Yazdgerd II Declares War On Roman Empire

2 years after disappearance of his father Bahram V (Goor), Yazdgerd II became king and on March, 25, 441 declared war on Rome because Romans were piling up in northern parts of Iran and were inciting Armenians for revolt against Sassanid government. Yazdgerd II was a Zoroastrian zealot that was under influence of the priests. This characteristics of Yazdgerd II caused him to show intolerance in Armenia where Christianity was being practiced and he got involved in many battles in this area for a long time. Soon after this war declaration, the Roman Empire pulled out troops from Iran territory and there came peace. Peace with Romans gave Yazdgerd II to go after Heptalites that were settling near to the northeast borders. (Updated: Dec, 3, 2007)

Neishabour Becomes Capital

After making a peace deal with the Romans, Yazdgerd II decided to announce the city of Neishabour which was founded by Shapour I, the new capital. Iran used to have more than one capital at the same time because of vastness of the empire. The reason behind Yazdgerd's decision was creating a center in greater Khorasan to counter the nomadic Heptalites who used every opportunity to settle inside Iran. The cities of Marv, Samarkand, Balkh, and Bukhara were other important cities of the greater Khorasan. Located along the famous Silk Road, Neishabour has supplied the world with turquoise for at least two millennia. In the year 1000, Neishabour was among the 10 largest cities on earth until Chengiz Khan ordered massacre of all residents in 1221. Neishabour has been destroyed and rebuilt more times than any other city in history.
Yazdgerd II succeeded in repelling the Heptalites who then migrated to Europe and formed Hungary. (Updated: Aug, 22, 2008)

• Bukhara: بخارا(Bokhara)
• Chengiz Khan: چنگيز خان(تموچين, Genghis)
• Goor: گور
• Khorasan: خراسان(Khorassan)
• Marv: مرو
• Neishabour: نيشابور(Neyshabour, Neishapour)
• Rome: رم
• Samarkand: سمرقند(Samarghand)
• Sassan: ساسان
• Sassanid: ساساني
• Shapour: شاپور(Shapur)
• Yazd: يزد
• Yazdgerd: يزدگرد