Yazdegerd II
Yazdegerd II 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩 | |
---|---|
House of Sasan | |
Father | Bahram V |
Mother | Sapinud |
Religion | Zoroastrianism |
Yazdegerd II (also spelled Yazdgerd and Yazdgird;
His reign was marked by wars against the
Yazdegerd II was the first Sasanian ruler to assume the title of kay ("king"), which evidently associates him and the dynasty to the mythical Kayanian dynasty commemorated in the Avesta. His death led to a dynastic struggle between his two sons Hormizd III and Peroz I for the throne, with the latter emerging victorious.
Etymology
The name of Yazdegerd is a combination of the
War with the Romans
In 438, shah Bahram V (r. 420–438) died, and was succeeded by Yazdegerd II. His western neighbours, the Romans, had since their peace treaty with Iran in 387 agreed that both empires were obligated to cooperate in the defense of the Caucasus against nomadic attacks.[3] The Romans helped in the defense of the Caucasus by paying the Iranians roughly 500 lbs (226 kg) of gold at irregular intervals.[4] While the Romans saw this payment as political subsidies, the Iranians saw it as tribute, which proved that Rome was the deputy of Iran.[5] The Roman emperor Theodosius II's unwillingness to continue the payment made Yazdegerd II declare war against the Romans,[5][3] which had ultimately little success for either side.[6]
The Romans were invaded in their southern provinces by the Vandals, causing Theodosius II to ask for peace and send his commander, Anatolius, personally to Yazdegerd II's camp.[7] In the ensuing negotiations in 440, both empires promised not to build any new fortifications in Mesopotamia and that the Sasanian Empire would get some payment in order to protect the Caucasus from incursions.[6]
War with the Huns
Since the reign of
In 450, he launched an expedition into deep Kidarite territory in
Religious policy
The policies of Yazdegerd II have been a matter of discussion; Arabic and Persian sources emphasize his personal piety and hostility towards the aristocracy, while Armenian and Syriac sources describe him as a religious fanatic. The latter aspect is often stressed in modern historiography.[22] The unsteadiness of the empire was ever-increasing under Yazdegerd II, who had an uneasy relationship with the aristocracy and was facing a great challenge by the Kidarite in the east.[22] At the beginning of Yazdegerd II's reign, he suffered several defeats at the hands of the Kidarites, for which he put the blame on the Christians, due to much of his cavalry consisting of Iberians and Armenians.[22] Persecutions of Christians first started in 446 with the Christian nobles of Karkh in Mesopotamia.[22] He later shifted his focus towards the Christian aristocracy of Iberia and Armenia.[22] Yazdegerd II's persecutions of non-Zoroastrians generally seem to have been limited, with the aristocracy being the primary target.[22]
Yazdegerd II had originally continued his father's policies of appeasing the magnates. However, after some time, he turned away from them and started a policy of his own. When the magnates told him that his new policies had offended the people, he disagreed, saying that: "it is not correct for you to presume that the ways in which my father behaved towards you, maintaining you close to him, and bestowing upon you all that bounty, are incumbent upon all the kings that come after him ... each age has its own customs."[23] Yazdegerd II, however, was still fully aware of the longstanding conflict between the crown and the nobility and priesthood, which had culminated in the murder of several Sasanian monarchs.[24]
Yazdegerd II's primary goal throughout his reign was thus to combat the internal and external issues posing a danger to country by strengthening the royal centralisation of the bureaucracy, which demanded the cooperation of the aristocracy.
On 2 June 451, the Sasanian and rebel forces clashed at Avarayr, with the Sasanians emerging victorious.[29] Nine generals, including Vardan Mamikonian, were killed, with a large number of the Armenian nobles and soldiers meeting the same fate.[29] The Sasanians, however, had also suffered heavy losses due to the resolute struggle by the Armenian rebels.[29] Although Yazdegerd II put an end to the persecutions in the country afterward, tensions continued until 510 when a kinsman of Vardan Mamikonian, Vard Mamikonian, was appointed marzban by Yazdegerd II's grandson, Kavad I (r. 488–531).[30]
Personality
Yazdegerd II was an astute and well-read ruler whose motto was "Question, examine, see. Let us choose and hold that which is best."
Fortifications
In the 440s, Yazdegerd II had a mudbrick defensive system constructed at Derbent to fend off incursions from the north.[36] An inscription on one of its walls report that the tribute paid by the Romans was used for the renewal of the fortress.[37] Near the city, he founded the fortified settlement of Shahristan-i Yazdegerd (present-day ruins of Torpakh-kala), which became the main hub of the soldiers stationed in the region, whose leader held the title of "marzban of Chol."[38] According to the New Persian chronicle Tarikh-i Yazd ("History of Yazd") of 1441, the city of Yazd in central Iran was refounded by Yazdegerd II.[39]
Coin mints and imperial ideology
The reign of Yazdegerd II marks the start of a new inscription on the Sasanian coins; mazdēsn bay kay ("The
Likewise, it was most likely during this period that legendary and epic texts were collected by the Sasanians, including the legend of the Iranian hero-king Fereydun (Frēdōn in Middle Persian), who split up his kingdom among his three sons; his eldest son Salm receiving the empire of the West, Rome; the second eldest Tur receiving the empire of the East, Turan; and the youngest Iraj receiving the heartland of the empire, Iran.[42] Accordingly, influenced by the texts about the Kayanians, Yazdegerd II may believed to be the heir of the Fereydun and Iraj, thus possibly deeming not only Roman domains in West as belonging to Iran, but also the eastern domains of the Huns.[42] Thus the Sasanians may have sought to symbolically assert their rights over those lands by assuming the Kayanian title of kay.[42] The traditional titulature of "King of Kings" was generally missing from Yazdegerd II's coinage.[43]
A new design also appeared on the reverse of the Sasanian coins, where the traditional
Death and succession
Yazdegerd II died in 457; he had reportedly not designed a successor and instead—according to the medieval historian al-Tha'alibi—entrusted the task to the elite.[23] Civil war soon followed; his eldest son Hormizd III ascended to the throne at the city of Ray in northern Iran, while Peroz fled to the northeastern part of the empire and began raising an army in order to claim the throne for himself.[44][45] 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.[44]
Family
Marriages
- Denag, an Iranian princess, possibly from the royal Sasanian family.
Issue
- Hormizd III, seventeenth shah of the Sasanian Empire (r. 457–459).[6]
- Peroz I, eighteenth shah of the Sasanian Empire (r. 459–484).[6]
- Zarer, Sasanian prince, who tried to claim the throne by rebelling in 485.[46]
- Balash, nineteenth shah of the Sasanian Empire (r. 484–488).[32]
- Vachagan III (r. 485–510), king of Caucasian Albania. His exact relation with Yazdegerd II is uncertain, he was either a son or nephew of his.[47]
- Unnamed daughter, who married the Caucasian Albanian king Aswagen (r. 415–440).[47]
Notes
References
- ^ Fiey, J.M. (1959). Mossoul Chrétienne: Essai sur l'histoire, l'archéologie et l'état actuel des monuments chrétiens de la ville de Mossoul (in French). Beirut: Imprimerie Catholique. pp. 120–23.
- ^ a b Shahbazi 2003.
- ^ a b Shayegan 2017, p. 809.
- ^ Payne 2015b, pp. 296–298.
- ^ a b Payne 2015b, p. 298.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Daryaee.
- ^ Frye 1983, p. 146.
- ^ Rezakhani 2017, pp. 85–87.
- ^ Payne 2016, pp. 7, 11.
- ^ Rezakhani 2017, p. 96.
- ^ a b Payne 2015b, p. 285.
- ^ Payne 2015b, p. 286.
- ^ Payne 2015a, p. 45.
- ^ Payne 2016, p. 18.
- ^ a b Payne 2015b, p. 287.
- ^ Bonner 2020, p. 100.
- ^ Potts 2018, pp. 291, 294.
- ^ a b Bonner 2020, p. 119.
- ^ Daryaee 2000.
- ^ Gyselen 1998, p. 537.
- ^ Daryaee 2014, p. 23.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Sauer 2017, p. 192.
- ^ a b Pourshariati 2008, p. 70.
- ^ Kia 2016, pp. 281–282.
- ^ Sauer 2017, pp. 192–193.
- ^ a b c Sauer 2017, p. 193.
- ^ Payne 2015a, p. 46.
- ^ a b Avdoyan 2018.
- ^ a b c d Hewsen 1987, p. 32.
- ^ Nersessian 2018.
- ^ Gaon 1988, pp. 115, 117.
- ^ a b Shahbazi 2005.
- ^ Kia 2016, p. 282.
- ^ a b Kia 2016, p. 283.
- ^ Kia 2016, pp. 282–283.
- ^ Gadjiev 2017, p. 122.
- ^ Bonner 2020, p. 118.
- ^ Gadjiev 2020b, pp. 113–114.
- ^ Choksy 2020, p. 225.
- ^ Schindel 2013, pp. 836–837.
- ^ Rezakhani 2017, pp. 79, 83.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Shayegan 2017, p. 807.
- ^ Schindel 2013, p. 837.
- ^ a b Kia 2016, p. 248.
- ^ Pourshariati 2008, p. 71.
- ^ Pourshariati 2008, pp. 75–76 (see note 371).
- ^ a b Gadjiev 2020a, p. 32.
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- Choksy, Jamsheed K. (2020). "Yazd: a "Good and Noble City" and an "Abode of Worship"". In Durand-Guédy, David; Mottahedeh, Roy; Paul, Jürgen (eds.). Cities of Medieval Iran. Brill. pp. 217–252. ISBN 978-90-04-43433-2.
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- Gadjiev, Murtazali (2020a). "The Chronology of the Arsacid Albanians". In Hoyland, Robert (ed.). From Albania to Arrān: The East Caucasus between the Ancient and Islamic Worlds (ca. 330 BCE–1000 CE). Gorgias Press. pp. 29–35. ISBN 978-1463239886.
- Gadjiev, Murtazali (2020b). "The Mission of Bishop Israyel in the Context of the Historical Geography of Caucasian Albania". In Hoyland, Robert (ed.). From Albania to Arrān: The East Caucasus between the Ancient and Islamic Worlds (ca. 330 BCE–1000 CE). Gorgias Press. pp. 101–120. ISBN 978-1463239886.
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Further reading
- Daryaee, Touraj (2018). "Yazdegerd II (MP Yazdgird)". In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.). ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8.