Editing Hormizd IV (section)

== Religious policy and beliefs ==
Hormizd, like all other Sasanian rulers, was an adherent of Zoroastrianism.{{sfn|Payne|2015|p=2}} Since the 5th-century, the Sasanian monarchs had been made aware of the significance of the religious minorities in the realm, and as a result tried to homogenize them into a structure of administration where according to legal principles, all would be treated straightforwardly as ''mard / zan ī šahr'', i.e. "man/woman citizen (of the Empire)".{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=56}} [[Jews]] and (notably) Christians had accepted the concept of Iran and considered themselves part of the nation.{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=56}} Hormizd, aware of the importance of the Christians and their support, refused to attack them when asked by the Zoroastrian clergy, whom he reportedly urged to acknowledge the input of the Christians.{{sfn|Payne|2015|p=167}} According to al-Tabari's ''[[History of Prophets and Kings]]'' and the ''[[Chronicle of Seert]]'', which both drew some of their work from the Middle Persian history book ''[[Khwaday-Namag]]'' ("Book of Lords"), Hormizd told the clergy:{{sfn|Payne|2015|pp=166–167}}

{{blockquote|"Just as our royal throne cannot stand on its two front legs without the two back ones, our kingdom cannot stand or endure firmly if we cause the Christians and adherents of other faiths, who differ in belief from ourselves, to become hostile to us. So refrain from harming the Christians and become assiduous in good works, so that the Christians and the adherents of other faiths may see this, praise you for it, and feel themselves drawn toward your religion."}}

His tolerance towards the Christians earned him the gratitude of their priests, and the respect of the [[List of Patriarchs of the Church of the East|patriarch]] [[Ezekiel (Nestorian patriarch)|Ezekiel]] and his successor [[Ishoyahb I]].{{sfn|Bonner|2020|pp=237–238}} Hormizd was himself married to a Christian woman and prayed to the martyr [[Sergius and Bacchus|St. Sergius]], a military saint whose cult rapidly increased beyond political and cultural borders from the 5th to the 7th-century.{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|p=337}}{{sfn|Payne|2015|p=172}} He was as a result suspected of harboring Christian beliefs.{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|p=337}} However, his son Khosrow II also paid tribute to Sergius, more than once.{{sfn|Howard-Johnston|2010}}{{sfn|Payne|2015|p=172}} Hormizd superstitiously wore a [[talisman]] against death, and stressed the importance of [[astrology]].{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|p=337}}