(first reign) 488–496 Jamasb 496–499 Kavadh (second reign) 499–531 Khosrow I 531–579 Hormizd IV 579–590 Khosrow II Parviz
(first reign) 590 Bahram VI 590–591 Khosrow II Parviz (second reign) 591–628 Bestam (rebel in Media) 591–596 Kavadh (Qobad) II Shiruye (Siroes) 627–628 Ardashir III 628–630 Shahrbaräz 630 Purandokht 629–631 Hormizd V 631–632 Khosrow III 632–633 Yazdegerd III 633–651
Chronological systems of Nöldeke, Henning, and Taqizadeh event Nöldeke Henning Taqizadeh Ardashir's first year begins Sept. 27, 223 Sept. 26, 226 Ardashir's actual accession Sept. 26, 266 April 28, 244 April 6, 227 Shapur's first year begins Sept. 23, 239 Sept. 22, 241 Shapur's actual accession Sept. 22, 241 Shapur's coronation April 12, 240 April 9, 243 Shapur's death May 270 April 273 accession of Hormizd I Sept. 14, 272 Hormizd I's death June 271 April 274 accession of Bahram I Sept. 14, 273 death of Mani (about age 60) March 2, 274 Feb. 26, 277 death of Bahram I Sept. 274 July 277 accession of Bahram II Sept. 13, 276 Wars of Shāpūr I
The Sāsānian empire at the time of Shāpūr I.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
The surrender of the emperor Valerian to the Persian king Shāpūr, rock relief, ad 260, in the province of Fārs, Iran.© lukakikina/FotoliaShortly before his death, probably because of failing health, Ardashīr abdicated the throne in favour of his chosen heir, his son Shāpūr I. The latter assumed the responsibilities of government but delayed his coronation until after his father’s death. Coins thus exist showing Ardashīr together with his son as heir apparent and Shāpūr alone wearing the eagle cap, indicating the exercise of royal rule before his coronation—besides the normal series showing Shāpūr crowned as king.
Shortly after his accession, Shāpūr was faced with an invasion of Persia by the emperor Gordian III (reigned 238–244):
The emperor Gordian levied in all of the Roman empire an army of Goths and Germans and marched against Asūristān [Iraq], the empire of Iran and us. On the border of Asūristān, at Massice [Misikhe on the Euphrates], a great battle took place. The emperor Gordian was killed and we destroyed the Roman army. The Romans proclaimed Philip [the Arabian; reigned 244–249] emperor. The emperor Philip came to terms, and as ransom for their lives he gave us 500,000 dinars and became our tributary. For that reason, we renamed Massice Fīrūz-Shāpūr [“Victorious (Is) Shāpūr”].
Several years later, in 256 (or 252), another confrontation between the Persians and Romans occurred:
We attacked the Roman empire and we destroyed an army of 60,000 men at Barbalissus [in Syria]. Syria and its surrounding areas we burned, devastated and plundered. In this one campaign we captured of the Roman empire 37 cities,
including Antioch, the capital of Syria, itself. A third encounter took place when the emperor Valerian came to the rescue of the city of Edessa, Syria (modern Urfa, Turkey), which was besieged by the Persian army:
He [Valerian] had with him [troops from] Germania, Rhaetia…[follow the names of some 29 Roman provinces], a force of 70,000 men. Beyond Carrhae and Edessa there was a great battle between the emperor Valerian and us. We made the emperor Valerian prisoner with our own hands; and the commanders of that army, the praefectus praetorii, senators and officers, we made them all prisoner, and we transported them to Persia. We burned, devastated and plundered Cilicia and Cappadocia…[follow the names of 36 cities].
The source for these quotations is Shāpūr’s own account of the events. It was unknown until 1938, when expeditions sponsored by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago discovered a long inscription on the walls of an Achaemenian building known as the Kaʿbe-ye Zardusht (“Kaaba of Zoroaster”). The text is in three languages, Sāsānian Pahlavi (Middle Persian), Parthian, and Greek. Besides the narrative of the military operations, the inscription provides a description of the Persian empire of the time and an inventory of the Zoroastrian religious foundations established by Shāpūr to commemorate his victorious wars. These foundations were fire temples dedicated to the “soul” (memory) of the founder himself, members of the royal family, and prominent officials who had served under Shāpūr and his predecessor. The list of the officials, who are specified by the positions they held, throws light on the administrative organization of the empire. Organization of the empire
In contrast to his father, who claimed to be “king of kings of Iran” (shāhanshāh īrān), Shāpūr I assumed the title “king of kings of Iran and non-Iran” (shāhanshāh īrān ud anīrān). This formula was retained by his successors as the regular designation of the Sāsānian emperors. The hereditary local dynasties, which under the Arsacids had ruled many of the most important provinces, were to a large extent abolished. Instead, such areas as Maishān (Mesene), in western Iran, and Sakastan (Sīstān), in eastern Iran, were now ruled by members of the Sāsānian family, who were appointed by the sovereign with the title of shāh (king). Among such provincial governors, precedence was often given to the heir to the throne, who was placed in control of large territories, such as the former Kushān empire (Kūshānshahr) and Armenia, and given the title “great king” (wuzurg shāh). This arrangement lasted until the early 4th century ad, and such emperors as Shāpūr I and Hormizd II are known to have first held the title kūshānshāh as governors of the areas of Bactria, Sogdiana, and Gandhāra. Next in the hierarchy came the few remaining hereditary vassals, such as the kings of Iberia (now Georgia) in the Caucasus, and the chief nobles of the empire, among whom the Warāz, Sūrēn, and Karēn families retained their prominent position from Parthian times. Next in line were the satraps, whose importance had diminished and who were now no more than the administrators of larger cities or court officials.
The list of provinces given in the inscription of Kaʿbe-ye Zardusht defines the extent of the empire under Shāpūr, in clockwise geographic enumeration: (1) Persis (Fārs), (2) Parthia, (3) Susiana (Khūzestān), (4) Maishān (Mesene), (5) Asūristān (southern Mesopotamia), (6) Adiabene, (7) Arabistān (northern Mesopotamia), (8) Atropatene (Azerbaijan), (9) Armenia, (10) Iberia (Georgia), (11) Machelonia, (12) Albania (eastern Caucasus), (13) Balāsagān up to the Caucasus Mountains and the Gate of Albania (also known as Gate of the Alans), (14) Patishkhwagar (all of the Elburz Mountains), (15) Media, (16) Hyrcania (Gorgān), (17) Margiana (Merv), (18) Aria, (19) Abarshahr, (20) Carmania (Kermān), (21) Sakastan (Sīstān), (22) Tūrān, (23) Mokrān (Makran), (24) Paratān (Paradene), (25) India (probably restricted to the Indus River delta area), (26) Kūshānshahr, until as far as Peshāwar and until Kashgar and (the borders of) Sogdiana and Tashkent, and (27), on the farther side of the sea, Mazun (Oman). This empire, considerably more extensive than that controlled by the Arsacid dynasty, was governed by members of the royal family and by appointed officials directly responsible to the throne. The greater degree of centralization thus attained by the Sāsānian government partly explains its increased military effectiveness in comparison with the Arsacid administration. Tight organization of the numerous central and provincial officials, whose ranks in the bureaucratic structure on different levels were strictly defined, also contributed toward general administrative efficiency.