He did not like the Zoroastrian priesthood, and therefore killed a great deal of them, including the chief priest (mowbed) himself. Furthermore, Hormizd greatly reduced the payment of the military by 10 percent[2] and massacred many powerful and prominent members of the elite, including the famous Karenid vizier of his father, Bozorgmehr,[3] the latter's brother Simah-i Burzin; the Mihranid Izadgushasp; the spahbed ("army chief") Bahram-i Mah Adhar, and the Ispahbudhan Shapur, who was the father of Vistahm and Vinduyih. According to the medieval Persian historian al-Tabari, Hormizd is said to have ordered the death of 13,600 nobles and religious members.[4]