The earliest coins of Pírúz date from his third year as he reckoned it, counting from his father's death, so the reign of Hurmuz (Hormisdas, A.D. 457-459) lasted about two years.*

Hurmuz probably had the advantage of being on the spot at the time of Yazdagird's death, but Pírúz may have had the better right to the throne,*

and seems to have owed much to the services of a leader named Ruhhám—a scion of the great Mihrán clan which was of Arsacid descent.*

The name is a familiar one to students of the Sháhnáma as that of one of those secondary heroes many of whom—real personages in the Parthian epoch—have been reflected back to the mythical periods of the poem.*

Ruhhám, as we have seen, was one of the Twelve (eleven) Champions.*

Whether Pírúz also received formal help from the Haitálians is doubtful, but plenty of nomad tribes would be willing to take service with him for a consideration, and if they happened to be within the Haitálian sphere of influence would be regarded as Haitálians themselves by tradition. For the consideration required in the text Tabarí substitutes Tálikán.*

This is much more probable. Tirmid is mentioned because it would represent the traditional notion of the Oxus being the boundary between Írán and Túrán. On the other hand settlements in the desert, such as Tálikán, were valuable both for trade and in war.*

Firdausí's statement that Pírúz pardoned Hurmuz is supported by Dínawarí and Mír Khánd, but two out of the three accounts in Tabarí say that Hurmuz was put to death. The third says that he was imprisoned. In all probability he was executed.*