Ven. Holzhauser described a powerful leader from the East, identifying him with the Persian King Khosrov (Chosroes), who would serve as a precursor and type of the Antichrist. Just as King Khosrov II of Persia devastated the Christian East in the 7th century — conquering Jerusalem, stealing the True Cross, and massacring Christians — so a future leader from that same region would arise to persecute the faithful and wage war against Christendom before the coming of the Great Monarch who would restore order.