Pallas, the son of Firoze, ascended the throne, but his reign was of short duration ; and the long reign of his successor Kobad is remarkable, chiefly for the encourage ment which he gave to an impostor of the name of ;NIaz dak, who propagated the popular doctrine of a community of females and of property. The progress of this doc trine spread anarchy, rapine, and lust, throughout the kingdom. But the nobles, who cherished different senti ments from their monarch, combined for their own pre servation, and having confined Kobad, they placed his brother Jamasp upon the throne. They would also have imprisoned azdak, but his followers were numerous, and he contrived to elude all their efforts. Kobad having escaped from prison by the dexterity and address of his sister, who, it is said, was connected with him by other tics than those. of kindred, and is in fact called, by %ves tern writers, his queen, fled to the Tartar court, and by the assistance of its monarch soon regained his throne. On his return, he greatly reformed his conduct, and though still secretly inclined to the sect of Mazdak, he dorsi ne ver carry his notions into practice. T is prince carried on a long and successful war with the Romt;ns ; and not only extended his empire by his arms, but improved it by the encouragement which he gave to the arts, and died respected abroad and beloved at home.
By the will of Kobad, the crown was bequeathed to Chosroes, his favourite son, who was sirnamed Noushcer wan, or " The Magnanimous." This prince was distin guished by great abilities and mildness of disposition, and is considered by oriental historians as the most glorious monarch that ever ruled in Persia. His first efforts were directed to the proscription of the pestilential and abomi nable tenets of Mazdak, whom he ordered to be executed, with many of his followers. He then set himself to re form many great abuses which had crept into the govern ment. Ile fixed the revenue and taxes ; and the system which was then established, continued to be followed for many centuries. For the better administration of justice, and the more easy management of public affairs, he di vided the kingdom into four governments. Over each of these he appointed a governor of the blood royal, and esta blished such regulations as seemed best adapted to pre vent the abuse of power in these officers. He was inde fatigable in his endeavours to promote the prosperity of his kingdo II. He founded schools and colleges, and gave great encouragement to learned -men of every country, who resorted to his court. The famous fables of Pilpay were introduced by him from India, and tr,anslated into Persian ; and he also caused to be published, a multitude of copies of a work entitled '° Ardisheer's Instructions for all Degrees of Men," and obliged every family to receive one. In all these measures he was assisted by the extra
ordinary wisdom and virtues of his favourite vizier Abou zurg-a-Mihir, who had been raised by the discernment of his master front the lowest station to the first' rank in the kingdom Nousheerwan very early entered into a war with the Romans, during which Antioch was taken, and its inhabitants transplanted to the banks of the Tigris. We cannot enter, however, into the long wars which he waged with Justinian, and his two successors, Justin and Tiberius ; but the capture of Antioch, with the reduction of Syria, the conquest of Iberia and Colchos, and his un opposed progtess to the shores of the Mediterranean, tes tify the ability and success with which they were prose cuted. lle was equally successful in other quarters. Ile checked the encroachments of the Huns, who had seized a large territory south of the Oxus. He drove them be yond that river, and extended his dominions as far as Fer ghana. The countries to the east reaching to the Indus, some provinces of India, and the finest districts of Arabia, also acknowledged his sway.
Having settled the boundaries of his vast dominions, Nousheerwan returned to his capital, Madain, which he adorned with many beautiful buildings, among which was the palace denominated " the dome of Chosroes," which was considered one of the wonders of the East ; and his court was crowded with ambassadors from the greatest potentates of the world, who came, loaded with the richest presents, to compliment him on his victories, and to court his friendship. But the prosperous reign of this monarch was clouded by the rebellion of his son Nouschizad. This prince had been educated in the Christian faith by his mother, who was a Christian captive of great beauty, and of whom the king was passionately fond, and was so im pressed with the truth of its doctrines, that he could not be moved, either by the threats of the Magi or the entrea ties of his father. Nousbeerwan, who was a strict observer of the worship of fire, dreading the evil consequences of religious disputes among his subjects, and fearing that many might be induced to embrace the religion of the heir-apparent to the throne, placed his son in a kind of confinement. During the absence of the king in Syria, a report of his death had reached Persia, upon which Nous chizad, having effected his escape, drew together a consi derable force, of which many were Christians; and con tinued to increase his army, even after he had been in formed that his father was alive and well. As soon as Nousheerwan heard of this revolt, he dispatched one of his generals against his rebellious son ; and the insurrec tion was quelled by the death of the prince, who fell in the first encounter.