Yezdigerd III (Earth-616)

Prince of Turan[]

As the son of Yildiz, King of all Turan, Yezdigerd was the prince of Aghrapur.^{[citation needed]} He was allegedly the descendant of the living god Tarim.^[2]

He prepared his army to invade Makkalet and restore the Living Tarim to his rightful temple in Aghrapur.^[3]

Thanks to the secret entrance discovered by Sulimar, his Turanian army came through the caves, descending through a trap door in the griffin statue in the courtyard of the temple of Tarim, and quickly slaughtered the defending soldiers of Makkalet. After the conquest, despite the accidental death of the Living Tarim, Prince Yezdigerd nevertheless celebrated his victory with a parade, marching the robed figure of the Tarim through the city, while only he and Sulimar knew underneath the robes a skeleton was all that remained.^[4]

King of Turan[]

He eventually became King Yezdigerd III, monarch of Turan,^[1] ruling by divine right as the descendant of Tarim.^[2]

War with Conan's Kozaks[]

Many years later, Conan, as the new hetman of the Bahari Kozaks, was brought to Yezdigerd's camp. Wanting revenge, Yezdigerd imprisoned him, but he managed to escape with Tania's help and free the Kozaki prisoners.^[5]

After having heard the news reported by the traitorous Zorka, Yezdigerd ordered Commander Grimm to execute him, and then returned back to Aghrapur.^[6]

Death[]

After Conan became king of Aquilonia, he and Yezdigerd met again, and they battled,^[7] on Yezdigerd's flagship Scimitar, stranded in the strait of the Zhurazi Archipelago in the Vilayet Sea, and after a minutes-long sword-fight, Conan struck and beheaded swiftly Yezdigerd.^[8] This event is ignored by other recountings.

War with Aquilonia[]

It remains unrevealed how Yezdigerd is still alive. No reference is made to his earlier demise.
Yezdigerd III plotted against Conan in the later days of the Cimmerian's rule over Aquilonia.^[2] A peace treaty was later signed, on Yezdigerd's proposition, Conan stating to the Turanian emissary that he accepted the agreement entirely in the spirit it was being offered.^[9][10]

Resolution with Conan[]

The remainder, unchronicled so far, of the conflict between Conan and Yezdigerd was eventually settled, presumably in bloodshed, some years later,^[1] after Conan and Yezdigerd met again, and they battled,^[7] Conan obviously triumphing.

• Yezdigerd III was first mentioned in the story "Xuthal of the Dusk" (published as "The Slithering Shadow" in Weird Tales; September, 1933) by Robert E. Howard, adapted in Savage Sword of Conan #20 (July, 1977) by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.
  • His named was presumably inspired by Yazdegerd III, a King of Iran in the 7th century.
• Despite his explicit demise in King Conan #7 (September, 1981; adapted by Roy Thomas and John Buscema from the novel "Conan the Avenger" by Björn Nyberg and L. Sprague de Camp), Yezdigerd returned well without explanation in Conan the King #48 (September, 1988; original story written by Don Kraar), set chronologically well after King Conan #7. The Conan Comics Chronology confirmed the event,^[11] but later stated that the remainder of the conflict opposing Yezdigerd and Conan had not yet been revealed, though was eventually settled,^[1] though The Conan Comics Chronology doesn't provide explanation for Yezdigerd's return.^[10] It is likely a continuity error.