Bahrám's accession and inaugural measures. His adventures, amorous and otherwise, among his subjects. His relations with foreign potentates. His instructions to his officials, and remission of taxation. His introduction of the Gipsies into Írán, and his death.

Bahrám Gúr (Varahran V., A.D. 420-438) is said by Tabarí and Mas'údí to have been twenty years old at the time of his accession.*

According to Tabarí he reigned either eighteen or twenty-three years.*

Mas'údí says the latter.*

On the other hand Mír Khánd, who tells us that he followed the most generally received account, perhaps Firdausí's own, states that Bahrám reigned sixty-three years.*

No doubt popular tradition lovingly prolonged to the utmost the reign of this Sháh who, like James V. of Scotland, was a “King of the Commons.” The poet was at no loss for material in this part of his work, and the reign is the most diverting in the Sháhnáma. Its interest with regard to the question of the provenance of the Arabian Nights has been noted already.*

As is to be expected in the circumstances the subject-matter is largely legendary, though some authentic features have been preserved, and there can be little doubt but that Bahrám's own character as depicted by Firdausí is in the main historically correct. He fulfilled the promises made by him when a candidate for the throne, but gave himself up largely to pleasure, though this does not seem to have impaired his activities at critical moments. He appears, too, to have been fortunate in his administrators. His chief minister, Mihr Narsí, who is not to be confounded with Narsí, the Sháh's brother, and three of his sons were at the head of affairs. One was the principal, or nearly so, of the official hierarchy, another was chief superintendent of the taxes, and the third was com­mander-in-chief. *

Mihr Narsí and his father Buráza are stated to have held office under Yazdagird, Bahrám's father, and the former was reappointed chief minister when Yazdagird, Bahrám's son, came to the throne.*

He was himself a prince and an Arsacid, so it would seem that the supplanted family had regained a great position for itself under the new dispensation, and that the state of things fully justified the pronouncement put by later legend into the mouth of Kaid.*

Bahrám Gúr began his reign with a persecu­tion of the Christians, which led to war with the Eastern Roman Empire. There is a slight allusion to such a war in the poem,*

but the chief incident recorded to have taken place is a pacific one.*

§§ 1 and 2. Bahrám devotes the first days of his reign to carrying out his promises of reform made before his accession,*

and to the relief of taxation.

§§ 3-16. We have here a series of popular legends of Bahrám's adventures when going about unrecognised among various classes of his subjects.*

The story of the miser occurs twice.*

§§ 19-22. We have here the story of Bahrám's most famous exploit, which is historical, though as much cannot be said of the various details with which popular appreciation has embellished it. Historically, the foes over whom Bahrám won his great triumph were the Haitálians, or White Huns.*

This is clear on Firdausí's own showing when he comes to the reign of Pírúz.*

Later on again, in the reign of Núshírwán, ample distinction is made between the subjects of the Khán of Chín and the Haitálians.*

In substituting the former for the latter on this occasion Firdausí errs in good company. Tabarí, Mas'údí, and Mír Khánd all name the Turks as the enemy,*

and since they did not come upon the scene for another century and more,*

we learn approximately the earliest date at which the story of Bahrám's exploit could have been edited in its existing form. According to the Persian Tabarí*

—the version adapted from the original Arabic by Bal'amí, the minister of the Sámánid prince Mansúr, son of Núh (A.D. 961-976), about A.D. 963—the Khán was put to flight, according to the Arabic*

slain in the battle by Bahrám's own hand. Both agree that the Khátún, or wife of the Khán, was taken prisoner and sent to serve in the famous Fire-temple at Shíz, whither Bahrám had gone to pray for success in his expedition.*

According to the Arabic Tabarí, Bahrám, as an act of thanksgiving for his victory, relieved his subjects of taxation for three years.*

This probably is the popular version of the fact that great reforms in that connexion were effected during his reign, but they could not have been justified, one would think, to the extent stated by the amount of plunder taken from the Haitálians, and still less to the extent described in the Sháhnáma, which affirms that he almost reformed taxation away altogether. It may be added that the various accounts of Bahrám's expedition against the Haitálians are in substantial accord though they differ in detail, e.g. as to how far the enemy had advanced at the time of the battle, the route that Bahrám followed in his march, and the number of troops that he took with him.

§ 24. Bahrám's war with the Eastern Ròman Empire, in which he was not very successful, came to an end in A.D. 422, but Firdausí (§ 19) makes it synchronise with that against the Haitálians which, according to the Persian Tabarí,*

took place five years later. Next we hear of an envoy sent by Cæsar (§§ 19, 23), and then of his be­lated audience with the Sháh. The points discussed are not the terms of peace, but certain “hard questions,”*

and it is only inci­dentally that the envoy mentions that Rúm is ready to pay tribute to Írán. We have a similar case in the reign of Núshírwán when the Rája of Hind sends the game of chess to that Sháh, who returns the compliment with the game of nard,*

while in the next volume we shall find the disgraced counsellor Búzurjmihr regaining the favour of the same Sháh by his success in solving another problem set by Cæsar.

§§ 26-38. For instances in the Sháhnáma of kings going incognito to visit foreign courts, see Vol. vi. pp. 325, 335. In the Arabic Tabarí, Bahrám's motive for visiting Hind is to see whether by annexing a portion of it he could lighten the taxes of his own subjects.*

Unlike his expedition against the Khán of Chín, as Firdausí puts it, and historically against the Haitálians, the one to Hind appears to be wholly fabulous. It is given, however, at length by Tabarí and Mír Khánd, and mentioned by Mas'údí.*

It will be seen that Bahrám in the course of his well meant efforts to promote the welfare of his subjects does not find it quite so easy as he expected to make everybody happy by legislation.

§ 39. Professor Nöldeke is inclined to consider Bahrám's im­portation of Gipsies from Hind to Írán historical.*

The details of course belong to the province of popular legend, but are delight­fully characteristic of both parties concerned. The Gipsy language appears to be a debased form of Hindústání. According to Mír Khánd the Gipsies intermarried with the Persians, and the Jats were said to be their offspring. Consequently nearly every Jat is a musician.*

§ 40. Firdausí is almost alone in his statement that Bahrám Gúr died in his bed. The common account is that he was killed when out hunting by falling into one of the underground water­courses, so common in Persia, and that his body never was re­covered. Popular tradition places the scene of his death in a valley between Shíráz and Ispahán and known as the “Vale of Heroes,” where there are numerous springs supposed to be inter­communicating and of great depth. Sir John Malcolm states that one of his escort was drowned in 1810 when bathing in the identical spring in which Bahrám is said to have perished.*

Tabarí lays the scene of the accident in Media, and it took place, if it took place at all, probably not far from Hamadán at a spot called, according to Dínawarí, Dái Marj. Nöldeke, however, con­siders that the whole story was made up to account for the nick­name “Gúr” bestowed upon Bahrám. The word in question means both “onager” and “tomb.”*

The same collocation of letters also means a “Fire-worshipper,” and it is possible that some Muhammadan translator from the Pahlaví may have thought fit to dispatch the guebre to the grave.