Bahram-i Mah Adhar

Bahram-i Mah Adhar is the name given to this figure by the 10th-century Persian poet Ferdowsi,[2] whose epic Shahnameh is one of the main sources on Sasanian history.[3] Modern scholarship identifies him with Wahrām Ādurmāh ("Wahram, son of Adurmah"), based on two seal impressions of his discovered by Rika Gyselen (The Four Generals of the Sasanian Empire: Some Sigillographic Evidence. Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente, 2001). One of the seals dates to the reign of Khosrow I, and one to the reign of Hormizd IV.[4] His exact familial lineage is unknown, but based on a seal referring to him as "Bahrām, son of Āturmāh, descended from gods", Ferdinand Justi suggested (Iranisches Namenbuch, Marburg, 1895) a close relationship to the Sasanian dynasty itself.[5]

According to the seals, under both Khosrow and Hormizd, Bahram was the military governor-general (spahbed) of the southern region of the Sasanian Empire (kūst-i nēmrōz). He is also identified as a eunuch and "chief of" a region or office whose name is missing. The later seal also records his holding the office of "hazāruft of the empire", indicating that he was promoted under Hormizd.[6] According to the Shahnameh, Bahram was one of the leading officials of Khosrow's court; along with two other powerful magnates, Simah-i Burzin and Izadgushasp, he was consulted by Khosrow on choosing his heir.[7] Hormizd eventually turned against these magnates, and tried to diminish their influence by removing them altogether. According to the Shahnameh, he instigated Bahram to turn against Simah-i Burzin (the spahbed of the east), before having both executed, along with Izadgushasp.[8] During his imprisonment, he allegedly predicted the invasions by the empire's enemies, and the eventual overthrow and murder of Hormizd.[9] His death is put around 580–585 CE.[10]

• Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2008). Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. London, United Kingdom: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-645-3.