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Ardashir I (), also known as Ardashir the Unifier"Sasanian Dynasty", A. Shapur Shahbazi, Encyclopædia Iranica, (July 20, 2005). [1] (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire, the last empire of ancient Iran. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new empire. After defeating the last Parthian Empire shahanshah Artabanus IV on the Hormozdgan plain in 224, he overthrew the Parthian Empire and established the Sasanian dynasty. Afterwards, Ardashir called himself shahanshah and began conquering the land that he called Eranshahr, the realm of the Iranians.
There are various historical reports about Ardashir's lineage and ancestry. According to al-Tabari's History of the Prophets and Kings, Ardashir was son of Papak, son of Sasan. Another narrative recorded in Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan and Ferdowsi Shahnameh states that Ardashir was born from the marriage of Sasan, a descendant of Darius III, with the daughter of Papak, a local governor in Fars province.
According to al-Tabari's report, Ardashir was born in the outskirts of Istakhr, Pars. Al-Tabari adds that Ardashir was sent to the lord of Fort Darabgard when he was seven years old. After the lord's death, Ardashir succeeded him and became the commander of Fort Darabgard. Afterwards, Papak overthrew the local Persian shah named Gochihr and appointed his son, Shapur, instead of him. Shapur and his father, Papak, suddenly died and Ardashir became the ruler of Pars. Tension rose between Ardashir and the Parthian empire, and eventually on April 28, 224, Ardashir faced the army of Artabanus IV in the Hormozdgan plain, where the Parthian shahanshah was defeated and killed in battle.
According to the royal reports, it was Papak who overthrew Gochihr, the local Persian shah, and appointed his son, Shapur, instead of him; Ardashir refused to accept Shapur's appointment and removed his brother and whosoever stood against him and then minted coins with his face drawn on and his father, Papak's behind. It is probable that the determining role that is stated about Ardashir in leading the rebellion against the central government is the product of the later historical studies. Papak had probably united most of Pars under his rule by then.
Ardashir had an outstanding role in developing the royal ideology. He tried to show himself as a worshiper of Ahura Mazda and a descendant of the gods who possesses khvarenah, the divine royal glory attributed to kings in Zoroastrianism. In order to legitimize his rule and delegitimize that of the Parthians, he claimed descent from mythical Iranian shahs and presented himself as a continuator of the Achaemenids, the creators of the first Persian empire, although the current belief is that the early Sasanians did not know much about the history of the Achaemenids. On the other hand, some historians believe that the first Sasanian shahanshahs were familiar with the Achaemenids and their successors deliberately turned to the legendary Kayanian dynasty. They knowingly ignored the Achaemenids in order to attribute their past to the Kayanians; and that was where they applied holy historiography.
In order to remark his victories, Ardashir carved in Firuzabad County (the city of Gor or Ardashir-Khwarrah), Naqsh-e Rajab and Naqsh-e Rustam. In his petroglyph in Naqsh-e Rustam, Ardashir and Ahura Mazda are opposite to each other on horsebacks and the corpses of Artabanus and Angra Mainyu are visualized under the hooves of the horses of Ardashir and Ahura Mazda. It can be deduced from the picture that Ardashir assumed or wished for others to assume that his rule over the land that was called "Iran" in the Epigraphy was designated by the lord. The word "Iran" was previously used in Avesta and as "the name of the mythical land of the Indo-Iranians". In Ardashir's period, the title "Iran" was chosen for the region under the Sasanian rule. The idea of "Iran" was accepted for both the Zoroastrianism and non-Zoroastrian societies in the whole kingdom and the Iranian peoples' collective memory continued and lived on in the various stages and different layers of the Iranian society until the modern period today. What is clear is that the concept of "Iran" previously had a religious and ethnic application and then ended up creating its political face and the concept of a geographical collection of lands.
Three of Achaemenid kings of kings and four of the local of Pars—known as Frataraka and Kings of Persis—were named Ardashir, and Ardashir I has been Ardashir V in the chain of local Shahs.
Herodian History has also extensively explained the procedure of the change of monarchy from Parthian to Sasanian Empire.
Although Agathias lived during the time of Khosrow I, due to his access to the royal yearbooks in Ctesiphon archives, his history book is one of the main sources. However, he has used colloquial statements in reporting the story of Ardashir's youth.
Movses Khorenatsi, known as the Armenian Herodotus, an historian of the fifth century AD has stated a story about Ardashir I that is relatively similar to the adapted story from the biography of Cyrus the Great.
Arbella's Chronicles is a text written in mid-sixth century AD and includes the history of Christian regions of Mesopotamia from the second century until 550. The book is very valuable for the period of the downfall of the Parthian Empire and the rise of the Sasanians.
History of Odessa is a book written in 540 and includes chronicles from 132 BC until 540.
Chronicles of Karakh Beit Solug, is a short but important source that presents valuable information about the early Sasanian period.
Bal'ami's History, which is a Persian language rewrite of Tabari's History, is one of the most important Persian prose works about the Sasanians. Apart from the Arabic text, the work is valuable, since it provides the Persian equals of Arabic expressions in Tabari's History.
Farsnameh is one of the helpful Persian references about Sasanian history that presents valuable information about the status and the rankings of grand appointed and their positions, while they were considered part of the public relative to the kings.
Ibn Isfandiyar's History of Tabaristan is another one of Sasanian history sources. The Letter of Tansar is written in the book.
Mojmal al-tawarikh is a text with limited value, since most of its reports are mentioned extensively in other sources.
Ardasgir's Oath is a letter or preach by Ardashir I about government rituals that is named in Mojmal al-tawarikh.
Al-Masudi's The Meadows of Gold is another source about the Sasanian history.
Since Ardashir had claimed his royal lineage to Sasan, it is important to inspect who Sasan was. First it was composed that the Epigraphy form "Ssn" on and other documents imply that Sasan was a Zoroastrianism deity, though he is not mentioned in Avesta or other ancient Iranian texts. Martin Schwartz has recently shown that the deity shown on the potterywares is not related to Sasan, but shows Ssn, an old Semitic goddess that was worshiped in Ugarit in the second millennium B.C. The word "Sasa" is written on coins found in Taxila; it is probable to be related to "Sasan", since the symbols on the mentioned coins are similar to the coins of Shapur I. It is remarked in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh about Sasan's Oriental lineage that might imply that his house had come from the Orient. After all and considering all the difficulties, it can be said that Ardashir claimed his lineage to be belonging to gods and the Sasanians may have raised Sasan's rank to a god's. The primary sources, which are adapted from Sasanian statements, have emphasized on Sasan being a Mysticism and hermit and have actually stated India, which is the center of asceticism, as Sasan's origin. That was the only way for Ardashir to forge himself a double noble-religious lineage. It is not strange that Ardashir's religious lineage is emphasized in religious Sasanian statements and his noble lineage is emphasized in royal reports and then they are linked to religious statements about him. Anyway, whoever Sasan was and wherever he lived, he was not a native Persian and the eastern and western Iranian Plateau are mentioned as his origins in the references.
Most of foreign sources are unanimous in considering an unknown lineage for Ardashir; for example, Agathias has stated that Papak was a shoemaker who found out from Astronomy proofs that Sasan would have a great son; thus Papak allowed Sasan to sleep with the former's wife and the result was Ardashir. Shakki considered Agathias's narrative a useless and vulgar story by the familiar Sergeus, Surianian translator of Khosrow I's court, ordered by the opponents and foes of Sasanians. Shakki said it was obvious Sergeus the Christians had induced that nonsense to Agathias. Like he had cleared Ardashir's family tree, and it was adapted from the imaginations of Christians and the Materialism and Atheism league. Shakki's reasoning is based on the current norm in marital customs that the children resulting from a woman's marriage with a second spouse (after divorcing her first spouse) will belong to the first spouse. In the three-language inscription of Shapur I's on Ka'ba-ye Zartosht in Naqsh-e Rustam, Sasan is introduced only as a nobleman and Papak as a king.
There are opinions about the validity and authenticity of each of the mentioned narratives. Some have considered Al-Tabari's report suspicious since he presents an elaborate family tree of Ardashir that relates his generation to mythical and mighty ancient Iranian kings. Some consider the reports of Karnamag and Shahnameh more justifiable, since Ardashir being Sasan's son and his adoption by Papak aligns with Zoroastrian norms and customs. However, some have questioned the reports of Karnamag and Shahnameh, considered them mythical and intended to legitimize the founder of the Sasanian dynasty.
Due to the high number of reports about Ardashir's lineage, it is not easy to accept any; though it should not be ignored that most of the founders of dynasties claimed to be descendants of ancient kings in order to become legitimate. About that, Daryaee says: "If Ardashir had been evolved from a noble house, he would have insisted on a report; while various stories show that he intended to gain legitimacy from all Iranian traditions and perhaps foreign tribes."
In sources, Ardashir's religious relations and his father being a cleric are mentioned; so it can be deduced that Ardashir had no connections with royal houses and was only a cleric's son who knew about religion, but was not a cleric himself; and that was how he, by his religious knowledge, found the chance to be the first person in his inscriptions receiving the royal ring from Ahura Mazda, something a Persian nobleman did not need and only a newcomer had to claim to be from the line of gods. It should be mentioned that it was not precedent to Ardashir to take a royal ring from Ahura Mazda, and it is not seen even in Achaemenid inscriptions.
The remnants of Pasargadae and Persepolis could be permanent memorials of the past magnificence of Pars; though the knowledge about the existence of a large empire was almost forgotten.
As of now, not much knowledge is gained about the four hundred-year history of that state, which was once part of the Seleucid Empire Kingdom and then of Parthian Empire, and almost all the knowledge about the political status of Pars—before the rise of Ardashir, depends on the coins which were minted by the local semi-dependent kings; based on the existent information on the Persian coins, at least one local king ruled in Persian lands slightly after the demise of Alexander III. Even if the existence of the names of kings like Dara and Ardashir on the coins of local shahs of the land does not prove that a subsidiary house of the Achaemenids still ruled in Pars, it at least shows the continuance of some of Achaemenid traditions in that land.
During the Seleucid era, the Frataraka (local Persian shahs) ruled Pars at the time of the rebellion of Alexander, Molon brother, against Antiochus III. That shows those local shahs shared power with Seleucid satraps or each of them ruled part of Pars separately. Also in the Parthian era, the local Persian shahs were entitled to mint coins with their own names like some other semi-dependent shahs of the Parthian Empire. During the time, the Persian governors called themselves "Frataraka", which probably meant "governor" based on its synonym achieved from the Aramaic language documents of the Achaemenid era. Afterwards, the titles of local governors altered and they named themselves "Shahs". There have been royal crowns and symbols, temple pictures, fireboxes with aflame fires, and symbols of the moon, stars and the portrait of Ahura Mazda minted on coins of the Frataraka that shows the holy fire was adored and the Zoroastrianism gods were worshiped and the old creed was permanent in Pars in contrast to other regions.
In a portrait of Papak and his son Shapur carved on Takht-e Jamshid, Papak, while dressed as a priest, squeezes the hilt of his sword by one hand and manipulates the fire of the hearth and adds more firewood to it by the other hand, with his son Shapur taking the royal ring from him. In other pictures of granting the royal medal during the time, meaning granting Khwasak, the mayor of Susa, which is discovered there, and the picture of granting the medal to the governor of Elymais, discovered in Bardneshandeh, the Parthian emperor is granting the royal medal to local shahs; while in the mentioned picture of Papak and his son Shapur in Takht-e Jamshid, it is Papak who is granting the royal ring to Shapur wearing like priests. Lokonin believed that the carving of Papak granting the royal medal to his son shows that the Sasanians took the power by force in Pars and wished to show their independence from the Parthian emperors; that was why Papak personally grants the royal medal to his son in the mentioned picture. Lokonin also believes that the religious clothes and medals of Papak on the pictures and coins of Shapur (his son), show the separation of religious and royal rule -at the time; Papak was the grand priest and his son Shapur was the land's shah. Daryaee believes that the picture shows multiple things; first that the House of Sasan had both the religious and irreligious powers together in Pars; second that the fire creed, related to Zoroastrianism, lived on before the rise of Ardashir; third that the carved picture of Shapur and Papak in Takht-e Jamshid shows the importance of the Achaemenid structure for the Sasanians.
Vologases later proceeded towards Nusaybin and laid siege to it, but aborted it due to Roman reinforcements and failed to capture the city. Afterwards, Severus started marching toward Euphrates and to South and took Seleucia and Babylon without resistance, although the Romans contended heavily in late 198 during the fall of Ctesiphon. However, the Romans did not manage to hold the captured regions; they had to retreat due to lack of provisions. The Romans decided to take Hatra while returning, but failed and tried once more in spring 199 to conquer Hatra, and were forced to cede control of Syria with heavy casualties. It must have been that "highly disruptive period of Vologases V's reign" and the raid and destruction of Mesopotamia by Severus when Papak probably united most of Pars under his rule. Apparently a peace treaty was then formed between the two powers, though the ancient historians have had no mention of it. Until Vologases' death in 206 or 207 and also Severus's in 211, the Parthian-Roman relations were peaceful. After Vologases V's death, his son Vologases VI rose to the throne; but shortly afterward, his reign was challenged by his brother Artabanus IV. In about 213, Artabanus launched a rebellion against his brother Vologases and took the rule of a large part of the Parthian Empire; it can be deduced from the coins found in Hamadan that he ruled the Median land.
According to an Epigraphy of his in Susa, the control of the region is considered to have been Artabanus's. Elsewhere, Vologases VI's coins found in Seleucia show his control over the land. In Rome, Caracalla rose to power after the death of Septimius Severus, his father. Although the information about the contest between Artabanus and Vologases is trace, the Latin sources say that Caracalla gave special attention to the internal contest of Parthians and reported the disruption of the Parthians' status to the Roman Senate. Knowledge about the civil war in the Parthian Empire might have encouraged "the idea of a military conquest" in Caracalla and stimulated him towards successes larger than those of his father's (Septimius Severus) in fighting the Parthians. At the time while Emperor Caracalla had already been formulating a plan to start a new war with the Parthians, he sent a request for extradition of two fugitives, a philosopher named Antiochus and an unknown man called Tiridates, to Vologases searching for an excuse to start a war in 214 or early 215; Vologases returned the two fugitives; but Caracalla invaded Armenia anyway.
It can be deduced from Caracalla's request from Vologases for returning the two fugitives that the Romans considered Vologases the actual Parthian power and great shah at the time. About one year later in 216, Caracalla made another excuse to attack Parthia; that time he demanded Artabanus (not Vologases) to give him his daughter for marriage, which Artabanus did not accept and the war started in summer 216. According to that request of Caracalla from Artabanus, it is assumed that Aratabanus gained "the upper hand" in his internal contest with Vologases then, though Vologases' coins were minted until 221–222 in Seleucia. Although the exact path of the Romans' invasion is not known, they certainly conquered Erbil, center of Adiabene; apparently the Parthians avoided a large confrontation; but they applied an offensive policy toward Mesopotamia in early 217. That was the time Caracalla, who was heading to Harran, was killed by head of his security detail Macrinus, who showed his inclination towards peace with the Parthians by "putting the blame of starting the war on Caracalla" and "freeing Parthian prisoners"; but Artabanus demanded the Romans' "relinquishing of the whole Mesopotamia", "rebuilding the destroyed cities and fortresses" and "paying compensations for destroying the royal cemetery of Erbil", knowing of having the upper hand.
Macrinus refused the extensive demands of the Parthians and war was restarted and its peak was in a three-day battle in Nusaybin. Although there is controversy about the result of the battle in the views of the ancient world's historians, the aftermath of the battle was obviously Roman defeat. After the end of the war, peace negotiations began and resulted in a peace treaty in 218 according to which the Romans paid 50 million to the Parthians and kept Armenia and Northern Mesopotamia. It was probably in about 220 that the local Persian governors (Ardashir I) started taking far and close lands. At the time, Artabanus did not pay much attention to his actions and decided to fight him when it had become too late. Eventually, Ardashir ended the life of the House of Arsaces in the Battle of Hormozdgan and founded the Sasanian Empire. However, the end of the Parthian dynasty did not mean an endpoint for all Parthian houses. Movses Khorenatsi, Armenians historian, has quoted some reports of the roles and aids of some Parthian houses, like Suren and Ispahbudhan, in Ardashir's uprising.
According to the current sources, Papak was the priest of the Fire Temple of Anahita. He managed to assemble local Persian warriors who believed in the deity. At the time, Vologases V's reign was disrupted due to the invasion of Septimius Severus, Roman emperor, on Mesopotamia. It is probable that Vologases defeated Papak after he rebelled and forced him to submit to Parthian Empire rule for a while. It is not probable that Papak's kingdom was beyond the Persian land.
According to Arabic-Persian language sources, Ardashir started his uprising when he was the commander of Fort Darabgard in eastern Pars. The oldest Archaeology proofs of the period of Ardashir's reign are acquired from Ardashir-Khwarrah (Gor or current Firuzabad) in south border of Pars. Therefore, Ardashir rose up in his war in Ardashir-Khwarrah, far from the fortress of local Persian shahs in Istakhr and farther from the Parthian Empire. The beginning of Ardashir's uprising may be related to his first Epigraphy in Firuzabad; in the inscription, he is shown acquiring the royal ring from Ahura Mazda in front of his henchmen. Ardashir began the procedure of extending his reign by killing some local kings and taking their domains. According to Al-Tabari's report, Ardashir then asked Papak to stand against Gochihr and start a rebellion. Papak did it and rebelled against Gochihr and killed him. Daryaee believes that Papak was a local governor who dreamed of conquering Istakhr and was eventually able to achieve it by the help of his older son Shapur; that means in contrast to Al-Tabari's report, it was not Ardashir's request and order that caused Papak's rebellion against Gochihr, governor of Istakhr, and it can be implied from the common coins of Papak and Shapur. Later, Papak wrote a letter to Artabanus IV and requested permission to appoint Shapur instead of the "overthrown" Gochihr in power; in response, Artabanus announced Papak and Ardashir outlaws. Although Artabanus had defeated the Roman Empire, he faced the problem of the defiance of Vologases VI, who had minted coins in his own name between 221 and 222; and this shows that no powerful emperor controlled the Parthian Empire then. During the time that Artabanus was dealing with a more important challenge, he could not pay much attention to the rise of a newcomer in Pars. After a while, Papak died in an unknown date and Shapur ascended to the throne; afterward, the contest and fight started between the two brothers (Shapur and Ardashir), but Shapur died in an accidental way. According to sources, Shapur stopped at a ruin while assaulting Darabgard and a stone suddenly separated from the ceiling and hit his head and Shapur succumbed immediately. After the incident, the brothers relinquished the Persian throne and crown to Ardashir, who became the Persian Shah thereafter. Ardashir and his followers could be considered the main suspects of Shapur's mysterious death, since they "benefitted from the accidental death"; but the accusation is not provable.
Papak's picture has been drawn on both Shapur's coins and later Ardashir's; in the picture of the Papak drawn on Shapur's coins, he wears a wig dissimilar to normal Parthian and local Persian shahs and only Shapur has worn a royal wig. According to royal reports, it was Papak who overthrew Gochihr and appointed Shapur instead of him. Ardashir refused to accept Shapur's appointment and removed his brother and whoever stood against him and then minted coins with his face drawn on them and Papak's behind them. Papak's picture on Ardashir-Papak coins, wears a wig similar to those of local Persian shahs in contrast to his picture in Shapur-Papak coins. According to the descriptions given on Papak's pictures on the coins, it is probable that the determining role of Ardashir depicted in leading the rebellion against the central government is the product of later historical studies. It is probable that Papak had united most of Pars under his rule by the time; since his picture exists on Ardashir's coins too. In the procedure of extending his domain and power, Ardashir made many Parthian-dependent local shahs and landlords follow him. In the first phase of rebellion, Ardashir challenged the Parthians' central power by actions like minting coins and constructing new cities. After all, a sight of victory was not imaginable for Ardashir without a public dissatisfaction and interest in rebellion against the Parthians. For example, according to sources, the governor of a land northeast of Ctesiphon called "Beth Garmai" in Syriac language and its center was today Kirkuk, along with Sharat, who was the governor of Adiabene, aided Ardashir in his rebellion against the Parthians. In order to consolidate his power, Ardashir killed some of the important figures in Darabgard; then he invaded Kerman and took it too and took control of whole Pars, including the Persian Gulf shores. At that time, Ardashir constructed a palace and fire temple in Gor (current Firuzabad County) that its ruins still remain and is called the Palace of Ardashir. He appointed one of his sons named Ardashir as the governor of Kerman. Artabanus, the Parthian emperor, ordered the governor of Susa to attack Ardashir, suppress his rebellion and send him to Ctesiphon. After Ardashir killed and terminated Shadh-Shapur, the governor of Isfahan, after fighting him, headed towards Khuzestan and killed the governor of Susa too and added his domain to the lands under his rule. Then he invaded Characene State in the mouth of Tigris and took it and added it to his kingdom.
Eventually, in Ardashir's contest with Artabanus in the Battle of Hormozdgan on April 28, 224, Artabanus was killed by Ardashir and the Parthian dynasty was overthrown with his death. The year of the occurrence of the battle is confirmed by Shapur I's inscription in Bishapur. The extended report of the Battle of Hormozdgan is probably made for the Sasanian's formal history. If the mentioned assumption is right, the writing may have been the main source of Al-Tabari's History. After Artabanus's death, Ardashir's quest for extending his kingdom did not end. In a procedure, the large landlord Parthian houses, either submitted to Ardashir (willingly or unwillingly) or were conquered by him. The subsequent sources emphasized on the Sasanians' hatred of everything adapted from the Parthians. The existence of such a mentality in Ardashir is understandable; but even he was forced to establish his newborn government on Parthian foundations by the help of other remarkable Iranian houses, who were either affiliated with the Parthians or nursed by them. However, no change is seen in that hatred of the Parthians in the next generations of Sasanian emperors either. Therefore, it can be deduced that the Parthians enforced a more hard and tyrannical domination than presumed on their submitted shahs and that might have been the reason that facilitated Ardashir's conquest.
Anyway, by choosing the title Shahanshah (king of kings), Ardashir revealed his inclination toward government. During about 226–227, Ardashir experienced a failed attempt to conquer Hatra, which was previously unsuccessfully tried by Trajan and Septimius Severus, while on a crusade for taking the northwest regions of the land. In the late Parthian Empire era, Hatra had become semi-dependent due to the gradual deterioration of the central government. After that unsuccessful attempt of Ardashir's in the west, he started taking eastern lands and dominating large Parthian landlords, local noblemen and large Iranian houses and was successful. The exact extent and limits of Ardashir's ruled domain can not be determined correctly. Ardashir's domain in the west was probably extended to the traditional borders between the Roman Empire and Parthians in the northwest; in the east, the Kushan Empire and Turan and probably Merv Desert rulers surrendered to Ardashir's empire; and in the southwest, the northern part of "Arab world shores of the Persian Gulf"were taken by war.
In any case, "the first war test between the Sasanians and Romans" ended without any positive result for the Romans; though Alexander held a celebration in Rome for his "victory" and the war has been viewed as a victory in some Roman writings due to preserving the past borders of the Roman empire and Alexander appeared as a victor in Rome. In the war, many casualties were inflicted upon the two armies. In subsequent Arabic-Persian language sources, there has been no mention of the war; the cause of not mentioning might have been Ardashir considering the incident shameful.
Although no peace treaty was signed, the eastern Roman borders were not attacked by the Sasanians in the next years. It might have been more important for the Romans to attach Hatra to their fortresses of the border defense system. The people of Hatra knew that their relative autonomy, which became possible at the late Parthian era due to the weakness of the central government, was under the threat of the policies announced by the Sasanians. The foreign policy of the new Persian rulers was to proceed to the Occident and that was probably in order to divert the public attention from the internal problems of the land; that is while the procedure of the Parthians and the Romans in the final years was to leave everything be as they are.
The murder of Severus Alexander by his soldiers and its aftermath which resulted in disturbances in Rome, motivated Ardashir to attack Rome again. In about the years 237–238, Ardashir took Nusaybin and Harran and attacked the city Dura; then he marched toward Hatra, which was a commercial city and the center of the traffic of commercial caravans. Hatra stood hard against the Persian siege and did not fall until April or September 240; it seems that Hatra was chosen as a point for pushing and operation against Roman Mesopotamia. The fall of Hatra might have been the cause of Gordian III's wars with Persia.
In the mythical-national Persian history, the Battle of Hatra and the incident of its fall is accompanied with a romantic story. According to the story, at the time of the Persian attack on Hatra, the daughter of the city's king had fallen in love with Shapur I, Ardashir's son and had him promise her marriage and then opened the gate of the city; then the Persians captured the city and destroyed it. After Shapur found out about the kindness and attention of the father towards his daughter on the wedding night, the former had her killed due to the daughter's inappreciation to that kind of father.
About the year of Shapur's participation in reign with Ardashir, it has been written in Cologne Mani-Codex in Greek about Mani's life:
When I became twenty-four years old; in the year that Persian king, Dari-Ardashir opened the city Hatra, and in the year Shapur Shah, his son, put the largest crown in the month Famuthi, on the month day (8th day of Farmuthi), my god, who is the most blessed, made me proud by his generosity, summoned me by his favor...It can be deduced by calculating the month and year that Shapur's coronation as his father's royal partner occurred on April 12, 240 (the first day of the month Nisan in the year 551). Ardashir and Shapur's simultaneous reign lasted apparently until early 242. Therefore, it can be said that Shapur was probably crowned twice; once as a royal partner in 240 and later in 243 as lonely reign; however it is more likely that he was crowned only once in 240.
1- Farvardin 58, 2- Azar Ardashir 40, 3- Azar Shapur from royal Azars 24Therefor, history is designated with "three eras" in the inscription; "Azar Ardashir 40" means the 40th year in Ardashir's era and "Azar Shapur 24" means the 24th year in Shapur's era. 58 shows an era that has remained unknown. It has been deduced from the allusion that one of the mentioned events (overthrowing the local shah of Istakhr by Papak or announcing independence from the Parthian Empire) has happened between the years 205 and 206; since the year is implied as "the year of the beginning of an era". The assumption that "the period between the years 205 and 206" is related to Papak's rebellion is very probable since "the period between the years 205 and 206" was never a basis in any of the future achieved histories from the Sasanians and usually every Sasanian emperor either based the calendar on the year of "his ascension" or based it on the Seleucid Empire calendar that began with 312 B.C. Roman Ghirshman believes that the year 58 shows the beginning of the domination of the Sasanian dynasty over the Iranian lands. Besides, the date of altering the Persian coins along with which the names of previous governors were replaced with the Sasanian dynasty can be accepted to be 205–206. It is very probable that Papak took the royal throne of Istakhr between the years 205/206 and 211/212 and appointed his son Shapur for it; then in an insurgent action, Ardashir moved to Gur (Ardashir-Khwarrah or current Firuzabad County) from Darabgard and raised his defense fortifications there in order to be able to attack his older brother just after the death of his father, Papak. "The first inscription of Ardashir's quest of the crown" in Firuzabad is probably the symbol of his rebellion against his father and brother. Papak probably died in about 211/212 and it is after that when his two sons (Shapur and Ardashir) minted coins titled "The Shah" and decorated them with the face of their recently deceased father (Papak) behind. The report of Zin-el-Akhbar also confirms that Ardashir was crowned as a local shah in 211/212. The events of 211/212, which contain the defeat of Shapur (Ardashir's brother) and his probable murder, might be related to Ardashir's second inscription on Naqsh-e Rajab and also minting coins without the Papak's face. The writing of the phrase "his majesty worshiping Ahura Mazda, Ardashir the Persian Shah" on some second group of coins of Ardashir's might have been after his conquest of Istakhr and taking control of Pars. Ardashir's conquest of Pars and taking the adjacent lands was a threat for Artabanus; therefore, Artabanus defied Ardashir and eventually lost the Battle of Hormozdgan and was killed. It was after that when Ardashir was able to claim being "the Shahanshah of Iranians". Ardashir carved a memorial inscription for victory in the Battle of Hormozdgan near the city Gur. The signs of these events (the period between taking Istakhr until conquering Ctesiphon and formal coronation there) are shown in the inscription of Ardashir's coronation in Naqsh-e Rostam and also the alteration of his coins.
At first, the Sasanian policies were formed based on the relations between the shah, the royal family and the noble landlords (including members of the old Parthian Empire high class). In Ardashir's period, though the centralization had begun and the number of local shahs had decreased sharply, his reign stood on the same bases which the Parthian empire was on after all.
According to the description of Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht of Ardashir's court, the latter's name is mentioned as the king of kings (shahanshah) along with four "shahs", who were the rulers of Abarshahr, Merv, Kerman and Sakastan. There were also the three kingdoms Makran, Turgistan and Kushanshahr that had submitted to Ardashir's command and paid him taxes. Those local shahs were partly semi-dependent from the central government and the successions were inherited for them. However at the periods of the succeeding Sasanian shahanshahs, the independences of some of them were taken; for example at the time of Shapur I, the independences of Merv and Nishapur were taken and Sakastan became a province (city) and was granted to liegeman Narseh, son of Shapur. This shows an increasing inclination towards the centralization of power since the early Sasanian era.
The structure of the central Parthian government depended on "local noblemen" and "clan grandees" and included local autonomous governments based on "aristocracy" and "tribal interests". Ardashir had realized that it would be impossible to pursue and finish the policy of attacking and attaching without permanentizing and consolidating power in his domain; and thus, he could alter the military balance in then status and the homeland structure only by removing the local governors and establishing a central power with an organized Bureaucracy system. Although the Sasanian government did not have any difference from the final Parthian era on its first days, but as mentioned, one of the prominent features of the Sasanian era was an increasing inclination toward the concentration of power in Iran since the first days of the Sasanians' uprising. In the Sasanian dawn, Iran included a union of kingdoms and noble landlords (liegemen), each of which possessed a various degree of independence from the central government and were economically connected to it by different channels. In other words, a type of Feudalism society under the rule of large owners stood in the Iranian Plateau while in the deserts, the urban culture and pathway cities were the face of society more often.
The cities which are believed to had been constructed by Ardashir are:
| 1 | Ardashir-Khwarrah | Firuzabad | Fars province |
| 2 | Rew-Ardashir | Reishahr | Fars |
| 3 | Ram-Hormozd-Ardashir | Ramhormoz | Khuzestan |
| 4 | Hormozd-Ardashir | Ahvaz | Khuzestan |
| 5 | Ostad-Ardashir | Characene | Khuzestan |
| 6 | Vahshatabad-Ardashir | Basra | Khuzestan |
| 7 | Veh-Ardashir | Seleucia | Mesopotamia |
| 8 | Buz-Ardashir | Mosul | Mesopotamia |
| 9 | Veh-Ardashir (Kerman province) | Bardsir | Kerman |
| 10 | Tan-Ardashir | Madinat-ol-Khat | Bahrain |
It is deduced from Onomastics and Physiognomy findings that the remark of the Achaemenids and adoring fire, one of the principles of Zoroastrianism, still existed in Pars. The similarity of Ardashir I's coins with the remaining coins of local Persian shahs shows a Persian tradition and the adoring of local shahs toward it. On the coin of Hubarz, one of local Persian shahs, it is written: "Hubarz, a governor from the gods, son of a Persian". The importance of this writing is that it shows the title on Ardashir's coins "Worshiper of Mazda, Lord Ardashir, the shahanshah of Iran that has a face from the gods" is the continuation of the tradition of Fratarakas. On the other hand, with the existence of the names of kings like Darius I and Artaxerxes on the coins of local shahs of the land, if it is not assumed that a subsidiary house of the Achaemenids still ruled in Pars, it at least testifies for the continuation of a part of the Achaemenid traditions. After all, the rise of the Parthian Empire to power meant the domination of nomadic and degenerate Iranian peoples on urban Iranians; the second faction, which was more original and nationally authentic than the first faction, looked at the Parthians with a grudge, considered them usurpers who had violated their right and Pars was the head of those regions.
Ardashir had a remarkable role in developing the royal ideology. He tried to announce himself as a Mazda worshiper connected to god and owner of divine khvarenah. The claim of his royal eligibility as a rightful newcomer from the line of mythical Iranian shahs and the propagations attributed to Ardashir against the eligibility and the role of the Parthians in the Iranian history sequence confirms the excellent place that the Achaemenid legacy had in the minds of the first Sasanian shahanshahs; though the consensus is that the Sasanians probably did not know much about the Achaemenids and the status. On the other hand, Shahbazi believes that the first Sasanian shahanshahs were familiar with the Achaemenids and their succeeding shahanshahs turned to the Kayanian dynasty deliberately. About that, Daryee adds that the Sasanians knowingly ignored the Achaemenids in order to be able to attribute their origins to the Kayanians; and that is why they applied the holy historiography. In that method, the social familiarity and bureaucracy did not matter and the court propagated its custom history by the help of the religious system. In order to remark his victories, Ardashir carved pictures in Firuzabad County, Naqsh-e Rustam and Naqsh-e Rajab; on his picture in Naqsh-e Rustam, Ardashir and Ahura Mazda are opposite to each other on horsebacks and the bodies of Artabanus IV and Angra Mainyu are visualized under the nails of Ardashir and Mazda's horses. It can be deduced from the picture that Ardashir believed or wanted others to believe that his reign over the land that is called "Iran" in inscriptions is designated by the Lord. The word "Iran" was previously used in Avesta and as "the name of the mythical Indo-Iranians land". In Ardashir's period, the title "Iran" was applied to the geography under Sasanian rule. The thought of "Iran" was accepted by both Zoroastrian and non-Zoroastrian societies in the whole empire and the collective memory of the Iranians has continued and survived until the Modern history today in different stages and various layers of the Iranian society. What is clear is that the concept "Iran" has had a religious application too and has later ended in the formation of its political face meaning a collection of lands. Choosing a place like Naqsh-e Rustam, which is mausoleum of Achaemenid shahs, for carving and inscribing, the site of the temple of Anahita in Istakhr and the existence of the names of some Achaemenid shahs as ancestors in the legendary Sasanian family tree show the existence of an inclination toward the Achaemenids in the early Sasanian period. There are many proofs in Middle Persian and Arabic-Persian language writings that show the Sasanians' aggressive confrontation with Roman Empire in order to return to the magnificent past status in the west and it had been assumed that the glory was taken by the Romans. About that, Al-Tabari has mentioned that Ardashir claimed and announced that he had risen to take the revenge of Darius III, who had been defeated and killed by Alexander III of Macedon. Roman historians like Herodian and Cassius Dio have also mentioned reports about "the Sasanians' desire to return to the magnificence and kingdom of the Achaemenids"; these reports of Roman historians show that the Romans had understood the goals of the Sasanian foreign policy well; though they did not have a decent understanding of the change and transformation in the royal Iranian continuum. The place of Alexander, who was known as a nemesis of Iran, in the thought of the Sasanians' desire for return at the time was simultaneous and aligned with the idea of "following and honoring Alexander" in the Roman emperors; Caracalla called himself "the second Alexander" and "Severus Alexander" honored him. Kettenhofen, Robin and Heuse believe that the class of Greek-Roman sources that have reported the Sasanians' familiarity with the Achaemenids and their desire for return to and extension of the Achaemenid lands had propagative applications and should be interpreted in the frame of the Roman empire thoughts. But what is clear is Ardashir's and later his son Shapur I's claim of Roman lands. Daryee believes that the cause of Ardashir and Shapur's wars with Rome was to accommodate their territorial ideals with traditions; he believes that the Sasanians' claim of Asian lands as their fathers' legacy had a mythical basis and originated from the mythical story of Fereydun dividing the world between his sons (Salm, Tur and Iraj); in that myth, Fereydun grants the reign of Turan to Tur and Rome to Salm and Iran, which is the best land in the world, to Iraj; the brothers become envious of the latter and the world goes under war. Thus, the Sasanians considered themselves Iraj's children and the Romans Salm's heirs by a mythical view. Daryee adds that only by that way the Sasanians' territorial claims, which are mentioned in Cassius Dio and Herodian's works, can be understood. He believes that the Sasanians' territorial claims were basically different from those of the Achaemenids. In the Sasanians' legendary genealogy that has appeared in Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan, the relation between the Sasanians and the Achaemenids is mentioned. In the book, the thought that has been reflected is the relation of Sasan, the ancestor of the Sasanian house, with Darius's descendants on one hand and the local Persian kings on the other hand; though in the fifth century, the Sasanians attributed their lineage to the mythical kings of Avesta or Kayanians; and its proof is the addition of the prefix "Kay" to the aliases of the Sasanian shahanshahs.
The question whether those claims and schemes and avengings, in the same way as mentioned in the historical sources, were actually proposed by Ardashir himself or were later attributed to him as the founder of the empire has still remained without answer due to the lack of sufficient sources; though the attribution of these claims to Ardashir after his lifetime seems more logical. According to these, it is undoubtedly true that Ardashir's grandiose views about policy and relations with the outside world had formed based on rebooting and repeating the Achaemenids' successes. However, the Sasanians' knowledge of the Achaemenids were superficial and vague information and did not have a regular and historical basis. About that, Richard Frye and Daryee believe that the section of the Arabic-Persian sources (like Al-Tabari) that contain the Sasanian history since the beginning until the age of Khosrow I should be looked at suspiciously; they consider this suspicious look at texts like Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan too. The suspicious look has been due to that most of the Iranian history sources were edited in the age of Khosrow I and by the royal writers and clerics in order to accommodate their predecessors' history with then world view of the Sasanian empire and draw a picture of Ardashir idealistic and aligning with Khosrow's ideals in the best way.
In his coins and Epigraphy in Naqsh-e Rustam, Ardashir has called himself the worshiper of Ahura Mazda and from the line of gods. In Ardashir's subsequent coins, the dentate crown has replaced the traditional hat on his head; that change along with the addition of the phrase "...looks similar to the gods" (he is from the line of gods) claim Ardashir's divine place. That dentate crown looks like the same crown that is drawn on the head of Ahura Mazda in the carvings of the coronation in Naqsh-e Rustam and it is not known whether Ahura Mazda's crown is adapted from Ardashir's or vice versa. His beliefs are revealed behind his coins by visualizing the fire temple. His projecting pictures in Firuzabad County, Naqsh-e Rustam and Naqsh-e Rajab have shown him close to Ahura Mazda. The latter's attention towards Ardashir has been known as khvarenah due to the mythical Iranian thoughts and it can be compared to the Greek "tuxeh" and the Latin "fortuna". Ardashir's khvarenah status shows the legitimacy of his reign. Founding the fire temples and giving budget to them along with considering Zoroastrianism religious texts was another way for Ardashir to gain legitimacy. A special fire temple called "Ardashir's Fire" was founded in the beginning of his reign that is named in his Epigraphy in Bishapur. In the Meadows of Gold, Al-Masudi has attributed some words to him:
Remember that religion and reign are two brothers that one can not exist without the other; because religion is the basis of reign and reign is the supporter of religion. Whatsoever does not stand on a basis will be doomed and whatever does not have a supporter will deteriorate.Ardashir's policy against non-Mazda worshiping societies inside his kingdom had made it a difficult period for them. The Jews and believers in some other religions were more or less tolerated in the Parthian Empire era and also had limited independence. Ardashir and his son Shapur I, especially in the beginning of his reign, tried to limit the Jews' autonomy and deprive them of their independent judiciary and legal rights. The purpose of those actions might have been to extend the Zoroastrian society. The Syriac language-language Christians were treated with more tolerance and leniency and their population increased until mid-third century. Mani did not reveal his propaganda until Ardashir's death; he might have realized that Shapur was more convincing than his father.
It can be deduced from the list that some deviations have occurred in the important names and events of the era in the late Sasanian Empire sources. For example, in the narrative Iranian history, the land that was ruled by "Mihrak" was named "the largest enemies of Ardashir"; while the mentioned region was under the rule of Sasan Shah Andigan and is mentioned as one of the pro-Ardashir regions in the mentioned inscription. It can be deduced from the list that a same-story group had appeared supporting Ardashir that included the representatives of large Iranian houses like the Varazes, Surens and Karens in addition to the shahs of Andigan and Opernak and Merv and Sakastan. According to Roman Empire sources, some of the minor governors had also joined them.
In the Letter of Tansar, it is mentioned that Ardashir's intention was to seek the revenge of Darius III from the Alexandrians (Roman Empire). That text was obviously written in order to arouse the Iranians national emotions; though these narratives have more actually the criteria of epic stories. But it reveals the psychological truth that the Iranians deeply had the feeling of possessing a national identity for several centuries and considered themselves separate from other peoples; and that is why the other lands that the Iranians conquered were never named "Iran", but were called "Aniran".
The first group is the coins that show a full-face portrait of Ardashir on the coin and a profile of Papak, Ardashir's father who looks left due to the Parthian Empire, behind the coin. The phrase "Ardashir Shah" is written on these coins with the phrase "His Majesty Papak Shah" behind. The second group have the profile of Ardashir wearing a hat or crown looking right similar to other coins of the Sasanian Empire era. Behind the second group coins, a symbol of the firebox of the fire temple is seen like in all the coins of the Sasanian era. On the second group of the coins, the phrase "The worshiper of Ahura Mazda, his majesty Ardashir the Iranian shahanshah who has his face from the gods" is written that shows Ardashir's religious beliefes.
On the third group of the coins, the picture of Ardashir is carved in front of the picture of his son, Shapur I, with the phrases "Shapur the Iranian shah who has his face from the gods" and "Ardashir's fire". The firebox of the fire temple is carved behind the coins.
The symbol behind the second group coins is a fireplace carving based on a design found in Persia and the phrase "Ardashir's fire" implies a royal fire that was ignited in the beginning of every shah's reign. The section of the supporting basis of the fireplace has some similarity to the Achaemenid throne. Some hanging bands are carved in the end of an open headband, which is the royal symbol in Persian traditions. Therefore, the behind these coins show Ardashir's concern for showing himself not only as the Achaemenids' rightful heir, but also as a religious Zoroastrianism. In the makeup of head and hair, Ardashir was loyal to the Parthian traditions in the first coins and chose a crown similar to the crowns of Mithridates II's period. However, in the final years, Ardashir's main crown was from a type in which a part of the hair was decorated in a globe above the head; the globe and the lid were covered with a thin silky net and some bands were hanging behind it.
Based on a research by Callieri, most of the symbols of the Frataraka's coins like the flag, the memorial building and the appearing posture of the person standing opposite to it are derived from the Achaemenids. Touraj Daryaee believes that though the Fratarakas probably did not know the proper application of a building like Ka'ba-ye Zartosht, it still had an ideological importance to them. Therefore, it can be deduced from the similarity of Ardashir's coins with the late coins of local Persian governors there was a movement based on Persian traditions and the local Persian governors' adornment of it. However that does not necessarily mean that Ardashir was related to the local Persian shahs in all affairs.
Ibn al-Nadim once mentioned a book called Ardashir's Testament that Al-Baladhuri (died 279 Islamic calendar), one of Middle Persian translators, had turned into an Arabic poem. Once again in the chapter about the books of the Persian people, Roman Empire, Indian people and Arabs in the preaches and ethics and doctrines, he mentioned a book called Ardashir I's Testament to His Son Shapur I and it seems that he meant another book.
The original Middle Persian text of Ardashir's Testament is lost; but some versions of its Arabic translations are available:
In the era, Ardashir's Testament is mentioned in many history and literature books. Al-Masudi has remarked it and has quoted a phrase of its about the last millennium. It is also named in Mojmal al-tawarikh and Farsnameh and in the latter it is mentioned about Khosrow I that "he suggested the testaments of Ardashir, son of Papak, and applied his preaches that were in that testament." The same matter is mentioned by Al-Tabari and Al-Tha'alibi. Al-Jahiz has mentioned Ardashir's Testament along with Bozorgmehr's Quotes and mentions that the writers (Kottab) used it. Al-Mubarrad (died 286 Hijri) writes that Al-Ma'mun had ordered his son's mentor to teach him Al-Watheg bellah the book of God and read him Ardashir's Testament and force him to memorize Kelileh va Demneh.
The structure of the town is inspired by the architectural method of Darabgard and contains circular walls that surround an area with a diameter of about two kilometers and a double muddy wall and a trench with a Parthian Empire style and two axes divide the perpendicular intersection of the city to four sectors with four main gates of Mehr, Bahram, Hormoz and Ardashir that each is divided to five smaller sections that are connected to each other by ring-like streets.
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