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Hormizd I “the Brave”: the great king of Armenia who was king of kings for a year
Hormizd I, in full Hormizd-Ardashir, was a son of Shapur I. In the Kaʿba-ye Zardosht inscription Shapur calls him “great king of the Armenians”. His reign was very short and, as Iranica says, his life and deeds are not well known. Pahlavi and Manichaean texts give him the epithet nēw, “the Brave”. His coins were the first to carry the title “king of kings of Ērān and Anērān”.
- as king of kings
- ~1 year
- epithet: “the Brave”
- nēw
Map: from Armenia to Ctesiphon
Administration & economyafter 252 CE1 of 6
Great king of the Armenians
Iranica (Shayegan): Shapur calls him “great king of the Armenians”, a rank he must have gained after the conquest of Armenia, which by the ŠKZ opened Shapur’s second war with Rome. Most scholars date the annexation of Armenia to 252 CE.
Certainty: Probable
Sources: M. R. Shayegan, Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2004 · Shapur I, ŠKZ (Kaʿba-ye Zardošt), tr. R. N. Frye, 1984
BattleCampaignBuildingAdministration & economyReligionArrow keys, Home/End and Space work.
Three separate layers
Each section has three layers: “Historical evidence” is only what the sources say; “Philosophical interpretation” is our reading by the standard of property and liberty; “Modern cultural meaning”. Quotations come only from published translations, with references.
Historical evidencePhilosophical interpretationModern cultural meaning
Dossier · 1
Ērān and Anērān
No relief of Hormizd survives, but his coins have two novelties. Instead of the two attendants of the fire altar, the reverse shows an investiture by Anāhīd or Mihr. And the legend, which before read only “king of kings of Ērān”, now includes “Ērān and Anērān”.
and the Caesar lied again, he did harm/sin to Armenia, and We moved into the Roman empire.
His Mazdayasnian Majesty Ōhrmazd, king of kings of Ērān and non-Ērān, whose seed is from the gods
Iranica: adding “Anērān” undoubtedly reflects the expansion of the empire, but exactly which lands counted as Anērān is uncertain. The epithet nēw, “the Brave”, may reflect his military successes.
“Anērān” meant peoples who were not Iranian but were under the king of kings. A new title on a coin was, put simply, a claim of ownership over other lands and peoples; what those peoples themselves wanted is recorded in no source.
Sources: M. R. Shayegan, Encyclopaedia Iranica · Shapur I, ŠKZ (Kaʿba-ye Zardošt), tr. R. N. Frye
Synthesis
Hormizd I is known more as a prince and king of Armenia than as king of kings. His reign lasted a year or a little more. His lasting legacy is the title “Ērān and Anērān” on the coins.
Bibliography
- M. R. Shayegan, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Hormozd I (2004). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hormozd-i/
- Shapur I, ŠKZ (Kaʿba-ye Zardošt), tr. R. N. Frye, The Inscription of Shapur I at Naqsh-e Rustam in Fars, in The History of Ancient Iran, Appendix 4 (1984). https://sites.uci.edu/sasanika/sapur-is-inscription-kaba-ye-zartost-skz/Shapur’s own account of his wars, in Middle Persian, Parthian and Greek, on the walls of the Kaʿba-ye Zardošt. Contemporary, but royal propaganda.
- P. O. Skjærvø, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Kartir (2011). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kartir/The article translates passages from Kartir’s inscriptions.
- U. Weber, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Narseh (2016). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/narseh/
All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; licence and author were checked on each file page.
Shapur I, his fatherBahram I, his brotherNarseh, his brotherThe Sasanian dynasty