Luckily for Shahrbaraz, a civil war began in 628 that divided the resources of the Sasanian Empire, and a devastating plague in the western provinces killed half of the population along with Kavadh II, weakening the empire.[4] Shahrbaraz marched towards Ctesiphon with 6,000 men,[5] besieged it and then captured it, betraying the Sasanian nobles and killing many of them, including two notable ones named Ardabīl and Mah-Adhur Gushnasp.