Hello, and welcome to the History of Rome, episode 167, Exploiting the Opportunity.

421 was a busy year for the Roman Empire.

The great general Constantius III had been elevated to the rank of coagustus in the West,

nearly launched an invasion of the East to defend his claim to the throne, and then keeled

over dead before winter set in.

His would be opponent in a nearly miscivil war, Theodosis II, had gotten married, and

then almost immediately announced that his new wife, who had changed her name to Ilya

Udoxia upon marriage, was pregnant with the heir to the Eastern throne.

But as these domestic imperial squabbles and celebrations were playing out, events in

the Far East threatened to overshadow everything.

In early 421, the king of the Sassanids, a moderate, benevolent and well-respected leader

named Yazdegard, suddenly died.

He had ruled since late 399, and among the great political feats to his credit, was the fact

that he had been the prime mover behind the peace talks with Rome, that had concluded

with the signing of a treaty in 409.

Yazdegard was succeeded by his son, Bahram V, who, unfortunately, adopted a far less

conciliatory posture, and upon his ascension, he immediately launched a program of persecution

against any Roman citizen, or any Christian, living in his kingdom, as he viewed both as

potential fifth columnists, preparing to fatally weaken the Sassanid Empire.

This immediate adoption of anti-Roman anti-Christian policies was unfortunate all on its own, but

it was doubly unfortunate because of who happened to be ruling the Eastern Roman Empire

at that exact moment.

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