1. Boran was Sasanian queen of Iran from 630 to 632, with an interruption of some months.
28 Facts About Boran
1. 2.
Boran was the daughter of king Khosrow II and the Byzantine princess Maria.
3.
Boran is the second of only three women to rule in Iranian history, the others being Musa of Parthia, and Boran's sister Azarmidokht.
4.
Boran shortly ascended the throne with the aid of the military commander Farrukh Hormizd, who helped her to overthrow Shahrbaraz.
5.
Boran inherited a declining empire that was engulfed in a civil war between two major factions, the Persian and Parthian noble-families.
6.
Boran was committed to reviving the memory and prestige of her father, during whose reign the Sasanian Empire had grown to its largest territorial extent.
7.
Boran was however not long afterwards replaced by Khosrow II's nephew Shapur-i Shahrvaraz, whose reign was even briefer than hers, being replaced by Azarmidokht, who was a Parsig nominee.
8.
Boran was in turn deposed soon afterwards and killed by the Pahlav under Farrukh Hormizd's son Rostam Farrokhzad, who restored Boran to the throne, thus making her queen for a second time.
9.
Boran was succeeded by her nephew Yazdegerd III, the last Sasanian ruler, making her the penultimate ruler of the Sasanian Empire.
10.
Boran's name appears as Boran on her coinage, which is considered by the French historian Gignoux to be a hypocoristic from *bauraspa.
11.
Boran was the daughter of the last prominent shah of Iran, Khosrow II and the Byzantine princess Maria.
12.
Boran was succeeded by his eight-year-old son, who became Ardashir III.
13.
Boran's accession was most likely due to her being the only remaining legitimate heir of the empire able to rule, along with Azarmidokht.
14.
Boran was the first queen to rule the Sasanian Empire.
15.
However, it was not unusual for royal women to occupy political offices in the management of the country, and many such women before Boran had risen to prominence.
16.
When Boran ascended the throne, she appointed Farrukh Hormizd as the chief minister of the empire.
17.
Boran then attempted to bring stability to Iran by the implementation of justice laws, reconstruction of the infrastructure, and by lowering taxes and minting coins.
18.
Boran's rule was accepted by the nobility and clergy, which is apparent by her coin mints in the provinces of Pars, Khuzestan, Media, and Abarshahr.
19.
Boran then defeated Siyavakhsh's forces at Ctesiphon and captured the city.
20.
Boran complained to him about the state of the empire, which was at that time in a state of frailty and decline.
21.
Boran reportedly invited him to administer its affairs, and so allowed him to assume overall power.
22.
Boran deemed the agreement appropriate, and had the factions of the country summoned, where she declared Rostam as both the leader of the country and its military commander.
23.
Boran desired a good relationship with the Byzantine Empire, therefore she dispatched an embassy to its emperor Heraclius, led by the catholicos Ishoyahb II and other dignitaries of the Iranian church.
24.
Boran was killed shortly after; she was presumably strangled by Piruz Khosrow.
25.
Boran's minted coins included some that were more formal in design and were not intended for general use.
26.
Between the reigns of Khosrow II and Yazdegerd III, Boran appears to have been the only ruler who minted bronze coins.
27.
Only one gold issue of Boran is known, stored at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
28.
Boran is depicted wearing a round cap with three jewels or rosettes and a diadem; her bejewelled braids of hair fall from beneath the cap.