Yazdagird becomes Sháh. The country is invaded by the Arabs. He sends Rustam, the captain of the host, to oppose them. Rustam takes a despondent view of the situation, and after some attempt at negotiations is defeated by the Arabs at Kádisíya and slain. The war continues, and Yazdagird withdraws to Khurásán to get help from Máhwí of Súr, the governor. Máhwí plots with Bízhan, a Turkish prince, against Yazdagird, who is betrayed in battle and takes refuge in a mill, where he is slain by the miller at the bidding of Máhwí. Máhwí assumes the crown, makes war on Bízhan, is taken prisoner, and put to death. The poem ends with a brief passage, in which Firdausí gives some account of the completion of his undertaking, of help afforded him and of discouragements undergone, and concludes with a well founded assurance of his own future fame.

Yazdagird (Isdegird III., A.D. 632-652 or 653) has given his name to a chronological era which still obtains among the Parsís. It dates from June 16th, A.D. 632. He was the son of Sháhryár, son of Khusrau Parwíz, and was an infant at the time when that Sháh and his sons were put to death after the accession of Shírwí (Kubád;*)

On that occasion he was taken for safety to Istakhr. Tabarí says that he was murdered at the age of twenty-eight after a reign of twenty years. He was therefore only eight years old when a party among the nobles set him up as a puppet king at Istakhr (Persepolis), the old seat of empire, Ctesiphon at that time being in the hands of a rival claimant of the throne. In the contention that followed Yazdagird was successful, and in the course of A.D. 633 he became recognised as sole Sháh, the administration remaining in the hands of the chiefs.*

He had succeeded to a heritage of woe. His empire was ill-prepared for the troubles that were in store for it. Ex­hausted by long wars, torn by domestic dissentions, and lately devastated by plague, it had to confront a new and vigorous organization inspired by religious enthusiasm and impelled thereby to extend its borders on every side. Had Yazdagird been a born leader of men and come to the throne in the prime of life, he might for the time at least have been successful, but in the circumstances, and taking into con­sideration what we can gather as to his own character, we can now see how hopeless from the outset his prospects were. Students of Persian, however, have probably reason to feel grateful to his reign, for even though we put aside as unsatis­factory what tradition tells us on the subject, a reasonable presumption remains that with the return of settled govern­ment to a distracted country there was a revival of interest in the story of the Íránian race and its heroes, and that com­pilations were then made from which we still though indirectly benefit.*

§§ 2-11. The following is intended to supplement Firdausí's inadequate account of the Arab conquest of the Sásánian empire. He appears to assign it to the last years of Yaz-dagird's then nominal sovereignty. From time immemorial the Íránians and Semites had been at enmity.*

In Íránian legend this feeling had found expression in the story of the wicked Sháh Zahhák, who, though originally an Aryan myth,*

came to be regarded in succeeding ages as an earthly king with his seat at Babylon. When, later still, the Íránians again felt the weight of Semitic oppression, he was turned into an Arab.*

Although during Sásánian times the semi-independent kingdom of Híra served to some extent as a buffer-state between the Persian empire and the wilder Arab tribes there was always the liability of raids and the danger was much increased when Khusrau Parwíz was so unwise as to put an end to the long-standing dynasty of the princes of Híra and appointed a governor of his own in their stead.*

In his reign too had occurred the disastrous battle of Dhú Kár, in which the smallness of the forces engaged were out of all proportion to the importance of the result. The Arabs celebrated their victory with songs of triumph.*

With that inspiring memory and revelation of Persian weakness, with the prospect of rich spoil to be won, and a nation of infidels to be converted, it is not surprising that hostilities should break out between the young and vigorous and the old and enfeebled empire. Muhammad himself, tradition tells us, addressed a threatening letter to Khusrau Parwíz, who tore it up, and the Prophet, on hearing of this, said: “He has rent his own realm.”*

Muhammad died in June, A.D. 632— the month of the child Yazdagird's accession. Abú Bakr, the first Khalífa, being apprised by an Arab chieftain, who had embraced Islam, of the state of the Persian empire, sent his great general, Khálid, to begin hostilities. Khálid was very successful in numerous engagements, and tem­porarily the whole tract bordering the western bank of the Euphrates from the Roman frontier almost to the Persian Gulf came into the hands of the Arabs. Khálid made Híra his headquarters, and was preparing to attack Ctesiphon and invade Írán when he was recalled by Abú Bakr to take command of the forces destined for the Syrian campaign. “This is 'Umar's doing,” said Khálid. “He does not want to see me conquer 'Irák.”*

The departure of Khálid was the Persians' opportunity. Encouraged by Rustam, who under Yazdagird had become commander-in-chief, the inhabitants of the conquered region rose against the Arabs but unsuccess­fully. At this juncture Abú Bakr died and was succeeded by 'Umar, who began his reign by giving Abú 'Ubaida the chief command in Syria in the place of Khálid. Then, it is said, he appealed publicly to the Faithful to volunteer for the invasion of Persia and for two days in vain, the super­session of Khálid having caused great indignation. It may, however, have been thought that the acquisition of so much fertile territory and the consequent proximity to the Persian capital, were a sufficient achievement for the time being. Nevertheless, on the third day, when 'Umar made his appeal, Abú 'Ubaida (not Khálid's successor) offered himself and Sa'ad, son of Wakkás, followed suit. A thousand others imitated their example. 'Umar gave Abú 'Ubaida the chief command as he had been the first to volunteer. The Persians in the meantime had withdrawn to Ctesiphon, whence Rustam dispatched a force, which had with it the flag of Káwa,*

to watch the enemy. Abú 'Ubaida, who was very inferior in numbers, threw a bridge across the Euphrates, attacked the Persians, was defeated and slain. This battle is known as “The Battle of the Bridge,” and took place in November, A.D. 634. An attack, however, by the Persians on Híra failed, and the Arabs raided the Persian settlement of Baghdád (not of course the well-known city of that name*)

where twice a year a fair was held. 'Umar appointed Sa'ad, son of Wakkás, to succeed Abú 'Ubaida, and both sides made efforts to reinforce their respective armies. The Persian adherents west of the Euphrates again rose. Rustam crossed the river with a great host, and advanced to Kádisíya where the Arabs had concentrated. The battle that ensued is said to have lasted four days with varying fortune till a dust-storm turned the scale in favour of the Arabs. The slaughter was very great and so was the spoil. 'Umar forbade the Arabs to make any further advance for the present, but as the situation of their camp proved to be very unhealthy he directed Sa'ad to choose a more suitable site, whereupon Sa'ad founded Kúfa. Thenceforth the whole of the region west of the Euphrates was lost to the Persians. To secure the lower course of the Euphrates and Tigris 'Umar also founded Basra, west of the Shatt-al-Arab. The battle of Kádisíya seems to have been fought A.D. 636-7, but the chronology of the period is somewhat uncertain. Then came a considerable pause in the Arab advance. The Arabs seem to have spent the in­terval well in securing what they had gained while the Persians on the other hand appear to have been paralysed by their misfortunes. At all events, when the invasion was resumed and Sa'ad, crossing the Euphrates, marched on Ctesiphon, no resistance was offered and Yazdagird, who had lingered there too late to secure the removal of most of his treasures, fled with his court to Hulwán.*

His example of flight seems to have been followed by a majority of the inhabitants. The Arabs came in for an immense booty according to Oriental accounts. If, however, we take into consideration the domestic troubles of the years preceding Yazdagird's accession, and what must have been the financial needs of the short-lived Sháhs of that period, we are justified in suspecting that the amount of precious metals and of the more portable forms of wealth generally was not so great as has been affirmed. Sa'ad, when he had established himself in the Persian capital, asked permission of 'Umar to pursue Yazdagird who had gathered a considerable army under the command of a Mihrán*

at Jalúlá in the neighbourhood of Hulwán. 'Umar refused to allow Sa'ad to go in person and instructed him to send instead Háshim who was either his brother or his nephew. Háshim was much inferior in point of numbers, and it was six months before he brought the Persians to a decisive en­gagement. He then won a complete victory, and followed up his success at Jalúlá by the capture of Hulwán. Yazdagird fled to Rai and 'Umar, content for the moment with what had been achieved, forbade any further advance. The next stage of the Arab conquest was made outside the sphere of Sa'ad's authority, who sent, however, by 'Umar's command troops to assist. In the north Mesopotamia, and in the south Khúzistán, were invaded and annexed. A raid was made also across the Persian Gulf from Bahrain into Párs, but without lasting results, as the Arab forces got into diffi­culties and had to be rescued by an expedition sent for the purpose from Basra. About A.D. 640 in consequence, it is said, of complaints made by the people of Kúfa, 'Umar recalled Sa'ad and Yazdagird seized the opportunity to make a supreme effort to recover his lost possessions. A large army, summoned from the yet unconquered provinces of the empire, was concentrated at Nahávand, some fifty miles south of Hamadán, and placed under a Persian general named Pírúzán. On this 'Umar ordered Nu'mán, who was in com­mand in Khúzistán, to gather all available forces from the regions already annexed and march against the enemy. Nu'mán, who was greatly inferior in point of numbers, found the Persians strongly encamped at Nahávand and tried in vain to bring on a general engagement. In the end he managed to effect his purpose by means of a stratagem. He broke up his camp and made a hasty retreat. Pírúzán went in pursuit, on which Nu'mán turned upon him and won what the Arabs call “The Victory of Victories” (A.D. 641-2). Pírúzán was taken prisoner and slain, and Nu'mán himself fell in the fight. This was the last effort of the Persians at a national resistance. Henceforth their opposition was merely pro­vincial or local, and wholly ineffective. One after another the remaining provinces of the Sásánian empire were over­run by the Arabs and permanently annexed, while Yazdagird, who had fled from Rai after the disaster of Nahávand, re­mained a fugitive till his death some ten years later.

§ 2. In Tabarí Rustam's father is called Farrukh-Hurmuzd, the governor of Khurásán, who was slain, it is said, by Ázarm-dukht and avenged by his son.*

Khurásán probably formed part of the satrapy of Nímrúz, one of the four into which Núshír-wán divided his empire.*

Tradition makes the governors of that satrapy, and their sons play a very important part during the last few years of the Sásánian dynasty.*

The position of commander-in-chief held by Rustam at the battle of Kádisíya, probably indicates that he had been instrumental in bringing about the elevation of Yazdagird to the throne.*

Rustam's brother was named Farrukhzád.

§ 3. Mughíra, son of Shu'ba, was one of the companions of Muhammad, and played a prominent role in the affairs of the time. He went on a similar embassy to the Persians before the battle of Nahávand.*

He was governor for a time at Basra,*

Mecca,*

and Kúfa, where he died in A.D. 670.*

§ 4. Sa'ad took no personal part in the battle of Kádisíya. He was suffering from sores at the time and had to content himself with merely directing operations.*

Consequently he did not slay Rustam in single combat as Firdausí states. When the dust-storm came on the fourth day of the battle, Rustam was seated under an awning erected on the bank of the canal of Kádisíya and surrounded by the camels that carried his treasure. The awning was blown into the water. and Rustam took shelter among them. In the confusion caused by the storm, the Arabs broke the Persian centre. One of them, named Hilál, striking in the darkness at random among the camels, happened to hit the one under which Rustam was seated, and cut the cord that secured its load of treasure which fell on Rustam's head. Though injured, he made an attempt to swim across the canal, but was caught by Hilál and slain.*

§§ 9-11. There is a general agreement in Persian tradition that Yazdigird did not die a natural death. The scene of it is mostly laid at Marv, and the most popular version associates it with a mill. Firdausí's story evidently has been worked up as the appeals addressed to Máhwí show. The villain's guilt too is more emphasized, and he is made more directly responsible for the tragedy. Elsewhere the miller murders the Sháh for mere greed. Marv appears to be a likely place for Yazdagird to have chosen to reside in, as he could easily escape thence across the Oxus in case of need. In some accounts he does cross and negotiates to little purpose with the Turks, but is brought back across the river for the final scene. What the truth of the matter was seems to be quite uncertain.

§ 14. According to the account in the Persian Tabarí, Máhwí, after the death of Yazdagird, remained at Marv till he was compelled to leave owing to the approach of the Arabs, when he fled across the Oxus and took refuge with the Turks.*

Their Khán is the Bízhan of the Sháhnáma.