Azadokht Shahbanu was a Sassanian queen from Iran, and daughter of king Khosrow II, who was overthrown and executed on 628AD by his own son Kavad II, who proceeded to have all his brothers and half-brothers executed, initiating a period of fractionalism within the Persian empire.
The death of Kavad II destabilized the Sassanian Empire, which was still trying to recover from the losses incurred by the Byzantine-Sassanian war.
The Sassanian Empire was established in Estakhr by Ardashir I. She was the principal wife of Sassanian monarch Shapur the Great (Shapur I).
The Plague of Shiryue swept through the western Sasanian provinces, killing half of its population including Kavad II.
Azadokht is thought to have inspired and encouraged the founding of the famous intellectual and medical center of Gundeshapur, a teaching hospital, library, and the greatest institution.
Titles of respect accorded to royal Persian women seem to have derived from the earlier Elamite culture and, most likely, the Median Empire which was the immediate precursor to the Achaemenid Persian Empire founded by Cyrus the Great.
Farrukh Hormizd, in order to strengthen his authority and create an alliance beween the Pahlav and Parsig, asked Azarmidokht to marry him. Azarmidokht, however, declined. After having his proposal declined, Farrukh Hormizd "no longer shied away from the throne itself", declaring "Today I am the leader of the people and the pillar of the country of Iran." He started minting coins in the same fashion as a monarch, notably in Media.
She was killed by Rostam Farrokhzad, a member of the House of Ispahbudhan, in retaliation for his father's death and succeeded by her sister Boran.
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