| Bahram I 𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭 | |
|---|---|
| King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians | |
.jpg) Drachma of Bahram I | |
| Shahanshah of theSasanian Empire | |
| Reign | June 271 – September 274 |
| Predecessor | Hormizd I |
| Successor | Bahram II |
| Died | September 274 |
| Issue | Bahram II Hormizd I Kushanshah |
| House | House of Sasan |
| Father | Shapur I |
| Religion | Zoroastrianism |
Bahram I (also spelledWahram I orWarahran I;Middle Persian:𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭) was the fourthSasanianKing of Kings ofIran from 271 to 274. He was the eldest son ofShapur I (r. 240–270) and succeeded his brotherHormizd I (r. 270–271), who had reigned for a year.
Bahram I's reign marked the end of Sasanian tolerance towardsManichaeism, and in 274, at the urging of the influential Zoroastrian priestKartir, he hadMani imprisoned and executed. Bahram I's reign was brief and largely uneventful. He was succeeded by his sonBahram II.
Thetheophoric name "Bahram" (بهرام یکم) is theNew Persian form of theMiddle PersianWarahrān (also spelledWahrām), which is derived from theOld IranianVṛθragna.[1] TheAvestan equivalent wasVerethragna, the name of the old Iranian god of victory, whilst theParthian version was*Warθagn.[1] The name is transliterated inGreek asBaranes,[2] whilst theArmenian transliteration isVahagn/Vrām.[1] The name is attested inGeorgian asBaram[3] andLatin asVararanes.[4]
Bahram I was the oldest son ofShapur I, the second shah of the Sasanian Empire. He had three younger brothers:Hormizd-Ardashir,Narseh, andShapur Meshanshah. Although the oldest of Shapur's sons, Bahram I was ranked below his brothers, probably due to his mother's lowly origin: she was either a minor queen or aconcubine.[5][6] During Shapur's reign, Bahram I served as the governor of the newly conquered region ofGilan, situated on the southwest shore of theCaspian Sea.[7][8] He held the title ofGelan Shah ("king of Gilan"). He is mentioned in an inscription on the wall of theKa'ba-ye Zartosht atNaqsh-e Rostam nearPersepolis in southern Iran, which Shapur I had created in order to praise his sons by citing their names and titles.[8]
Shapur I died in 270, and was succeeded by Hormizd-Ardashir (who became known as Hormizd I), who ruled from May 270 until his death in June 271. Bahram I, who was never considered a candidate for succession of the throne by his father, ascended with the aid of the powerfulZoroastrian priestKartir.[9] He then made a settlement with Narseh, who agreed to give up his entitlement to the throne in return for the governorship of the important frontier province ofArmenia, which was constantly the source of war between theRoman and Sasanian Empires.[5] It is nevertheless likely that despite this settlement, Narseh still viewed Bahram as ausurper.[9]
The previous Sasanian shahs, including Shapur I, had pursued a policy ofreligious tolerance towards the non-Zoroastrian minorities in the empire. Although admiring the teachings of his own religion and encouraging the Zoroastrian clergy, Shapur I allowed theJews,Christians,Buddhists, andHindus to freely practice their own religions.[10] He was also friendly towardsMani, the founder ofManichaeism, who was allowed to preach freely and even act as an escort in Shapur's military expeditions.[10] Following Bahram I's accession to the throne, the rise of the authority of the Zoroastrian priesthood, and the increasing influence of Kartir, this changed. When Mani arrived at the city ofGundishapur there was uproar, similar to that ofJesus' entry intoJerusalem.[11] After protests from Kartir and the other Zoroastrian priests, Bahram I was persuaded to imprison Mani, who was sentenced to death in 274.[12][9]
Mani's death was followed by the persecution of his followers by Kartir and the Zoroastrian clergy, who moved against the kingdom's religious minorities as a way to increase and spread their influence.[10] To the Zoroastrian clergy, Mani had been seen as a heterogeneousphilosopher and a threatening pagan, who presented an obscure perception of Zoroastrianism that was tainted by Jewish, Buddhist, and Christian ideas.[10] With the backing of Bahram I, Kartir laid the foundations for a Zoroastrian state church,[9][10] which led to Bahram being applauded in Sasanian-based sources as a "benevolent and worthy king".[9] Bahram I was nevertheless, like his predecessors, a "lukewarm Zoroastrian".[13]
Bahram I died in September 274 and was succeeded by his sonBahram II.[9] Another son of Bahram I,Hormizd I Kushanshah, ruled over theKushano-Sasanian kingdom in the east, and would later lead a rebellion against Bahram II, which failed.[14] The line of Bahram I continued to rule the Sasanian Empire until 293, whenNarseh overthrew the latter's grandsonBahram III and proclaimed himself the new shah.[5] The line was thus shifted to Narseh and his descendants, who continued to rule the empire until its fall in 651.[15]
Under Bahram I, the reverse ofcoins were changed back to the version minted during the reign of Shapur I, with two attendants turning their backs to thefire altar, instead of facing it.[16] The front of Bahram I's coins shows him wearing the distinctive crown of the angelic divinityMithra; a headgear decorated with ray-shaped spikes.[9] A coin of Bahram was seemingly minted atBalkh inBactria, which makes it the first imperial Sasanian coin (i.e. notKushano-Sasanian) minted in the former domains of theKushan Empire, and confirms direct Sasanian rule in the region under Bahram I.[17] The lostBook of the Portraits of Sasanian Kings portrayed Bahram I as "standing, holding a lance in the right hand and leaning upon a sword held in the left, and wearing a red gown and trousers and a gold crown topped with a sky-blue globe".[9]
Bahram I was keen on combat, hunting and feasting, which he regarded as righteousness.[9]
Following the precedent of Ardashir I and Shapur I, Bahram I had an image of his accession carved in arock relief. It displayed him on horseback, accepting thediadem of kingship from the Zoroastrian supreme godAhura Mazda, who is also depicted sitting on a horse.[9] AMiddle Persian inscription is written on the relief.[9] According to the archaeologistErich Schmidt, the relief is "artistically the most appealing example of Sasanian rock sculpture".[9] When Narseh ascended the throne in 293, he had the rock relief altered, replacing Bahram's name with his own.[9]
Bahram I Died: September 274 | ||
| Preceded by | King of Kings of Iran and non-Iran 271–274 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| People | |
