Sasanian Military Campaigns

A Great Imperial Power

As one of the great empires of late antiquity, the Sasanians possessed significant imperial reach and military might. Despite overwhelming Sasanian strength over the minorities under their rule, Babylonian Jews, who lived in proximity to the Sasanian winter palace in Ctesiphon, may have had working relationships with the royal court.

Sasanian Conquest of Armenia and Cappodocia

In addition to material from Sasanian Iran, we also have accounts of Jews living in other regions conquered by the Sasanians, including Armenia and Cappadocia. The two communities had two different fates. In the fourth century, Armenian Jews, some of whom may have converted to Christianity, are reported to have been brought into captivity and transferred to the Iranian heartland. Jews in Cappadocia, by contrast, are described as submitting to King Khosrow I (r. 531–579 CE).