vicra:^iaditya and salivamana. 237 

 Perviz, called also Nushirva'n, who were conveyed 

 away privately to India, by the order of their brother 

 Shirovyeh; and having disappeared, were said, 

 as usual in the east, to have been put to death by 

 him. Shirovyeh has been already acquitted of the 

 murder of his father, by the venerable and learned 

 Ebn-Batrick, IMelchite, or orthodox Patriarch of 

 Alexandria, who was both a divine, and a learned 

 physician. It is acknowledged by the learned, that 

 we cannot read too cautiously the accounts of the 

 wars, between the emperors of Constantinople and the 

 kings of Persia, either by Persian or Greek his- 

 torians, but more particularly the latter. Ebn-Ba- 

 TRiCK says, that KHOSRu-PiiRVizdied of the plague, 

 in confinement; and was soon followed by Shi- 

 rovyeh, his son, who died also of the plague. That 

 the latter was a good and just prince; and that 

 being a Christian, he put to death his brothers, who 

 were heathens. 



The history of Khosru-Perviz has been equally 

 misrepresented: he was certainly a great man, but of 

 ungovernable temper; and he has been also acquitted 

 of the murder of his own father, by respectable 

 authors. He was either the son-in-law, or the adopted 

 8on of the emperor Maurice, and was much af- 

 fected, when he heard, that the emperor had been 

 basely murdered by the infamous Phocas. He re- 

 solved to revenge his death, and place jMaurice's 

 son, the lawful heir and successor, upon the throne; 

 and for this purpose, he waged a long and bloody 

 war. Heraclius, who succeeded Phocas, tried 

 every means to make peace with Khosru-Perviz; 

 but, the only answer he received, was, " renounce 

 the throne in favour of the lawful heir." Instead 

 of which he is made to say " renounce thy crucified 

 God." This I conceive to be impossible; as his only 

 view, in waging w^ar, was to replace upon the throne 



