The Siege of Jerusalem in 614 AD was part of the final phase of the Roman-Persian Wars, as the Persian shah Khosrau II and his general Shahrbaraz conquered the Byzantine Middle East. Following the Persian advances into Syria in the previous year, Shahrbaraz's next target was Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine and the Christian Empire's most holy city. Providing direct access to the Mediterranean Sea, the city would also provide a strategic locat...
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The Siege of Jerusalem in 614 AD was part of the final phase of the Roman-Persian Wars, as the Persian shah Khosrau II and his general Shahrbaraz conquered the Byzantine Middle East. Following the Persian advances into Syria in the previous year, Shahrbaraz's next target was Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine and the Christian Empire's most holy city. Providing direct access to the Mediterranean Sea, the city would also provide a strategic location for the Persian Empire to begin constructing a naval fleet, thereby threatening Byzantine hegemony in the Mediterranean. After 21 days of relentless siege warfare, Jerusalem's walls yielded and the conclusive Persian victory resulted in the territorial annexation of Jerusalem, and all of Palestine.
Customary to military tradition, when the Persian force arrived outside Jerusalem, Shahrbaraz offered a peaceful transition of power should the city surrender without resistance. The Sassanid general's offer was however rebuffed, and he...
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