Yazdezerd II (440-457)

Yazdezerd II, the son of Behram V, was an illustrious king. He was the first Sasanian king to assume the title Kae which adorned the Kayanian kings of yore.

Though Firdausi does not mention anything about him, we know from Western historians that he was a brave and fearless king.

The Roman emperor Theodosius II had violated the previous treaty and started building forts on the Iranian border near Carrhae.  Immediately after assuming the throne, Yazdezerd II made his intentions clear. He asked the Roman emperor to stop building forts on the Iranian border, or else he would attack. The Roman emperor was not prepared for the war, and hence he commanded Anatolius, the Roman governor of Asian provinces to stop building the forts. After the Romans offered a truce on his terms, the war was averted.

When the Hephthalites invaded the eastern part of Iran, Yazdezerd entrusted the throne to his brother Meher-Narsi, and himself went for war. After several battles, the Hephthalites were forced to flee. However, after a few years the Hephthalites once again attacked Khorasan, and Yazdezerd once again defeated them.

A staunch Zoroastrian

Yazdezerd was not only courageous, he was also a very devout Zoroastrian himself, and a true defender of the Zoroastrian faith. He sent his brother Meher-Narsi to Armenia, an Iranian province, to curb the activities of Christian missionaries over there. After prolonged warfare, the Zoroastrians of Armenia who had been converted to Christianity were brought back into the Zoroastrian fold, some by persuasion and some by threat.

Yazdezerd had two sons, Piruz and Hormazd. The king did not want his elder son Piruz to succeed him and hence, during his lifetime, he made him the governor of Sistan. Yazdezerd II ruled for 18 years till he peacefully passed away in 457.

Hormazd III (457-458)

Yazdezerd II’s younger son Hormazd succeeded him. His brother Piruz wanted to get the throne which he believed was rightfully his. He approached Khushnawaz, the Hephthalite king for help. At first the king refused, but then he promised to give an army of thirty thousand soldiers in return for two provinces, to which Piruz agreed. With this army Piruz went to claim his right to the throne.

As there was no animosity between the two brothers, Hormazd surrendered the throne and Piruz allowed him to stay in the palace. Some accounts state that Hormazd was captured and executed by Piruz.

Piruz I (458-484)

Piruz I, the elder son of King Yazdezerd II and brother of Hormazd III, then became the king.

Seven years’ famine

Six years, into his reign, a deadly famine struck the empire, which went on for seven years, from 464 to 471. It devastated the crops and ruined the country. Wells dried up and there was not a trickle of water either in the Tigris or the Euphrates rivers. On account of the failure of crops, thousands of people and animals perished. Corpses and carcasses were seen strewn all over the country.

Piruz showed great firmness in dealing with the catastrophe. He stopped collecting taxes and asked the rich to give grains to the poor assuring them payment from his own treasury. He made efforts to import food grains from India, Greece and Abyssinia to fight the famine. He even offered to buy grains from granaries and he personally distributed grains to avoid favouritism. People were instructed to offer prayers to secure divine help.

As a result of the measures taken by the king, and on account of his wisdom and benevolence, the empire recovered from the famine and a greater tragedy was averted.

First war with the Hephthalites

In 464, taking advantage of the famine, Khushnawaz showed signs of rebellion, so Piruz attacked him. However, when he failed to subdue him, Piruz sought peace, offering the hand of his daughter to the Hephthalite king. Khushnawaz was happy with this arrangement. However, instead of his own daughter, Piruz sent another lady dressed as the princess. The ruse was soon discovered by Khushnawaz, and he flew into a rage, killing and maiming several Iranian war prisoners who were with him.

The second war

This move angered Piruz and he declared a war against Khushnawaz in 469 CE. When Khushnawaz came to know about the attack, he sent a letter to Piruz reminding him of the truce with Behram V, and asked him to honour it. Piruz replied that it was he who had broken the truce by extending the boundary of his kingdom from the river Tarak to the river Jaihun. Khushnawaz sent him the old truce showing that his boundary was indeed till river Jaihun. Piruz did not accept this boundary and continued his attack.

Piruz’s forces went straight into the enemy territory, and the Hephthalite seemed to be retreating. However, Khushnawaz was leading the Iranian army into a deadly trap. They were totally surrounded and became sitting targets. Piruz and his soldiers were captured. Khushnawaz imposed four humiliating conditions for their release. First, Piruz should ask for forgiveness by kneeling before him, second he should surrender the hostages, third he had to pay money for his release and taxes thereafter, and fourth he should never again challenge the Hephthalites nor pass the boundary demarcated by a pillar which would be set by Khushnawaz.

Piruz was agreeable to all the conditions accept kneeling before Khushnawaz. However, his priests and advisors showed him a way out. They advised Piruz to bow before the rising sun in the east which would lead Khushnawaz to believe that he was bowing to him. Piruz did accordingly and secured his release.

The third war

Piruz, anxious to avenge the two humiliating defeats, prepared for a third war against Khushnawaz in 484 CE. Though he was bound under the treaty not to cross the demarcating pillar, he prepared a huge army which included three hundred elephants. He took charge of the army and appointed his son Kobad as commander. He made his younger son Balāsh/Palāsh the temporary king under the guidance of Sufrāy, a wise provincial ruler from Shiraz of the Surren-Pahlav family. Some European historians consider Balāsh to be the younger brother of Piruz. When Khushnawaz came to know of the imminent attack, he once again devised a dangerous trap for the Iranians. He had a wide and deep moat dug around his army camp, measuring sixty feet by thirty feet, and had it camouflaged. Then he feigned a mock attack, instructing his army not to go beyond the moat and he and his army beat a retreat from that point. The unsuspecting Iranian army chased the Hephthalites and fell into the moat.

Seven leaders of Piruz’s army, including the king himself fell into the moat and died. Prince Kobad, princess Piruz-dokht and high priest Ardeshir survived and were taken prisoners. Several soldiers lost their lives. Balāsh and the Iranian people were shocked at the tragic deaths of their king, his family and several soldiers in the moat. The Hephthalites were now the masters of north eastern Iran.

Devout nature of Piruz I

The devout nature of Piruz was revealed at the difficult time of famine during his reign, when, after taking several stern and practical measures, he even instructed his subjects to pray to God for securing help. He even established and looked after Atash Behrams. Images of fire altars are see on the reverse of his coins.