A young king lived long ago.
His name was Yazdegerd. He was only eight years old. His land was having hard times. Many people fought over power. He had to move to stay safe.
Can you imagine being a king so young?
A young king lived long ago.
His name was Yazdegerd. He was only eight years old when he became king.
His land was having hard times. Many leaders fought over power. This made the empire weak.
Other groups began to move into his lands. Yazdegerd had to move often to stay safe. He tried to find help to build a new army.
He even sent messengers to far away lands. He hoped they would help him.
In the end, his time as king was over. It was the end of a very long rule for his people.
Yazdegerd III was the last Sasanian king. He became king in 632. He was only eight years old.
His empire was in trouble. Many leaders fought for power. These fights made the empire weak. This was hard for a young king to fix.
New groups began to take land. Arab armies moved into his lands. Yazdegerd had to flee to stay safe. He moved from place to place. He tried to build new armies. He even sent messengers to China. He hoped the Chinese would help him.
His capital city was Ctesiphon. It was a very big and rich city.
In 651, Yazdegerd died near a place called Merv. His death ended the Sasanian rule. This empire had ruled for over 400 years.
Yazdegerd III was the very last king of the Sasanian Empire. He became the leader in the year 632. At that time, he was only eight years old.
His name means "God-made" in the old language. He belonged to a famous family that had ruled for over 400 years. This empire was a very important part of history in Iran. Because he was so young, he did not have much power. The real leaders were the army commanders and the wealthy nobles.
Before Yazdegerd became king, his empire faced many hard problems. His grandfather, Khosrow II, had been removed from power years earlier. This caused a long civil war between different noble families. Two groups, the Parsig and the Pahlav, fought for control. A terrible plague also swept through the lands during this time. The plague killed many people, including the ruler Kavad II. These fights left the empire very weak and divided.
While the leaders fought each other, new enemies arrived. The Göktürks attacked from the east. The Khazars attacked from the west. At the same time, Arab armies began to move into the land. Yazdegerd could not stop these many invasions at once. He spent much of his reign running from one province to another. He hoped to find enough help to build a new army. Even his own people sometimes refused to follow him.
One of the biggest battles happened at al-Qadisiyyah in 636. The Sasanian army lost this fight to the Arab forces. Many important generals were killed during the battle. After this, the Arabs moved toward the capital city of Ctesiphon. Ctesiphon was a huge and very rich city. Yazdegerd had to flee the capital with his treasury. He moved to a place called Media to try again. Later, another large battle happened at Nahavand in 642.
In his final years, Yazdegerd tried everything to save his empire. He sent messengers to the Tang dynasty in China. He hoped the Chinese emperor would send soldiers to help him. He also tried to get help from local leaders in places like Merv. However, most people wanted peace instead of more fighting. In 651, Yazdegerd died near the city of Merv. A miller was the one who killed him. His death marked the end of the long Sasanian era.
Yazdegerd III was the final King of Kings of the Sasanian Empire. He ruled from 632 to 651. His name is a theophoric name, meaning it contains a reference to a god. In Old Iranian, it combines 'yazata,' meaning a divine being, with 'karta,' meaning made. Therefore, Yazdegerd means "God-made."
His reign marked the end of the last pre-Islamic Iranian empire. This empire had ruled for more than 400 years. His rise to power happened during a time of extreme instability for his people.
The instability began long before his coronation. His grandfather, Khosrow II, was overthrown and executed in 628 by his son, Kavad II. Kavad II then ordered the execution of his own brothers and half-brothers. This included Yazdegerd's father, Shahriyar. This purging of the royal family dealt a massive blow to the empire. It ignited a civil war that lasted for four years. During this time, powerful noble families created their own governments. Two main factions, the Parsig and the Pahlav, fought for control. They even divided the imperial treasury between themselves.
While the nobles fought, a devastating plague swept through the western provinces. This plague killed half of the population in those areas. Kavad II was among the victims of this disease. After Kavad II, the throne saw a rapid succession of rulers. Ardashir III was king for only two years before being killed by the general Shahrbaraz. Then, the Pahlav leader Farrukh Hormizd installed Boran on the throne. Many rulers followed until two powerful magnates, Rostam Farrokhzad and Piruz Khosrow, agreed to an alliance. They installed the eight-year-old Yazdegerd III to end the civil war. He was crowned at the Temple of Anahita in Istakhr.
Despite his coronation, Yazdegerd III lacked true authority. He functioned mostly as a figurehead. Real power rested with army commanders, courtiers, and the aristocracy. These groups engaged in deadly internecine warfare, which means fighting between members of the same group. The empire was also facing invasions from the Göktürks in the east and the Khazars in the west.
Because of this chaos, many regional governors declared independence. The empire began to resemble the feudal system of the earlier Parthian Empire. Even the minting of coins was divided. The Pahlav in the north refused to mint coins with Yazdegerd's image. Instead, coins were only minted in the southwest and southeast where the Parsig faction held influence.
The most significant threat came from the Rashidun conquest of Iran by Muslim Arab forces. In 633, Arab forces defeated a Sasanian force near the city of Hira. This loss made Yazdegerd's ministers realize the danger. In 636, a major clash occurred at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah. The Sasanian army suffered a crushing defeat there. Many important leaders, including the general Rostam, were killed.
Following this defeat, the Arabs moved toward the imperial capital, Ctesiphon. Yazdegerd fled the capital with the imperial treasury and 1,000 servants. Ctesiphon was a massive, rich commercial metropolis. The fall of the capital was a major turning point in the invasion of Iran.
Another massive military disaster occurred at the Battle of Nahavand in 642. This battle followed the Sasanian attempt to retake Ctesiphon. The conflict lasted for several days and resulted in heavy losses for both sides. After Nahavand, Yazdegerd spent his remaining years fleeing from one province to another. He moved to Isfahan, then Istakhr, and then Kirman. He hoped to raise new armies, but he faced constant trouble. In Isfahan, his own troops mutinied against him. In other provinces, he alienated local governors by demanding higher taxes to fund his military efforts.
In his final attempts to save his rule, Yazdegerd looked abroad for help. He sent envoys to the Tang dynasty in China to seek military assistance. He offered tribute to the Chinese emperor in 639 and again in 647 and 648. While the Chinese eventually sent assistance, it arrived only after Yazdegerd was dead. He also tried to form an alliance with the leaders of the Turks in the east. However, the people in Khorasan were war-weary and preferred peace with the Arabs. In 651, Yazdegerd met his end near Merv. He was killed by a miller. His death brought a final close to the Sasanian era.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (5)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.