| Ardashir II 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥 | |
|---|---|
| King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians | |
 Relief of Ardashir II inTaq-e Bostan | |
| King ofAdiabene | |
| Reign | 344–376 |
| Predecessor | Unknown |
| Successor | Title abolished; Adiabene transformed into a province |
| Shahanshah of theSasanian Empire | |
| Reign | 379–383 |
| Predecessor | Shapur II |
| Successor | Shapur III |
| Born | 309/10 |
| Died | 383 |
| House | House of Sasan |
| Father | Shapur II |
| Religion | Zoroastrianism |
Ardashir II (Middle Persian:𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥,romanized: Ardašīr), was theSasanianKing of Kings (shahanshah) of Iran from 379 to 383. He was the brother of his predecessor,Shapur II (r. 309–379), under whom he had served as vassal king ofAdiabene, where he fought alongside his brother against theRomans. Ardashir II was appointed as his brother's successor to rule interimly till the latter's sonShapur III reached adulthood. Ardashir II's short reign was largely uneventful, with the Sasanians unsuccessfully trying to maintain rule overArmenia.
Ardashir II was seemingly a strong-willed character, and is known in some sources by the epithet ofnihoukar ("the beneficent").
Ardashir is theMiddle Persian form of theOld PersianṚtaxšira (also spelledArtaxšaçā, meaning "whose reign is throughtruth").[1][2] TheLatin variant of the name isArtaxerxes.[1] Three kings of theAchaemenid Empire were known to have the same name.[1]
Ardashir was the son of shahHormizd II (r. 302–309), who was killed by the Iranian nobility whilst hunting. He was succeeded byAdur Narseh, who, after a brief reign which only lasted a few months, was also killed by the nobles,[3] who then proceeded to blind the second,[4] and imprison the third (Hormizd, who later managed to escape to theRoman Empire).[5] Ardashir's infant half-brotherShapur II, who was only slightly older than him, was crowned as king by the nobles so that they could gain greater control of the empire, which they were able to do until Shapur II reached his majority at the age of 16.[6][4]
Ardashir, before becoming king of the Sasanian Empire, was vassal king ofAdiabene from 344 to 376. It is believed that during his tenure he took part in the defense of the Sasanian Empire with Shapur when it wasinvaded by the Roman EmperorJulian (r. 361–363).[7] Ardashir is the last figure to be recorded as king of Adiabene, which implies that the kingdom was after his tenure transformed into a province (shahr), governed by a non-royal delegate (marzban orshahrab) of the Sasanian shah.[8] In 379, Shapur II designated Ardashir as his successor, and made him vow to abdicate when Shapur's son,Shapur III reached adulthood.[7] This led to some Armenian writers to wrongly state that Ardashir was Shapur's son.[7]
Armenia had been constantly the source of war between the Roman and Sasanian Empires. In 378/9, Shapur II had achieved Iranian hegemony over the country after its regentManuel Mamikonian submitted to him. A force 10,000 of Iranian soldiers led by generalSurena were dispatched to Armenia.[9][10] Surena was given the title ofmarzban (margrave), which indicates that Armenia was now a Sasanian province.[9] But this did not work for long. During the early reign of Ardashir II,[11] a nobleman namedMeruzhan Artsruni deliberately gave Manuel wrong information, informing him thatcommandant of the Iranian garrison desired to capture him. Enraged, Manuel fell upon the ten thousand Iranian soldiers stationed in Armenia and murdered them.[12]
Ardashir responded by sending an army into Armenia, but Manuel defeated the invaders and killed their commander, Gumand Shapuh. A second Iranian force, led by Varaz, met the same fate as its predecessor. A third army, led by general Mrkhan, captured some Armenian territory before it too was massacred by Manuel and his forces. This new victory guaranteed Armenia seven years of peace.[13] Ardashir was soon deposed or killed by the nobility, due to his continuation of Shapur II's policy of restricting the authority of power-hungry nobles. He was succeeded byShapur III.[7]
Ardashir II was seemingly a strong-willed character, and is known in some sources by the epithet ofnihoukar ("the beneficent").[7]
Thecoins minted under Ardashir imitates him wearing the same dome-shapedcrown worn by the first Sasanian shah,Ardashir I (r. 224–242). The reverse shows the traditionalfire altar flanked by two attendants, but in some cases also shows the shah's head appearing from the fire, which may symbolize the royalxwarra ("glory").[7] The inscription of his coins are usually "Ardashir, king of kings of theIranians" whilst rare instances of "and ofnon-Iranians" also being part of the inscription.[7]
Ardashir, like his forefathers, also had himself memorialized on reliefs. However, instead of using the sites ofPars (present-dayFars province) as a place for his relief, he instead had a relief carved inTaq-e Bostan in the province ofMedia (near present-dayKermanshah).[7] The relief shows three standing figures wearingregalia; Ardashir being in the middle, flanked by two male figures.[7] The figure to the right, who is giving thediadem to Ardashir originally used to recognized as theZoroastrian supreme godAhura Mazda, but is now agreed to be Shapur II due to the style of his crown, and which also fits well due to Shapur being the one designating Ardashir as shah to begin with.[7]
The two shahs are standing on the body of a fallen enemy, unmistakably a Roman, whose crown indicates that he is an emperor.[7] The fallen figure is most likely supposed to represent the Roman emperorJulian, who invaded Iran in 363 and waskilled west of the Sasanian capital ofCtesiphon.[7] The figure standing to the far left, perceived by some to be the Zoroastrian prophetZoroaster, is most likely the angelicdivinityMithra.[7] He is wearing a crown embellished with twelve rays of the sun, whilst holding a raisedbarsom, thus sanctifying the investiture.[14][7]
Ardashir II Born:c. 310 Died: 383 | ||
| Preceded by | King of Kings of Iran and non-Iran 379–383 | Succeeded by |
