 previous article in this issue | next article in this issue  |
Preview first page |
Document Details : Title: Why the Title rāmšahr for Yazdgerd I? Author(s): JALILIAN, Shahram Journal: Iranica Antiqua Volume: 59 Date: 2024 Pages: 109-128 DOI: 10.2143/IA.59.0.3293984 Abstract : The reign of Yazdgerd I (399-420) is marked by two features: religious toleration toward Christian and Jewish communities in Persia and bringing Perso- Roman Wars to an end. Although these two features portrayed Yazdgerd I as a tyrant and sinful ruler in the Perso-Muslim historiography, he is greatly revered in Christian and Jewish literature; his second characteristic secured him a beneficent, peaceable place in Roman historiography. His period is also significant from the perspective of numismatics because it is the first time in the Sasanian dynasty that the title rāmšahr has surfaced. Earlier, Daryaee researched on the origin of and the reasons giving rise to the title on coins minted during Yazdgerd’s time. He ascribes the designation to Yazdgerd’s peaceful treatment of all peoples in his kingdom and a friendly policy toward the Roman empire. This research however sheds some new light on the genesis and application of the title and offers a new interpretation of the title. Why Yazdgerd modified the set expression appearing on coins was not, we contend, due to his religious tolerance or his pacificist relations with the Roman Empire for that matter; rather, the change may be associated with the events during Sasanian history in the wake of the death of Shapur II until the rise of Yazdgerd I to power. |
|
