Editing Yazdegerd I (section)

== {{anchor|Personality and relations with the nobility and clergy}}Personality and relations with nobility and clergy ==
Roman sources describe Yazdegerd I as an astute, benevolent and friendly ruler.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=279}} Said to be well-read, "from the start" he was known for "nobility of character" and as a champion of "the poor and the wretched."{{sfn|Shahbazi|2005}} [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Arabic]] sources, however, call him a "sinner" (''bazehkar'' or ''bezehgar'') and "outcast" (''dabhr'').{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=279}}{{sfn|Shahbazi|2005}}{{efn|From the Middle Persian word ''dīpahr'' (prison).{{sfn|Shahbazi|2005}}}} They describe him as a monarch who misused his authority by intimidating and suppressing the nobility and Zoroastrian clergy.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=279}} This hostile view of Yazdegerd is due to his peaceful attitude towards the Romans and his religious tolerance of the country's non-Zoroastrians (the Christians and Jews).{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=279}}

The hostility of the priesthood towards Yazdegerd was due to his execution of several Zoroastrian priests who disapproved of his friendly management of the religious minorities.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=279}} Well aware of the fate of his predecessor, Yazdegerd I could not put his trust in the nobility and prevented them from acquiring excessive influence at the expense of royal power;{{sfn|Shahbazi|2005}}{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=280}} therefore, he was at odds with the nobility and clergy.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2005}}{{sfn|Kia|2016|pp=279-280}} Yazdegerd was more competent than his recent predecessors, however, and his reign is seen in Sasanian history as a period of renewal.{{sfn|Daryaee|Rezakhani|2017|p=158}}