Bahrām-i Māh Ādhar was a 6th-century Iranian aristocrat who held high military and civil offices under

Khosrow I Khosrow I (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩; New Persian: []), traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan ( [] "the Immortal Soul"), was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from ...

() and Hormizd IV ().

Biography

Bahram-i Mah Adhar is the name given to this figure by the 10th-century Persian poet

Ferdowsi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...

, whose epic '' Shahnameh'' is one of the main sources on Sasanian history. Modern scholarship identifies him with Wahrām Ādurmāh ("Wahram, son of Adurmah"), based on two seal impressions of his discovered by Rika Gyselen (''The Four Generals of the Sasanian Empire: Some Sigillographic Evidence''. Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente, 2001). One of the seals dates to the reign of Khosrow I, and one to the reign of Hormizd IV. His exact familial lineage is unknown, but based on a seal referring to him as "Bahrām, son of Āturmāh, descended from gods", Ferdinand Justi suggested (''Iranisches Namenbuch'', Marburg, 1895) a close relationship to the Sasanian dynasty itself. According to the seals, under both Khosrow and Hormizd, Bahram was the military governor-general ('' spahbed'') of the southern region of the Sasanian Empire ('' kūst-i nēmrōz''). He is also identified as a eunuch and "chief of" a region or office whose name is missing. The later seal also records his holding the office of "'' hazāruft'' of the empire", indicating that he was promoted under Hormizd. According to the ''Shahnameh'', Bahram was one of the leading officials of Khosrow's court; along with two other powerful magnates,

Simah-i Burzin Chihr-Burzen, also known as Simah-i Burzin, was an Iranian nobleman from the House of Karen, who served as the Sasanian ''spahbed'' of Khorasan. Biography Chihr-Burzen was the son of the powerful Sasanian noble Sukhra, and had 8 other brothers, wh ...

and Izadgushasp, he was consulted by Khosrow on choosing his heir. Hormizd eventually turned against these magnates, and tried to diminish their influence by removing them altogether. According to the ''Shahnameh'', he instigated Bahram to turn against Simah-i Burzin (the ''spahbed'' of the east), before having both executed, along with Izadgushasp. During his imprisonment, he allegedly predicted the invasions by the empire's enemies, and the eventual overthrow and murder of Hormizd. His death is put around 580–585 CE.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahram-i Mah Adhar 6th-century births 6th-century executions 6th-century Iranian people 580s deaths Generals of Khosrow I Eunuchs Spahbeds People executed by the Sasanian Empire Generals of Hormizd IV