Little is known of the history of the district before the Mahommedan invasion in A.D. 1033. Masaud was defeated and slain by the nobles of Bahraich in 1033, and the Mahommedans did not establish their authority over the country till the middle of the 13th century. About 1450 the Raikwars, or Rajput adventurers, made themselves masters of the western portion of the district, which they retain to this day. In 1816 by the treaty of Segauli the Nepal tarai was ceded to the British, but was given back in 1860. During the Mutiny the district was the scene of considerable fighting, and after its close a large portion was distributed in jagirs to loyal chiefs, thus originating the taluqdari estates of the present day.

BAHRĀM (Varahrān, in Gr. Οὐαραράνης or Οὐραράνης, the younger form of the old Verethragna, the name of a Persian god, "the killer of the dragon Verethra"), the name of five Sassanid kings.

1. Bahrām I. (A.D. 274-277). From a Pahlavi inscription we learn that he was the son (not, as the Greek authors and Tabari say, the grandson) of Shapur I., and succeeded his brother Hormizd (Ormizdas) I., who had only reigned a year. Bahrām I. is the king who, by the instigation of the magians, put to a cruel death the prophet Mani, the founder of Manichaeism. Nothing else is known of his reign.

2. Bahrām II. (277-294), son of Bahrām I. During his reign the emperor Carus attacked the Persians and conquered Ctesiphon (283), but died by the plague. Of Bahrām II.'s reign some theological inscriptions exist (F. Stolze and J. C. Andreas, Persepolis (Berlin, 1882), and E. W. West, "Pahlavi Literature" in Grundriss d. iranischen Philologie, ii. pp. 75-129).

3. Bahrām III., son of Bahrām II., under whose rule he had been governing Sejistan (therefore called Saganshah, Agathias iv. 24, Tabari). He reigned only four months (in 294), and was succeeded by the pretender Narseh.

4. Bahrām IV. (389-399), son and successor of Shapur III., under whom he had been governor of Kirman; therefore he was called Kirmanshah (Agathias iv. 26; Tabari). Under him or his predecessor Armenia was divided between the Roman and the Persian empire. Bahrām IV. was killed by some malcontents.

5. Bahrām V. (420-439), son of Yazdegerd I., after whose sudden death (or assassination) he gained the crown against the opposition of the grandees by the help of al-Mondhir, the Arabic dynast of Hira. He promised to rule otherwise than his father, who had been very energetic and at the same time tolerant in religion. So Bahrām V. began a systematic persecution of the Christians, which led to 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. Bahrām 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 Bahrām 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 Höllenzwang. 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 had counterbalanced his character; but at Giessen, where his behaviour was no less objectionable than elsewhere, he gave a handle to his enemies by a change