a war with the Roman empire.
But he had little success, and soon concluded a treaty by which both
empires promised toleration to the worshippers of the two rival religions,
Christianity and Zoroastrianism. Bahr[=a]m deposed the vassal king of the
Persian part of Armenia and made it a province. He is a great favourite in
Persian tradition, which relates many stories of his valour and beauty, of
his victories over the Romans, Turks, Indians and Negroes, and of his
adventures in hunting and in love; he is called Bahr[=a]m Gor, "the wild
ass," on account of his strength and courage. In reality he seems to have
been rather a weak monarch, after the heart of the grandees and the
priests. He is said to have built many great fire-temples, with large
gardens and villages (Tabari).

(ED. M.)

BAHRDT, KARL FRIEDRICH (1741-1792), German theologian and adventurer, was
born on the 25th of August 1741 at Bischofswerda, where his father,
afterwards professor, canon and general superintendent at Leipzig, was
pastor. At the age of sixteen young Bahrdt, a precocious lad whose training
had been grossly neglected, began to study theology under the orthodox
mystic, Christian August Crusius (1715-1775), who in 1757 had become first
professor in the theological faculty. The boy varied the monotony of his
studies by pranks which revealed his unbalanced character, including an
attempt to raise spirits with the aid of _Dr Faust's Hoellenzwang_. His
orthodoxy was, however, unimpeachable, his talent conspicuous, and in 1761
he was appointed lecturer on biblical exegesis, and preacher (_Katechet_)
at the church of St Peter. His eloquence soon gave him a reputation, and in
1766 he was appointed professor extraordinarius of biblical philology. Two
years later, however, the scandals of his private life led to his
dismissal. In spite of this he succeeded in obtaining the chair of biblical
antiquities in the philosophical faculty at Erfurt. The post was unpaid,
and Bahrdt, who had now married, lived by taking pupils and keeping an inn.
He had meanwhile obtained the degree of doctor of theology from Erlangen,
and was clever enough to persuade the Erfurt authorities to appoint him
professor designate of theology. His financial troubles and coarse and
truculent character, however, soon made the town too hot to hold him; and
in 1771 he was glad to accept the offer of the post of professor of
theology and preacher at Giessen.

Thus far Bahrdt's orthodoxy h