Editing Yazdegerd I (section)

=== {{anchor|The establishment of the Iranian church}}Establishment of the Iranian church ===
[[Image:"Bahrum Gur Before His Father, Yazdigird I", Folio 551v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp, ca. 1530–35.jpg|thumb|alt=Persian miniature of Yazdegerd I and his son Bahram (later known as Bahram V)|16th-century [[Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp|Shahnameh]] illustration of Yazdegerd I and his son, the future [[Bahram V]]]]
Yazdegerd I's reign was a landmark for the Christians in Iran. With the counsel of Roman bishop [[Maruthas of Martyropolis|Marutha]], he acknowledged the Church of the East in 410; this led to the establishment of the Iranian church, which would declare its independence from the Roman church in 424.{{sfn|Shayegan|2013|p=808}}{{sfn|Shahbazi|2003}} Yazdegerd's decree has been called the Sasanian version of the 313 [[Edict of Milan]] by Roman emperor [[Constantine the Great]] ({{reign|306|337}}).{{sfn|Shahbazi|2003}}{{sfn|McDonough|2008|p=128}} Churches, shrines to martyrs, and monasteries were soon established under Iranian bureaucracy.{{sfn|Payne|2015|p=44}} They were near the court in the Sasanian capital of [[Ctesiphon]], indicating the consent of Yazdegerd (who financed churches with East Syrian or Roman diplomats as their main patrons).{{sfn|Payne|2015|p=44}} One of his gestures of generosity was to permit Christians to bury their dead, which Zoroastrians believed tainted the land.{{sfn|Boyce|1984|p=121}}

The number of Christian elites in the bureaucracy increased, a flow which continued until the fall of the empire in 651.{{sfn|Payne|2015|p=44}} Although priestly leaders such as [[Shemon Bar Sabbae]] and his colleagues had zealously opposed Shapur II's request to participate in the imperial bureaucracy, the [[bishop]]s began operating as agents of Iran (dissociating themselves from Zoroastrianism) during the fifth century.{{sfn|Payne|2015|p=44}} Yazdegerd made use of the priestly leaders, sending the Patriarch of the [[Church of the East|Catholicos]] of Ctesiphon to mediate between himself and his brother (the governor of [[Pars (Sasanian province)|Pars]], in southern Iran).{{sfn|Shahbazi|2003}} Another patriarch was Yazdegerd's ambassador to Theodosius.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2003}} The shah does not seem to have had much knowledge of Christianity, and was (like Shapur II) more interested in improving his empire's political and economic capabilities.{{sfn|Payne|2015|p=46}} Owing to his tolerant treatment of the Christians, he is described in their chronicles as a "noble soul" and a second [[Cyrus the Great]] ({{reign|550|530 BC}}), the founder of the Iranian [[Achaemenid Empire]].{{sfn|Daryaee|2019|p=37}}