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The Saddanids quickly expanded their empire after its founding in 226. By 261 the empire stretched from the Euphrates River in the west to the Indus River in the east and northward to beyond the Oxus River (Amu Darya). This expansion led to internal conflicts and to clashes with invaders that eventually reduced the size of the empire. In 484, for example, the Hepthalites invaded the empire from the east, killing the king. It was left to Khosrow I, who reigned from 531 to 579, to attempt to bring internal order to the empire through a series of economic and social reforms and to once again expand the empire’s borders. With the help of the Turks he crushed the Hepthalites sometime around 560 and pushed the northern border of the empire to the Oxus River. Khosrow II, who reigned from around 590 to shortly before he was assassinated in 628, led successful campaigns against the Byzantines and others. However the Byzantines counterattacked and sacked Ctesiphon in 627. |
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