Bahram the 5th aka Bahram-e-
Goor was the fourteenth
Sassanid King of
Persia (421–438). He was a son of
Yazdgerd 1st (399–421), after whose sudden death he gained the crown against the opposition of the grandees by the help of
Monzir, the
Arab dynast of al-
Hirah.In the year 421, the Romans sent their general Ardaburius with an extensive contingent into
Armenia. Ardaburius defeated the
Persian commander
Narseh and proceeded to plunder the province of
Arzanene and lay siege to
Nisibis. Ardaburius abandoned the siege in the face of an advancing army under Bahram, who in turn besieged Theodosiopolis in
Osroene.Peace was then concluded between the Persians and Romans (422) with a return to status quo ante bellum.Bahram took the situation in Armenia under control immediately after the conclusion of peace with
Rome. Armenia had been without a vassal king since Bahram's brother
Shapour had vacated the country in 418. Bahram now desired that a descendant of the royal line of kings, a scion of the Arshakunis, should be on the throne of Armenia. With this intention in mind, he selected an Arshakuni named Artaxias IV (Artashes), a son of Vramshapuh, and made him King of Armenia.But the newly appointed king did not have a good character. The frustrated nobles petitioned Bahram Goor to remove Artaxias and admit Armenia into the Persian Empire so that the province would be under the direct control of the Sassanid Empire. However, the annexation of Armenia by Persia was strongly opposed by the
Armenian patriarch
Isaac of Armenia, who felt the rule of a
Christian better than that of a non-Christian regardless of his character or ability. Despite his strong protests, however, Armenia was annexed by Bahram, who placed it under the charge of a Persian governor in 428.During the later part of
Bahram V's reign, Persia was invaded from the northeast by
Heptalite hordes that ravaged northern
Iran under the command of their Great
Khan. They crossed the
Alborz into
Khorasan and proceeded as far as the ancient town of
Rhagae. Unprepared, Bahram initially made an offer of peace and submission which was well-received by the Khan of the Heptalites. But crossing
Tabarestan,
Hyrcania and
Neishabour by night, he took the
Huns unaware and massacred them along with their Khan, taking the Khan's wife hostage. The retreating Huns were pursued and slaughtered up to the
Oxus. One of Bahram's generals followed the Huns deep into Hun territory and destroyed their power. His portrait which survived for centuries on the coinage of
Bukhara (in contemporary
Uzbekistan) is considered to be an evidence of his victory over the Huns.Bahram Goor is a great favorite in Persian literature and poetry.
Bahram 5 has left behind a rich and colorful legacy, with numerous legends and fantastical tales. His fame has survived downplay of Zoroastrianism and the anti-
Alborz,
Arab,
Armenia,
Armenian,
Arzanene,
Bahram 5,
Bahram V,
Bukhara,
Christian,
Goor,
Heptalite,
Hirah,
Huns,
Hyrcania,
Iran,
Isaac,
Khan,
Khorasan,
Monzir,
Narseh,
Neishabour,
Nisibis,
Osroene,
Oxus,
Persia,
Persian,
Rhagae,
Rome,
Sassanid,
Shapour,
Tabarestan,
Uzbekistan,
Yazdgerd
