Yazdegerd (son of Bahram IV)
Yazdegerd(also spelledYazdgerdandYazdgird; ) sometimes possibly referred to asYazdegerd the Meek', was a potential imperial prince probably proclaimed as (shahinshah) of the Sassanid Empire in 399/400. He is said to have been a son of Bahram IV, and to have allegedly reigned for 72 days after his father's death until he was replaced by his uncle (or brother) Yazdegerd I.
He is only mentioned by the Muslim historian of the tenth century, Hamza al-Isfahani in his book "Taʾrīkh sinī mulūk al-arḍ wa-l-anbiyāʾ" ("Chronology of the Kings of the Earth and the Prophets"). In Hamza's version of the Sasanian king list, a ruler named Yazdegerd succeeded Bahram IV but reigned for only 72 days, after which the throne passed to Yazdegerd I. It has been theorized that Hamza perhaps needed to invent this Yazdegerd in order to close a lacuna in the list of Sassanid kings, for which he could not find an explanation, however the presence of a small number of copper coins with the likeness of Shapur II but with the name Yazdegerd on the reverse might prove that this Yazdegerd did exist and rule although quite briefly.
Some manuscripts of Hamza's work refer to the ruler as al-Layyin (Arabic: اللين), meaning "the Gentle", "the Mild", or "the Meek". Whether this epithet genuinely belonged to the 72-day ruler is uncertain.
The sobriquet is more securely associated in Persian and Arabic historiography with Yazdegerd II, leading some scholars to suspect that its attachment to the earlier Yazdegerd may result from textual corruption or the transfer of an epithet during the manuscript transmission of Hamza's chronicle.
Bibliography
- Dashkov S. B. The kings of kings of the Sassanids. The History of Iran in the III-VII Centuries in Legends, Historical Chronicles and Modern Studies. Moscow: SMI-ASIA, 2008. - 352 p. - 4000 copies. — ISBN 978-5-91660-001-8.
- Taʾrīkh sinī mulūk al-arḍ wa-l-anbiyāʾ ("Chronology of the Kings of the Earth and the Prophets"), Hamza al-Isfahani