prince, whose very mildness and indulgence offended the bigots of his own country, and caused them to represent his character in the most odious light, and do their utmost to blacken his memory.  But this can scarcely be accepted as the true explanation of the discrepancy.  It appears from the ecclesiastical historians that, whatever other good qualities Isdigerd may have possessed, tolerance at any rate was not among his virtues.  Induced at one time by Christian bishops almost to embrace Christianity, he violently persecuted the professors of the old Persian religion.  Alarmed at a later period by the excessive zeal of his Christian preceptors, and probably fearful of provoking rebellion among his Zoroastrian subjects, he turned around upon his late friends, and treated them with a cruelty even exceeding that previously exhibited towards their adversaries.  It was probably this twofold persecution that, offending both professions, attached to Isdigerd in his own country the character of a harsh and bad monarch.  Foreigners, who did not suffer from his caprices or his violence, might deem him magnanimous and a model of virtue.  His own subjects with reason detested his rule, and branded his memory with the well-deserved epithet of Al-Athim, “the Wicked.”

A curious tale is told as to the death of Isdigerd.  He was still in the full vigor of manhood when one day a horse of rare beauty, without bridle or caparison, came of its own accord and stopped before the gate of his palace.  The news was told to the king, who gave orders that the strange steed should be saddled and bridled, and prepared to mount it.  But the animal reared and kicked, and would not allow any one to come near, till the king himself approached, when the creature totally changed its mood, appeared gentle and docile, stood perfectly still, and allowed both saddle and bridle to be put on.  The crupper, however, needed some arrangement, and Isdigerd in full confidence proceeded to complete his task, when suddenly the horse lashed out with one of his hind legs, and dealt the unfortunate prince a blow which killed him on the spot.  The animal then set off at speed, disembarrassed itself of its accoutrements, and galloping away was never seen any more.  The modern historian of Persia compresses the tale into a single phrase, and tells us that “Isdigerd died from the kick of a horse:”  but the Persians of the time regarded the occurrence as an answer to their prayers, and saw in the wild steed an angel sent by God.

CHAPTER XIV.

Internal Troubles on the Death of Isdigerd I. Accession of Varahran V. His Persecution of the Christians.  His War with Rome.  His Relations with Armenia from A.D. 422 to A.D. 428.  His Wars with the Scythic Tribes on his Eastern Frontier.  His Strange Death.  His Coins.  His Character.