Yazdegerd III
| Yazdegerd | |
|---|---|
| King of Persia Shahenshah (Persian: شهنشاه) |
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| Reign | Persia: 16 June 632 |
| Born | 624[1] |
| Died | 651 |
| Place of death | Merv |
| Predecessor | Khosrow II |
| Successor | Sassanid Empire abolished |
| Royal House | Sassanid |
| Dynasty | Sassanid |
| Father | Shahryar |
| Mother | Unknown |
| Religious beliefs | Zoroastrianism |
Yazdegerd III[pronunciation?] or Yazdgerd III (also spelled Yazdiger or Yazdigerd, Persian: یزدگرد سوم, "made by God") was the twenty-ninth and last king of the Sassanid dynasty of Iran. His father was Shahryar and his grandfather was Khosrau II (590–628). Yazdegerd III ascended the throne on 16 June 632 when he was 8 years old[2] after a series of internal conflicts.
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Life and reign [edit]
Yazdegerd was born in central Iran, reigned as a youth and had never truly exercised authority. The Muslim conquest of Persia began in his first year of reign, and ended with the Battle of Oxus River. Yazdegerd sought an alliance with Emperor Heraclius, who was an old rival of the Persian Empire.
Following the battle of al-Qādisiyyah, the Arabs occupied Ctesiphon, and the young king fled eastward into Media going from one district to another, until at last he was killed by a local miller for his purse at Merv in 651.[3]
The legend is that he was killed by a miller who robbed him of his clothes and jewellery, but there is a strong suspicion that the governor of Merv, was the real culprit.[4]
Ferdowsi a contemporary of Mahmud of Ghazni recounts the killing of Yazdegerd by the miller at the behest of Mahuy Suri war of nizak tarkhan and
| “ | Mahui sends the miller to cut off his head on pain of losing his own, and having none of his race left alive. His chiefs hear this and cry out against him, and a Mobed of the name of Radui tells him that to kill a king or prophet will bring evil upon him and his son, and is supported in what he says by a holy man of the name of Hormuzd Kharad Shehran, and Mehronush.
The miller most unwillingly goes in and stabs him with a dagger in the middle. Mahui's horsmen all go and see him and take off his clothing and ornaments, leaving him on the ground . All the nobles curse Mahui and wish him the same fate.[5] |
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story of Al-Baladhuri [edit]
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2012) |
There are five different story about the destiny of Yazdegerd III. Al-Baladhuri wrote that Yazdegerd III in his way to Marv from Isfahan Province to Kerman to Sistan arrived in Khorasan Province city of Gonabad and the envoy of the governor of Merv came to Gonabd to welcome the king. The king was killed in the castle of Zibad- Gonabad because he refused to accept request of the governor of Merv to marry the king's daughter.
Zoroastrian calendar [edit]
The Zoroastrian religious calendar, which is still in use today, uses the regnal year of Yazdegerd III as its base year. Its calendar era (year numbering system), which is accompanied by a Y.Z. suffix, thus indicates the number of years since the emperor's coronation in 632 AD.
Family [edit]
Yazdegerd's son Peroz II fled to China. His daughter Shahrbanu is believed to be the wife of Husayn ibn Ali; his other daughter Izdundad was married to Bustanai ben Haninai, the Jewish exilarch. The Bahá'í religious leader Bahá'u'lláh's ancestry can be traced back to Yazdegerd III.[6][7]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- Genealogy of the Byzantine-Persian royal lineage
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Notes [edit]
- ^ http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sasanian-dynasty
- ^ http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sasanian-dynasty
- ^ Iran - Encyclopædia Britannica Online
- ^ Katouzian, Homa, Iranian history and politics: The dialectic of state and society, p. 33.
- ^ The Shah-Namah of Fardusi, trans. Alexander Rogers (LPP Publication), p. 547.
- ^ Smith, Peter (2000). "Zoroastrianism". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. p. 369. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
- ^ Balyuzi, H.M. (1985). Eminent Bahá'ís in the time of Bahá'u'lláh. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. pp. 309–312. ISBN 0-85398-152-3.
| Preceded by Hormizd VI |
Sassanid Ruler 632–651 |
Last Sassanid ruler |
| Ruler of Persia 632–651 |
Succeeded by Caliph Uthman |
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