Astyages vs Kavad II Sheroe

According to Herodotus, Astyages dreamed that his daughter Mandane gave birth to a vine that covered all of Asia. Interpreting this as a threat to his throne, he ordered the infant Cyrus to be killed. The child was instead secretly raised by a herdsman, fulfilling the prophecy.

Astyages punished his advisor Harpagus for failing to kill the infant Cyrus by serving him the flesh of his own son at a banquet. This act of cruelty led Harpagus to later conspire with Cyrus against Astyages, contributing to the Median king's overthrow.

Astyages, the last king of Media, was overthrown by his grandson Cyrus the Great, who led a rebellion of Persian tribes. The Median army defected to Cyrus during the battle, leading to Astyages' capture. This event ended the Median Empire and established the Persian Achaemenid Empire.

Kavad II, then known as Sheroe, led a coup against his father Khosrow II, imprisoning and executing him. This ended Khosrow's long reign and the Sasanian war with Byzantium.

Kavad II ordered the execution of 17 of his brothers to eliminate rivals to the throne. This decimated the Sasanian royal family and weakened the dynasty's legitimacy.

Kavad II negotiated a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire, ending the decades-long Sasanian-Byzantine war. He returned all conquered territories, including Egypt and the Levant, to Byzantine control.

Kavad II died of plague after a reign of only a few months. His death plunged the Sasanian Empire into further chaos and civil war.