Shapur IV ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ''Šāhpuhr''), was king of

Sasanian Armenia Sasanian Armenia, also known as Persian Armenia and Persarmenia ( hy, Պարսկահայաստան – ''Parskahayastan''), may either refer to the periods in which Armenia ( pal, 𐭠𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩 – ''Armin'') was under the suzerainty of ...

from 415 to 420, who briefly ruled the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

in 420.

Biography

Shapur IV was the son of

Yazdegerd I Yazdegerd I (also spelled Yazdgerd and Yazdgird; pal, 𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭪𐭥𐭲𐭩) was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 399 to 420. A son of Shapur III (), he succeeded his brother Bahram IV () after the latter's assassination. Yazde ...

and

Shushandukht Shushandukht ( pal, 𐭱𐭩𐭱𐭩𐭭𐭲𐭥𐭤𐭲 ''Šīšīntūḥt''; New Persian: ''Šušanduxt'') was the wife of Yazdegerd I and mother of Bahram V. She was the daughter of a Jewish exilarch, Huna bar Nathan. She created the Jewish nei ...

, and had two brothers named

Bahram V Bahram V (also spelled Wahram V or Warahran V; pal, 𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭), also known as Bahram Gor (New Persian: , "Bahram the onager") was the Sasanian King of Kings (''shahanshah'') from 420 to 438. The son of the incumbent Sasanian shah ...

and Narse. At the death of the Arsacid Armenian king Khosrov IV, Yazdegerd I decided to give the royal crown of Armenia to his eldest son Shapur IV, instead of giving it to Khosrov's nephew,

Artaxias IV Artaxias IV or Artashir IV who is also known as Artaxias, Artashes, Artashes IV, Artashir, Ardases, Ardasir and Artases ( hy, Արտաշես, flourished 5th century) was a prince who served as a Sassanid client king of eastern Armenia from 422 u ...

. During Shapur's reign in Armenia, he concentrated on reconciliation and established friendly relations with the nobles. He made every effort to convert the Christian Armenians to

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...

, but was largely unsuccessful. Rawlinson 1882, p.278. In 420, Yazdegerd I was murdered by the Sasanian nobles at

Hyrcania Hyrcania () ( el, ''Hyrkania'', Old Persian: 𐎺𐎼𐎣𐎠𐎴 ''Varkâna'',Lendering (1996) Middle Persian: 𐭢𐭥𐭫𐭢𐭠𐭭 ''Gurgān'', Akkadian: ''Urqananu'') is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspia ...

, Nöldeke, p. 77 and 78 which made Shapur quickly leave Armenia and arrive at

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...

to claim the Sasanian throne. However, he only managed to reign during a short time, until he was murdered by the nobles and the clergy, who sought to expel all the sons of Yazdegerd I.''Bahrām V Gōr'', O. Klíma, Encyclopaedia Iranica
/ref> After the murder of Shapur, the nobles elected another Sasanian prince, Khosrau, the son of

Bahram IV Bahram IV (also spelled Wahram IV or Warahran IV; pal, 𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭), was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 388 to 399. He was likely the son and successor of Shapur III (). Before his accession to the throne, Bahram served ...

, as king of the

Notes

References

Sources

* {{Sassanid Rulers 420 deaths 5th-century Sasanian monarchs Year of birth unknown Murdered Persian monarchs Sasanian governors of Armenia 5th-century murdered monarchs