Editing Khosrow I (section)

==Philosopher King==
[[File:Nushirwan Holds a Banquet for his Minister Buzurgmihr (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|upright|Khosrow I holds a banquet for [[Bozorgmehr]], his [[vizier]].]]
Khosrow I was admired, both in Iran and elsewhere, for his character, virtues, and knowledge of Greek philosophy. He was identified by some Romans as the true [[philosopher king]].{{sfn|Axworthy|2008|p=65}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wākīm |first1=Salīm |title=Iran, the Arabs, and the West: the story of twenty-five centuries |date=1987 |publisher=Vantage Press |page=92}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rose |first1=Jenny |title=Zoroastrianism: An Introduction |date=2011 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |isbn=9781848850880 |page=133}}</ref>

Khosrow I was known to be a great patron of philosophy and knowledge. An entry in the [[Chronicle of Séert]] reads: {{Blockquote|Khosrau was very learned in philosophy, which he had studied, it is said, under Mar Bar Samma, the Syriac bishop of Qardu, and under [[Paul the Persian]].<ref>[[Addai Scher]], ed., ''Histoire Nestorienne (Chronique de Seért)'', [https://archive.org/details/patrologiaorient07pariuoft Patrologia Orientalis 7] (1910), 147.</ref>}} Khosrow I is known for saying a philosophic quote that follows: {{Centered pull quote|We examined the customs of our forebears, but, concerned with the discovery of the truth, we [also] studied the customs and conducts of the Romans and Indians and accepted those among them which seemed reasonable and praiseworthy, not merely likeable. We have not rejected anyone because they belonged to a different religion or people. And having examined "the good customs and laws of our ancestors as well as those of the foreigners, we have not declined to adopt anything which was good nor to avoid anything which was bad. Affection for our forebears did not lead us to accept customs which were not good.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2005}}}}

Khosrow I accepted refugees coming from the Eastern Roman Empire when Justinian closed the neo-Platonist schools in Athens in 529.{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=30}} He was greatly interested in Indian philosophy, science, mathematics, and medicine. He sent multiple embassies and gifts to the Indian court and requested them to send back philosophers to teach in his court in return.{{sfn|Farrokh|2007|p=241}} Khosrow made many translations of texts from [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Sanskrit]], and [[Syriac language|Syriac]] into [[Middle Persian]].{{sfn|Frye|1984}} He received the title of "Plato's Philosopher King" by the Greek refugees that he allowed into his empire because of his great interest in [[Platonism|Platonic philosophy]].{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=30}} [[Theodor Nöldeke|Nöldeke]] states that Khosrow I was "certainly one of the most efficient and best kings that the [[Iranian peoples|Iranians]] have ever had".{{sfn|Shahbazi|2005}}

A synthesis of Greek, Iranian, Indian, and Armenian learning traditions took place within the Sasanian Empire. One outcome of this synthesis created what is known as [[bimaristan|''bimaristan'']], the first hospital that introduced a concept of segregating wards according to pathology. Greek pharmacology fused with Iranian and Indian traditions resulted in significant advances in medicine.{{sfn|Farrokh|2007|p=241}} According to historian Richard Frye, this great influx of knowledge created a renaissance during and after Khosrow's reign.{{sfn|Frye|1984}}

[[File:King Khosrow sits before the chessboard, while his vizir and the envoy of Qannuj are playing chess. Shahnameh, 10th century CE.jpg|thumb|King Khosrow sits before the chessboard, while his vizir and the Indian envoy of [[Kannauj]] are playing chess. ''[[Shahnama]]'', 10th century CE.<ref name="ME"/>]]
Intellectual games such as [[chess]] and [[backgammon]] demonstrated and celebrated the diplomatic relationship between Khosrow and a "great king of India." The [[vizier]] of the Indian king invented chess as a cheerful, playful challenge to King Khosrow. It seems that the Indian ruler who sent the game of chess to Khosrow was the [[Maukhari dynasty|Maukhari]] King [[Śarvavarman]] of [[Kannauj]], between the beginning of Śarvavarman's reign in 560/565 and the end of Khosrow's reign in 579.<ref name="ME">{{cite book |last1=Eder |first1=Manfred A. J. |title=South Asian Archaeology 2007 Proceedings of the 19th Meeting of the European Association of South Asian Archaeology in Ravenna, Italy, July 2007, Volume II |date=2010 |page=69 |publisher=Archaeopress Archaeology |isbn=978-1-4073-0674-2 |url=http://history.chess.free.fr/papers/Eder%202007-2.pdf}}</ref> When the game was sent to Iran it came with a letter which read: "As your name is the King of Kings, all your emperorship over us connotes that your wise men should be wiser than ours. Either you send us an explanation of this game of chess or send revenue and tribute us."{{sfn|Canepa|2009|p=181}} Khosrow's grand vizier successfully solved the riddle and figured out how to play chess. In response the wise vizier created the game backgammon and sent it to the Indian court with the same message. The Indian king was not able to solve the riddle and was forced to pay tribute.{{sfn|Canepa|2009|p=181}}

===Academy of Gondishapur===
[[File:ArtworkofAnushirvanAndBorzuya.jpg|thumb|upright|Khosrow I and [[Borzuya]], the translator of the Indian ''[[Panchatantra]]'']]
Khosrow I is known to have greatly expanded the [[Academy of Gondishapur]], located in the city of [[Gundeshapur]].<ref name="Taylor 2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.sasanika.org/wp-content/uploads/e-sasanika-GP1-Taylor.pdf |last=Taylor |first=Gail Marlow |title=The Physicians of Jundishapur |website=e-Sasanika |date=2010 |access-date=9 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924094355/http://www.sasanika.org/wp-content/uploads/e-sasanika-GP1-Taylor.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As to the development of non-religious knowledge and research in Iran and apart from historical evidence given on such traditions in the preceding Iranian Empires, there are reports on systematic activities initiated by the Sasanian court as early as in the first decades of Sasanian rule. The [[Middle Persian]] compendium ''[[Denkard]]'' states that during the reign of [[Shapur I]] writings of this kind were collected and added to the [[Avesta]]. And an atmosphere of vivid reflection and discussion at the early Sasanian court in the third century AD is reflected in such accounts.{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=83}}
The foundation of the Academy of Gondishapur introduced the studies of philosophy, medicine, physics, poetry, rhetoric, and astronomy into the Sasanian court.<ref name="Taylor 2010"/> According to some historical accounts, this famous learning center was built in order to provide a place for incoming Greek refugees to study and share their knowledge.{{sfn|Farrokh|2007|p=241}} Gundeshapur became the focal point of the combination of Greek and Indian sciences along with Iranian and [[Classical Syriac|Syriac]] traditions. The cosmopolitan which was introduced by the institution of Gondishapur became a catalyst for modern studies.