Hormizd I Kushanshah

Hormizd I Kushanshah on the Naqsh-e Rustam Bahram II panel.
Hormizd I Kushanshah circa 285-300 CE. Ohrmazd standing left, Buddhist triratana symbol/ Shiva standing facing on ground line, holding trident; behind, the bull Nandi.[1]
Coin of Hormizd I Kushanshah. Pahlavi inscription: "The Mazda worshipper, the divine Hormizd the great Kushan king of kings"/ Pahlavi inscription: "Exalted god, Hormizd the great Kushan king of kings", Hormizd standing right, holding investiture wreath over altar and raising left hand in benedictional gesture to Anahita holding investiture wreath and sceptre. Merv mint.[2]
Hormizd I. Crowned bust right / Figure, holding spear and wreath, emerging from fire altar.
Coin of Hormizd I Kushanshah, issued in what is now Afghanistan, and derived from earlier Kushan designs.

Hormizd I Kushanshah (277-286 CE), also Ohrmazd I, was a Kushano-Sasanids Kushanshas ruler, in effect a goveror of the Sassanid Empire for the eastern regions of Sogdiana, Bactria and Gandhara which had been captured following the fall of the Kushans in 225 CE.[3] His coins were minted at Kabul, Balkh, Herat, and Merv.[4]

He was probably a son of Sasanian king Bahram I and brother of Bahram II.[4]

He issued coins with the title Kushanshahanshah ("King of kings of the Kushans")[5], probably in defiance of imperial Sasanian rule.[3] Some of his coins imitate Kushan coinage, with king standing in Kushan military dress on the obverse, and deity Oēšo (Shiva) on the reverse.[4] Other coins however follow more closely the Sasanian pattern, with a king being portrayed in the Sasanian style, and with fire altar or deity on the reverse.[4]

The victory of Bahram II over Hormizd I Kushanshah is depicted in the bottom panel at Naqsh-e Rustam (the top panel is the victory of Bahram II over Roman Emperor Carus.[4]

Hormizd I Kushanshah seems to have led a rebellion against contemporary emperor Bahram II (276-293 CE) of the Sasanian Empire, but failed.[3] According to the Panegyrici Latini (3rd-4th century CE), there was a rebellion of a certain Ormis (Ormisdas) against his brother Bahram II, and Ormis was supported by the people of Saccis (Sakastan).[4] Hormizd of Sakastan may or may not be identical with him.


References

  1. ↑ CNG Coins
  2. ↑ CNG Coins
  3. 1 2 3 The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 3, E. Yarshater p.209 sq
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Encyclopedia Iranica
  5. ↑ CNG Coins
Preceded by
Peroz I Kushanshah		 Kushanshah of the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom
277-286		 Succeeded by
Hormizd II Kushanshah
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