Bozorgmehr-e Bokhtagan, also known as Burzmihr, Dadmihr and Dadburzmihr, was an Iranian sage and dignitary from the Karen family, who served as minister of the Sasanian king (shah) Kavad I, and the latter's son and successor Khosrow I. He also served as the military commander (spahbed) of Khwarasan under Khosrow I and his successor Hormizd IV. According to Persian and Arabic sources, Bozorgmehr was a man of "exceptional wisdom and sage counsels" and later became a characterisation of the expression. His name appears in several important works in Persian literature, most notably in the Shahnameh. The historian Arthur Christensen has suggested that Bozorgmehr was the same person as Borzuya, but historiographical studies of post-Sasanian Persian literature, as well as linguistic analysis shows otherwise. However, the word "Borzuya" can sometimes be considered a shortened form of Bozorgmehr.
Sculpture of Bozorgmehr in Bozorgmehr Square, Isfahan, Iran
Bozorgmehr challenges the Indian envoy to a game of chess.
Kavad I was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 488 to 531, with a two or three-year interruption. A son of Peroz I, he was crowned by the nobles to replace his deposed and unpopular uncle Balash.
Plate of a Sasanian king hunting rams, perhaps Kavad I
15th-century Shahnameh illustration of the defeat and death of Peroz I.
Drachma of Kavad during his first reign, minted at Hormizd-Ardashir.
Drachma of Jamasp (r. 496–498/9).
