Editing Yazdegerd III (section)

== Background ==
Yazdegerd was the son of prince [[Shahriyar (son of Khosrow II)|Shahriyar]] and the grandson of the last prominent shah of Iran, [[Khosrow II]] ({{reign|590|628}}), who was in 628 overthrown and executed by his own son [[Kavad II]], who proceeded to have all his brothers and half-brothers executed, including Shahriyar.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=284}} This dealt a heavy blow to the empire, which it would never recover from. Furthermore, the fall of Khosrow II also culminated in a [[Sasanian civil war of 628–632|civil war lasting four years]], with the most powerful members of the nobility gaining full autonomy and starting to create their own government. The hostilities between the Persian (''Parsig'') and [[Parthia]]n (''Pahlav'') noble-families were also resumed, which split up the wealth of the nation.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2005}} A few months later, a [[Plague of Sheroe|devastating plague]] swept through the western Sasanian provinces, killing half of its population including Kavad II.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2005}}

He was succeeded by his eight-year-old son [[Ardashir III]], [[Siege of Ctesiphon (629)|who was killed two years later]] by the distinguished Sasanian general [[Shahrbaraz]], who was in turn murdered forty days later in a coup by the ''[[Seven Great Houses of Iran|Pahlav]]'' leader [[Farrukh Hormizd]], who installed the daughter of Khosrow II, [[Boran]], on the throne.{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008}}{{pn|date=October 2024}} She was deposed a year later, and a succession of rulers followed one another, until Boran was sovereign once more in 631, only to be killed the following year, seemingly by the ''Parsig'' leader [[Piruz Khosrow]].{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|p=218}} The most powerful magnates in the empire, [[Rostam Farrokhzad]]{{efn|Rostam Farrokhzad was a son of Farrukh Hormizd, and had succeeded him as the leader of the ''Pahlav'' in 631, when the latter was killed after attempting to usurp the Sasanian throne.}} and Piruz Khosrow, now threatened by their own men, eventually agreed to work together, and installed Yazdegerd III on the throne, thus putting an end to the civil war.{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|p=219}} He was crowned in the [[Anahid fire-temple]] in [[Istakhr]], where he had been hiding during the civil war. The temple was the very place where the first Sasanian shah [[Ardashir I]] ({{reign|224|242}}) had crowned himself, indicating that the reason behind Yazdegerd's coronation at the same place was due to hopes for a rejuvenation of the empire.{{sfn|Daryaee|2010|p=51}} He was almost the last living member of the [[House of Sasan]].{{sfn|Frye|1983|p=171}} Most scholars agree that Yazdegerd was eight years old at his coronation.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2005}}{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=284}}{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|p=257}}