Hormizd then left for the Great Zab in order to cut transmissions between Ctesiphon and the Iranian soldiers on the Roman border.[9] Around that time the soldiers were situated outside Nisibis, the chief Iranian city in northern Mesopotamia; they however also rebelled against Hormizd and pledged their allegiance to Bahram.[9] The influence and popularity of Bahram continued to grow increasingly; Sasanian loyalist forces sent north against the Iranian rebels at Nisibis were flooded with rebel propaganda.[9] The loyalist forces eventually also rebelled and killed their commander, which made the position of Hormizd become unsustainable, making him decide to navigate the Tigris river and take sanctuary in al-Hira, the capital of the Lakhmids.[9]