Talk:Bahram V

• A note about 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica entries on the Sassanid kings: I have noticed that most of the entries view the wars between the Persians and Rome/Byzantine as if the root of the conflict was about Christianity or how the Christians were treated in Iran. This is completely false. The Christians in Iran for all practical purposes were a non-entity or non-issue at that time. The conflicts with the Romans goes back to long before the advent of Christianity. They were for a variety of reasons, but religion hardly palyed a role as a contributing factor for these conflicts. I will try to gradually correct the entries, but I can sure use some impartial helping hands here. --Keyvan 15:41 Apr 11, 2003 (UTC)

I concur completely. Should verso be changed to reverse? Its pretty archaic. Today I believe the numismatic terms are just obverse and reverse. Khirad 23:12, 17 September 2005 (UTC)

In a recent sketch of the Sasanian dynasty of Persia, Soshandukht, daughter of a Jewish leader, was included.

There is good and useful information on her in the "Jewish Encyclopedia" (not to be confused with the also useful "Encyclopedia Judaica"). See the articles entitled "Pahlavi Literature", "Persia", and "Exilarch". See also the Encyclopaedia Britannica article on "Yazdegerd" for background information on her husband. (He was a liberal who allowed religious freedom, and was therefore condemned by the Zoroastrian priesthood.)

From material discussed in the JE articles I have concluded that Soshandukht (also sometimes given as Gasyandukht, Sashandukht, Susan, Shoshan-dukht, and probably other transliterations) was indeed a Jewish wife of Yazdegerd I and mother of Bahram V "Gor". However, I disagree with the popularly given identifications of her father. There seems to be in the ultimate sources only the statement that her father was an "exilarch", that is a hereditary leader of the Babylonian Jewish community claiming agnatic descent from King David. One source appears to give her father's name as "Galuta", but this is simply based on the Hebrew title "Resh Galuta", meaning "head of the exile", which we translate with the Greek-derived term "exilarch". There is one source, however, mentioned in the "Pahlavi Literature" article, which implies her father was exilarch at the time of the birth of her son Bahram. The dates of the exilarchs are not absolutely certain, but from those I have seen, including from the "Exilarch" article, the most likely choice would be Mar Zutra I, probable son of Nathan II.

I have consulted these Encyclopedias in my local library, but I believe JE is also now available on line. http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/GEN-MEDIEVAL/2005-01/1105988449