those who bear rule in the East.  His conduct towards Khush-newaz has generally been regarded as the great blot upon his good fame; and it is certainly impossible to justify the paltry casuistry by which he endeavored to reconcile his actions with his words at the time of his second invasion.  But his persistent hostility towards the Ephthalites is far from inexcusable, and its motive may have been patriotic rather than personal.  He probably felt that the Ephthalite power was among those from which Persia had most to fear, and that it would have been weak in him to allow gratitude for a favor conferred upon himself to tie his hands in a matter where the interests of his country were vitally concerned.  The Ephthalites continued for nearly a century more to be among the most dangerous of her neighbors to Persia; and it was only by frequent attacks upon them in their own homes that Persia could reasonably hope to ward off their ravages from her territory.

It is doubtful whether we possess any coins of Hormisdas III., the brother and predecessor of Perozes.  Those which are assigned to him by Mordtmann bear a name which has no resemblance to his; and those bearing the name of Ram, which Mr. Taylor considers to be coins of Hormisdas, cannot have been issued under his authority, since Ram was the guardian and general, not of Hormisdas, but of his brother.  Perhaps the remarkable specimen figured by M. Longperier in his valuable work, which shows a bull’s head in place of the usual inflated ball, may really belong to this prince.  The legend upon it is read without any doubt as Auhrimazd, or “Hormisdas;” and in general character it is certainly Sassanian, and of about this period. [PLATE XXI., Fig. 5.]

The coins of Perozes are undoubted, and are very numerous.  They are distinguished generally by the addition to the ordinary crown of two wings, one in front of the crown, and the other behind it, and bear the legend, Kadi Piruzi, or Mazdisn Kadi Piruzi, i.e., “King Perozes,” or “the Ormazd-worshipping king Perozes.”  The earring of the monarch is a triple pendant.  On the reverse, besides the usual fire-altar and supporters, we see on either side of the altar-flame a star and a crescent.  The legend here is M—­probably for malka, “king”—­or else Kadi, together with a mint-mark.  The mints named are numerous, comprising (according to Mordtmann) Persepolis, Ispahan, Rhages, Nehavend, Darabgherd, Zadracarta, Nissa, Behistun, Chuzistan, Media, Kerman, and Azerbijan; or (according to Mr. Thomas) Persepolis, Rasht, Nehavend, Darabgherd, Baiza, Modai’n, Merv, Shiz, Iran, Kerman, Yezd, and fifteen others.  The general character of the coinage is rude and coarse, the reverse of the coins showing especial signs of degradation. [PLATE XXI., Fig. 6.]