E00041: Theophylact Simocatta in his History describes how the Persian King Khosrau II had a dream vision of *Mary (Mother of Christ, S00033) in 596 or later, promising him victory. He related the dream to Probos, bishop of Chalcedon and venerated a portable icon of her carried by the bishop; all in Ctesiphon (Persia). Written in Greek in Constantinople in the early 7th century.

Theophylact Simocatta, History 5.15.8-10

(8.) οὐ μετὰ πολὺ δὲ καὶ ὁ Πρόβος τῆς Χαλκηδονέων πόλεως τὴν ἀρχιερατικὴν φροντίδα περιεβάλετο, καὶ ἤκουσέ που παρὰ Χοσρόου παράδοξα. (9.) τοῦ γὰρ αὐτοκράτορος Μαυρικίου τοῦτον ἐς Κτησιφῶντα πρὸς Χοσρόην ἐπαποστείλαντος, ἐν σταθηρᾷ μεσημβρίᾳ τινὶ μετάκλητον εἰς τὰ ἀνάκτορα τοῦτον εἰσποιησάμενος, ἱδρῶτι περιρρεόμενος τῆς θεομήτορος εἰκόνα ἠξίου παρὰ τοῦ ἱερέως θεάσασθαι. (10.) ἐπιφερόμενος οὖν ὁ ἱερεὺς τὸ ταύτης ἴνδαλμα ἐν πυκτίῳ ἐδίδου ἐς θέαν ἐλθεῖν τῷ Περσῶν βασιλεῖ. ὁ δὲ προσκυνήσας τὸν πίνακα ἔφασκε παρεστάναι αὐτῷ τὸ τούτου ἀρχέτυπον φῆσαί τε πρὸς αὐτὸν τὰς Ἀλεξάνδρου νίκας αὐτῷ τοῦ Μακεδόνος χαρίσασθαι ...

'(8.) Not long afterwards, Probos was invested with the high-priestly care of the city of the Chalcedonians [became bishop of Chalcedon] and apparently heard extraordinary things from Chosroes [Khosrau II]. (9.) For when the emperor Maurice sent this man to Chosroes at Ctesiphon, at high noon one day, Chosroes had him summoned to the palace where, bathed in sweat, he demanded from the priest to see an image of the Mother of God. (10) So the priest, who carried with him her likeness on a tablet (ἐν πυκτίῳ) granted a view of it to the Persian king. He venerated the panel (πίναξ), and declared that its archetype had stood beside him and told him that the victories of Alexander of Macedon would be bestowed upon him ...'

Text: de Boor and Wirth 1972. Translation: Whitby and Whitby 1986.