• General Notes

  BIOGRAPHY: Bahram V (421-438), son of Yazdegerd I, after whose sudden death (or assassination) he gained the crown against the opposition of the grandees by the help of al-Mundhir, the Arabic dynast of Hira. He began a systematic persecution of the Christians, which led to a war with the Roman empire. But a treaty was soon concluded by which both empires promised toleration to the worshippers of the two rival religions, Christianity and Zoroastrianism. Bahram deposed the vassal king of the Persian part of Armenia and made it a province. He is a great favourite in Persian tradition and is called Bahram Gor, "the wild ass," on account of his strength and courage. [Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1961 ed., Vol. 2, p. 928, BAHRAM] ---------- Bahram V, also called BAHRAM GUR (fl. 5th century AD), Sasanian king (reigned 420-438). He was celebrated in literature, art, and folklore for his chivalry, romantic adventures, and huntsmanship. He was educated at the court of al-Mundhir, the Lakhmid Arab king of al-Hira, in Mesene, whose support helped him gain the throne after the assassination of his father, Yazdegerd I. He was apparently also supported by Mihr-Naresh, chief minister of Yazdegerd's last years, to whom Bahram later delegated much of the governmental administration. Bahram carried on an inconclusive war with the Romans (421-422), and in 427 he crushed an invasion in the east by the nomadic Hephthalites, extending his influence into Central Asia, where his portrait survived for centuries on the coinage of Bukhara (in modern Uzbekistan). [Encyclopaedia Britannica CD '97, BAHRAM V] ---------- They say the Lion and the Lizard keep The Courts where Jamshýd gloried and drank deep; And Bahrám, that great Hunter--the Wild Ass Stamps o'er his Head, but cannot break his sleep. The Rubáiyát (xviii) Omar Khayyam

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