Kavad II

Kavad II 𐭪𐭥𐭠𐭲
King of Kings of Iran and non-Iran[a]
Silver drachma of Kavad II with the mint signature "AYLAN"
King of the Sasanian Empire
Reign	25 February 628 – Summer/Autumn 628
Predecessor	Khosrow II
Successor	Ardashir III
Born	after 590
Died	Summer/Autumn 628
Spouse	Anzoy the Roman Boran
Issue	Ardashir III
House	House of Sasan
Father	Khosrow II
Mother	Maria
Religion	Zoroastrianism

Kavad II (Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭥𐭠𐭲, romanized: Kawād) was the Sasanian King of Kings (shahanshah) of Iran briefly in 628.

Born Sheroe, he was the son of Khosrow II (r. 590–628) and Maria. With help from different factions of the nobility, Sheroe overthrew his father in a coup d'état in 628. At this juncture, the Iranian army had been split into three separate armies, each led by one of the faction leaders. After ascending the throne, he had his father and all his brothers executed. Also, he made peace with the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641), thus concluding the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628.

Kavad II soon died of a devastating plague, which became known as the Plague of Sheroe. He was succeeded by his seven-year-old son Ardashir III (r. 628–630).

Contemporary sources and modern historiography present a mixed view of Kavad II, with some of the latter criticizing him for his fratricide, considering it to have heavy consequences for the empire. The Austrian historian and numismatist Nikolaus Schindel in contrast suggests that Kavad II's fratricide may have prevented a possible civil war, and had Kavad II lived longer, he might had been able to prevent the disintegration of the Sasanian political structure and the impending Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran.
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