1 00:00:02,069 --> 00:00:06,619 The wind pushes, and the steppe moves before it. 2 00:00:06,620 --> 00:00:13,109 Clouds sweep overhead, the short grass bends, and the only fixed points in the rolling landscape 3 00:00:13,109 --> 00:00:19,050 are a snowcapped mountain and the distant silhouette of Mren cathedral. 4 00:00:19,050 --> 00:00:23,460 As you walk a lonely hour from the nearest village, and wind whirls dust through the 5 00:00:23,460 --> 00:00:30,588 whispering grass, details of the cathedral become visible: the conical tower, a lichen-spotted 6 00:00:30,588 --> 00:00:32,429 roof, empty windows. 7 00:00:32,429 --> 00:00:39,119 At last, clambering over the ruins that surround the church, you step inside. 8 00:00:39,119 --> 00:00:44,759 Light spills through a collapsed wall, illuminating a floor torn apart by treasure hunters. 9 00:00:44,759 --> 00:00:51,199 Faded figures of Christ and the prophets gaze down on the naked apse. 10 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,519 Over one of the side doors is a sculpted panel. 11 00:00:54,518 --> 00:00:59,189 Although the stone is weathered, two figures are still visible, standing on either side 12 00:00:59,189 --> 00:01:00,669 of a crucifix. 13 00:01:00,670 --> 00:01:07,109 It’s far from obvious now, but fourteen centuries ago, when the church was new, few 14 00:01:07,109 --> 00:01:09,590 would have mistaken its meaning. 15 00:01:09,590 --> 00:01:17,710 This relief almost certainly commemorates March 21, 630, the day the Roman emperor Heraclius 16 00:01:17,709 --> 00:01:22,949 formally returned the True Cross, the most sacred of all Christian relics, to the Church 17 00:01:22,950 --> 00:01:26,269 of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. 18 00:01:26,269 --> 00:01:31,590 The restoration of the True Cross put a symbolic close to a war that had lasted a generation 19 00:01:31,590 --> 00:01:34,810 and come very close to destroying the Roman Empire. 20 00:01:34,810 --> 00:01:40,629 Heraclius had won that war with a series of daring campaigns launched from the high steppes 21 00:01:40,629 --> 00:01:45,849 of Armenia – not far from the place where, just after the war’s end, an Armenian prince 22 00:01:45,849 --> 00:01:50,769 built Mren Cathedral to celebrate his part in the victory. 23 00:01:50,769 --> 00:01:56,000 Mren Cathedral was built near the ancient world’s most contested boundary: the frontier 24 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,670 between the Roman and Persian empires. 25 00:01:59,670 --> 00:02:04,900 For seven centuries, beginning with the great conquests of Pompey, the eastern edge of the 26 00:02:04,900 --> 00:02:09,650 Roman world ran from the Armenian plateau to the Arabian Desert. 27 00:02:09,650 --> 00:02:14,510 The most hotly contested part of this frontier was always the center, where it bisected the 28 00:02:14,509 --> 00:02:16,379 fertile plains of northern Mesopotamia. 29 00:02:16,379 --> 00:02:23,259 But in times of war, any section of the thousand-mile border might become the center of a major 30 00:02:23,259 --> 00:02:25,199 conflict. 31 00:02:25,199 --> 00:02:30,000 Many of the wars between the Persians and Romans devolved into sieges of the fortress-cities 32 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,939 guarding the Mesopotamian frontier. 33 00:02:32,939 --> 00:02:39,770 Otherwise, conflicts tended to consist of raids and counter-raids, back and forth, century 34 00:02:39,770 --> 00:02:46,099 after century, none really changing, or really expected to change, a balance of power that 35 00:02:46,099 --> 00:02:49,370 seemed settled in the natural order of things. 36 00:02:49,370 --> 00:02:54,879 Then, at the end of the sixth century, that balance was shattered forever. 37 00:02:54,879 --> 00:03:01,340 Before we begin the story of the cataclysmic final war between Rome and Persia, a word 38 00:03:01,340 --> 00:03:03,680 about this video’s sponsor. 39 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:10,069 Babbel is a language learning app that uses short interactive lessons based in real-world 40 00:03:10,069 --> 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00:04:04,930 If you aren’t completely satisfied, there’s a 20-day money back guarantee. 51 00:04:04,930 --> 00:04:07,080 Back to the Roman frontier. 52 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:12,580 One September morning in the year 590, the Roman sentries at Circesium, a border fort 53 00:04:12,580 --> 00:04:18,090 in northern Mesopotamia, were startled to see a group of Persians in court dress galloping 54 00:04:18,089 --> 00:04:19,250 from the east. 55 00:04:19,250 --> 00:04:24,720 The riders drew up beneath the gates; and their leader, a man of about twenty, called 56 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:29,590 up in passable Greek, asking for an audience with the commanding officer. 57 00:04:29,589 --> 00:04:33,909 When the gates were opened, the young Persian revealed that he was Khosrow, the newly-crowned 58 00:04:33,910 --> 00:04:37,630 King of Persia, and that he was fleeing a palace coup. 59 00:04:37,629 --> 00:04:43,509 The commander at Circesium sent the refugee king and his retainers to general headquarters 60 00:04:43,509 --> 00:04:46,469 in nearby Hierapolis. 61 00:04:46,470 --> 00:04:52,050 From there, Khosrow dispatched a delegation to Emperor Maurice, promising generous territorial 62 00:04:52,050 --> 00:04:55,699 concessions in exchange for Roman aid. 63 00:04:55,699 --> 00:05:01,009 Maurice agreed; and the following spring, Roman forces flooded into Persia, seizing 64 00:05:01,009 --> 00:05:04,949 the capital and decisively defeating the rebels. 65 00:05:04,949 --> 00:05:08,180 Khosrow was re-installed as king. 66 00:05:08,180 --> 00:05:13,250 Then, in 602, Maurice was deposed in a mutiny. 67 00:05:13,250 --> 00:05:18,879 The usurper, Phocas, executed the emperor and his six sons, displaying their heads in 68 00:05:18,879 --> 00:05:21,870 Constantinople’s main forum. 69 00:05:21,870 --> 00:05:27,689 There were rumors, however, that Theodosius, Maurice’s eldest son and heir, had escaped 70 00:05:27,689 --> 00:05:34,839 by bribing the executioner; and a few weeks later, a man claiming to be Theodosius appeared 71 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:37,869 at the Persian court. 72 00:05:37,870 --> 00:05:42,959 certainly aware that the real Theodosius was dead, Khosrow launched a massive attack on 73 00:05:42,959 --> 00:05:47,699 the Roman frontier, ostensibly to restore the rightful emperor. 74 00:05:47,699 --> 00:05:53,269 In a series of grueling sieges, the Persians seized one after another of the Mesopotamian 75 00:05:53,269 --> 00:05:58,000 fortress-cities, breaking through the inmost line of defenses just as the Romans plunged 76 00:05:58,000 --> 00:05:59,610 into a civil war. 77 00:05:59,610 --> 00:06:04,550 The Roman governor of Africa had raised the standard of rebellion against Phocas, and 78 00:06:04,550 --> 00:06:09,629 sent a fleet under his son Heraclius to Constantinople. 79 00:06:09,629 --> 00:06:14,659 After gaining the allegiance of Egypt, Heraclius sailed on to the capital and personally beheaded 80 00:06:14,660 --> 00:06:16,280 Phocas. 81 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:19,929 He was crowned emperor shortly afterward. 82 00:06:19,930 --> 00:06:25,310 Taking advantage of the chaos at Constantinople, Khosrow occupied territory far inside the 83 00:06:25,310 --> 00:06:26,589 old frontier. 84 00:06:26,589 --> 00:06:30,269 Antioch fell, followed by Damascus. 85 00:06:30,269 --> 00:06:35,399 Heraclius, who had been trying to shore up the collapsing Danube frontier, marched to 86 00:06:35,399 --> 00:06:39,620 Syria at the head of the largest army he could scrape together. 87 00:06:39,620 --> 00:06:45,509 His ill-trained troops, however, were defeated, and he was forced to retreat. 88 00:06:45,509 --> 00:06:51,379 In 614, after a brief siege, the Persians took Jerusalem, burned most of the city’s 89 00:06:51,379 --> 00:06:54,680 churches, and captured the True Cross. 90 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:59,560 The loss of this relic, revered throughout the Empire as the instrument of Christ’s 91 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:04,819 Passion, was a serious blow to Roman morale, especially after the Cross was carried back 92 00:07:04,819 --> 00:07:09,430 to the Persian capital, and installed in the private chapel of Khosrow’s Christian wife 93 00:07:09,430 --> 00:07:11,769 Shirin. 94 00:07:11,769 --> 00:07:16,479 As one Persian army began to conquer Egypt, another marched across Anatolia to the Asian 95 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,169 suburbs of Constantinople. 96 00:07:19,168 --> 00:07:23,870 Desperate to end the war, Heraclius attempted to negotiate with Khosrow, promising dramatic 97 00:07:23,870 --> 00:07:27,629 territorial concessions if the Persian forces would withdraw. 98 00:07:27,629 --> 00:07:34,230 By this point, however, Khosrow had achieved too much to return to the old status quo. 99 00:07:34,230 --> 00:07:40,030 Syria, Palestine, and Egypt were annexed to the Persian Empire, and a Persian camp was 100 00:07:40,029 --> 00:07:44,789 established across the Bosporus from Constantinople. 101 00:07:44,790 --> 00:07:49,639 In the meantime, the Avars and Slavs swept over the Danube, and occupied most of the 102 00:07:49,639 --> 00:07:52,370 Balkans and Greece. 103 00:07:52,370 --> 00:07:54,980 Little remained of the Roman Empire. 104 00:07:54,980 --> 00:07:58,689 Heraclius, however, continued to fight. 105 00:07:58,689 --> 00:08:04,490 Melting down the gold and silver plate of Constantinople’s churches to pay his soldiers, 106 00:08:04,490 --> 00:08:09,668 he reorganized Rome’s last army, supplementing the usual heavy infantry with brigades of 107 00:08:09,668 --> 00:08:14,069 archers and light cavalry for fast-moving skirmishes. 108 00:08:14,069 --> 00:08:19,180 With this force, he began to attack the Persian armies in Anatolia, and scored a series of 109 00:08:19,180 --> 00:08:20,430 minor victories. 110 00:08:20,430 --> 00:08:26,680 After outlasting a Persian counter-attack on Constantinople, he made the bold decision 111 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:32,649 to base his army in and around Armenia, where he could disrupt enemy troop movements and 112 00:08:32,649 --> 00:08:35,829 launch raids into the Persian heartland. 113 00:08:35,830 --> 00:08:39,520 This strategy proved remarkably successful. 114 00:08:39,519 --> 00:08:45,549 From bases in Armenia and the Caucuses, Heraclius attacked cities throughout northern Mesopotamia, 115 00:08:45,549 --> 00:08:49,299 forcing the Persians to withdraw troops from the conquered territories and engage with 116 00:08:49,299 --> 00:08:50,990 him. 117 00:08:50,990 --> 00:08:56,610 After Heraclius inflicted serious defeats on Persia’s two best generals, Khosrow ordered 118 00:08:56,610 --> 00:09:01,570 a massive assault on Constantinople, knowing that the Roman Empire would collapse if the 119 00:09:01,570 --> 00:09:03,050 city was taken. 120 00:09:03,049 --> 00:09:08,459 Heraclius managed to crush one of the Persian armies marching on the capital. 121 00:09:08,460 --> 00:09:15,120 The other, however, eluded him, and joined a colossal force of Avars and Slavs in a coordinated 122 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:17,399 attack on the Roman capital. 123 00:09:17,399 --> 00:09:22,949 The Roman navy managed to keep the Persians on the Asian side of the Bosporus, sinking 124 00:09:22,950 --> 00:09:28,690 the fleet of dugout canoes the Avars sent to bring their allies across. 125 00:09:28,690 --> 00:09:33,890 On the European side, 80,000 men hurled themselves against the fortifications. 126 00:09:33,889 --> 00:09:39,439 But the city’s towering triple walls held, and every assault was repulsed. 127 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:44,360 After six weeks, the Slavs and Avars retreated in disorder, and the Persians withdrew to 128 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:46,039 their camp. 129 00:09:46,039 --> 00:09:51,689 Enraged, Khosrow ordered the execution of Shahrbaraz, the Persian general responsible 130 00:09:51,690 --> 00:09:53,750 for coordinating the siege. 131 00:09:53,750 --> 00:09:58,799 Heraclius, however, managed to intercept the messenger, and forwarded the death warrant 132 00:09:58,799 --> 00:10:05,549 to Shahrbaraz with his compliments, suggesting that the Persian general might find it expedient 133 00:10:05,549 --> 00:10:07,189 to switch sides. 134 00:10:07,190 --> 00:10:12,420 Shahrbaraz did so, and withdrew his entire army to Syria. 135 00:10:12,419 --> 00:10:18,019 Having neutralized Khosrow’s best general, Heraclius resumed his offensive, allying himself 136 00:10:18,019 --> 00:10:22,669 with the nomadic Khazars to ravage Persian territory. 137 00:10:22,669 --> 00:10:28,610 On a foggy morning in December 627, near the ruins of Nineveh, he encountered the largest 138 00:10:28,610 --> 00:10:30,879 remaining Persian army. 139 00:10:30,879 --> 00:10:36,299 The ensuing battle was savage – supposedly, Heraclius killed the enemy general in single 140 00:10:36,299 --> 00:10:40,519 combat – but the Romans were victorious. 141 00:10:40,519 --> 00:10:45,939 The next day, Heraclius marched on the now undefended Persian capital. 142 00:10:45,940 --> 00:10:51,110 When Khosrow refused to negotiate a peace, he was deposed and executed by his nobles, 143 00:10:51,110 --> 00:10:54,300 who immediately began talks to end the war. 144 00:10:54,299 --> 00:10:59,139 The frontier was restored to its original place, all Persian troops were recalled home, 145 00:10:59,139 --> 00:11:04,809 and Heraclius began a triumphal march back to Constantinople. 146 00:11:04,809 --> 00:11:09,419 Along the way, he stopped in Armenia, where he spent a few weeks receiving the submission 147 00:11:09,419 --> 00:11:10,620 of the local nobles. 148 00:11:10,620 --> 00:11:16,490 As he marched homeward, Heraclius passed within a few miles of the newly-dug foundations of 149 00:11:16,490 --> 00:11:22,830 Mren Cathedral, which one of the greatest Armenian princes had just begun to construct. 150 00:11:22,830 --> 00:11:27,030 Although the design of this new church borrowed from both Persian and Roman architectural 151 00:11:27,029 --> 00:11:32,009 styles, its dome was likely inspired by Hagia Sophia. 152 00:11:32,009 --> 00:11:38,179 It was at that church, in September 629, that Heraclius celebrated his victory over the 153 00:11:38,179 --> 00:11:43,389 Persians, the True Cross suspended on gilded chains over the high altar. 154 00:11:43,389 --> 00:11:48,799 The following year, during a tour of the territories recovered from the Persians, Heraclius restored 155 00:11:48,799 --> 00:11:53,000 the relic to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. 156 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:57,759 Back in Armenia, Heraclius’ restoration of the True Cross was chosen as the subject 157 00:11:57,759 --> 00:12:01,269 of the relief over the north door of Mren Cathedral. 158 00:12:01,269 --> 00:12:07,539 As a sign of his humility before God, the emperor was shown without crown or scepter. 159 00:12:07,539 --> 00:12:12,789 The warhorse standing a short distance from him, however, reminds the viewer of Heraclius’ 160 00:12:12,789 --> 00:12:17,399 campaign to save the Empire, concluded only a few years before. 161 00:12:17,399 --> 00:12:21,240 As the cathedral rose, the Roman Empire was at peace. 162 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:26,399 But before construction was completed, and before Rome or Persia could rebuild their 163 00:12:26,399 --> 00:12:30,169 militaries, a new threat emerged. 164 00:12:30,169 --> 00:12:35,329 Fast-moving armies of Arab horsemen, unified and fired by the new religion of Islam, tore 165 00:12:35,330 --> 00:12:41,060 through the eastern frontier, and swiftly conquered Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. 166 00:12:41,059 --> 00:12:46,569 By the time Mren cathedral was completed, around 640, the world Heraclius had fought 167 00:12:46,570 --> 00:12:49,360 so hard to restore was vanishing. 168 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:52,950 The Persian Empire would disintegrate within a decade. 169 00:12:52,950 --> 00:12:58,050 And although the Roman Empire would survive, it would emerge from ordeal much smaller and 170 00:12:58,049 --> 00:13:00,329 profoundly changed. 171 00:13:00,330 --> 00:13:05,520 In this sense, the years in which Mren Cathedral was constructed mark the end of the antique 172 00:13:05,519 --> 00:13:10,389 world, and the beginning of a new and very different era. 173 00:13:10,389 --> 00:13:15,069 Through the ensuing centuries, as Arab and Byzantine raiding parties passed back and 174 00:13:15,070 --> 00:13:21,620 forth to the south, a town grew up around Mren cathedral; but then borders shifted, 175 00:13:21,620 --> 00:13:26,700 and trade routes moved, and the town sank back into the steppes. 176 00:13:26,700 --> 00:13:31,730 Six hundred years of abandonment have drawn the cathedral, brick by brick, down to the 177 00:13:31,730 --> 00:13:33,420 whispering grass. 178 00:13:33,419 --> 00:13:39,909 Birds call in the dome, and the sun shines through the collapsing walls as the wind pushes, 179 00:13:39,909 --> 00:13:43,389 and the steppe moves before it. 180 00:13:43,389 --> 00:13:47,659 If you enjoyed this video, please consider supporting toldinstone on Patreon. 181 00:13:47,659 --> 00:13:53,949 You might also enjoy my book, Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants. 182 00:13:53,950 --> 00:13:55,569 Thanks for watching.