“Aryan Worshiping Ohrmazd”: Towards the Political Biography of Shahanshah Narseh
Dmitriev Vladimir A.
The figure of the Sasanian shahanshah Narseh (293–302) is one of the most colourful and at the same time the most dramatic in the history of the Sasanid dynasty. Despite the fact that Narseh was the most likely candidate for the crown after the death of his brother Hormizd-Ardashir (Hormizd I; 272–273), it was his brother Warahran I who took the throne (273–276). In 276, Narseh failed to become king again, and the throne passed to the Warahran I’s son Warahran II (276–293). Throughout these years Narseh was the viceroy (šāh) of important border provinces: up to 273 – Sakastan, from 273 to 293 – Armenia. Narseh managed to become shahanshah through a coup d’état with the support of the highest Iranian nobility only after the death of Warahran II. The reign of Narseh was marred by the defeat in the Roman-Persian war of 296–298 and the annexation of several important Persian regions in Northern Mesopotamia by the Romans. Taking advantage of the weakening of Sasanian Iran, in 301 the Armenian Kingdom adopted Christianity and thereby finally became an enemy of Persia. The internal political situation during the reign of Narseh was marked by a relaxation of religious persecutions directed against the non-Zoroastrians, the revival of the cult of the goddess Anahid (who was considered as the patroness of the first Sasanian kings), and further strengthening of the nobility, who became virtually independent from central government. Narseh probably abdicated the throne in 302 under the pressure of an aristocratic faction dissatisfied with his rule. However, it would not be right to think that Narseh was the main culprit of the misfortunes that fell upon the Sasanid state during his reign. Everything that happened at that time was an objective result of the twenty-year destructive government of Narseh’s predecessors, and it was impossible for one king to turn the tide within such a short period.
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