Hormizd II

Hormizd II
King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians[1]
Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire
Reign 302–309
Predecessor Narseh
Successor Adur Narseh
Born Unknown
Died 309
Issue Adurfrazgird
Zamasp
Shapur II
Hormizd
Ardashir II
Hormizddukht[2]
Adur Narseh
Asay
House House of Sasan
Father Narseh
Mother Shapurdukhtak
Religion Zoroastrianism

Hormizd II (Persian: هرمز دوم‎) was the eighth king of the Sasanian Empire, and reigned for seven years and five months, from 302 to 309. He was the son of Narseh (293–302).

Reign

In 302, Hormizd II ascended the throne, assuming a crown resembling the crown used by the early Sasanian rulers. Hormizd II, unlike his father, persecuted the Manicheans who had lived peacefully during the reign of his father.[3] Hormizd tried to improve Sasanian relations with Armenia, which had recently under Tiridates III of Armenia declared Christianity as its state religion; he gave his daughter Hormizddukht in marriage to a Mamikonian prince named Vahan.[4] In 309, while Hormizd was hunting, he was wounded by a Ghassanid army, and was shortly killed by the Sasanian nobles.

Succession

After his death, his oldest son Adur Narseh, who had a cruel disposition, was killed by the grandees after a very short reign;[5] another son, Hormizd, was imprisoned, while the throne was reserved for the child of his concubine, Shapur II. Another version has it that Shapur II was the son of Hormizd II's first wife, and that while still pregnant she was made to wear a crown over her pudenda so that the baby would be born as a king.[6] Hormizd II also had many other sons named Adurfrazgird, Zamasp, Ardashir, and two daughters named Hormizddukht and Asay.

Family

Hormizd II was one of the Sasanian kings with most children, which he had from his Jewish wife Ifra-Hormizd, and several other wives and concubines:

  • Prince Adur Narseh (3rd century – 309), the ninth king of the Sasanian Empire.
  • Prince Shapur II (309–379), the tenth king of the Sasanian Empire.
  • Prince Adurfrazgird (??? – 4th century), governor of southern Arbayistan.
  • Prince Zamasp (??? – 4th century), governor of northern Arbayistan.
  • Prince Shapur Sakanshah (??? – 4th century), governor of Sakastan.
  • Prince Hormizd (??? – 4th century), imprisoned by the Sasanian nobles and later defected to the Roman Empire.
  • Prince Ardashir II (379 – 383), the eleventh king of the Sasanian Empire.
  • Princess Asay (??? – 4th century), married the Arsacid king Urnayr.
  • Princess Hormizddukht (??? – 4th century), married the Mamikonian prince Vahan.

References

  1. ↑ MacKenzie, David Niel (1998), "Ērān, Ērānšahr", Encyclopedia Iranica, 8, Costa Mesa: Mazda
  2. ↑ HORMOZD II, A. Shapur Shahbazi, Encyclopaedia Iranica, (March 23, 2012).
  3. ↑ HORMOZD II, A. Shapur Shahbazi, Encyclopaedia Iranica
  4. ↑ Touraj Daryaee, Sasanian Persia, (I.B.Tauris Ltd, 2010), 16.
  5. ↑ Touraj Daryaee, Sasanian Persia, (I.B.Tauris Ltd, 2010), 16.
  6. ↑ Touraj Daryaee, Sasanian Persia, (I.B.Tauris Ltd, 2010), 16.

Sources

  • Shapur Shahbazi, A. (2005). "SASANIAN DYNASTY". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  • Daryaee, Touraj (2008). Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–240. ISBN 9780857716668.
  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hormizd". Encyclopædia Britannica. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 693–694.
Hormizd II
Preceded by
Narseh		 Great King (Shah) of Persia
302–309		 Succeeded by
Adur Narseh
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