The phrase "wast on a par with" is a slightly archaic form of "was on a par with," meaning something was equal in rank or quality to another thing. The pronunciation of "wast" is essentially the same as "was," with the "t" being a silent letter. The IPA phonetic transcription of "wast" is /wɑːst/. This spelling is common in older versions of English texts and can also be seen in some dialects or accents, but it is not used in modern standard English.