Key Facts
- Year of conquest
- 614 CE
- Jewish rebels enlisted
- 20,000–26,000
- Jewish exclusion ended
- First entry since Bar Kokhba revolt (136 CE)
- True Cross relocated
- Moved to Ctesiphon on Khosrow II's orders
- Part of broader war
- Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628
Strategic Narrative Overview
In 613, Khosrow II appointed Shahrbaraz to command the campaign. Sasanian forces secured Antioch and then Caesarea Maritima, the administrative capital of Palaestina Prima, gaining access to the Mediterranean. Jewish leaders Nehemiah ben Hushiel and Benjamin of Tiberias recruited rebels across Galilee. By mid-614 the combined army reached Jerusalem; sources disagree whether the city fell without resistance or only after a siege and the breaching of its walls with artillery.
01 / The Origins
The conquest grew from the broader Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628. Sasanian king Khosrow II launched a major offensive into Byzantine territory, exploiting internal instability and decades of Byzantine persecution of Jews and Samaritans. The resulting Jewish revolt against Emperor Heraclius provided the Sasanian army with tens of thousands of additional fighters, creating a combined Sasanian–Jewish force capable of threatening the Byzantine Diocese of the East, including its most symbolically important city, Jerusalem.
03 / The Outcome
Jerusalem fell to Sasanian and Jewish forces by mid-614. The city briefly descended into disorder before reconstruction began. The True Cross was transported to Ctesiphon. Jews entered Jerusalem freely for the first time since 136 CE. Christian casualties are disputed, ranging from low thousands to tens of thousands. Byzantines eventually recovered the territory, but Muslim forces expelled them permanently in 638, ending Byzantine Christian rule over Jerusalem until the Crusades.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Shahrbaraz, Nehemiah ben Hushiel, Benjamin of Tiberias.
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.