Editing Peroz I (section)

=== First and second war with the Hephthalites ===
[[File:Hephthalites coinage imitating Peroz I Late 5th century CE.jpg|thumb|[[Ancient drachma|Drachma]] minted by a [[Hephthalite]] ruler, with the obverse showing a close imitation of the coinage of Peroz I wearing his third crown]]
Peroz's war with the Hephthalites is reported by at least two contemporary sources—the account of the Byzantine historian [[Procopius]] and the [[Syriac language|Syriac]] text of [[Pseudo-Joshua the Stylite]]. However, both sources are marred by errors and oversights. According to Pseudo-Joshua, Peroz fought three wars with the Hephthalites, but he only briefly mentions them. Procopius' report, although detailed, has only two wars.{{sfn|Bonner|2020|p=135}} Additionally, Peroz's war with the Hephthalites is also reported by the [[Mandaic language|Mandaic]] ''Book of Kings''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Häberl |first1=Charles |title=The Book of Kings and the Explanations of This World |date=2022 |publisher=Liverpool |location=Liverpool |isbn=9781837642595 |page=75 |url=https://liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/epdf/10.3828/9781800856271 |access-date=19 July 2024}}</ref> Many modern historians agree that he fought the Hephthalites three times.{{sfn|Bonner|2020|p=135}}{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|pp=127–128}}{{sfn|Potts|2018|pp=295–296}}

With the fall of the Kidarites, their former subjects–the Hephthalites, who were based in eastern Tokharistan–took advantage of the power vacuum, extending their rule over all of Tokharistan.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=127}} Their capital was most likely near the city of [[Kunduz]] in eastern Tokharistan, which the medieval scholar [[al-Biruni]] calls War-Waliz.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=127}} The Hephthalite king is often given the name of [[Akhshunwar]], which according to the [[Iranologist]] [[Khodadad Rezakhani]] was probably a title used by the Hephthalite kings, similar to other contemporary [[Central Asia]]n titles such as {{transliteration|sog|[[Ikhshid]]}} and {{transliteration|sog|[[Afshin]]}}.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|pp=126–127, 137}} In order to halt the Hephthalite expansion, Peroz attacked them in 474, but was ambushed and captured near the border of [[Hyrcania|Gurgan]].{{sfn|Potts|2018|p=295}}{{sfn|Bonner|2020|p=136}} He was ransomed by Zeno, who helped him restore good relations between the Sasanians and the Hephthalites.{{sfn|Bonner|2020|p=136}} According to Procopius, Akhshunwar demanded that Peroz [[Prostration|prostrate]] before him in exchange for his release. Following the advice of his priests, Peroz met Akhshunwar at dawn and pretended to prostrate before him, while in reality he was doing it before the rising sun, i.e. [[Mithra]], the sun god.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|pp=127–128}}{{sfn|Bonner|2020|p=136}}<ref name="PROIII">Procopius, [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16764/16764-h/16764-h.htm III].</ref>

In the late 470s or early 480s, Peroz launched a second campaign, which ended in his defeat and capture once more; he offered to pay thirty mule packs of silver [[Dram (unit)|drachms]] in ransom, but could only pay twenty. Unable to raise the rest, he sent his youngest son, [[Kavad I|Kavad]], to the Hephthalite court in 482 as a hostage until this balance was paid.{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=127}}{{sfn|Potts|2018|p=295}}{{sfn|Bonner|2020|p=137}}{{efn|The silver drachms can to this day still be found in thousands in the markets of Afghanistan.{{sfn|de la Vaissière|2005|p=111}}}} Payne notes that "The sums involved were modest in comparison with late antique diplomatic subsidies or state revenues. But rumors of a caravan delivering tribute from the Iranian court to the Huns spread across the Iran and the Mediterranean worlds, as far as [[Sidonius Apollinaris]] in [[Gaul]]."{{sfn|Payne|2015b|p=287}} After this, Akhshunwar minted coins of himself wearing a winged, triple-crescent crown, which was the third crown of Peroz, indicating that the Hephthalite king considered himself to be the legitimate ruler of Iran.{{sfn|Payne|2015b|p=287}}{{sfn|Payne|2016|p=17}} Peroz imposed a [[poll tax]] on his subjects to raise the ten mule packs of silver, and secured the release of Kavad before he mounted his third campaign.{{sfn|Bonner|2020|p=137}}