Hormizd III
| Hormizd III 𐭠𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭬𐭦𐭣 | |
|---|---|
| King of Kings of Iran and non-Iran[a] | |
 Plate of a Sasanian king hunting lions, most likely Hormizd III | |
| Shahanshahof theSasanian Empire | |
| Reign | 457 – 459 |
| Coronation | Ray |
| Predecessor | Yazdegerd II |
| Successor | Peroz I |
| Regent | Denag |
| Died | 459 |
| Issue | Balendukht |
| House | House of Sasan |
| Father | Yazdegerd II |
| Mother | Denag |
| Religion | Zoroastrianism |
Hormizd III(Middle Persian:𐭠𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭬𐭦𐭣;New Persian:هرمز سوم), was the seventeenth king (shah) of theSasanian Empire,ruling briefly from 457 to 459. He was the son and successor ofYazdegerd II(r. 438–457). His reign was marked by the rebellion of his younger brotherPeroz I,who with the aid of one of theSeven Great Houses of Iran,theHouse of Mihran,and the eastern neighbours of the Sasanians, theHephthalites,had him captured and executed.
Etymology[edit]
The name of Hormizd (also spelledŌhrmazd,Hormozd) is theMiddle Persianversion of the name of the supreme deity inZoroastrianism,known inAvestanasAhura Mazda.[1]TheOld Persianequivalent isAuramazdā,whilst theGreektransliteration isHormisdas.[1][2]The name is attested inArmenianasOrmizdand inGeorgianasUrmizd.[3][4]
Biography[edit]
Hormizd III was the eldest son and heir of the Sasanian shahYazdegerd II,and governed the eastern province ofSakastanduring his father's reign.[5]The province was far away from the imperial court inCtesiphon,and had since its conquest byArdashir I(r. 224–240) been governed by Sasanian princes, who held title ofsakanshah( "king of theSaka").[6]When Yazdegerd I died in 457, Hormizd ascended the throne atRay.[7]His younger brotherPeroz I,with the support of the powerfulMihranidmagnateRaham Mihran,fled to the northeastern part of the empire and began raising an army in order to claim the throne for himself.[7][8]The empire thus fell into a dynastic struggle and became divided; the mother of the two brothers,Denag,temporarily ruled as regent of the empire from its capital, Ctesiphon.[7]According to eastern sources, Peroz was more worthy for the throne than Hormizd, who is called unjust.[5]Only the anonymous source known as the Codex Sprenger 30 describes Hormizd as the "braver and better", whilst describing Peroz as "more learned in religion".[5]
TheArsacidruler ofCaucasian Albania,Vache II(r. 444–463), who was the nephew of the two brothers through his mother, and had been forced to convert to Zoroastrianism by Yazdegerd II, took advantage of the dispute by declaring independence and reverting toChristianity.[9][10]Peroz later went to the domains of theHephthalitemonarch, who agreed to support him with soldiers in his struggle for the throne.[5]In 459, Peroz, with Hephthalite and Mihranid assistance, led an army against Hormizd and defeated him. According to some sources, Hormizd was pardoned and spared by his brother. However, this is most likely a legend, due to being contradicted by other sources, which state Peroz had Hormizd and three members of his family killed.[5]Peroz I afterwards fully incorporated Sakastan into the empire by appointing an aristocrat from theHouse of Karenas governor.[6]Hormizd was thus the last person to wield the title ofsakanshah.[6]Nocoinsminted during Hormizd's reign has been found.[5]
Family[edit]
Hormizd was survived by his two daughters, who were:
- Balendukht,the wife ofVakhtang I,the ruler ofIberia.She bore the latter a son namedDachi.
- An unnamed daughter, who was the wife ofVarsken,Viceroy ofGugarkand laterCaucasian Albania.
Notes[edit]
- ^Also spelled "King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians".
References[edit]
- ^abShayegan 2004,pp. 462–464.
- ^Vevaina & Canepa 2018,p. 1110.
- ^Schmitt & Bailey 1986,pp. 445–465.
- ^Rapp 2014,p. 341-343.
- ^abcdefShahbazi 2004,pp. 465–466.
- ^abcChristensen 1993,p. 229.
- ^abcKia 2016,p. 248.
- ^Pourshariati 2008,p. 71.
- ^Pourshariati 2008,p. 300.
- ^Daryaee 2008,p. 24.
Sources[edit]
- Christensen, Peter (1993).The Decline of Iranshahr: Irrigation and Environments in the History of the Middle East, 500 B.C. to A.D. 1500.Museum Tusculanum Press. pp. 1–351.ISBN978-87-7289-259-7.
- Daryaee, Touraj(2008).Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire.I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–240.ISBN978-0-85771-666-8.
- Kia, Mehrdad (2016).The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia.ABC-CLIO.ISBN978-1-61069-391-2.
- Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2008).Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran.London and New York: I.B.Tauris.ISBN978-1-84511-645-3.
- Rapp, Stephen H. Jr (2014).The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature.Routledge.ISBN978-1-4724-2552-2.
- Schmitt, R.;Bailey, H. W.(1986)."ARMENIA AND IRAN iv. Iranian influences in Armenian Language".Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 4-5.pp. 445–465.
- Shahbazi, A. Shapur(2004)."Hormozd III".InYarshater, Ehsan(ed.).Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume XII/5: Homosexuality III–Human migration II.London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 465–466.ISBN978-0-933273-79-5.
- Shayegan, M. Rahim (2004)."Hormozd I".InYarshater, Ehsan(ed.).Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume XII/5: Homosexuality III–Human migration II.London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 462–464.ISBN978-0-933273-79-5.
- Vevaina, Yuhan; Canepa, Matthew (2018)."Ohrmazd".In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.).The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity.Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-866277-8.
External links[edit]
- Wigram, W. A. (2004).An introduction to the history of the Assyrian Church, or, The Church of the Sassanid Persian Empire, 100–640 A.D.Gorgias Press.ISBN1-59333-103-7.