Vistahm Bistam or Vistahm ( also transilterated Wistaxm , ) , was a Parthian dynast of the Ispahbudhan house , and maternal uncle of the Sasanian " shah " of Persia , Khosrau II ( reigned 591 – 628 ) . Vistahm helped Khosrau regain his throne after the rebellion of Bahram Chobin , but later led a revolt himself , which encompassed the entire Iranian East before being suppressed . Early life . Vistahm and his brother Vinduyih were sons of Shapur and grandsons of Bawi . They belonged to the Ispahbudhan , one of the seven Parthian clans that formed the elite aristocracy of the Sasanian Empire . The Ispahbudhan in particular enjoyed such a high status that they were acknowledged as " kin and partners of the Sasanians " . The family also held the important position " spahbed " of the West , i . e . the Sasanian Empire ' s southwestern regions ( the Sawad ) . A sister of Vistahm had even married the Sasanian shah Hormizd IV ( r . 579 – 590 ) , and was the mother of Hormizd ' s heir , Khosrau II . Nevertheless , the family suffered , along with the other aristocratic clans , during the persecutions launched by Hormizd IV in his later years : Shapur was murdered , and Vistahm succeeded his father as " spahbed " of the West . Finally , Hormizd ' s persecutions led to the revolt of the general Bahram Chobin in 590 . Bahram , whose revolt quickly attracted widespread support , marched on the capital , Ctesiphon . There Hormizd tried to sideline the two Ispahbudhan , but was dissuaded , according to Sebeos , by his son , Khosrau II . Vinduyih was imprisoned , but Vistahm apparently fled the court ; soon after , however , the two brothers appear as the leaders of a palace coup that deposed , blinded and killed Hormizd , raising his son Khosrau to the throne . Unable to oppose Bahram ' s march on Ctesiphon , however , Khosrau and the two brothers fled to Azerbaijan . Vistahm remained behind to rally troops , while Vinduyih escorted Khosrau to seek aid from the East Romans . On their way , they were overtaken by Bahram ' s troops , but Vinduyih , pretending to his nephew , allowed himself to be captured to ensure Khosrau ' s escape . In early 591 Khosrau returned with military aid from the East Romans , and was joined by 12 , 000 Armenian cavalry and 8 , 000 troops from Azerbaijan raised by Vistahm . In the Battle of Blarathon , Bahram ' s army suffered a crushing defeat , and Khosrau II reclaimed Ctesiphon and his throne . Later life and rebellion . After his victory , Khosrau rewarded his uncles with high positions : Vinduyih became treasurer and first minister and Vistahm received the post of " spahbed " of the East , encompassing Tabaristan and Khorasan , which according to Sebeos was also the traditional homeland of the Ispahbudhan . Soon , however , Khosrau changed his intentions : trying to disassociate himself from his father ' s murder , the " shah " decided to execute his uncles . The Sasanian monarchs ' traditional mistrust of over - powerful magnates and Khosrau ' s personal resentment of Vinduyih ' s patronising manner certainly contributed to this decision . Vinduyih was soon put to death , according to a Syriac source captured while trying to flee to his brother in the East . At the news of his brother ' s murder , Vistahm rose in open revolt . According to Dinawari , Vistahm sent a letter to Khosrau announcing his claim to the throne through his Parthian ( Arsacid ) heritage : " You are not worthier to rule than I am . Indeed , I am more deserving on account of my descent from Darius , son of Darius , who fought Alexander . You Sasanians deceitfully gained superiority over us [ the Arsacids ] and usurped our right , and treated us with injustice . Your ancestor Sasan was no more than a shepherd . " Vistahm ' s revolt , like Bahrams ' s shortly before , found support and spread quickly . Local magnates as well as the remnants of Bahram Chobin ' s armies flocked to him , especially after he married Bahram ' s sister Gordiya . Vistahm repelled several loyalist efforts to subdue him , and he soon held sway in the entire eastern and northern quadrants of the Persian realm , a domain stretching from the Oxus river to the region of Ardabil in the west . He even campaigned in the east , where he subdued two Hephthalite princes of Transoxiana , Shaug and Pariowk . The date of Vistahm ' s uprising is uncertain . From his coinage , it is known that his rebellion lasted for seven years . The commonly accepted dates are ca . 590 – 596 , but some scholars like J . D . Howard – Johnston and P . Pourshariati push its outbreak later , in 594 / 5 , to coincide with the Armenian Vahewuni rebellion . As Vistahm began to threaten Media , Khosrau sent several armies against his uncle , but failed to achieve a decisive result : Vistahm and his followers retreated to the mountainous region of Gilan , while several Armenian contingents of the royal army rebelled and defected to Vistahm . Finally , Khosrau called upon the services of the Armenian Smbat Bagratuni , who engaged Vistahm near Qumis . During the battle , Vistahm was murdered by Pariowk at Khosrau ' s urging ( or , according to an alternative account , by his wife Gordiya ) . Nevertheless , Vistahm ' s troops managed to repel the royal army at Qumis , and it required another expedition by Smbat in the next year to finally end the rebellion . Legacy . Despite Vistahm ' s rebellion and death , the power of the Ispahbudhan family was too great to be broken . Indeed , one of Vinduyih ' s sons was instrumental in the trial of Khosrau II after his deposition in 628 , and two of the sons of Vistahm , Vinduyih and Tiruyih , along with their cousin Narse , were commanders in the Persian army that confronted the Muslim Arabs at in 634 . The town of Bastam in Iran may derive its name from Vistahm , as well as the monumental site of Taq - e Bostan .