retrieved August 2012,[better source needed]
3. Baum (2004), p. 24-26
4. Baum (2004), p. 26-27
5. Baum (2004), p. 28
6. Baum (2004), p. 27-28

Sources

• Baum, Wilhelm (2004). Christian, queen, myth of love, a woman of late antiquity, historical reality and literary effect. Gorgias Press LLC. ISBN 1-59333-282-3.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_(daughter_of_Maurice)

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[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirin] Shirin (? – 628 a.d.) (Persian: شيرين) was a wife of the Sassanid Persian Shahanshah (king of kings), Khosrau II. In the revolution after the death of Khosrau's father Hormizd IV, the General Bahram Chobin took power over the Persian empire. Shirin fled with Khosrau to Syria where they lived under the protection of Byzantine emperor Maurice. In 591, Khosrau returned to Persia to take control of the empire and Shirin was made queen. She used her new influence to support the Christian minority in Iran, but the political situation demanded that she do so discreetly. Initially she belonged to the Church of the East, the so-called Nestorians, but later she joined the monophysitic church of Antioch, now known as the Syriac Orthodox Church. After conquering Jerusalem in 614, the Persians supposedly captured the cross of Jesus and brought it to their capital Ctesiphon, where Shirin took the cross in her palace.

'Marriage

The earliest source mentioning Shirin is the Ecclesiastical history of Evagrius Scholasticus, where she is mentioned as "Sira". It preserves letter sent by Khosrau II to the shrine of Saint Sergius in Resafa. One dated to 592/593 includes the following passage[1]: "At the time when I [Khosrau II] was at Beramais, I begged of thee, O holy one, that thou wouldest come to my aid, and that Sira might conceive: and inasmuch as Sira was a Christian and I a heathen, and our law forbids us to have a Christian wife, nevertheless, on account of my favourable feelings towards thee, I disregarded the law as respects her, and among my wives I have constantly esteemed, and do still esteem her as peculiarly mine." [2]

"Thus I resolved to request of thy goodness, O Saint, that she might conceive: and I made the request with a vow, that, if Sira should conceive, I would send the cross she wears to thy venerable sanctuary. On this account both I and Sira purposed to retain this cross in memory of thy name, O Saint, and in place of it to send five thousand staters, as its value, which does not really exceed four thousand four hundred staters. From the time that I conceived this request and these intentions, until I reached Rhosochosron, not more than ten days elapsed, when thou, O Saint, not on account of my worthiness but thy kindness, appearedst to me in a vision of the night and didst thrice tell me that Sira should conceive, while, in the same vision, thrice I replied, It is well."[2]

"From that day forward Sira has not experienced the custom of women, because thou art the granter of requests; though I, had I not believed thy words, and that thou art holy and the granter of requests, should have doubted that she would not thenceforward experience the custom of women. From this circumstance I was convinced of the power of the vision and the truth of thy words, and accordingly forthwith sent the same cross and its value to thy venerable sanctuary, with directions that out of that sum should be made a disc, and a cup for the purposes of the divine mysteries, as also a cross to be fixed upon the holy table, and a censer, all of gold: also a Hunnish veil adorned with gold. Let the surplus of the sum belong to thy sanctuary, in order that by virtue of thy fortune, O saint, thou mayest come to the aid of me and Sira in all matters, and especially with respect to this petition; and that what has been already procured for us by thy intercession, may be consummated according to the compassion of thy goodness, and the desire of me and Sira; so that both of us, and all persons in the world, may trust in thy power and continue to believe in thee."[2]

Theophylact Simocatta gives a similar account with additional information. "In the following year the Persian king [Khosrau II] proclaimed as queen Seirem [Shirin] who was of Roman birth and Christian religion, and of an age blossoming for marriage, slept with her. ... "In the third year he entreated Sergius, the most efficacious in Persia, that a child by Seirem be granted to him. Shortly afterwards this came to pass for him.[3] The Roman (Byzantine) ancestry of Shirin is contradicted by Sebeos: "[Xosrov], in accordance with their Magian religion, had numerous wives. He also took Christian wives, and had an extremely beautiful Christian wife from the land of Xuzhastan named Shirin, the Bambish, queen of queens [tiknats' tikin]. She constructed a monastery and a church close to the royal abode, and settled priests and deacons there alloting from the court stipends and money for clothing. She lavished gold and silver [on the monastery]. Bravely, with her head held high she preached the gospel of the Kingdom, at court, and none of the grandee mages dared open his mouth to say anything—large or small—about Christians. When, however, days passed and her end approached, many of the mages who had converted to Christianity, were martyred in various places." [4]

The Khuzistan Chronicle, written by an Aramean Christian from Khuzistan [Iran] probably in 680 is described as the Syriac counterpart of the Armenian work of Sebeos. We read about the relationship between the bishop Isho Yahb and the persian king Khosrau II. Parvez (590-628) : "Isho Yahb was treated respectfully throughout his life, by the king himself and his two christian wives Shirin the Aramean and Mary the Roman". (Theodor. Nöldeke: Die von Guidi herausgegebene syrische Chronik, Wien 1893, p. 10)

The Chronicle of Séert (Siirt) is an anonymously authored historiographical text written by the Nestorian Church in Persia and the Middle East, possibly as early as the 9th century AD. The text deals with ecclesiastical, social, and political issues of the Christian church giving a history of its leaders and notable members. LVIII. - History of Khosrau Parvez, son of Hormizd "Khosrau, by gratitude for Maurice, ordered to rebuild churches and to honor the Christians. He built himself two churches for Marie (Maryam) and a big church and a castle in the country of Beth Laspar for his wife Shirin, the Aramean." (Patrologia Orientalis, Tome VII. - Fascicule 2, Histoire Nestorienne (Chronique de Séert), Seconde Partie (1), publiée et traduite par Mgr Addai Scher, Paris 1911, Published Paris : Firmin-Didot 1950 p. 467)

" خدیجه همسر پیامبر اسلام مسیحی بود پسر عموش هم مسیحی موند خدیجه با رومی ها در تجارت بود مریم همسر خسرو پرویز مسیحی بود و دختر امپراتور روم بود... امپراتور رومی که ، به خسرو پرویز کمک کرد تا بهرام چوبینه رو شکست داد و تخت شاهی رو پس گرفت... شیرین معشوقه ی خسرو هم مسیحی بود... امپراتور روم که پدر مریم هست میمیره یا کشته میشه... سپس محمد رسول الله به بازان فرستاده ی خسرو پرویز میگه : شیرویه پدر خودش رو میکشه من پیش بینی میکنم... و خسروپرویز بدست پسرش کشته میشه...

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