Yazdegerd III

Yazdegerd III (also Romanized as Yazdgerd, Yazdgird) was the last Sasanian King of Kings from 632 to 651. His death following successive defeats by the Rashidun Caliphate marked the end of the last pre-Islamic Iranian empire after more than four centuries of rule. The son of Sasanian prince Shahriyar and grandson of shah Khosrow II, Yazdegerd was installed on the throne at the age of eight shortly after the murder of his aunt, Boran. The young shah lacked authority and reigned as a figurehead while real power remained in the hands of army commanders, courtiers and powerful members of the aristocracy, who engaged in internecine warfare. The Sasanians, already severely weakened by these internal conflicts as well as the prolonged war with the Byzantines, also faced invasions by the Göktürks from the east and Khazars from the west. Yazdegerd's empire was ultimately dealt a fatal blow by the ascending Rashidun Caliphate. Following a crushing defeat at al-Qadisiyyah and the fall of the imperial capital Ctesiphon, Yazdegerd fled from one province to another in the vain hope of raising an army to resist the advancing Arabs. He sought assistance from Tang China to no avail, while his arrogance and unrealistic demands increasingly alienated the war-weary margraves and populace. Yazdegerd was eventually killed by a miller near Merv in 651, possibly at the instigation of the local margrave.