Hormizd II, king of Persia, son of Narseh, reigned for seven years and five months, 302-309.

Of his reign nothing is known. After his death his oldest son Adarnases was killed by the grandees after a very short reign, as he showed a cruel disposition; another son, Hormizd, was kept a prisoner, and the throne reserved for the child with which a concubine of Hormizd II was pregnant and which received the name Shapur II.

His son Hormizd escaped from prison by the help of his wife in 323, and found refuge at the court of Constantine the Great (Zosimus ii. 27; John of Antioch, fr. 178; Zonaras 13-5). In 363 Hormizd served in the army of Julian against Persia; his son, with the same name, afterwards served in the Roman government as a proconsul (Ammianus Marcellinus 26. 8. 12).

Preceded by: Narseh

Sassanid Ruler

Succeeded by: Shapur II

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.