Shahpoor reduced Armenia into a province of the empire, and having raised his country to a state of the greatest prosperity, he died at the age of seventy-one. This prince, renowned for wisdom and valour, was alike remarkable for his knowledge of the human mind. He used to say, " that words may prove more vivifying than the showers of spring, and sharper than the sword of de struction. The point of a lance may be wididrawn from the body, but a cruel expression can never be extracted from the heart that it has once wounded." The names of Ardisheer II. Shahpoor III. Baharam IV. and I' ezdijird Ulathin, are all that is worth recording. Upon the death of Yezdijird, the succession of his son Baharam V. was opposed by the luxurihus nobles at the court of Nladain. This prince, while yet a child, had been entrusted by his father to the care of Noman, prince of Hirai), to be educated after the manner of the Arabs ; and they could not submit to be ruled by a monarch whose habits and manners of life were so different from their own. They, therefore, raised to the throne another prince of the royal family ; but Baharam, having collected an ar my of Arabs, obtained almost without a struggle. The first acts of his reign were, to reward Noman, who had educated and assisted him in regaining his crown, and to pardon those who had endeavoured to deprive him of it. These acts, and his general munificence and genero sity, spread joy over Persia, and gained him the affections and esteem of his subjects. It was during his reign that musicians and minstrels were first introduced from India; and Baharam, who rejoiced in the happiness of his people, gave them such encouragement, that 12,000 were induc ed to settle in his dominions. This joyous disposition of the monarch impressed his neighbours with the belief that the martial spirit of the Persians had yielded to the love of merriment and ease. Acting upon this impression, the Khan of the Hiatilla, or White Huns, a tribe of Tartars who had taken possession of the country beyond the Oxus, suddenly crossed that river with a mighty army, and de su uction and desolation marked his progress. Baharam saw the torrent rolling towards his capital, without pos sessing any means to repel it. He therefore seemed to yield to its force; and left his kingdom a prey to the con queror. Retiring with a chosen body of Persian warriors, he passed the straits of Derbent, and, coasting the Cas pian, came into Tartary. Here he refreshed his troops ; and while the Tartars were feasting in supposed security, believing that he had taken refuge in the Roman empire, he silently entered Persia, surprised their camp, and hav ing slain their chief with his own hand, drove them with terrible slaughter across the Oxus. This victory struck awe into the Tartar tribes, and secured their forbearance during the life of the conqueror.
The Christians, who, in the former reign, bad been en couraged and protected, at this time suffered much from the persecutions of the Magi. These persecutions, how ever, were chiefly owing to the imprudence of the Persian Prelate, who in a fit of zeal burnt to the ground one of the :Magian temples, which so roused the indignation of the priests, that they demolished all the Christian churches, and put the Christian bishop to death. A war with the emperor Theodosius immediately followed, which was at tended with various success; but it was immortalized by the conduct of a Christian bishop, which did more to se cure the good will of Baharam to the Christians, than all the threatenings of Theodosius. In the beginning of the war, 7000 Persian prisoners, who had been brought to the city of Amida, had fallen into extreme distress. Acacius, bishop of that place, having assembled his clergy, observ ed that the Almighty preferred mercy to sacrifice, and proposed that the plate of their church should be sold for the relief of these captives. The proposal was highly applauded. The Persians were liberally and affectionately treated during the war, and at last dismissed with presents to their native country.
Baharam received the surname of Gour, from his being enthusiastically devoted to the chase, particularly of the tour, or " wild ass," a diversion which he had learned among the Arabs. It. was while pursuing this favourite amusement that he lost his life, by his horse coming sud denly upon a deep spring, and plunging into it with his royal master, when both disappeared. The body of the
king was never found, though every search was made for it by his inconsolable mother.
Baharam Gour reigned eighteen years, and was one of the best monarchs, and most beloved by his subjects, that ever ruled in Persia. His successor Yezdijird II. was a prince of great knowledge and experience, and received the title of Sipandost, or " The soldiers' friend," from his great attention to their wants and comforts. In the only expedition which he undertook against the emperor of Constantinople, who had refused to pay the usual tribute, he not only brought that prince to compliance, but secur ed the good opinion of the provinces through which he passed. He compelled his troops to pay for every thing they had, to treat the inhabitants with the greatest civility, and to conduct themselves rather like strangers who came to see the country, than like enemies disposed to destroy it.
Yezdijird, before his death, had solicited the nobles to support his favourite son, Hoormuz III. on the throne, in opposition to his elder brother Firoze,who, in order to fa cilitate that measure, had been appointed to the command of a remote province. Firoze, as soon as he heard of the accession of his brother, took refuge with Khoosh-Nuaz, or " The bountiful monarch," one of the kings of the Hia tilla. This prince welcomed him to his court, loaded him with kindness, and supplied him with an army to recover his birthrig;it. Hoormuz was dethroned and put to death. A seven years drought immediately followed the elevation of Firoze, which was regarded as a punishment from hea ven for their crimes ; but no sooner was his country re lieved from this calamity, than the ungrateful prince em ployed all the resources of the empire to destroy the generous benefactor who had placed him on the throne. He crossed the Oxus with his troops ; and Koosh-Nuaz, unable to oppose him, retired at his approach. But the king of the Iluns was saved by the patriotic devotion of one of his chief officers. This person, after communicat ing his plan to his sovereign, caused his body to be man gled, with the loss of some of his limbs, and to be laid on the road where the Persian army should pass. Being con veyed to Firoze, that prince demanded the cause of such cruel treatment. The artful Hun answered, that it was the tyrant Koosh-Nuaz, who had punished him for the advice which he had given, as a faithful servant, to submit to any conditions rather than engage in war with the hero Firoze. " But I will be revenged," he added, " I will lead you by a short route, where you shall, in a few days, intercept the tyrant, and rid the world of a monster." The situation and words of the wounded chief established the belief of his sincerity in the mind of the Persian king; and he suffered his army to be led by the direction of the Tartar, till, thinned with hunger and fatigue, they were compelled to submit to the mercy of the enemy. The generous Khoosh-Nuaz, instead of punishing the ungrate ful Firoze, offered to conduct him and the remains of his army safely back to Persia, provided he took an oath that he would not again invade his dominions. With this Fi roze was obliged to comply. But his soul could not brook the recollection of his degradation ; and his first determi nation, on his return, was to wipe away his disgrace by the ruin of his benefactor. Having appointed a noble man, named Sukhvar, regent in his absence, he, in breach of his solemn oath, and in defiance of the advice of his sagest counsellors, led his army once more against the bestower of his crown, and now the preserver of his life. On the approach of the two armies, the Tartar prince pre sented, on the point of his lance, the treaty to which l'i toze had sworn; and besought hint to desist, before he had destroyed his fame for ever. But Firoze rushed to the attack. The Huns gave way, and the Persians were received into deep pits, which had been dug for the pur pose, and covered over with brushwood and earth ; when the incot rigihle ingratitude of the Persian monarch was punished with the loss of his army and his life.