The length of the reign of this Sháh (Isdigerd II, A.D. 438-457), as given by Firdausí, appears to be about correct. From the point of view of popular tradition he seems wholly to have been overshadowed by his famous father, and his reign consequently is all but a blank in the Sháhnáma. Historically it was full of incident, and Firdausí's statement—
“He sent out countless hosts on every side,
And kept the world secure from enemies,”
though it may be only a conventional statement, is correct enough. He began his reign with a war with Rúm. This was soon over, but was followed by long wars with the Huns and the Haitálians. Within the empire there were persecutions of the Jews and Christians, and about A.D. 450 serious trouble in Armenia. Yazdagird, as we have seen,*
continued his father's minister, Mihr Narsí, in power. According to Mas'údí he fortified the passes in the Caucasus.*
He was known to his subjects by two titles— “The Clement”*
and “The soldier's friend.”*
Of the two sons of Yazdagird it is not certain historically which was the elder, but as Pírúz was successful in the struggle for the throne that followed on the death of his father, he in any case would have been made out to be the elder in order to regularise the succession, and the elder he is according to all the Oriental authorities. In dating his coins he ignored the short reign of his brother Hurmuz.*