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Shapur I (also spelledShabuhr I;Middle Persian:𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩,romanized: Šābuhr) was the secondSasanianKing of Kings ofIran. The precise dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his fatherArdashir I as co-regent until the death of the latter in 242. During his co-regency, he helped his father with the conquest and destruction of the city ofHatra, whose fall was facilitated, according to Islamic tradition, by the actions of his future wifeal-Nadirah. Shapur also consolidated and expanded the empire of Ardashir I, waged war against theRoman Empire, and seized its cities ofNisibis andCarrhae while he was advancing as far asRoman Syria. Although he was defeated at theBattle of Resaena in 243 by Roman emperorGordian III (r. 238–244), the following year he was able to win theBattle of Misiche and force the new Roman emperorPhilip the Arab (r. 244–249) to sign a favorable peace treaty that was regarded by the Romans as "a most shameful treaty".[1]
Shapur later took advantage of the political turmoil within the Roman Empire by undertaking a second expedition against it in 252/3–256, sacking the cities ofAntioch andDura-Europos. In 260, during his third campaign, he defeated and captured the Roman emperor,Valerian. He did not seem interested in permanently occupying the Roman provinces, choosing instead to resort to plundering and pillaging, gaining vast amounts of riches. The captives of Antioch, for example, were allocated to the newly reconstructed city ofGundeshapur, later famous as a center of scholarship. In the 260s, subordinates of Shapur suffered setbacks againstOdaenathus, the king ofPalmyra. According to Shapur's inscription at Hajiabad, he still remained active at the court in his later years, participating inarchery. He died of illness inBishapur, most likely in May 270.[2]
Shapur was the first Iranian monarch to use the title of "King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians"; beforehand the royal titulary had been "King of Kings of Iranians". He had adopted the title due to the influx of Roman citizens whom he had deported during his campaigns. However, it was first under his son and successorHormizd I, that the title became regularized. Shapur had newZoroastrianfire temples constructed, incorporated new elements into the faith from Greek and Indian sources, and conducted an extensive program of rebuilding and refounding of cities. He was also tolerant ofManichaeism, a new religious movement founded during his time by the prophetMani.
Shapur was a popular name inSasanian Iran, being used by three Sasanian monarchs and other notables during and after the Sasanian era. Derived fromOld Iranian*xšayaθiya.puθra 'son of a king', it must initially have been a title, which became—at least in the late 2nd century AD—a personal name.[1] It appears in the list ofArsacid kings in some Arabic-Persian sources; however, this isanachronistic.[1] Shapur is transliterated in other languages as;GreekSapur,Sabour andSapuris;LatinSapores andSapor;ArabicSābur andŠābur;New PersianŠāpur,Šāhpur,Šahfur.[1]
According to the semi-legendaryKar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan, aMiddle Persian biography ofArdashir I,[3] the daughter of the Parthian kingArtabanus IV, Zijanak, attempted to poison her husband Ardashir. Discovering her intentions, Ardashir ordered her to be executed. Finding out about her pregnancy, themobads (priests) were against it. Nevertheless, Ardashir still demanded her execution, which led themobads to conceal her and her son Shapur for seven years, until the latter was identified by Ardashir, who chose to adopt him based on his virtuous traits.[4] This type of narrative is repeated in Iranian historiography. According to 5th-century BCE Greek historianHerodotus, the Median kingAstyages wanted to have his grandsonCyrus killed because he believed that he would one day overthrow him. A similar narrative is also found in the story of the mythological Iranian kingKay Khosrow.[4] According to the modern historian Michael Bonner, this story of Shapur's birth "may conceal a marriage between Ardashir and an Arsacid princess or perhaps merely a noble lady connected with the Parthian aristocracy."[5] According toA. Shapur Shahbazi, this is one of several stories meant to legitimize Sasanian role by connecting Ardashir and his successors with the Parthian nobility.[1] In the tale, the birth of Shapur to Zijanak takes place after the overthrow of Artabanus, butC. E. Bosworth states that Shapur I must have been born "well before" this event (i.e., before 224);[6] the Sasanianrock reliefs and the history ofal-Tabari indicate that Shapur took part in Ardashir's battles against the Parthians.[1] In his inscriptions, Shapur identifies his mother as a certainMurrod.[5]
Shapur I was a son of Ardashir I and his wifeMurrod[7][8][9] orDenag.[10] The background of the Sasanian family is obscure; although based inPars (also known asPersis), they were not native to the area, and were seemingly originally from the east.[11][12] The historian Marek Jan Olbrycht has suggested that the family was descended from theIndo-Parthians ofSakastan.[11]Iranologist Khodadad Rezakhani also noted similarities between the early Sasanians and the Indo-Parthians, such as their coinage.[13] Yet, he stated that "evidence might still be too inconclusive."[13]
Pars, a region in the southwesternIranian plateau, was the homeland of the southwestern branch of theIranian peoples, the Persians.[14] It was also the birthplace of the first Iranian Empire, theAchaemenids.[14] The region served as the center of the empire until its conquest by theMacedonian kingAlexander the Great (r. 336–323 BCE).[14] Since the end of the 3rd or the beginning of the 2nd century BCE, Pars was ruled by local dynasts subject to theHellenisticSeleucid Empire.[15] These dynasts held the ancient Persian title offrataraka ("leader, governor, forerunner"), which is also attested in the Achaemenid-era.[16] Later under thefratarakaWadfradad II (fl. 138 BCE) was made a vassal of the IranianParthian (Arsacid) Empire.[15] Thefrataraka were shortly afterwards replaced by theKings of Persis, most likely at the accession of the Arsacid monarchPhraates II (r. 132–127 BCE).[17] Unlike thefratarakas, the Kings of Persis used the title ofshah ("king"), and laid foundations to a new dynasty, which may be labelled the Darayanids.[17]
UnderVologases V (r. 191–208), the Parthian Empire was in decline, due to wars with theRomans, civil wars and regional revolts.[18] The Roman emperorSeptimius Severus (r. 193–211) had invaded the Parthian domains in 196, and two years later did the same, this time sacking the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon.[18] At the same time, revolts occurred inMedia and Persis.[18] The Iranologist Touraj Daryaee argues that the reign of Vologases V was "the turning point in Parthian history, in that the dynasty lost much of its prestige."[18] The kings of Persis were now unable to depend on their weakened Parthian overlords.[18] Indeed, in 205/6, Pabag rebelled and overthrew theBazrangid ruler of Persis,Gochihr, taking Istakhr for himself.[19][18] Around 208Vologases VI succeeded his father Vologases V as king of the Arsacid Empire. He ruled as the uncontested king from 208 to 213, but afterwards fell into a dynastic struggle with his brotherArtabanus IV,[a] who by 216 was in control of most of the empire, even being acknowledged as the supreme ruler by the Roman Empire.[20] Artabanus IV soon clashed with the Roman emperorCaracalla, whose forces he managed to contain atNisibis in 217.[21]
Peace was made between the two empires the following year, with the Arsacids keeping most ofMesopotamia.[21] However, Artabanus IV still had to deal with his brother Vologases VI, who continued to mint coins and challenge him.[21] The Sasanian family had meanwhile quickly risen to prominence in Pars, and had now under Ardashir begun to conquer the neighboring regions and more far territories, such asKirman.[20][22] At first, Ardashir I's activities did not alarm Artabanus IV, until later, when the Arsacid king finally chose to confront him.[20]
Shapur, as portrayed in the Sasanianrock reliefs, took part in his father's war with the Arsacids, including theBattle of Hormozdgan.[1] The battle was fought on 28 April 224, with Artabanus IV being defeated and killed, marking the end of the Arsacid era and the start of 427 years of Sasanian rule.[23] The chief secretary of the deceased Arsacid king,Dad-windad, was afterwards executed by Ardashir I.[24] Ardashir celebrated his victory by having two rock reliefs sculptured at the Sasanian royal city of Ardashir-Khwarrah (present-dayFiruzabad) inPars.[25][26] The first relief portrays three scenes of personal fighting; starting from the left, a Persian aristocrat seizing a Parthian soldier; Shapur impaling the Parthian minister Dad-windad with his lance; and Ardashir I ousting Artabanus IV.[26][23] The second relief, conceivably intended to portray the aftermath of the battle, displays the triumphant Ardashir I being given the badge of kingship over a fire shrine from theZoroastrian supreme godAhura Mazda, while Shapur and two other princes are watching from behind.[26][25] Ardashir considered Shapur "the gentlest, wisest, bravest and ablest of all his children" and nominated him as his successor in a council amongst the magnates.[1] Shapur was crowned co-ruler of the empire on 12 April 240. He may have been crowned again as sole ruler in 243, butRichard N. Frye writes that a single coronation in 240 is more likely.[27]
The eastern provinces of the fledgling Sasanian Empire bordered on the land of theKushans and the land of theSakas (roughly today's Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan). The military operations of Shapur's father Ardashir I had led to the local Kushan and Saka kings offering tribute to the Sasanians. Satisfied by this show of submission, Ardashir seems to have refrained from occupying their territories.Al-Tabari alleges that he rebuilt the ancient city ofZrang inSakastan (the land of the Sakas,Sistan), but the only founding of a new Sasanian settlement in the east which is certain in this period is the building by Shapur I ofNishapur—"Beautiful (city built) by Shapur"—inDihistan (formerParthia, apparently lost by theParthians to the Kushans).[28]
Soon after the death of his father in 241 AD, Shapur felt the need to cut short the campaign they had started in Roman Syria and reassert Sasanian authority in the East, perhaps because the Kushan and Saka kings were lax in abiding by their tributary status. However, he first had to fight "The Medes of the Mountains"—possibly in the mountain range ofGilan on the Caspian coast—and after subjugating them, he appointed his son Bahram (the laterBahram I) as their king. He then marched to the East and annexed most of the land of the Kushans, and appointing his sonNarseh as Sakanshah—king of the Sakas—inSistan. In 242 AD, Shapur conqueredkhwarezm.[29] Shapur could now proudly proclaim that his empire stretched all the way to Peshawar, and his relief inRag-i-Bibi in present-day Afghanistan confirms this claim.[30] Shapur I claims in hisNaqsh-e Rostam inscription possession of the territory of the Kushans (Kūšān šahr) as far as "Purushapura" (Peshawar), suggesting he controlledBactria and areas as far as theHindu-Kush or even south of it:[31][full citation needed]
I, the Mazda-worshipping lord, Shapur, king of kings of Iran and An-Iran… (I) am the Master of the Domain of Iran (Ērānšahr) and possess the territory of Persis, Parthian… Hindestan, the Domain of the Kushan up to the limits of Paškabur and up to Kash, Sughd, and Chachestan.
He seems to have garrisoned the Eastern territories with prisoners of war from his previous campaign against the Medes of the Mountains. Agathias claimsBahram II (274–293 AD) later campaigned in the land of the Sakas and appointed his brother Hormizd as its king. When Hormizd revolted, thePanegyrici Latini list his forces as the Sacci (Sakas), the Rufii (Cusii/Kushans) and the Geli (Gelans /Gilaks, the inhabitants ofGilan). Since the Gilaks are obviously out of place among these easterners, and as we know that Shapur I had to fight the Medes of the Mountains first before marching to the land of the Kushans, it is conceivable those Gilaks were the descendants of warriors captured during Shapur I's North-western campaign, forcibly drafted into the Sasanian army, and settled as a hereditary garrison inMerv,Nishapur, orZrang after the conclusion of Shapur's north-eastern campaign, the usual Sasanian practice with prisoners of war.[32]
Map showing the Roman-Sasanian borders after the peace treaty in 244
Towards the end of his reign, Ardashir I had renewed the war against theRoman Empire, and Shapur I had conquered theMesopotamian fortressesNisibis andCarrhae and had advanced intoSyria. In 242, the Romans under the father-in-law of their child-emperorGordian III set out against the Sasanians with "a huge army and great quantity of gold" (according to a Sasanian rock relief), and wintered inAntioch, while Shapur was occupied with subduingGilan,Khorasan, andSistan.[33] There the Roman generalTimesitheus fought against the Sasanians and won repeated battles, and recaptured Carrhae and Nisibis, and at last routed a Sasanian army at Resaena, forcing the Persians to restore all occupied cities unharmed to their citizens. "We have penetrated as far as Nisibis, and shall even get toCtesiphon," the young emperorGordian III, who had joined his father-in-law Timesitheus, exultantly wrote to the Senate.
The Romans later invaded eastern Mesopotamia but faced tough resistance from Shapur I who returned from the East.Timesitheus died under uncertain circumstances and was succeeded byPhilip the Arab. The young emperor Gordian III went to theBattle of Misiche and was either killed in the battle or murdered by the Romans after the defeat. The Romans then chose Philip the Arab as Emperor. Philip was not willing to repeat the mistakes of previous claimants and was aware that he had to return to Rome to secure his position with the Senate. Philip concluded a peace with Shapur I in 244; he had agreed that Armenia lay within Persia's sphere of influence. He also had to pay an enormous indemnity to the Persians of 500,000 gold denarii.[1] Philip immediately issued coins proclaiming that he had made peace with the Persians (pax fundata cum Persis).[34]Shapur I commemorated this victory on several rock reliefs inPars.
Philip later broke the treaty and seized lost territory,[1] Shapur I invaded Mesopotamia in 250 but again, serious trouble arose inKhorasan and Shapur I had to march over there and settle its affair.
Having settled the affair in Khorasan he resumed the invasion of Roman territories, and later annihilated a Roman force of 60,000 at theBattle of Barbalissos. He then burned and ravaged the Roman province ofSyria and all its dependencies.
Shapur I then reconqueredArmenia, and incitedAnak the Parthian to murder the king of Armenia,Khosrov II. Anak did as Shapur asked, and had Khosrov murdered in 258; yet Anak himself was shortly thereafter murdered by Armenian nobles.[35] Shapur then appointed his sonHormizd I as the "Great King of Armenia". With Armenia subjugated,Georgia submitted to the Sasanian Empire and fell under the supervision of a Sasanian official.[1] With Georgia and Armenia under control, the Sasanians' borders on the north were thus secured.
During Shapur's invasion ofSyria he captured important Roman cities likeAntioch. The emperorValerian (253–260) marched against him and by 257 Valerian had recovered Antioch and returned the province of Syria to Roman control. The speedy retreat of Shapur's troops caused Valerian to pursue the Persians toEdessa, but they weredefeated, and Valerian, along with the Roman army that was left, was captured by Shapur[36] Shapur then advanced intoAsia Minor and managed to captureCaesarea,[37] deporting hundred upon thousands of Roman citizens to the Sasanian empire.[38] He used these captive Roman citizens to build adyke nearShushtar, called "Caesar's dyke".[38]
The victory over Valerian is presented in a mural atNaqsh-e Rustam, where Shapur is represented on horseback wearing royal armor and a crown. Before him kneels a man in Roman dress, asking for grace. The same scene is repeated in other rock-face inscriptions.[39]Christian tradition has Shapur I humiliating Valerian, infamous for hispersecution of Christians, by theKing of Kings using the Emperor as a footstool to mount his horse, and they claim he later died a miserable death in captivity at the hands of the enemy. However, just as with the above-mentionedGilaks deported to the East by Shapur, the Persian treatment of prisoners of war was unpleasant but honorable, drafting the captured Romans and their Emperor into their army and deporting them to a remote place,Bishapur inKhuzistan, where they were settled as a garrison and built a weir with bridge for Shapur.[40]
However, the Persian forces were later defeated by the Roman officerBalista and the lord ofPalmyraSeptimius Odaenathus, who captured the royal harem. Shapur plundered the eastern borders of Syria and returned to Ctesiphon, probably in late 260.[1] In 264 Septimius Odaenathus reached Ctesiphon, but failed to take the city.[41][42]
Shapur is mentioned many times in theTalmud, in which he is referred to inJewish Aramaic asShabur Malka (שבור מלכא), meaning "King Shapur". He had good relations with the Jewish community and was a friend ofShmuel, one of the most famous of theBabylonianAmoraim, the Talmudic sages from among the important Jewish communities ofMesopotamia.[citation needed]
Shapur's campaigns deprived the Roman Empire of resources while restoring and substantially enriching his own treasury, bydeporting many Romans from conquered cities to Sasanian provinces likeKhuzestan,Asuristan, andPars. This influx of deported artisans and skilled workers revitalised Iran's domestic commerce.[1]
In May 270, Shapur died of an illness while inBishapur. He was succeeded by his son,Hormizd I. Two of his other sons,Bahram I andNarseh, would also become kings of the Sasanian Empire, while another son,Shapur Meshanshah, who died before Shapur, sired children who would hold exalted positions within the empire.[1]
Relief showing Shapur I on horseback, followed by his sons and nobles
Under Shapur, the Sasanian court, including its territories, were much larger than that of his father. Several governors and vassal-kings are mentioned in his inscriptions; Ardashir, governor ofQom; Varzin, governor ofSpahan; Tiyanik, governor ofHamadan; Ardashir, governor of Neriz; Narseh, governor of Rind; Friyek, governor ofGundishapur; Rastak, governor ofVeh-Ardashir;Amazasp III, king ofIberia. Under Shapur several of his relatives and sons served as governor of Sasanian provinces;Bahram, governor ofGilan;Narseh, governor ofSindh,Sakastan andTuran; Ardashir, governor ofKirman;Hormizd-Ardashir, governor ofArmenia;Shapur Meshanshah, governor ofMeshan; Ardashir, governor ofAdiabene.[43]
Several names of Shapur's officials are carved on his inscription atNaqsh-e Rustam. Many of these were the offspring of the officials who served Shapur's father. During the reign of Shapur, a certain Papak served as the commander of the royal guard (hazarbed), while Peroz served as the chief of the cavalry (aspbed); Vahunam and Shapur served as the director of the clergy; Kirdisro served as viceroy of the empire (bidaxsh); Vardbad served as the "chief of services"; Hormizd served as the chief scribe; Naduk served as "the chief of the prison"; Papak served as the "gate keeper"; Mihrkhwast served as the treasurer; Shapur served as the commander of the army; Arshtat Mihran served as the secretary; Zik served as the "master of ceremonies".[44]
Under Shapur, the Iranian military experienced a resurgence after a rather long decline in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, which gave the Romans the opportunity to undertake expeditions into the Near East and Mesopotamia during the end of the Parthian Empire.[45] Yet, the military was essentially the same as that of the Parthians; the same Parthians nobles who served the Arsacid royal family, now served the Sasanians, forming the majority of the Sasanian army.[46] However, the Sasanians seem to have employed morecataphracts who were equipped with lighter chain-mail armor resembling that of the Romans.[46]
Although Iranian society was greatly militarized and its elite designated themselves as a "warrior nobility" (arteshtaran), it still had a significantly smaller population, was more impoverished, and was a less centralized state compared to the Roman Empire.[46] As a result, the Sasanian shahs had access to fewer full-time fighters, and depended on recruits from the nobility instead.[46] Some exceptions were the royal cavalry bodyguard, garrison soldiers, and units recruited from places outside Iran.[46] The bulk of the nobility included the powerful Parthian noble families (known as thewuzurgan) that were centered on theIranian plateau.[47] They served as the backbone of the Sasanianfeudal army and were largely autonomous.[47] The Parthian nobility worked for the Sasanian shah for personal benefit, personal oath, and, conceivably, a common awareness of the "Aryan" (Iranian) kinship they shared with their Persian overlords.[47]
Use ofwar elephants is also attested under Shapur, who made use of them to demolish the city ofHatra.[48] He may also have used them against Valerian, as attested in theShahnameh (The Book of Kings).[49]
Picture of the ruined palace of Shapur I atBishapur
Shapur I left other reliefs and rock inscriptions. A relief atNaqsh-e Rajab nearEstakhr is accompanied by a Greek translation. Here Shapur I calls himself "theMazdayasnan (worshipper ofAhuramazda), the divine Shapur, King of Kings of theIranians, and non-Iranians, of divine descent, son of the Mazdayasnan, the divineArdashir, King of Kings of the Aryans, grandson of the divine kingPapak". Another long inscription at Estakhr mentions the King's exploits in archery in the presence of his nobles.
From his titles we learn that Shapur I claimed sovereignty over the whole earth, although in reality his domain extended little farther than that of Ardashir I.Shapur I built the great townGundishapur near the old Achaemenid capitalSusa, and increased the fertility of the district with a dam and irrigation system—built by Roman prisoners—that redirected part of theKarun River. The barrier is still calledBand-e Kaisar, "the mole of the Caesar". He is also responsible for building the city ofBishapur, with the labors of Roman soldiers captured after the defeat of Valerian in 260. Shapur also built a town namedPushang inKhorasan.
In all records Shapur calls himselfmzdysn ("Mazda-worshipping"). His inscription at theKa'ba-ye Zartosht recounts his wars and religious establishments to the same extent. He believed that he had a responsibility; "For the reason, therefore, that the gods have so made us their instrument (dstkrt), and that by the help of the gods we have sought out for ourselves, and hold, all these nations (štry) for that reason we have also founded, province by province, many Varahrān fires (ʾtwry wlhlʾn), and we have dealt piously with many Magi (mowmard), and we have made great worship of the gods."[1] According to the Zoroastrian priestKartir, Shapur treated the Zoroastrians generously, and permitted members of their clergy to follow him on his expeditions against the Romans.[1] According to the historianProds Oktor Skjærvø, Shapur was a "lukewarm Zoroastrian".[50]
During the reign of Shapur,Manichaeism, a new religion founded by the Iranian prophetMani, flourished. Mani was treated well by Shapur, and in 242, the prophet joined the Sasanian court, where he tried to convert Shapur by dedicating his only work written inMiddle Persian, known as theShabuhragan.[51] Shapur, however, did not convert to Manichaeism and remained a Zoroastrian.[52]
While Ardashir used the title "King of Kings of Iran(ians)", Shapur slightly changed it, adding the phrase "and non-Iran(ians)".[53] The extended title demonstrates the incorporation of new territory into the empire; however, what was precisely seen as "non-Iran(ian)" (aneran) is not certain.[54] Although this new title was used on his inscriptions, it was almost never used on hiscoinage.[55] The title first became regularized under Hormizd I.[56]
^W. Soward, "The Inscription of Shapur I at Naqsh-E Rustam in Fars", sasanika.org, 3. Cf. F. Grenet, J. Lee, P. Martinez, F. Ory, "The Sasanian Relief at Rag-i Bibi (Northern Afghanistan)” in G. Hermann, J. Cribb (ed.), After Alexander. Central Asia before Islam (London 2007), pp. 259–260
^Agathias 4.24.6–8; Panegyrici Latini N3.16.25; Thaalibi 495;Arthur Christensen (1944).L'Iran sous les Sassanides (in French). Copenhague: Ejnar Munksgaard. p. 214.
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