OVA
Description
Andragoras III, second son of Gotarzes II and scion of the House of Kaykhusraw, ascended as Pars’ eighteenth monarch through ruthless ambition. After engineering his elder brother Osroes V’s rise to the throne, he orchestrated Osroes’ assassination to claim kingship, securing a political marriage to Tahamenay, a Badakhshan noblewoman whose allure ignited rivalries among Parsian elites. Ruling from P.E. 304 until his demise in 321, his early military dominance earned him the epithet “Undefeated King” before the catastrophic defeat at Atropatene shattered his invincibility.
A ruler who valued conquest over statecraft, Andragoras governed through fear, crushing dissent with brute force. His neglect of diplomacy fueled noble unrest and reliance on enslaved populations, destabilizing the kingdom. These vulnerabilities were exploited during the Lusitanian invasion, when his general Kharlan defected and the shadowy Zahhāk Cult manipulated events to deliver him into the hands of Hilmes, his half-brother and throne claimant. Though he escaped captivity, Andragoras later confronted his adopted heir Arslan, commanding the prince to amass 50,000 soldiers as reparation for leading troops during his imprisonment.
His cold pragmatism extended to family. Following the death of his infant son, Andragoras adopted Arslan from a knightly lineage, fabricating a tale of a surviving daughter to shield Tahamenay from grief. The ruse collapsed after his death, exposing his calculated manipulation of succession.
Andragoras’ final clash occurred against the ailing Lusitanian monarch Innocentis VII. Their violent struggle ended with both plummeting from a tower, though his corpse faced further indignity: Zahhāk’s warlocks exhumed his remains, animating them as a host for the demon’s spirit. This false Andragoras rallied opposition to Arslan’s rule until the entity was vanquished.
Unbending and merciless, he governed with an iron fist, punishing shortcomings severely while dismissing political subtleties. Overconfidence in martial prowess blinded him to adversaries’ cunning, and his rigid adherence to tradition deepened divisions. A polarizing figure, his legacy intertwines martial glory with the strife that eroded Pars’ foundations.
A ruler who valued conquest over statecraft, Andragoras governed through fear, crushing dissent with brute force. His neglect of diplomacy fueled noble unrest and reliance on enslaved populations, destabilizing the kingdom. These vulnerabilities were exploited during the Lusitanian invasion, when his general Kharlan defected and the shadowy Zahhāk Cult manipulated events to deliver him into the hands of Hilmes, his half-brother and throne claimant. Though he escaped captivity, Andragoras later confronted his adopted heir Arslan, commanding the prince to amass 50,000 soldiers as reparation for leading troops during his imprisonment.
His cold pragmatism extended to family. Following the death of his infant son, Andragoras adopted Arslan from a knightly lineage, fabricating a tale of a surviving daughter to shield Tahamenay from grief. The ruse collapsed after his death, exposing his calculated manipulation of succession.
Andragoras’ final clash occurred against the ailing Lusitanian monarch Innocentis VII. Their violent struggle ended with both plummeting from a tower, though his corpse faced further indignity: Zahhāk’s warlocks exhumed his remains, animating them as a host for the demon’s spirit. This false Andragoras rallied opposition to Arslan’s rule until the entity was vanquished.
Unbending and merciless, he governed with an iron fist, punishing shortcomings severely while dismissing political subtleties. Overconfidence in martial prowess blinded him to adversaries’ cunning, and his rigid adherence to tradition deepened divisions. A polarizing figure, his legacy intertwines martial glory with the strife that eroded Pars’ foundations.