Bahram III
Encyclopedia
Bahram III was the sixth Sassanid King of Persia
and son of Bahram II
. He was appointed viceroy
to the region of Sakasthan
after Bahram II
's conquest
of it sometime in the 280's CE
.
Bahram III ascended to the throne vacated by his father following his death in 293 CE. Following his father's loss of Armenia
, Bahram III was considered too weak to rule the kingdom by much of the nobility and many nobles challenged his succession, instead pledging allegiance too his grand-uncle Narseh of Persia. After reigning for a period of only four months, Bahram III was either captured or more likely killed during a campaign by Narseh who then ascended to the throne in Bahram's place.
Following the death of Bahram II
in 293 CE, Bahram III was proclaimed king in Fārs by a group of nobles led by Wahnam and supported by Adurfarrobay, King of Mesan
. By the time of his ascension, he was still a minor and considered a weak character by much of the nobility. Bahram II's loss of Armenia
undermined the integrity of the kingdom giving the Romans
an easy route to invade Media
and many western parts of the kingdom. Many amongst the nobility considered him too weak to properly handle the threat posed by the Romans and the possibility of invasion. Many of the nobility decided to instead challenge his succession to the throne and instead pledged allegiance to Narseh
, the last remaining son of Shapur I
, and someone who was perceived as being a stronger leader and one who would be able to bring glory to Persia.
Four months into Bahram III's reign, his grand-uncle Narseh was summoned to Ctesiphon
by the request of many members of the Persian nobility. According to the Paikuli inscription
these nobles swore their total allegiance to him there and asked that he would take the throne. In a brief revolt, Wahnam was captured and executed and Bahram was removed from the throne. It is assumed Bahram III was also killed in the uprising though there is no documentation of this so his fate remains uncertain.
crown with a crenelated lower rim and two large deer
horns
or at least replicas of them attached on each side. The Sasani sphere sits between the horns on the front of the crown.
A low relief at the Bishapur
archeological site depicts a figure being trampled by a horse. It is assumed that this scene is a representation of either the death of Bahram III or more likely his ally Wahnam.
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
and son of Bahram II
Bahram II
Bahram II was the fifth Sassanid King of Persia in 276–293. He was the son of Bahram I .Bahram II is said to have ruled at first tyrannically, and to have greatly disgusted all his principal nobles, who went so far as to form a conspiracy against him, and intended to put him to death...
. He was appointed viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
to the region of Sakasthan
Sistan
Sīstān is a border region in eastern Iran , southwestern Afghanistan and northern tip of Southwestern Pakistan .-Etymology:...
after Bahram II
Bahram II
Bahram II was the fifth Sassanid King of Persia in 276–293. He was the son of Bahram I .Bahram II is said to have ruled at first tyrannically, and to have greatly disgusted all his principal nobles, who went so far as to form a conspiracy against him, and intended to put him to death...
's conquest
Conquest (military)
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. One example is the Norman conquest of England, which provided the subjugation of the Kingdom of England and the acquisition of the English crown by William the Conqueror in 1066...
of it sometime in the 280's CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
.
Bahram III ascended to the throne vacated by his father following his death in 293 CE. Following his father's loss of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Bahram III was considered too weak to rule the kingdom by much of the nobility and many nobles challenged his succession, instead pledging allegiance too his grand-uncle Narseh of Persia. After reigning for a period of only four months, Bahram III was either captured or more likely killed during a campaign by Narseh who then ascended to the throne in Bahram's place.
Biography
In Sassanid Persia, it was customary for kings after conquering a land or people, to give their sons titles showing domination over them. Bahram III gained his title of "sākān shāh" presumably after his father's victory over the Sakasthan (present day Sistan) region. Also following early Sassanid practices of giving appanage of provinces to princes, Bahram III was appointed to Sakasthan due to the regions importance as being a defence against influential peoples on the eastern extremes of the kingdom.Following the death of Bahram II
Bahram II
Bahram II was the fifth Sassanid King of Persia in 276–293. He was the son of Bahram I .Bahram II is said to have ruled at first tyrannically, and to have greatly disgusted all his principal nobles, who went so far as to form a conspiracy against him, and intended to put him to death...
in 293 CE, Bahram III was proclaimed king in Fārs by a group of nobles led by Wahnam and supported by Adurfarrobay, King of Mesan
MESAN
The Mouvement pour l'évolution sociale de l'Afrique noire was a nationalist quasi-religious political party that sought to affirm black humanity and advocated for the independence of Ubangi-Shari, then a French colonial territory...
. By the time of his ascension, he was still a minor and considered a weak character by much of the nobility. Bahram II's loss of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
undermined the integrity of the kingdom giving the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
an easy route to invade Media
Medes
The MedesThe Medes...
and many western parts of the kingdom. Many amongst the nobility considered him too weak to properly handle the threat posed by the Romans and the possibility of invasion. Many of the nobility decided to instead challenge his succession to the throne and instead pledged allegiance to Narseh
Narseh
Narseh was the seventh Sassanid King of Persia , and son of Shapur I ....
, the last remaining son of Shapur I
Shapur I
Shapur I or also known as Shapur I the Great was the second Sassanid King of the Second Persian Empire. The dates of his reign are commonly given as 240/42 - 270/72, but it is likely that he also reigned as co-regent prior to his father's death in 242 .-Early years:Shapur was the son of Ardashir I...
, and someone who was perceived as being a stronger leader and one who would be able to bring glory to Persia.
Four months into Bahram III's reign, his grand-uncle Narseh was summoned to Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon, the imperial capital of the Parthian Arsacids and of the Persian Sassanids, was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia.The ruins of the city are located on the east bank of the Tigris, across the river from the Hellenistic city of Seleucia...
by the request of many members of the Persian nobility. According to the Paikuli inscription
Paikuli inscription
The Paikuli inscription is a bilingual Parthian and Middle Persian text corpus located in what is now southern part of Iraqi Kurdistan. It was set up as a monument to victory, and tells how and why the Sasanian emperor Narseh ousted his grandnephew from power....
these nobles swore their total allegiance to him there and asked that he would take the throne. In a brief revolt, Wahnam was captured and executed and Bahram was removed from the throne. It is assumed Bahram III was also killed in the uprising though there is no documentation of this so his fate remains uncertain.
Artifacts
Many coins that could be attributed to him are small in number and due to uncertainty, many are often attributed to Narseh. Because many of the coins are attributed to him are smoother than usual the details of his crown are faint. It is believed that he is depicted wearing a goldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
crown with a crenelated lower rim and two large deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
horns
Horn (anatomy)
A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
or at least replicas of them attached on each side. The Sasani sphere sits between the horns on the front of the crown.
A low relief at the Bishapur
Bishapur
thumb|Irano-Roman floor mosaic detail from the palace of [[Shapur I]] at BishapurBishapur is an ancient city situated south of modern Faliyan, Iran on the ancient road between Persis and Elam. The road linked the Sassanid capitals Istakhr and Ctesiphon...
archeological site depicts a figure being trampled by a horse. It is assumed that this scene is a representation of either the death of Bahram III or more likely his ally Wahnam.