Social Problems
Sassanid society was divided into four classes: priests, warriors, secretaries, and commoners. The latter formed the bulk of the population, served as its sole tax base, and remained its poorest class.
Khosrau I's military and taxation reforms had no effect on social status and may have actually worsened life for the commoners. This contributed to people's discontent in later years.
At the climax of Khosrau II's ambitious Byzantine territory conquests in the Levant, taxes rose dramatically, and most people could not pay. Years of Sassanid-Byzantine wars had ruined trade routes and industry, the population's main income sources. Rapid turnover of rulers and increasing provincial landholder power further diminished the Sassanids. Over a period of fourteen years and twelve successive kings, the Sassanid Empire weakened considerably, and the power of the central authority passed into the hands of its generals. Even when a strong king emerged following a series of coups, the Sassanids never completely recovered.
Read more about this topic: Fall Of The Sassanid Empire
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