| Farrukh Hormizd | |
|---|---|
| King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians | |
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| Shahanshah of theSasanian Empire | |
| Reign | 630–631 |
| Predecessor | Azarmidokht |
| Successor | Azarmidokht |
| Died | 631 Ctesiphon |
| Issue | Rostam Farrokhzad Farrukhzad |
| House | House of Ispahbudhan |
| Father | Vinduyih |
| Religion | Zoroastrianism |
Farrukh Hormizd orFarrokh Hormizd (Persian:فرخهرمز), also known asHormizd V, was an Iranian prince, who was one of the leading figures inSasanian Iran in the early 7th century. He served as the military commander (spahbed) of northernIran. He later came in conflict with the Iranian nobility, "dividing the resources of the country".[1] He was later killed bySiyavakhsh in a palace plot on the orders ofAzarmidokht after he proposed to her in an attempt to usurp the Sasanian throne. He had two children,Rostam Farrokhzad andFarrukhzad.
Farrukh Hormizd was a member of the Ispahbudhan family, one of theseven Parthian clans. He was the son ofVinduyih, a descendant ofBawi, whose sister was the wife ofKavadh I and mother ofKhosrau I. Farrukh's father and uncle,Vistahm, played an important role in defeating theMihranidBahram Chobin and restoringKhosrau II to the throne. Khosrau, however, had Vinduyih executed, which made Vistahm revolt against him. The rebellion of Vistahm lasted from 590/1–596 or 594/5–600, until he was betrayed by one of his own generals. After the death of Vistahm, Farrukh succeeded him as thespahbed of the north.
During the lateByzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, Farrukh Hormizd, and his sonRostam Farrokhzad, rebelled against Khosrau II, allowing theByzantine emperorHeraclius to invadeAtropatene, where he sacked several cities, including theAdur Gushnasp temple.[2]
In 628, the feudal families of Iran secretly mutinied against Khosrau and joinedShahrbaraz. Kavadh was then released by the feudal families of theSasanian Empire, which included: TheHouse of Ispahbudhan represented by Farrukh Hormizd himself, and his two sons Rostam Farrokhzad, andFarrukhzad. Shahrbaraz, who represented theMihran family. The Armenian faction represented byVaraztirots II Bagratuni and finally theKanarang.[3]
On 25 February, Sheroe, along with his commanderAspad Gushnasp, captured Ctesiphon and imprisoned Khosrow II. He then proclaimed himself as shah of the Sasanian Empire and assumed the dynastic name of Kavad II. He proceeded to have all his brothers and half-brothers executed, including the heir Mardanshah, who was Khosrow's favourite son. The murder of all his brothers, "all well-educated, valiant, and chivalrous men",[1] strapped the Sasanian dynasty of a future competent ruler, and has been described as a "mad rampage" and "reckless".[4] Three days later he orderedMihr Hormozd to execute his father. However, after the regicide of his father, Kavad also proceeded to have Mihr Hormozd killed.[5] With the agreement of the Iranian nobles, he then made peace with the victorious emperor Heraclius, which allowed the Byzantines to (re)gain all their lost territories, their captured soldiers, awar indemnity, along with theTrue Cross and other relics that werelost in Jerusalem in 614.[6]
The fall of Khosrow II culminated in acivil war lasting four years, with the most powerful members of the nobility gaining full autonomy and starting to create their own government. The hostilities between the Persian (Parsig) andParthian (Pahlav) noble-families were also resumed, which split up the wealth of the nation.[1] A few months later, adevastating plague swept through the western Sasanian provinces, killing half of its population including Kavad II.[1] He was succeeded by his eight-year-old sonArdashir III, who was killed two years later by the distinguished Iranian generalShahrbaraz, who was in turn murdered forty days later in a coup by Farrukh Hormizd, who helpedBoran ascend the throne.[7]
When Boran ascended the throne, she appointed Farrukh Hormizd as the chief minister (wuzurg framadar) of the empire.[8] She then attempted to bring stability to Iran by the implementation of justice, reconstruction of the infrastructure, lowering of taxes, and minting coins.[9] Her rule was accepted by the nobility and clergy, which is apparent by her coin mints in the provinces ofPars,Khuzestan,Media, andAbarshahr.[9][10] No opposition was voiced towards her gender.[11] However, after some time she was deposed in 630, andShapur-i Shahrvaraz, the son of Shahrbaraz and a sister of Khosrow II, was made shah of Iran.[12] However, he was not recognized by theParsig faction of the powerful generalPiruz Khosrow. Shapur-i Shahrvaraz was thus deposed in favor of Azarmidokht, the sister of Boran.[13]
Farrukh Hormizd, in order to strengthen his authority and create amodus vivendi between thePahlav andParsig, asked Azarmidokht (who was aParsig nominee) to marry him.[14] Azarmidokht, however, declined.[15] After having his proposal declined, Farrukh Hormizd "no longer shied away from the throne itself", declaring "Today I am the leader of the people and the pillar of the country of Iran."[15] He started minting coins in the same fashion as a monarch, notably inIstakhr inPars andNahavand inMedia.[15] In order to deal with Farrukh Hormizd, Azarmidokht supposedly allied herself withMihranid dynastSiyavakhsh, who was the grandson ofBahram Chobin, the famous military commander (spahbed) and briefly shah of Iran.[16] With Siyavakhsh's aid, Azarmidokht had Farrukh Hormizd killed.[17]
Rostam Farrokhzad, who was at that time stationed inKhorasan, succeeded him as the leader of thePahlav. In order to avenge his father, he left for Ctesiphon, "defeating every army of Azarmidokht that he met".[18] He then defeated Siyavakhsh's forces at Ctesiphon and captured the city.[18] Azarmidokht was shortly afterwards blinded and killed by Rostam, who restored Boran to the throne.[18][19]
| King of Kings |
| King | ||||||||||||
| Bawi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shapur | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vinduyih | Vistahm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Farrukh Hormizd | Tiruyih | Vinduyih | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rostam Farrokhzad | Farrukhzad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shahram | Surkhab I | Isfandyadh | Bahram | Farrukhan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Farrukh Hormizd House of Ispahbudhan | ||
| Preceded by | King of Kings of Iran and non-Iran 630–631 | Succeeded by |