Bozorgmehr

Did You Know?

• Bozorgmehr wrote several Middle Persian treatises, including the Wizārišn ī čatrang (Treatise on Chess).
• His other works include the Ayādgār ī Wuzurgmihr ī Bōxtagān and the Ẓafar-nāma, the latter translated into New Persian by Avicenna.
• The word "Borzuya" can sometimes be considered a shortened form of Bozorgmehr.

Name

The name Bozorgmehr, meaning "large sun" or "one of great kindness," is the New Persian variant of Middle Persian Wuzurgmihr ī Bōkhtagān. In Arabic it became Abūzarjmehr, Bozorjmehr, or Būzorjmehr, the last used by Ferdowsi in the Shahnameh. The proper version was Dādburzmihr, a theophoric name emphasizing Mihr worship, with the suffix -i Bōkhtagān meaning "son of Bokhtagan."

Background

Bozorgmehr appears in records starting in 498, as a son of the powerful noble Sukhra, who belonged to the House of Karen—one of Iran’s Seven Great Houses. The Karens, based in Nihavand in Media, traced their lineage back to the legendary Pishdadian king Manuchehr.

Career

After Kavad I reclaimed the Sasanian throne in 498, he appointed Bozorgmehr as his minister. During this tenure, Bozorgmehr persuaded Kavad to stop taxing fruits and grain from the peasantry. An early reference calls him an argbed. Under Khosrow I, Bozorgmehr continued as minister and was later appointed spahbed of Khorasan.

He served in the same role under Hormizd IV. Two seals of Bozorgmehr have been found, through which he emphasizes his Parthian ancestry by claiming to be a Parthian aspbed. According to Ferdinand Justi, Bozorgmehr was later executed by order of Hormizd IV. This execution likely led to the legendary story of royal resentment reported by al-Masudi, Ferdowsi, and al-Tha'alibi; in the versions of Ferdowsi and al-Tha'alibi, Bozorgmehr was linked with Khosrow I and was reportedly pardoned, while al-Masudi linked him with Khosrow II with no mention of execution. His descendants remained active in Iran, including his grandson Valash, who ruled Tabaristan from 665 to 673.