Editing Khosrow I (section)

== Religious policy ==
[[File:Church of Saint John the Arab.jpg|thumb|The remains of a 6th-century [[Church of the East|Nestorian church]] in [[Andaç, Uludere|Geramon]]]]
Khosrow, like all other Sasanian rulers, was an adherent of [[Zoroastrianism]].{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=2}} Since the 5th century, the Sasanian monarchs had been made aware of the significance of the religious minorities in the realm, and as a result tried to homogenize them into a structure of administration where according to legal principles, all would be treated straightforwardly as ''mard / zan ī šahr'', i.e. "man/woman citizen (of the Empire)."{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=56}} [[Jews]] and notably Christians had accepted the concept of Iran and considered themselves part of the nation.{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=56}} By the time of Khosrow, the leader of the [[Church of the East]] had the title of "[[Catholicos]] of Iran" (''Ērān Cathollicos'').{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=27}}

Sasanian monarchs only persecuted other religions when it was in their urgent political interests to do.{{sfn|Sauer|2017|p=190}} This also applied to Khosrow, who, in the words of Eberhard Sauer, had to "walk a fine line".{{sfn|Sauer|2017|p=190}} Khosrow himself used the church considerably, and was fond of its [[Patriarch of the Church of the East|Patriarch]], [[Aba I]], whom he wanted to defend against the Zoroastrian priests.{{sfn|Sauer|2017|p=190}} Nevertheless, Aba was accused of working with the Byzantines, which was a serious allegation due to the war that had begun in 540.{{sfn|Sauer|2017|p=190}} Consequently, in 542, Aba was dismissed from his post, but was only exiled instead of being executed.{{sfn|Sauer|2017|p=190}}

Khosrow even enjoyed good relations with [[Gregory the Commander|Gregory]], the [[House of Mihran|Mihranid]] commander of the Iranian troops in the [[Caucasus]], who had showily disowned Zoroastrianism in front of other troops massed at a feast in 518.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|pp=51-52}} This resulted in discontent amongst members of the court, who pressured Khosrow to deal with an apostate from such a powerful and influential family, stating that "It is a great dishonor for the religion of the [[Magi]]ans that such a great man from the lineage of the house of Mihran, who have always been servants of [[Ahura Mazda|Ohrmazd]], now becomes a servant of [[Christ]]."{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=52}} Khosrow was thus forced to have Gregory relieved and incarcerated, yet the Mihranids deemed Khosrow's choice insufficient.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=52}} A son of Gregory's paternal uncle, Mihran, asked Khosrow to execute Gregory for "bringing dishonor to our lineage".{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=52}} The latter was in a good position to make such request, due to recently having defeated the Hephthalites in the east; Gregory was eventually executed.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=52}}

Khosrow did however deal harshly and swiftly with people with of any belief or practice that ran contrary to Sasanian-mediated Zoroastrian orthodoxy.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=35}} Aberrance in ceremony and principle exceeded [[apostasy]] as "a social and political evil in undermining the foundations of the imperial religion (Payne)."{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=34}} According to Khosrow's supposed autobiographical work of ''Sirat Anushirwan'', he had a party of nobles practicing unorthodoxy executed instantly when he found out about them.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=34}} According to the book, Khosrow also had another group−supposedly [[Manichaeans]]−banished from Iran.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=34}} This was due to the royal anxieties regarding the chance of religious rogues to upset the political structure, which had recently occurred during Kavad and Khosrow's reigns by the Mazdakites.{{sfn|Payne|2015a|p=34}}