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Hormizd IV
Hormizd IV (also spelled Hormozd IV or Ohrmazd IV; Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭬𐭦𐭣) was the King of Kings of Sasanian Iran from 579 to 590. He was the son and successor of Khosrow I (r. 531–579) and his mother was a Khazar princess.
During his reign, Hormizd IV had the high aristocracy and Zoroastrian priesthood slaughtered while supporting the landed gentry (the dehqans). His reign was marked by constant warfare: to the west, he fought a long and indecisive war with the Byzantine Empire, which had been ongoing since the reign of his father; and to the east, the Iranian general Bahram Chobin successfully contained and defeated the Western Turkic Khaganate during the First Perso-Turkic War. It was also during Hormizd IV's reign that the Chosroid dynasty of Iberia was abolished. After negotiating with the Iberian aristocracy and winning their support, Hormizd successfully incorporated Iberia into the Sasanian Empire.
Jealous of Bahram's success in the east, Hormizd IV had him disgraced and dismissed, which led to a rebellion led by Bahram, which marked the start of the Sasanian civil war of 589–591. Another faction, led by two other dissatisfied nobles, Vistahm and Vinduyih, had Hormizd IV deposed and killed, and placed his son Khosrow II on the throne.
Hormizd IV was noted for his religious tolerance. He declined appeals by the Zoroastrian priesthood to persecute the Christian population of the country. Contemporary sources generally considered him to be a tyrannical figure due to his policies. Modern historians tend to have a milder view of him and considers him a well-meaning ruler who strived to continue his father's policies, albeit overambitiously.
Hormizd (also spelled Ōhrmazd and Hormozd) is the Middle Persian version of the name of the supreme deity in Zoroastrianism, known in Avestan as Ahura Mazda. The Old Persian equivalent is Auramazdā, while the Greek transliteration is Hormisdas. The name is attested in Armenian as Ormizd and in Georgian as Urmizd.
Hormizd was the son of Khosrow I, one of the most celebrated Sasanian shahs. Oriental sources and modern scholars have identified Hormizd's maternal grandfather as Istemi, the khagan of the Turks, who allied himself with Khosrow I in c. 560 to put an end to the Hephthalites, which the two allied powers accomplished at the Battle of Gol-Zarriun. Khosrow I was given the daughter of Istemi in marriage, who reportedly gave birth to Hormizd. Hormizd is thus called a Turkzad(a) in the Shahnameh, or 'son of a Turk'. This is, however, rejected by the Iranologist Shapur Shahbazi, who called such a relationship a "chronological difficulty", due to sources mentioning Hormizd being sent by his father to contain the threat posed by Istemi following the division of Hephthalite territory between the Sasanians and Turks.
Historians consider it more plausible that Hormizd was born around 540: his son Khosrow II was thus born in c. 570. The 7th-century Armenian historian Sebeos called Hormizd's mother a "daughter of the khagan of the Turks" and referred to her as Kayen, whilst Mas'udi called her Faqum, stating that she was the daughter of the ruler of the Khazars. Shahbazi supported the German orientalist Josef Markwart in his deduction that Hormizd's maternal grandfather was the khagan of the Khazars (who are frequently called Turks in other sources), and that Sebeos had referred to Hormizd's mother by her father's name (or title). The medieval Iranian geographer Ibn Khordadbeh also mentioned Khosrow I and the Khazar king organizing to marry each other's daughters. Hormizd was thus not only an offspring of the highly esteemed Khosrow I of the ruling family of Iran, but also belonged to a royal Turkic dynasty, which according to Sebeos "made Hormizd even greater than his paternal ancestors and equally greater and wilder than his maternal relatives". The modern historian Michael Bonner proposes instead that Hormizd may have been born to a Hephthalite princess, later misremembered as Turkic or Khazar.
Khosrow I, aware that Hormizd had shown himself as a leader of quality, appointed Hormizd as his heir. The decision was also politically motivated, due to Hormizd's maternal line being of noble lineage, whilst the mothers of Khosrow I's other sons were more lowly. Hormizd came to the throne in 579: according to the narratives included in the history of al-Tabari, Hormizd was well learned and full of good aspirations of kindness toward the poor and weak. He was seemingly less warlike than his predecessors, but was resolute enough to continue their reforms. He appears to have striven his best to continue the policies of his father—supporting the landed gentry (the dehqan) against the aristocracy and protecting the rights of the lower classes, as well as thwarting efforts by the Zoroastrian priesthood to reassert themselves. He did, however, resort to executions in order to maintain his father's policies, and as a result became the subject of hostility by the Zoroastrians. He declined an appeal by the priesthood to persecute the Christian population by asserting his wish that "all his subjects were to exercise their religion freely". He reportedly had many members of the priesthood killed, including the chief priest (mowbed) himself.
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Hormizd IV
Hormizd IV (also spelled Hormozd IV or Ohrmazd IV; Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭬𐭦𐭣) was the King of Kings of Sasanian Iran from 579 to 590. He was the son and successor of Khosrow I (r. 531–579) and his mother was a Khazar princess.
During his reign, Hormizd IV had the high aristocracy and Zoroastrian priesthood slaughtered while supporting the landed gentry (the dehqans). His reign was marked by constant warfare: to the west, he fought a long and indecisive war with the Byzantine Empire, which had been ongoing since the reign of his father; and to the east, the Iranian general Bahram Chobin successfully contained and defeated the Western Turkic Khaganate during the First Perso-Turkic War. It was also during Hormizd IV's reign that the Chosroid dynasty of Iberia was abolished. After negotiating with the Iberian aristocracy and winning their support, Hormizd successfully incorporated Iberia into the Sasanian Empire.
Jealous of Bahram's success in the east, Hormizd IV had him disgraced and dismissed, which led to a rebellion led by Bahram, which marked the start of the Sasanian civil war of 589–591. Another faction, led by two other dissatisfied nobles, Vistahm and Vinduyih, had Hormizd IV deposed and killed, and placed his son Khosrow II on the throne.
Hormizd IV was noted for his religious tolerance. He declined appeals by the Zoroastrian priesthood to persecute the Christian population of the country. Contemporary sources generally considered him to be a tyrannical figure due to his policies. Modern historians tend to have a milder view of him and considers him a well-meaning ruler who strived to continue his father's policies, albeit overambitiously.
Hormizd (also spelled Ōhrmazd and Hormozd) is the Middle Persian version of the name of the supreme deity in Zoroastrianism, known in Avestan as Ahura Mazda. The Old Persian equivalent is Auramazdā, while the Greek transliteration is Hormisdas. The name is attested in Armenian as Ormizd and in Georgian as Urmizd.
Hormizd was the son of Khosrow I, one of the most celebrated Sasanian shahs. Oriental sources and modern scholars have identified Hormizd's maternal grandfather as Istemi, the khagan of the Turks, who allied himself with Khosrow I in c. 560 to put an end to the Hephthalites, which the two allied powers accomplished at the Battle of Gol-Zarriun. Khosrow I was given the daughter of Istemi in marriage, who reportedly gave birth to Hormizd. Hormizd is thus called a Turkzad(a) in the Shahnameh, or 'son of a Turk'. This is, however, rejected by the Iranologist Shapur Shahbazi, who called such a relationship a "chronological difficulty", due to sources mentioning Hormizd being sent by his father to contain the threat posed by Istemi following the division of Hephthalite territory between the Sasanians and Turks.
Historians consider it more plausible that Hormizd was born around 540: his son Khosrow II was thus born in c. 570. The 7th-century Armenian historian Sebeos called Hormizd's mother a "daughter of the khagan of the Turks" and referred to her as Kayen, whilst Mas'udi called her Faqum, stating that she was the daughter of the ruler of the Khazars. Shahbazi supported the German orientalist Josef Markwart in his deduction that Hormizd's maternal grandfather was the khagan of the Khazars (who are frequently called Turks in other sources), and that Sebeos had referred to Hormizd's mother by her father's name (or title). The medieval Iranian geographer Ibn Khordadbeh also mentioned Khosrow I and the Khazar king organizing to marry each other's daughters. Hormizd was thus not only an offspring of the highly esteemed Khosrow I of the ruling family of Iran, but also belonged to a royal Turkic dynasty, which according to Sebeos "made Hormizd even greater than his paternal ancestors and equally greater and wilder than his maternal relatives". The modern historian Michael Bonner proposes instead that Hormizd may have been born to a Hephthalite princess, later misremembered as Turkic or Khazar.
Khosrow I, aware that Hormizd had shown himself as a leader of quality, appointed Hormizd as his heir. The decision was also politically motivated, due to Hormizd's maternal line being of noble lineage, whilst the mothers of Khosrow I's other sons were more lowly. Hormizd came to the throne in 579: according to the narratives included in the history of al-Tabari, Hormizd was well learned and full of good aspirations of kindness toward the poor and weak. He was seemingly less warlike than his predecessors, but was resolute enough to continue their reforms. He appears to have striven his best to continue the policies of his father—supporting the landed gentry (the dehqan) against the aristocracy and protecting the rights of the lower classes, as well as thwarting efforts by the Zoroastrian priesthood to reassert themselves. He did, however, resort to executions in order to maintain his father's policies, and as a result became the subject of hostility by the Zoroastrians. He declined an appeal by the priesthood to persecute the Christian population by asserting his wish that "all his subjects were to exercise their religion freely". He reportedly had many members of the priesthood killed, including the chief priest (mowbed) himself.