New NaqqaliYazdegard (son of Bahram Goor)یزدگرد
Gathers the scattered army, rules justly eighteen years, and leaves the crown to Hormizd over his elder son Pirooz.
- In the poem
- First at D10.2, Bahram Pardons Iran and Remits the Arrears; last at D11.1, The Reign of Yazdegard, Son of Bahram Goor
- Named
- 11 times, in 7 sections
- Main stories
- D10 The Bahram Goor Cycle: Justice, Foreign Adventures, and End of a Reign (10); D11 Short Reigns and a Crisis with Khoshnavaz (1)
- Parents
- Bahram Goor
- Children
- Hormizd (son of Yazdegard), Pirooz
- Plates
- Vol III: I, Vol III: V
In the poem’s own words
Bahram Pardons Iran and Remits the Arrears
Monzer pleads for the men who opposed Bahram and the king pardons them all. He feasts and loads the Arabs with gifts, makes his brother Narsi sepahbod, and then cancels ninety-three million dirhams of tax arrears and burns the ledgers. Iran celebrates at the fire-temples.
- D10.2.4The crimes of Yazdegard had chilled our blood,And drowned the nobles’ hearts in fear’s dark flood.
- D10.2.40He gathered exiles, scattered in his prideBy Yazdegard, in one town to abide.
Bahram’s Dismissal of Caesar’s Envoy
Bahram loads Caesar’s envoy with gifts and dismisses him, then apportions lands and offices among his chiefs. He speaks to the Mobadan of his father’s injustice, of death that spares no one, and pledges to repay from his own treasury any loss his officers or thieves inflict.
- D10.25.62Since Yazdegard, my father, ruled amiss,I sow the seeds of justice, aimed at bliss.
Bahram’s Embassy to Shangul of Hind
A vizier warns that Shangul of Hind is raiding toward Iran. Bahram has a letter written demanding tribute, then carries it himself in the guise of an envoy. He reaches Ghanooj, is admitted to the crystal-roofed hall, and delivers his own message to Shangul.
- D10.26.44Who took the Kayanian crown from YazdegardIn month Khordad, upon the day of Ard,
Shangul Detains Bahram in Hind
Shangul, reading farr in his guest’s stature and archery, guesses he is the Shah’s brother; Bahram denies it and asks leave to go. The king has his minister offer land, office and wealth, and press for a name. Bahram calls himself Barzvi, and Shangul resolves to destroy him.
- D10.29.9I am no Shah, nor Yazdegard’s own seed;To call him brother is a wrongful deed.
Shangul and Bahram Return to Their Realms
The two kings swear to keep faith and part. Bahram is met by his son Yazdegard, by Narsi and the Mobad, and resumes his throne with a speech on justice and the fear of God. At Azargashasp he gives to the poor, and Sapinud is received into the faith.
- D10.36.11When Yazdegard, the young prince, heard, he ralliedThe scattered army, and at once they sallied.
- D10.36.13When Yazdegard drew near, his father foundHis son with face pressed low against the ground.
Bahram Goor’s Time Comes to an End
In his sixty-third year Bahram tells his Mobad that the drained treasury no longer concerns him. He hands Yazdegard the throne and its regalia, sleeps, and is found dead in the morning. Iran mourns forty days, and Ferdowsi laments the king and then his own poverty.
- D10.40.9The chosen lords assembled at his call,And Yazdegard approached within the hall.
- D10.40.15Then Yazdegard came to his father’s side;The moisture in his mouth with terror dried.
- D10.40.37If I can gather thought from grief and pain,My song shall now tell of Yazdegard’s reign.
The Reign of Yazdegard, Son of Bahram Goor
Yazdegard takes the throne, gathers the scattered army, and opens with counsel against envy and against reproaching a man for a kindness done. He rules justly eighteen years, then passes over his elder son Pirooz and leaves crown and realm to Hormizd for his restraint. A week later he dies.
- D11.1.1When Yazdegard became the world’s great king,He gathered scattered troops beneath his wing.
Family
- Parents
- Bahram Goor
- Children
- Hormizd (son of Yazdegard), Pirooz
On the maps
Where the name appears
More in the Glossary and the index of characters.