Heraclius and Muhammad

The Great War with the Persians (602 – 628 CE)

The Sassanid Persian King, Khosrow II, had conquered the Roman Levant, Egypt, and Jerusalem. The Persians under King Khosrow II, captured Jerusalem in May 614 CE after a brutal 21-day siege.

They captured the True Cross (the holiest relic in Christendom) from Jerusalem and brought it to their capital, Ctesiphon. (The Persian General Shahrbaraz entered the city, burned the Church of the

Holy Sepulcher, and seized the True Cross).

Heraclius invades Azerbaijan (624 CE): Heraclius lead a multi-year campaign to restore the lands they lost as well as the True Cross. In 624 CE, Heraclius invaded the Persian heartland (Azerbaijan) and destroyed the Great Fire Temple of Ganzak (the most sacred site for the Persians). This was the psychological “moment of victory”.