Hormizd I
| Hormizd I 𐭠𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭬𐭦𐭣 | |
|---|---|
House of Sasan | |
| Father | Shapur I |
| Mother | unnamed daughter of Mihrak |
| Religion | Zoroastrianism |
Hormizd-Ardashir, better known by his dynastic name of Hormizd I (also spelled Hormozd I or Ohrmazd I;
permission to continue his preaching.It was under Hormizd I that the title of "King of Kings of Iran and non-Iran" became regularized in Sasanian coinage; previously, the royal titulary had generally been "King of Kings of Iran". Hormizd I was succeeded by his eldest brother Bahram I.
Etymology
The name of Hormizd (also spelled Ōhrmazd, Hormozd) is the Middle Persian version of the name of the supreme deity in Zoroastrianism, known in Avestan as Ahura Mazda.[1] The Old Persian equivalent is Auramazdā, whilst the Greek transliteration is Hormisdas.[1][2] The name is attested in Armenian as Ormizd and in Georgian as Urmizd.[3][4] His personal name was "Hormizd-Ardashir", a combination of "Hormizd" and "Ardashir", the latter being the Middle Persian form of the Old Persian Ṛtaxšira (also spelled Artaxšaçā), meaning "whose reign is through truth (asha)".[5][6]
Background
Hormizd was the third-born son of Shapur I (r. 240–270).[7] According to folklore, Hormizd's mother was a daughter of the Parthian dynast Mihrak.[8] His two elder brothers were Bahram (the eldest) and Shapur Meshanshah, whilst Narseh was his younger brother.[7] Hormizd had two sisters named Adur-Anahid and Shapurdukhtak.[9][10] His grandfather was Ardashir I, the founder of the Sasanian Empire.[11] The Sasanians had supplanted the Arsacid Empire as the sovereigns of Iran in 224, when Ardashir I defeated and killed the last Arsacid King of Kings Artabanus IV (r. 213–224) at the Battle of Hormozdgan.[11]
Rise
Hormizd is first mentioned during the wars of Shapur I against the
Hormizd is mentioned in an inscription on the wall of the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht at Naqsh-e Rostam near Persepolis in southern Iran, which Shapur I had created in order to praise his sons by citing their names and titles.[12][1] In the inscription, Hormizd is given the title of Wuzurg Šāh Arminān ("Great King of the Armenians").[1][13] The 4th-century Armenian historian Agathangelos states that this title was only given to the heir of the shahanshah.[13]
When Shapur I was on his deathbed, he crowned Hormizd as the new shahanshah of Iran, in May 270.[14][11]
Reign
Little is known of Hormizd's reign.
Coinage and imperial ideology
While Ardashir I and Shapur I generally used the title of "King of Kings of (Iran)ians" on their coinage, Hormizd had the title slightly modified, adding the phrase "and non-Iran(ians)".[23][24] His full title thus read "the Mazda-worshiping, divine Hormizd, King of Kings of Iran(ians) and non-Iran(ians), whose image/brilliance is from the gods".[23][24][b] The phrase "and non-Iran(ians)" had already been in use in the inscriptions of Shapur I,[25] and in rare cases his coin mints,[26] but was first regularized under Hormizd.[25] The extended title demonstrates the incorporation of new territory into the empire, however what was precisely seen as "non-Iran(ian)" (aneran) is not certain.[1] The reverse of Hormizd's coin portrayed two attendants, an addition that was first made by Shapur I, on whose coinage both attendants are depicted wearing mural crowns, whilst looking away from the fire temple between them.[27] They most likely represented the shah.[27] In the coinage of Hormizd, the attendants face the temple and are wearing different crowns.[27] The figure on the left side represents Hormizd, whilst the figure on the right—depending on its portrayal—represents the Iranian deities Mithra or Anahita.[28]
Notes
- ^ Also spelled "King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians".
- ^ In Middle Persian: Mazdēsn bay Ōhrmazd šāhān šāh Ērān ud Anērān kēčihr az yazdān.[23]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Shayegan 2004, pp. 462–464.
- ^ Vevaina & Canepa 2018, p. 1110.
- ^ Schmitt & Bailey 1986, pp. 445–465.
- ^ Rapp 2014, p. 341-343.
- ^ Schmitt 1986, pp. 654–655.
- ^ Wiesehöfer 1986, pp. 371–376.
- ^ a b c Shahbazi 1988, pp. 514–522.
- ^ Pourshariati 2008, pp. 46–47.
- ^ Brosius 2000.
- ^ Gignoux 1983, p. 472.
- ^ a b c d Shahbazi 2005.
- ^ Kia 2016, p. 233.
- ^ a b Weber 2016.
- ^ Al-Tabari 1985–2007, v. 5: pp. 39, 43.
- ^ Daryaee 2014, p. 76.
- ^ Kia 2016, p. 246.
- ^ a b Daryaee 2014, p. 10.
- ^ Skjærvø 2012.
- ^ Stausberg, Vevaina & Tessmann 2015, p. 383.
- ^ Jalalipour 2015, pp. 15–16.
- ^ a b Badiyi 2020, p. 210.
- ^ Brunner 1983, p. 758.
- ^ a b c Schindel 2013, p. 836.
- ^ a b Shayegan 2013, p. 805.
- ^ a b Curtis & Stewart 2008, p. 21.
- ^ Curtis & Stewart 2008, p. 23.
- ^ a b c Schindel 2013, p. 835.
- ^ Curtis & Stewart 2008, p. 24.
Sources
- Al-Tabari, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir(1985–2007). Ehsan Yar-Shater (ed.). The History of Al-Ṭabarī. Vol. 40 vols. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
- Badiyi, Bahram (2020). "Cities and Mint Centers Founded by the Sasanians". Ancient Iranian Numismatics: 203–233. S2CID 242624054.
- Brosius, Maria (2000). "Women i. In Pre-Islamic Persia". Encyclopaedia Iranica. London et al.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Brunner, Christopher (1983). "Geographical and Administrative divisions: Settlements and Economy". In ISBN 0-521-24693-8.
- Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh; Stewart, Sarah (2008). The Sasanian Era. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–200. ISBN 978-0-85771-972-0.
- ISBN 978-0-85771-666-8.
- Gignoux, Ph. (1983). "Ādur-Anāhīd". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 5. London et al. p. 472.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Jalalipour, Saeid (2015). "The Arab Conquest of Persia: The Khūzistān Province before and after the Muslims Triumph" (PDF). Sasanika.
- Kia, Mehrdad (2016). The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia. ISBN 978-1-61069-391-2. (2 volumes)
- 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. ISBN 978-1-84511-645-3.
- Rapp, Stephen H. Jr (2014). The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-4724-2552-2.
- Schindel, Nikolaus (2013). "Sasanian Coinage". In Potts, Daniel T. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-973330-9.
- 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.
- Schmitt, R. (1986). "Artaxerxes". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 6. pp. 654–655.
- Shahbazi, A. Shapur (1988). "Bahrām I". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 5. pp. 514–522.
- Shahbazi, A. Shapur (2005). "Sasanian dynasty". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition.
- Shayegan, M. Rahim (2004). "Hormozd I". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XII, Fasc. 5. pp. 462–464.
- Shayegan, M. Rahim (2013). "Sasanian Political Ideology". In Potts, Daniel T. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-973330-9.
- Skjærvø, Prods Oktor (2012). "Kartīr". Encyclopædia Iranica.
- Stausberg, Michael; Vevaina, Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw; Tessmann, Anna (2015). The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- Vevaina, Yuhan; Canepa, Matthew (2018). "Ohrmazd". In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.). ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8.
- Weber, Ursula (2016). "Narseh". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- Wiesehöfer, Joseph (1986). "Ardašīr I i. History". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 4. pp. 371–376.
Further reading
- Daryaee, Touraj (2018). "Hormizd I Ardashir". In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.). ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8.
