Guyum

The Iranian king Bahrām II (276-293) was not the strongest ruler of the Sasanian dynasty. Having lost a war against the Roman emperor Carus, he accepted the loss of Armenia and Mesopotamia; he had some difficulty in suppressing a revolt by his brother Hormizd II; and he lost power to the Zoroastrian high priest Kartir. Still, Bahrām II left no less than ten rock reliefs.

One of them can be found above a still active spring in a private garden at Guyum, a bit west of modern Shiraz. it shows the king, standing, one hand raised. Bahrām is identified by his crown. The monument appears to be an unfinished investiture scene; to the right, we would have expected Ahuramazda, handing over the ring of power (cydaris).

Literature

• Louis Vanden Berghe, Reliefs rupestres de l' Iran ancien (1983 Brussels) 81, 137

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