Editing Kavad II (section)

== Background ==
Born Sheroe,{{efn|Also spelled '''Shiroe''',{{sfn|Howard-Johnston|2020|p=315}} '''Seiroe''',{{sfn|Zeini|2018}} '''Shiruya''',{{sfn|Bonner|2020|p=306}} '''Shiruyah'''{{sfn|Al-Tabari|1985–2007|loc=v. 5: p. 378}} and '''Shiruyih'''.{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|p=173}}}}{{sfn|Schindel|2022}} he was the son of [[Khosrow II]] ({{reign|590|628}}), the last prominent [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] [[King of Kings]] ({{transliteration|pal|[[shah]]anshah}}) of Iran.{{sfn|Howard-Johnston|2000}} His mother was [[Maria (daughter of Maurice)|Maria]], a [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] woman which some Eastern sources considered to be a daughter of the emperor [[Maurice (emperor)|Maurice]] ({{reign|582|602}}). However, Byzantine sources do not report that Maurice had a daughter named Maria, much less that he gave her in marriage to a member of the Sasanian dynasty. According to the [[Austria]]n historian and [[numismatist]] Nikolaus Schindel, Maria most likely belonged to the aristocracy of the Sasanian Empire. The union of Khosrow and Maria took place in 590 at the earliest, making Sheroe 37 years old at maximum when he became king in 628. It is certain Sheroe had at least reached adulthood by then, as he had a seven-year-old son ([[Ardashir III]]) when he died in the same year. According to the 7th-century Greek Christian [[chronicle]] ''[[Chronicon Paschale]]'', Sheroe was Khosrow II's eldest son. However, this remains uncertain.{{efn|On the contrary, the medieval Muslim historian [[al-Tabari]] reported that [[Shahriyar (son of Khosrow II)|Shahriyar]] was Khosrow II's eldest son.{{sfn|Al-Tabari|1985–2007|loc=v. 5: p. 379}}}}{{sfn|Schindel|2022}}