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Shapur I (Persian شاپور اول), son of Ardashir I (226–241), was King of Persia from 241 to 272. His mother was Lady Myrôd, an Arsacid princess.

Co-rulership

Shapur I was the son of Ardashir I and Lady Myrôd. He participated in his father's campaign against the Arsacids. Ardashir I "judged him the gentlest, wisest, bravest and ablest of all his children" and nominated him as his successor in an assembly of the magnates. He appears in Ardashir I's Sasanian Investiture reliefs at Naqš-e Rajab (q.v) and Firuzâbâd as the heir apparent (Hinz, 1969, pp 56ff and passim). He later shared rulership with his father. Bal'ami states that "Ardashir I placed with his own hand his own crown upon Shapur I's head." Mas'udi confirms this, adding that Ardashir I then retired to serve God and lived for a year or longer. The testimony of the Cologne Mani Codex that in Mani's twenty-fourth year, i.e. in 240, Ardashir I "subjugated the city of Hatra and King Shapur I, his son, placed on his head the great (royal) diadem." This codex also indicates a period of synarchy. In late 242, the Emperor Gordian III (238–244) sent a letter from Antioch in Syria to the senate claiming that he had removed the threat "of Persian Kings" (reges persarum) from the city. This means that in 242 Persia had two kings. Indeed, Ardashir I's later coins continues his usual reverse type of an elaborate fire altar and the legend: "Fire of Ardaxštar," but it portrays him facing a youthful prince. This symbolically represents Shapur I, and includes a new legend, "Divine Shapur King of Iran whose seed is from gods." Shapur I's own coins show him wearing his famous mural crown and a fire altar flanked by two attendants. Clearly, Ardashir I issued that series when he appointed Shapur co-regent. A rock-relief at Salmâs in Atropatekan (today known as Azarbaijan) province depicting two horsemen both wearing Ardashir I's lower-type crown also dates from this period of synarchy. Another relief at Dârâbgerd represents a victory of Shapur I over the Romans, but the King wears Ardashir I's crown, thereby symbolizing the shared victory of both father and son.

Accession

The date of Shapur I's coronation has been debated. The testimony of his courtier Âbnun that the Romans marched against Persia "in the 3rd year of Shapur I, King of Kings," proves that Shapur I's accession was in 241. This supports Henning's calculation from the evidence of Bišâpur's inscription that separates Ardashir I's royal fire from that of his son by 17 years. He further interpreted from the Manichean report that the day of Shapur I's coronation "was Sunday, the first of Nisan, when the sun was in Aries" with reference to Sunday 12 April, 241. A magnificently executed rock-relief at Naqš-e Rajab symbolically commemorates Shapur I's investiture: Ohrmazd, on horseback, offers the diademed ring of royalty to Shapur I, who is likewise mounted, but his figure has since been mutilated.

War against the Roman Empire

Ardashir I had, towards the end of his reign, renewed the war against the Roman Empire. Shapur I conquered the Mesopotamian fortresses Nisibis and Carrhae and advanced into Syria. Timesitheus, father-in-law of the young emperor, Gordian III, drove him back and defeated him at the battle of Resaena in 243. Timesitheus died shortly afterward, and Philip the Arab (244–249) murdered Gordian III. Philip then concluded an ignominious peace with the Persians in 244. When the invasion of the Goths and the continuous elevation of new emperors after the death of Trajan Decius (251) brought the Roman Empire to dissolution, Shapur I resumed his attacks.

Shapur I conquered Armenia, invaded Syria, and plundered Antioch. Eventually, Emperor Valerian (253–260) marched against him, but was taken prisoner in the Roman-controlled province of Edessa when he attempted to meet for negotiations in 260. Shapur I advanced into Asia Minor, but Ballista beat him back. Septimius Odenathus, prince of Palmyra, rose in his rear, defeated the Persian army, reconquered Carrhae and Nisibis, captured the royal harem, and twice invested Ctesiphon (263–265) in Khvarvaran province (in present-day Iraq).

Shapur I was unable to resume the offensive and lost Armenia again. According to Persian tradition, he conquered the great fortress of Hatra in the Mesopotamian desert.

Capture of Valerian

One of the great achievements of Shapur I's reign was the capture of the Roman Emperor Valerian. In the valley of Istakhr (near Persepolis), under the tombs of the Achaemenids at Naqsh-e Rustam, Shapur I is represented on horseback wearing royal armour and crown. Before him kneels Philip the Arab, in Roman dress, asking for grace. In his right hand the king grasps the uplifted arms of the Emperor Valerian (some think that the man who is kneeling is Valerian); one of his hands is hidden in his sleeve as the sign of submission. The same scene is represented on the rocks near the ruins of the towns Darabjird and Shapur in Persia. Shapur I is said to have publicly shamed Valerian by using the Roman Emperor as a footstool when mounting his horse. After Valerian's execution, his skin was removed, filled with dung, painted red, and displayed publicly as a symbol of Shapur I's triumph.

Others sources say that Shapur sent Valerian and some of his army to the city of Bishapur where they lived in relatively good condition. Shapur used the remaining soldiers in engineering and development plans. Also, in all stone carvings, Valerian is respected and never on his knees.

Builder of cities

Shapur I left other reliefs and rock inscriptions. A relief at Nakshi-Rajab near Persepolis, is accompanied by a Greek translation. Here Shapur I calls himself "the Mazdayasnian (worshipper of Ahuramazda), the God Sapores, King of Kings of the Aryans, Iranians, and non-Aryans, of divine descent, son of the Mazdayasnian, the god Artaxares, King of Kings of the Aryans, grandson of the God-King Papak." Another long inscription at Hajjiabad (Istakhr) mentions the King's exploits in archery in the presence of his nobles.

From his titles we learn that Shapur I claimed the sovereignty over the whole Earth, although in reality his domain extended little farther than that of Ardashir I.

Shapur I built the great town Gundishapur near the old Achaemenian capital of Susa, and increased the fertility of this rich district by a barrage built by the Roman prisoners through the Karun River near Shushtar. It is still called Band-i-Kaisar, "the mole of the Caesar." He is also responsible for building the city of Bishapur, also built by Roman soldiers captured after the defeat of Valerian in 260. Under his reign, the prophet Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, began his preaching in Persia, and the King himself seems to have favoured his ideas.

Interactions with minorities

Shmuel, one of the most famous of the Amoraim of "Bavel" (Babylonia), was occasionally referred to as Shvor Malka, which is the Aramaic form of the name of the Persian King, by Shapur I, with whom Shmuel was quite friendly. Because of these interactions, many advantages were gained for the Jewish community.

Notes

1. E. E. Herzfeld, Iran in the Ancient East New York (1988), p310., ISBN:0-87817-308-0
2. Chantal Fabrégues, The Indo-Parthian Beginnings of Gandhara Sculpture, (LINK); accessed March 07, 2007
3. Shapur Shahbazi, Shapur I, the Great, (LINK); accessed March 07, 2007.
4. Ibid.
5. E. E. Herzfeld, Iran in the Ancient East New York (1988), p287., ISBN:0-87817-308-0

Sources

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies at SOAS (CAIS at SOAS)
• De Imperatoribus Romanus entry on Valerian, his capture and execution by Shapur

See also

• Bishapur
• Nishapur

• 272 deaths
• Sassanid dynasty