page_title: Kartir
section_title: Under Bahram I
hierarchical_section_title: Kartir / Biography / Under Bahram I
caption_attribution_description: English: Coin of the Sasanian king Bahram I.
context_page_description: Kartir was a powerful and influential Zoroastrian priest during the reigns of four Sasanian kings in the 3rd-century. His name is cited in the inscriptions of Shapur I and the Paikuli inscription of Narseh. Kartir also had inscriptions of his own made in the present-day Fars Province. His inscriptions narrates his rise to power throughout the reigns of Shapur I, Hormizd I, Bahram I, and Bahram II. During the brief reign of Bahram II's son and successor Bahram III, Kartir was amongst the nobles who supported the rebellion of Narseh, who overthrew Bahram III and ascended the throne. During Narseh's reign, Kartir fades into obscurity, due not doing anything noteworthy as high priest.
context_section_description: The previous Sasanian shahs had pursued a policy of religious tolerance towards the non-Zoroastrian minorities in the empire. However, with Bahram I's accession to the throne, and the rise of the authority of the Zoroastrian priesthood and the increasing influence of Kartir, this changed; when Mani reached the city of Gundishapur, much uproar occurred, in the same fashion as Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Kartir, along with other Zoroastrian priests protested and made Bahram I have Mani imprisoned and sentenced to death in 274.
  Mani's death was followed by the persecution of his followers by Kartir and the Zoroastrian clergy, who used the persecution of religious minorities as a method to increase and spread their vast influence. Mani was seen by the Zoroastrian clergy as heterogeneous philosopher and a threatening pagan who was presenting an obscure perception of Zoroastrianism, which had been tainted by non-Zoroastrian (i.e., Jewish, Buddhist, and Christian) ideas. With the backing of Bahram I, Kartir laid foundations to a Zoroastrian state church. As a result, Bahram I became applauded in Sasanian-based sources as a "benevolent and worthy king." His son Bahram II succeeded him as shah; he may have been aided by Kartir to ascend the throne instead of Narseh. This most likely frustrated Narseh, who had now been neglected from succession several times.
caption: Coin of Bahram I.
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