Sasanian Empire

*Ērānshahr*

Flag of the Sasanian Empire

## Coat of Arms

Imperial Emblem

The  **Sasanian,** **Sassanid** or **Persian Empire**, officially known as the **Empire of Iranians**, *(was the last Persian imperial dynasty before the Muslim conquest in the mid-seventh century CE)*. Named after the House of Sasan, it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to (*651 CE)*, making it the longest-lived Persian dynasty. The Sasanian Empire succeeded the Parthian Empire, and reestablished the Persians as a superpower in late antiquity.

The Sasanian Empire was founded by Ardashir I, a local Iranian ruler who rose to power as Parthia weakened from internal strife and civil wars. After defeating the last Parthian king, in the battle of Hormozdgan in 224, he established the Sasanian dynasty and set out to restore the legacy of the Achaemenid Empire by expanding Iran's dominions. At its greatest extent, the Sasanian Empire stretched from the eastern Mediterranean (including Anatolia and Egypt) to Pakistan, and from parts of southern Arabia to the Caucasus and Central Asia. According to legend, the vexilloid of the Empire was the Derafsh Kaviani.

The period of Sasanian rule is considered a high point in Iranian history, and in many ways was the peak of ancient Iranian culture before the Muslim conquest and subsequent Islamization. The Sasanians tolerated the varied faiths and cultures of their subjects; developed a complex, centralized government bureaucracy; revitalized Zoroastrianism as a legitimizing and unifying force of their rule; built grand monuments and public works; and patronized cultural and educational institutions. The empire's cultural influence extended far beyond its territorial borders—including Western Europe, Africa, China and India—and helped to shape European and Asian medieval art. Persian culture became the basis for much of Islamic culture, influencing art, architecture, music, literature, and philosophy throughout the Muslim world.

## History

### Origins and Early History (205–310 CE)

Conflicting accounts shroud the details of the fall of the Parthian Empire and subsequent rise of the Sasanian Empire in mystery. The Sassanian Empire was established in Estakhr by Ardashir I.

Ardashir's father, Papak, was originally the ruler of a region called Khir. However, by the year 200, Papak had managed to overthrow Gochihr and appoint himself the new ruler of the Bazrangids. Papak's mother, Rodhagh, was the daughter of the provincial governor of Pars. Papak and his eldest son Shapur managed to expand their power over all of Pars. Subsequent events are unclear due to the elusive nature of the sources. It is certain, however, that following the death of Papak, Ardashir, the governor of Darabgerd, became involved in a power struggle with his elder brother Shapur. Sources reveal that Shapur, leaving for a meeting with his brother, was killed when the roof of a building collapsed on him. By the year 208, over the protests of his other brothers, who were put to death, Ardashir I (224-242 CE), declared himself ruler of Pars.

Once Ardashir was appointed *shah* (King), he moved his capital further to the south of Pars and founded Ardashir-Khwarrah (formerly *Gur*, modern day Firuzabad). The city, well protected by high mountains and easily defensible due to the narrow passes that approached it, became the centre of Ardashir's efforts to gain more power. It was surrounded by a high, circular wall, probably copied from that of Darabgird. Ardashir's palace was on the north side of the city; remains of it are extant. After establishing his rule over Pars, Ardashir rapidly extended his territory, demanding fealty from the local princes of Fars, and gaining control over the neighbouring provinces of Kerman, Isfahan, Susiana and Mesene. This expansion quickly came to the attention of the Parthian king, \*Silaces I, who initially ordered the governor of Khuzestan to wage war against Ardashir in 224, but Ardashir was victorious in the ensuing battles. In a second attempt to destroy Ardashir, the Parthian king himself met Ardashir in battle at Hormozdgān on 28 April 224 CE, where the former was defeated and fled to the now moved court at Mithridakert. Following the death of \*Silaces I, one year later during the hopeless Siege of Mithridakert, Ardashir went on to invade the western provinces of the now defunct Parthian Empire, ruled by the second king, \*Osroes II, who was killed at Seleucia in 227, conquering Mesopotamia.

Ardashir was aided by the geography of the province of Fars, which was separated from the rest of Iran. Crowned in 224 at Ctesiphon as the sole ruler of Persia, Ardashir took the title *shahanshah*, or "King of Kings", bringing the 400-year-old Parthian Empire to an end, and beginning four centuries of Sassanid rule.

In the next few years, local rebellions occurred throughout the empire. Nonetheless, Ardashir I further expanded his new empire to the east and northwest, conquering the provinces of Sakastan, Gorgan, Khorasan, Marw (in modern Turkmenistan), Balkh and Chorasmia. He also added Bahrain and Mosul to the Sassanid possessions. Later Sassanid inscriptions also claim the submission of the Kings of Kushan, Turan and Makuran to Ardashir, by 230 CE.

#### Ardashid War (231-238 CE)

After the Sassanid subjugation of Parthia in 227 CE, the Pontic king, \*Arsaces II (r. 222-238 CE) feared an invasion from the Persians. The rising Sasanian Empire, dreaming of a revived Achaemenid Empire, had charged into Pontos on April 15 231 CE, beginning the Ardashid War, that lasted from 231 until 238 CE.

##### Siege of Antioch (231 CE)

The first confrontation between Sassanid and Pontic forces, was near the city of Antioch. Before the two armies met, Ardashir quickly sent a 5,000 strong garrison to block incoming supplies from the Levantine Sea, through the Orontes River. The Pontic soldiers, who arrived a kilometer south of the city, led by the king \*Arsaces II, numbered around 100,000, against a numerically superior Sassanid army of 120,000, commanded by Shah Ardashir I. When his forces charged, reinforced by Persian Cataphracts on the flanks, the Pontic defense line, slowly began to break, killing around 20,000 and losing 4,000. This resulted in \*Arsaces retreating into the city and guarding it from the inside, which effectively started the siege. However, after several months of supply shortages and numerous failed attempts to enter the city, Ardashir finally managed to infiltrate the city, slaughtering another 20,000 soldiers, while losing 6,000 men of their own, which caused the Pontic army to retreat to the city of Tarsos, while Antioch fell to the Sassanid Empire.

##### Battle of Tarsos (232 CE)

When \*Arsaces arrived near Tarsos, he was quickly reinforced by the Pontic General Machares, who together numbered around 110,000 troops, including 20 Carthaginian-imported war elephants, who were kept in reserve. When he met Ardashir, along with an army of the same size, the Sassanids charged onto the Pontic defense line, which managed to stand firm, thanks to its veteran Pontic sarissas. However, even though the defense held, the Pontic army was not inflicting significant casualties on the Sassanids either, as both forces matched one another equally. To finally turn the tide, \*Arsaces unleashed his war elephants onto the enemy flanks, who were not expecting the Pontic forces to have these, and thus did not have anti-elephant weapons. This caused the horses of the Persian cataphracts on the flanks, to panic, smashing into their own formations, resultung in 30,000 soldiers being slaughtered or crushed by the elephants, while \*Arsaces only lost about 7,000 men. This forced Ardashir to order a retreat, while the Pontic army pursued them.

##### Battle of Tigranocerta (232 CE)

Meanwhile, in Armenia, the Sassanid Prince, Shapur, with an army of 80,000 soldiers, met with the Pontic Prince, \*Pharnaces, commanding 70,000 men, near Tigranocerta. However, Shapur knew that the most dangerous threat were the Macedonian Cataphracts, so he waited until the Pontic army charged, while his self-commanded cavalry was moved west into the direction of the city. When the Greeks charged, Shapur clashed into the enemy forces by charging his cavalry into the western flank, with the Macedonian cataphracts panicking and sabotaging their own formations, while the vanguard of the Persian army, was now charging into the enemy as well. \*Pharnaces quickly realized what was going on, and retreated with his army, losing Tigranocerta, and 20,000 soldiers, including most of his cataphracts, while the Sasanians only lost about 5,000 men.

##### Battle of Samosata (233 CE)

As Ardashir retreated from Tarsos, he marched onto the city of Samosata, with a rather wise strategy. Ardashir initially sent 10,000 of his soldiers to capture and guard the city. Meanwhile, his massive main force of 70,000 troops, was setting up a camp on a peninsula, near the OTL modern town of Göltarla. When the Pontic army, commanded by King \*Arsaces II and General \*Machares, was a few kilometers away from the city, the Sassanid forces moved out of the peninsula, through a thin pass, and smashed into the flank of the opposing force. The Pontic king was completely taken by surprise, and lost 30,000 soldiers, before retreating to the city of Carcathiocerta, while the Sassanid casualties only numbered about 5,000.

##### Battle of Artashat (233 CE)

Back in Armenia, Prince \*Pharnaces, commanding 50,000 soldiers, was retreating to the city of Artashat, and reinforced his army with 15,000 more soldiers, while he was pursued by Shapur, with a superior force of 75,000 men. However, as he was reinforced by Armenian cataphracts, Pharnaces single-handedly commanded this cavalry, while the vassal king of Armenia, \*Ariobarzanes, was in control of the main infantry force. \*Pharnaces used his light cavalry to charge into the direction of the enemy, and then retreating, thus distracting the enemy cavalry, consisting of Persian cataphracts, and Parthian horse archers. This gave \*Pharnaces and his heavy cavalry enough time to position himself behind the enemy, and when \*Ariobarzanes ordered a charge, \*Pharnaces clashed with the Sassanids from behind, confusing and inflicting heavy casualties on their enemy. Thus, 20,000 Persians were killed, while Ariobarzanes only lost around 5,000 men, as Shapur quickly decided to retreat, in order to avoid a even more devastating defeat.

The Sassanid army, however, began to mutiny, because the army was worn off from marching through the Armenian mountanious terrain, forcing Shapur to march south, to the city of Carcathiocerta, while his father Ardashir, pursuing \*Arsaces and \*Machares was coming close to the city as well.

##### Battle of Carcathiocerta (234 CE)

When \*Arsaces learned about the arrival of his son, he began to set up a formation on a hill south of the city, standing with 73,000 soldiers in front of Ardashir's 75,000 men. However, Shapur's army, numbering 55,000 men was approaching the Greeks from the opposite side, after destroying their bridge, to slow down \*Pharnace's crossing of the Tigris River, along with his 60,000 troops. The Pontic king intentionally stood firm and when the two Sassanid armies were about to clash him from two sides, he ordered to move his army a kilometer south, letting the Sassanid armies smash together, inflicting 10,000 casualties, as even though Ardashir and Shapur immediately ordered a full scale halt, some parts of the army did not reach this information quickly and killed some of their own soldiers, damaging their organization.

While this was a boost for Pontic morale, \*Arsaces knew he couldnt stand against the two armies, and this gave \*Pharnaces enough time to cross the river attacking Shapur's army from behind and distracting him. Meanwhile, \*Arsaces ordered a full-scale charge on both Sassanid armies. However, as \*Arsaces unleashed his war elephants, \*Ardashir now had weapons to counter them, and thus the elephants were defeated by ox-drawn wagons, some equipped with long spikes to wound the elephants, others equipped with fire arrows, to inflict wounds and scare them away. The once so mighty war elephants that turned the tide during the Battle of Tarsos, were now utterly beaten. An intense battle between the four armies followed. \*Ardashir had kept his best units in reserve, consisting of veteran Persian cataphracts, and Parthian javelinmen. The latter began throwing a hail of javelins at the Pontic army, and afterwards the Persian cataphracts charged into the enemy, inflicting significant casualties on \*Arsace's army, even killing General \*Machares in combat. Thus, \*Arsaces ordered a full scale retreat to the city of Eusebia, which was earlier known as Mazaca, after losing 30,000 men. At the same time \*Pharnaces decided to withdraw, marching with his still relatively intact army of 50,000 men, onto the direction of Trapezus. Ardashir had lost 15,000 soldiers in this battle, while Shapur lost 20,000 men.

After the two Sassanid armies were each reinforced by 15,000 men, \*Shapur now began to subdue Cilicia, including the city of Tarsos, even capturing some towns around Eusebia after defeating multiple garrisons. Simultaneously, \*Ardashir marched to the city of Phasis (OTL today's Poti), where he ordered the construction of dozens of warships to keep up with the Pontic naval forces, which should be sent to Trapezus afterwards, while the production of warships was greatly present in the Iranian heartland as well. Then, the Sassanid Shah was on his way to meet \*Pharnaces at Trapezus, who reinforced his army with 20,000 soldiers from the Bosporan vassal king, \*Darius I of the Bosporus.

##### Battle of Trapezus (235 CE)

When Ardashir reached Trapezus, he ordered three of his bravest and most loyal men, to dress up as Pontic archers, and thus the three men, called \*Bahram, \*Wahrez and \*Pabag, ran to the Pontic army stationated near the city, and having a pile of flame arrows on their back, were successfully accepted into the army. Meanwhile, Ardashir, and his 75,000 men, set up a camp nearby and waited. During the second night, the three soldiers, managed to sneak past the sleeping Greeks. They then infiltrated the city onto the direction of the harbor, where dozens of warships were positioned, avoiding eye contact with night patrols. The three Persians, then began to shoot as many flame arrows at the ships as they could. The resulting smoke was quickly noticed by a Pontic night patrol, and when they were spotted, \*Pabag defended the others against the soldiers, allowing the two to flee, while \*Pabag was stabbed in the back and died. When the two jumped down the eastern city wall, both sprinted eastwards to be rescued by the Sassanid army, and to inform Ardashir, to start the attack. While the men were running, \*Wahrez was shot by an arrow in the back and fell to the ground. He screamed at \*Bahram to leave him back, and shortly after, another arrow had struck \*Bahram's leg, forcing him to crawl as far as a kilometer.

When \*Bahram reached the Persian army, he immediately showed the soldiers a Sassanid coin to gain their trust and spoke in Persian: "I am one of you, and I fought alongside you", and so he was brought to Ardashir, who granted him the rank of a general, as a reward for his braveness. When morning rose, the Sassanid army began to move forward, while many Pontic soldiers were busy extinguishing the fire at the harbor. \*Bahram showed the army a cracked spot of the wall, which he found during the night, and thus, Ardashir sent a battering ram, smashing the city wall and opening a hole. This was then noticed by the Pontic army at the southern wall. However, it was too late, as by that point, ten of thousands of Sassanid soldiers began infiltrating the city, killing 10,000 soldiers, who were inside the city, while the Persians captured at least 16 intact Pontic warships. Meanwhile, \*Pharnaces attempted to trap the Persians inside the city, by surrouding Trapezus. However, this utterly failed, because \*Pharnaces assumed the entire Sassanid army was moved inside the city. A cavalry unit charged into the Pontic forces, which attemped the encirclement, and this resulted in 10,000 more casualties, leaving \*Pharnaces and his remaining 30,000 demoralized men, no other choice than to retreat to the Pontic court at Amaseia, while the Persians only lost about 1,000 soldiers.

The loss of Trapezus was a huge blow to the Pontic morale, as the Sassanids, had not only split the Pontic Empire into two parts, but now had access to a large harbor in the Black Sea, and were able to produce more warships more effectively.

##### Battle of Eusebia (236 CE)

In the meantime, Prince \*Shapur began to march on to Eusebia, along with 40,000 men, while \*Arsaces fortified his army of 55,000 troops near the city, putting up iron spikes around the city, to avoid a cavalry charge from the enemy, as well as digging trenches behind the spikes. When \*Shapur reached the defense line, he ordered to launch a barrage of arrows, some of the on fire, onto the Pontic forces. \*Arsaces assumed that the Sassanids would sooner or later run out of arrows, so he could fire back, and possibly charge. However, this was a mistake, as the Sassanids, owned large reserves of arrows, supplied by a mobile rearming train of camels hidden behind the enemy, that could store large piles of arrows. After shooting volleys after volleys onto \*Arsace's army, the Greeks began to suffer casualties. When \*Arsaces realized that the Persians were constantly reinforced by arrows, he ordered two cavalry units to break out of the spikes, behind the city, turning around to the Sassanid archers, and charging into them from two sides. However, as \*Arsaces was too paranoid he refused to lead the cavalry. The charge was at first effective, however, when \*Shapur had moved the archers behind the line, thus moving the spearmen forward, the horsemen, were soon defeated. Shortly after, \*Shapur continued the barrage, and after multiple breakout attempts from the Greeks, as a result, \*Arsaces had retreated from the battlefield, suffering 30,000 casualties, while \*Shapur only lost around 10,000 men.

In 236 CE, the newly appointed Sassanid general, \*Bahram, commanding 20,000 men, was sent to meet the Armenian vassal king, \*Ariobarzanes, and his 15,000 troops, at the Second Battle of Artashat, defeating and killing the latter. \*Bahram continued his conquests, by invading the Caucasian vassal kingdoms, forcing them into submission and reinforcing his army with 15,000 more soldiers, while Ardashir was on its way to Amaseia.

##### Battle of Amaseia (236 CE)

The two armies met each other approximately four kilometers south of the sacred city, at the Gates of Iris, a mountain pass leading to Amaseia. On the day of battle, Ardashir positioned his 74,000 men on the high slopes, comprising rugged terrain, in order to weaken the Pontic strength of a possible cavalry charge. The Sassanid king kept his Persian horse archers on the flanks of his infantry, while the mighty Persian cataphracts were kept behind. The outnumbered Pontic forces, numbering 40,000 men, were guarding the mountain pass, in a valley stretching one kilometer. As Ardashir realized that the Pontic army was not going to attack first, he ordered his horse to charge down the hill, and when they were about to clash into the Pontic troops, drifted to the side, launching a barrage of arrows onto the enemy, weaking the formation on the flanks. Afterwards, the vanguard of the Sassanid army began to march forward, clashing with the Greek phalanx. Intimidated by the sheer size of the Persian army, \*Pharnaces ordered a full retreat and was able to escape from the city, taking the garrison of 5,000 men with him, while the rest of the trapped Pontic army was left on its own, as the Sassanid cataphracts finished off the rest. In this battle, \*Pharnaces had lost 25,000 men, and only less than half of his army managed to escape the Persians, while the latter only lost 5,000.

After the loss of the Pontic traditional court, \*Pharnaces fled to the coastal city of Amisos. At the harbor, he loaded his army onto the ships and sailed to the Bosporan Kingdom, taking 80 warships along with him. There, he was reinforced by \*Darius of the Bosporus with 15,000 men, mostly comprised of Scythian skirmishes and cavalry.

##### Battle of Panticapaion (237 CE)

Meanwhile, General \*Bahram, commanding 31,000 men was already on his way to attack the Bosporos, which \*Pharnaces did not realize. Thus, the Pontic Prince did not have enough time, and when \*Bahram reached Panticapaion (OTL Panticapaeum), both \*Darius and \*Pharnaces were completely taken by surpise, and were forced to meet the Sassanids in battle with an unprepared army, some parts even lacking equipment. In addition, the city was not properly fortified yet. The entire Persian army charged into the Greek forces, who barely managed to hold their ground. Resistance completely broke when the Scythian cavalry was annihilated, as the Sassanid cataphracts smashed into the enemy flanks. During the heat of the battle, Prince \*Pharnaces was knocked off his horse, and a Sassanid lance had struck his body, leaving him to his fate. Panic broke out, and only the wounded \*Darius, as well as 10,000 men managed to escape to the city of Theodosia, where he sailed with his army to Mithripolis. The Sassanid casualties numbered only about 5,000,

In 237 CE, about 250 Persian warships were completed and implemented into the Sassanid naval force.

That same year, Shapur subjugated most cities of Central Anatolia and reinforced his army with 15,000 Greek and Galatian auxiliary forces, recruited during his conquests. Resupplied with new siege engines, Shapur was on his way to the city of Ikonion.

##### Battle of Ikonion (237 CE)

Similiar to the last battle, \*Arsaces fortified himself with 30,000 men around the city, putting up iron spikes and digging trenches. However, this time, he positioned his archers inside the trenches, who were each protected by a Phalanx soldier, who would turn his shield upside to protect the archers. Right in front of the trenches was a another of Phalanx troops who would protect the archers in case of an infantry charge from their enemy. As the 45,000 soldier strong Persian army, along with Shapur, approached Ikonion, he ordered a barrage of arrows, to weaken the Pontic army, allowing his yet hidden catapults to penetrate even more successfully later on. The Greek defense was very effective and only minor casualties were reported. Nonetheless, the Pontic forces did not know what was to come, and at first, thought the Sassanids had run out of arrows. But when Shapur commanded a bombardement from the catapults, the Greeks were completely taken by surprise. \*Arsaces immediately ordered to disperse the army, to avoid large casualties. However, as the fortifications did not allow a widespread dispersion of the army, they were stuck inside their defense, and pinned down by the Persians. Any soldier that tried to escape, would be exposed to the Sassanid spearmen and killed. Only \*Arsaces and 5,000 of his most experienced veterans managed to escape through a secret underground tunnel without being followed, while the remaining 25,000 soldiers were annihilated where they stood.

Meanwhile, General \*Bahram subjugated the Bosporan kingdom, and was marching south, along the coast of the Black Sea.

By 238 CE, Shapur defeated numerous Pontic garrisons, capturing important cities, such as Pergamon, Ephesos and Attaleia. Resistance in most of Anatolia was broken by this point, and only the Pontic capital, Mithripolis, managed to stand firm, while the Pontic holdings in Thrace, Greece, and Dacia began to destabilize.

That same year, Shapur attempted to invade the Pontic capital through the sea, using their newly constructed naval force. However, the Persians failed two times, to break the coastal defense, as well as the superior Pontic fleet, and the Sassanid Prince soon realized that an invasion through the Propontis, was almost impossible.

Simultaneously, after crossing the Danube, \*Bahram was reinforced by Ardashir's army, who continued their march as a combined force. The Sassanid troops, on their way in Thrace, were mistaken as a Pontic patrol, by a 30,000 men strong Thracian insurgent army, and when they were about to attack, the Thracian leader, \*Epigenes noticed the Sassanid emblem from a flag carrier. He quickly stopped the attack that was about to begin, and was coming out of his hide peacefully. He told Ardashir about their common enemy, and swore loyalty to the Persians if he could join the army. Ardashir accepted, and the Thracian commander, showed him the fastest route to Mithripolis.

##### Siege of Mithripolis (238 CE)

Arriving with his 5,000 men at Mithripolis, \*Arsaces was outraged of his son's death, and demanded every single men from the age of 17-60 to be recruited as a soldier, increasing the manpower by 25,000, with the entire city having a population of 200,000. Overall, the city was defended by around 45,000 men, but more than half of the army was made up of unexperienced recruits conscripted from the civilian population. Simultaneously, the Persian Prince, Shapur was camping at the other site of the strait, along with dozens of warships that were hidden from the Greeks, waiting for an oppurtunity to attack.

On August 26, 238 CE, the Sassanid army, along with 125,000 men, arrived at the walls of Mithripolis, setting up a camp nearby. Ardashir's vanguard of 100,000 men was positioned on the Western Wall, while \*Bahram and his 25,000 men began their formation on the near the Northern Wall, behind the Chrysokeras (OTL Golden Horn). On the 28th, Ardashir ordered his Thracian light infantry and skirmishes, commanded by \*Epigenes, to assault the wall, but the defenders successfully repelled them. The Pontic army attempted a few sallies on the next days, but none of these were effective, while the Sassanids fired a few volleys of arrows, though showing only little success.

On the night of September 6th, the Persians under \*Bahram unleashed a massive barrage of fire arrows, using longbows, onto the Northern Wall and the main Pontic harbor, forcing the Greeks to reposition parts of their army to the north. Meanwhile, \*Ardashir did the same, and ordered a full scale charge onto the enemy, using siege engines. The Greeks were completely overwhelmed, and thousands of Sassanid troops broke through the gate, and infiltrated the city, resulting in fierce street fighting, while the smoke of the burning ships and buildings poured into the sky. This was quickly noticed by \*Shapur, and he quickly loaded his 30,000 soldiers onto the Persian warships and attacked the Greeks from the sea. By this point much of the Pontic ships were left empty, because they needed the crew to defend Mithripolis, and thus, Shapur managed to penetrate the Pontic defense from the sea. General \*Bahram and his troops managed to capture some Greek ships, allowing his troops to enter the city from the north.

At the same time, chaos broke out in the capital, and thousands of Pontic soldiers even surrendered out of despair. King \*Arsaces, \*Darius and 5,000 of his royal guards, attempted a last stand inside the Palace of Mithripolis. When \*Ardashir and \*Bahram entered the city, the latter stormed head on into the palace, fighting heroically, just like the Greeks. However, during the heat of the battle \*Arsaces and \*Bahram fought in single-combat, and the Pontic king slashed into the throat of \*Bahram, revenging his son. Thus, the beloved General fell dead onto the Palace's marble floor. Seeing this tragedy, Ardashir was completely enraged and massacred all leftover Pontic guards, except \*Arsaces and \*Darius, who were knocked out and imprisoned for a later purpose. Meanwhile, the last naval resistance was crushed by \*Shapur's fleet.

At dawn of September 8th, \*Arsaces and \*Darius were publicly executed at the marketplace of Mithripolis, symbolizing the end of the Pontic Empire, and starting the foundation of the new Sassanid age, in legacy of Cyrus the Great. Though, not all of the former Pontic Empire was now under Sasanian rule. The Greek and Illyrian kingdoms, as well as Dacia managed to gain independence. As a reward for his loyalty, Ardashir appointed \*Epigenes as the vassal king of Thrace. The Mithridatic dynasty was replaced by governors of different, mostly **Persian**, ancestries, and effectively had died out, even in the Greek homeland.

#### Gothic Invasions and Intermediate Era (238-309 CE)

##### Encounter with the Goths (238-244 CE)

A few days after the victory in Mithripolis, most of the Sassanid army was dispersed around the Empire to protect and guard their territories, especially the newly aquired lands. However, only months later, during winter, the Germanic Goths (Greuthungi and Thervingi), as well as allied Gepids, along with a massive force of 260,000 men, crossed the Danube and were ravaging the just established Thracian vassal kingdom, ambushing thousands of garrisons, and making it virtually impossible to govern Thrace, killing \*Epigenes in the process. The Persians were forced to reposition 80,000 men inside the walls of Mithripolis, who successfully defended the city, after numerous attempts to capture it. To accomodate such a large number of troops, a large military camp was erected at the other side of the strait, serving as barracks.

Ardashir I died in February of 242 CE, and was succeded by his son, Shapur I.

#### Fifth Egyptian War (244-246 CE)

Following the dream of a second Acheaemenid Empire, in 244, Shapur invaded the Carthaginian Levant with a force of 80,000 men, defeating them at the Battle of Tyre, and slaughtering around 20,000 Phoenicians. When a massive army, under suffete, \*Gisco was sailing to Phoenicia, the Sassanids wasted no time and vassalized the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem to consolidate their power in the Levant. Even though Shapur was initially defeated at the battle of Oyat; near Damascus, he tricked the Carthaginians into an ambush by pretending to retreat, slaying half of their army, and forcing them to withdraw to Egypt. Meanwhile, another Phoenician army, under suffete \*Hanno was on its way to reinforce \*Gisco, with 50,000 fresh troops. However, before the suffete was able to receive his reinforcements, \*Gisco was continiously pursued by Shapur, who inflicted casualties by smashing with Persian cataphracts into the back of the enemy army. To ensure a safe retreat, 20,000 men were tasked to hold their ground while the other half, including \*Gisco, could retreat. Unfortunately, the detachment was quickly annihilated, and only a quarter of the initial Carthaginian army reached \*Hanno, near Pelousion, where they prepared for their next battle. One of the captured Phoenicians, was a war elephant breeder, who deserted, and told the Persians about a effective counter against them.

##### Battle of Pelousion (245 CE)

The 65,000 strong Sassanid army met with the 70,000 Carthaginians near the city. In contrast to the Phoenicians, however, the Persian forces were more tightly positioned, with a "A" shape formation, with caused the Phoenicians to underestimate the Sassanid troops. When the Carthaginians set out their skirmishes and light infantry, the Sassanid cavalry that was hidden behind their vanguard, clashed into the skirmishes and almost wiped them out. Meanwhile, the Numidian cavalry was sent against the Persian cataphracts who fought fiercely. However it were the cataphracts that came out successful, and at the same time, the main Sassanid army began to charge forward, while their enemy unleashed their war elephants who were kept in reserve. To counter them, the Persians prepared a horde of pigs, that were poured on with tar and set on flames. The elephants completely panicked and out of fear smashed into their own army, while the Sassanid troops did the rest, slaughtering the entire demoralized Carthaginian army, thus killing 65,000 men, including \*Gisco, and \*Hanno, while 5,000 soldiers surrendered and were taken prisoner.

After this great victory of Shapur, Egypt was open to invade, and thus the Persians marched into Egypt, defeating numerous garrisons. Another 50,000 Carthaginians under the more ambitious suffete \*Hamilcar, were sent to Alexandria, and when Shapur attempted a naval blockade, his fleet was quickly annihilated by the superior Phoenician navy. The Sassanids were not able to capture the city, and a peace treaty was signed in 246, after months of siege warfare. Persia would gain most of Egypt, while Carthage would retain Alexandria, Cyrenaica and Cyprus.

#### Phoenician War (249-251 CE)

In 249, the governor of Sassanid Phoenicia, \*Abibaal crowned himself as Lord "*Malik*" of the region. Shortly after, he told the Persian authorities that he would be travelling to Arabia in order to bring goods. However, instead he sailed to the Carthaginian capital, Carthago, where the Phoenician king offered the senate and suffetes support, along with an army of 30,000 men, to reconquer the Levant and Egypt from the Persians, if the Phoenician Empire will be allowed to rule Syria as well. The Carthaginians, though having other plans with the self proclaimed king later on, agreed, and a 50,000 strong army under the command of suffetes \*Adherbal and \*Paltibal, together with the forces of \*Abibaal, was sent to Egypt. Meanwhile, the son of \*Abibaal, \*Adonibaal, was building up another army near their hometown, Gebal (OTL Byblos), under the false assumption that they were trained for the Persian counterattack, and that he would want to take revenge on his father for the betrayal.

After the arrival of Carthaginian and Phoenician forces in Alexandria, during the next weeks, thousands of garrisons were slaughtered, and the Persians hastily sent a massive army to Egypt under the command of Shapur I. \*Adonibaal and his army of 20,000 men, mostly comprised of cavalry, followed the Persians unnoticed, and the former was going to meet the Carthaginians near Raphia.

In January of 250, nomadic tribes, possibly Nubians, had raided Egypt and interrupted the Carthaginian conquest. However, they were pushed back only a few months later.

That same year, the Goths launched an invasion into the Sassanid city of Mithripolis, as well as Dacia and the Kingdom of Ardiaei in Illyria under king Cniva. A Sassanid general named \*Peroz was sent to deal with the invaders, who repelled the Goths the next year.

##### Battle of Raphia (250 CE)

As Carthaginian and Phoenician troops approached the city, Shapur's army of 70,000 men was already in sight. As both began their formation, and charged onto each other, the battle seemed to be evenly matched, with no side taking the upper hand. However, it was this moment that \*Adonibaal's cavalry clashed into the Persian forces from behind, who were completely taken by surprise. Shapur immediately ordered a retreat; However the damage had already been made and the Shah only managed to escape with 10,000 men.

This was a disastrous defeat for the Sassanid king, who had no other choice but to reinforce his army near Damascus. The Carthaginians now had two options. The first one was to finish off Shapur at Damascus, though which may could be a trap set for the attackers. The second option was to swiftly conquer Phoenicia, gaining support and likely reinforcements from the natives. Probably tempted by their desire to regain their homeland, the Carthaginians chose the second option and invaded the Levant, after capturing Jerusalem. Their army was resupplied by 20,000 native volunteers, and together their combined army, numbered a gigantic 105,000 men. A few garrisons were placed in the nearby cities, as well as in allied Gebal.

Meanwhile, Shapur managed to resupply his army, and now assembled a force of 50,000 men, along with siege engines. Driven by rage, he planned to sack Gebal, and raze it to the ground. When Palmyran scouts brought the message, that a Persian army was approaching the capital, \*Abibaal and \*Adonibaal immediately returned to Gebal, taking the Carthaginian forces along with them.

##### Battle of Gebal (250 CE)

Fortunately, it were the Phoenicians who arrived first. The Carthaginians began their formation outside of the city, while \*Adonibaal and \*Abibaal fortified the city. The king told the citizens about the Persian arrival, and promised everyone that they are going to save the city, together with their allies, the Carthaginians. This gave hope and motivated the population, which helped with constructing the defences.

However, shortly after, Shapur arrived in front of the Carthaginian army. Then, the Sassanids sent an envoy, which offered peace to \*Adherbal and \*Paltibal, as well as the unopposed control of Egypt, if they would let the Persians enter the city without facing resistance. The Carthaginian suffete answered: "I am not a traitor, I do not destroy entire cities and I do not let my brothers die in a fire or be enslaved. Now tell me Persian, what are you?"

The Shah was, again, completely outraged and ordered a full-scale charge onto the city, and demanded that no single dog should be left alive. This was a fatal mistake, as the Persians were not only outnumbered 2 to 1, but additionally on low morale because of the devastating defeat, they had just suffered at Raphia. When the Sassanid siege towers approached the city walls, the Phoenicians used a decisive counter. Before the impact, volleys of flaming arrows were fired at the towers, which caused them to collapse as they burned down, killing hundreds of men along with them.

The Carthaginians then counter charged, and annihilated the Persian defense line. Only a handful of soldiers, including Shapur escaped to their capital, Ctesiphon, where they sued for peace.

In 251, a peace treaty was arranged. Carthage was allowed to control Egypt, Cyprus and Israel, stretching from the cities of Berenice Troglodytica to Gerasa, while the Phoenician kingdom gained the Levant and Syria.

#### Incursions from the Goths and Religious Strife (253-309 CE)

The Sassanids, however, did not have enough time to recover, as the first Gothic seaborne raids took place in the 250s. The first two incursions into Asia Minor took place between 253 and 256, and are attributed to the Boranoi. This may not be an ethnic term, but may just mean "people from the north". It is unknown if Goths were involved in these first raids. Sassanid historians attribute a third attack to Goths and Boranoi, and claims that some, "forgetting that they were men of Iran," joined the invaders. An unsuccessful attack on Pityus was followed in the second year by another, which sacked Pityus as well as Trapezus and ravaged large areas in the Pontic region. In the third year, a much larger force devastated large areas of Bithynia and the Propontis, including the cities of Chalcedon, Nicomedia, Nicaea, Apamea Myrlea, Cius and Prusa. By the end of the raids, the Goths had seized control over Crimea, as well as the Bosporus and captured several cities on the Black Sea coast, including Olbia and Tyras, which allowed them to engage in widespread naval activities.

Meanwhile, Shapur continued the expansion of the empire, conquering Bactria and the western portion of the Kushan Empire by 260. Shapur I had intensive development plans. He ordered the construction of the first dam bridge in Iran and founded many cities. Two cities, Bishapur and Nishapur, are named after him. He particularly favoured Manichaeism, protecting Mani and sent many Manichaean missionaries abroad. He also befriended a Babylonian rabbi called Samuel.

This friendship was advantageous for the Jewish community and gave them a respite from the oppressive laws enacted against them. Later kings reversed Shapur's policy of religious tolerance.

From 265 to 267 CE, the Goths invaded Greece, except the Peloponnese and adopted a Germanic version of Christianity. At the same time, they launched a second invasion into Mithripolis, but the Goths were eventually repelled in 267. During the Gothic invasions, Shapur even prohibited Christian persecution, though these had been largely continued after his death in 270. Nonetheless, hostilities against the Christians remained until the reign of Ardashir II (379–383 CE).

The Third Gothic-Sasanian War, lasted from 268 to 269. This time the Goths attempted to attack from three directions: The main army under the Gothic king, Cannabaudes, attempted to march near Mithripolis and hold their position, while the two other armies tried to take the key port cities of Smyrna and Ephesus. After a successful invasion of both cities, one army was tasked to stay near Ephesus and Smyrna, while the other one went north, taking to the sea and attempting to naval invade Mithripolis through the Chrysokeras harbor, while Cannabaudes and his army would attack simultaneously. The army near Ephesus and Smyrna was defeated, and the extorted Gothic soldiers were forced to tell the Sasanians about their plan.

The Goths had underestimated the Sassanids, especially their naval capabilities. This caused the invading force to be defeated at the sea, without even taking a foot onto the land, according to Persian records. The main army was now expelled to the Sasanians, but they received the message too late. The main force now attempted to retreat. However, Cannabaudes got killed by the chasing Persian army, under King Shapur I, and the last remaining Gothic soldiers retreated in full chaos and panic, suffering enormous losses of 80,000 men. The Goths managed to hold their ground in Thrace, but lost Pityus and the coast of Colchis to the Sassanids.

Shapur died in May of 270, and when his son Bahram I acceded to the throne, he was pressured by the Zoroastrian high-priest Kartir Bahram I to kill Mani, as well as Christians and persecute their followers. Bahram II was also amenable to the wishes of the Zoroastrian priesthood.

After the death of Narseh, his son Hormizd II ascended the throne.

### First Golden Era (309–379 CE)

Following Hormizd II's death, northern Arabs started to ravage and plunder the western cities of the empire, even attacking the province of Fars, the birthplace of the Sassanid kings. Meanwhile, Persian nobles killed Hormizd II's eldest son, blinded the second, and imprisoned the third. The throne was reserved for Shapur II, the unborn child of one of Hormizd II's wives who was crowned *in utero*: the crown was placed upon his mother's stomach. During his youth the empire was controlled by his mother and the nobles. Upon his coming of age, Shapur II assumed power and quickly proved to be an active and effective ruler.

He first led his small but disciplined army south against the Arabs, whom he defeated, securing the southern areas of the empire.

These campaigns were halted by nomadic raids along the eastern borders of the empire, which threatened Transoxiana, a strategically critical area for control of the Silk Road. Shapur therefore marched east toward Transoxiana to meet the eastern nomads. He crushed the Central Asian tribes, and annexed the area as a new province.

The city of Mithripolis was a huge trading center for the Sasanian Empire, due to its extremly profitable location. The wealth of the city participated greatly in the golden age and overall wealth of the empire.

In the east around 325, Shapur II regained the upper hand against the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom and took control of large territories in areas now known as Afghanistan and Pakistan. Cultural expansion followed this victory, and Sasanian art penetrated Transoxiana, reaching as far as China.

#### Great Mediterranean War (327-335 CE)

##### Levantine Front

By 327, Shapur II had set himself even more ambitious goals. As the shah proved to be a military genius, his army has gained a high level of experience, thus reachieved its renown. The focus of Sassanid expansion now turned to the west, with plans to reconquer Syria, the Levant and Egypt. However, this would mean a war with the Carthaginian Empire. After years of preperation, on January 17th 327, with the age of 18, he crossed the border into the Carthaginian vassal kingdom of Syria, laying the groundwork for the Great Mediterranean War.

###### Battle of Palmyra (327 CE)

As Shapur II approached the city of Palmyra, he and his massive force of 130,000 men enganged in combat with the Syrian governor, \*Barekbaal, along with 40,000 soldiers. The defenders were outnumbered more than 3 to 1, and the Persians completely annihilated any kind of resistance, killing the governor, in the process.

###### Sack of Gebal (327 CE)

Shapur continued to march west, and reached the town of Gebal. When the shah entered the city, he had let his entire army loot it, and afterwards, Gebal was sacked and razed to the ground. This was a brutal act of revenge for their annihilation during the Phoenician War (249-251 CE).

The destruction of Gebal came to a shock for the Carthaginians, who immediately sent a huge army of 90,000 men, commanded by suffetes \*Bostar, and \*Carthalo. After the Sassanid capture of Damascus, the Phoenicians met the Persians near the city of Tyre.

###### Siege of Tyre (327 CE)

The island of Tyre was connected with the mainland through a wooden bridge, built centuries earlier by the Phoenicians, that could be destroyed in case of war. The Carthaginians fortified themselves on Tyre, with a naval support force guarding the coast, and preventing the Persians from rebuilding the bridge. To counter the fleet, a hail of flaming arrows was fired at the ships, which caused some of them to burn down, and forced the others to retreat. This occupied the Carthaginians long enough for the incoming Sassanid navy to outflank and destroy the enemy fleet, effectively encircling the city.

However, after several failed naval assaults to free Tyre, Carthage was unable to send large portions of their navy into the Levant, because it was this year, that after hearing from the war with Persia, the Arvernian Empire, together with the Etruscans and Illyrians, marched into Italy, and in 328, into Iberia. Thus, most of the fleet was needed to transport troops, or to prevent naval incursions and piracy, from which they suffered for years in the Adriatic Sea.

Instead of rebuilding the bridge and entering the city by force, the Sassanids chose the easiest method, and waited. The defenders were so desperate, that they attempted to rebuild the bridge by themselves, which however, failed utterly. Months later, in early 328, the Siege of Tyre was put to an end, when every single Carthaginian soldier, including both suffetes, starved to death, taking 90,000 casualties with them.

Carthage now had to fight a three front war, and began seeking an alliance with the Kingdom of the Goths. At the same time, Shapur II, allied with the Greeks in the Peloponnese, and Thracian rebels, to consolidate their strength in the region, by funding numerous uprising and revolts.

Meanwhile, the Persian army advanced further into the Levant. To counter the invaders, an army of 60,000 men was raised, commanded by the more ambitious suffete \*Malchos.

###### Battle of Ashkelon (328 CE)

Both armies met each other near the city of Ashkelon. The Carthaginians, though being outnumbered 2 to 1, began setting up their formation in the so-called Oblique Order, by positioning the vanguard of their army and the best veteran soldiers behind their right flank, while the Persians kept their best troops in the center. When the Sassanids charged, the Phoenician center and left flank slowly retreated, to protect the rear and the flank of the attacking force on the right, which managed to punch through the defense line, and using light cavalry, managed to outflank the enemy from behind. As the Sassanid center tried to catch up with the retreating force, 15 war elephants were unleashed and weakened the attackers. With the Persian right flank destroyed and their army encircled, the Sassanids had no other choice but to retreat. However this proved to be costly as the Sea was behind their back, which desperately forced them to create a gap in the Carthaginian forces. The rest managed to escape. However, this came to a certain price, suffering 40,000 casualties, while the Phoenicians lost 15,000 men.

At the same time, the Carthaginian army was reinforced by a native volunteer force of 20,000 troops.

###### Battle of Nazareth (328 CE)

Standing with 65,000 men against 70,000 Sassanid soldiers; this time, \*Malchos used a smiliar tactic. He positioned most of his men behind their central force, instead of the flanks. However, Shapur learned from his defeat, and was smart enough to know, that the Phoenicians expected the Persian forces to now be concentrated on their flanks. Therefore, the Sassanid vanguard was kept behind the center, while a small number of light infantry was positioned at the central front, to maintain the illusion. When the Carthaginians charged, they easily punched a gap into the enemy forces, and poured in most of their troops in order to split the Persian army in two. What \*Malchos did not realize, however, was that the Sassanid veteran reserve force, commanded by Shapur himself, was directly charging, along with Persian Cataphracts, into the Phoenician army. Simultaneously, both Sassanid flanks were smashing into the enemy, completely annihilating the attackers. \*Malchos only managed to escape with some 10,000 men, while their opponent still had 60,000 left.

This defeat was a complete disaster for the Carthaginian Empire, which already suffered from manpower shortages. Nonetheless, \*Malchos was reinforced by another 30,000 troops. A great part of this force consisted of enslaved black Africans, shipped from the colonies of West Africa, who were forced to serve in the army; and if they refused, the slaves would get executed.

###### Battle of Jaffa (328 CE)

Near Jaffa, only 20,000 Phoenicians, and 20,000 Black African slaves, faced 60,000 Persians. When the Carthaginians attempted to charge; during the attack, thousands of slaves turned their arms against the Phoenicians, and the assault turned into an internal massacre. At the same time, the Sassanids counter charged, and their enemy army basically dissolved, as the Persians made an alliance with the slaves, promising them payment, if they joined the army. The shah's army, together with the prisoners, crushed the last spark of resistance, capturing \*Malchos in the process, and only losing about 5,000 men.

However, before he could be used as a leverage, the Phoenician general, as well as a few hundred soldiers managed to escape imprisonment, and began fleeing to Egypt.

###### Battle of Pelousion and Alexandria (329 CE)

Shapur pursued the Carthaginians for hundreds of kilometers, until he managed to catch up with the enemy near Pelousion, forcing them to engage in combat. \*Malchos attempted to hold a desperate last stand inside the city. Predictably, the entire force was crushed, killing the general, and capturing Pelousion.

Near Alexandria, Shapur's advance was slowed down, when a local Egyptian general, named \*Adofo, with a force of 20,000 men met the Persians. The battle quickly turned out to be one-sided, and after the resistance was crushed, Alexandria was finally captured.

During the next months, the Shah advanced to Cyrenaica, defeating a few garrisons, and annexing the region, and in 233, Cyprus was invaded by the Sassanids. One year later, Crete followed, consolidating their naval strength in the Mediterranean Sea.

##### Gothic Front

The alliance with Carthage, followed an intervention into the war by 328, when the Goths invaded the Peloponnese, which was allied to the Persians. However, their king, \*Wallia did not believe that the Sassanids would risk a war with them, while at the same time fighting the Carthaginians. The Goths were wrong, and after he landed at Corinth with a force of 80,000 men, the Greeks, commanding 30,000 troops, were outnumbered at the following battle near the city. Quickly, an envoy was sent to the Persian court, asking for help. As Shapur was currently commanding the Sassanid army in the Levant, right after their victory at Nazareth, he was sent a letter, to which he replied with a detailed plan on how to ambush the Goths by sea, ordering his close friend and general, \*Rastag, who assisted him during his recent conquests, to lead the army.

Seeing this as a chance to return Crimea and Thrace from the Goths, Shapur's general \*Rastag, had set sail and bypassed the Carthaginian naval force guarding Crete, arriving with a force of 40,000 soldiers near the town of Zarax. However, by that point, most of the Peloponnese had fallen to the invaders, and the coast near Zarax was one of the last resisting regions, the most important being Sparta. As the last 15,000 Greek troops approached the 65,000 Goths near Sparta, the center was opened, allowing the Persians to charge forward. \*Wallia was completely taken by surprise, and the Gothic army panicked, slaughtering around 30,000 of them.

The Peloponnese was quickly liberated, and \*Rastag began advancing northwards, pursuing the Gothic king. By 329, their garrisons in Athens were killed by guerilla warfare, and when \*Wallia stood before the gates of Athens, the people refused to open the gate, forcing the Goths to retreat even further. The invaders were once again defeated at the Battle of Larisa, suffering another 20,000 casualties. That same year, a great Illyrian uprising established independence in the kingdoms of Dardania and Ardieai.

As the Goths were routed into the forests of Thrace, in 330, Shapur II, who just finished his conquests against Carthage, decided to invade Gothic Crimea with his battle drilled army, in order to accelerate the collapse of the kingdom. He annihilated a Gothic army of 20,000 men near Theodosia, and swiftly conquered the Crimean Peninsula. By now, the Gothic army was virtually dysfunctional, and Thrace was conquered from both the north and south, in 331, crushing Wallia's army at their capital, Philippopolis.

Crimea and Thrace were vassalized, while their relation with the newly formed Hellenic League at first remained friendly, but slowly decreased over the next decades. The new Greek capital was made Athens, as their traditional capital, Pella, was largely left in ruins. After centuries of Pontic and Gothic authority, the city had lost its importance, and was by now almost uninhabited.

Shapur II "the Great", was so succesfull and popular, that he was declared "King of the World", for defeating two empires at the same time, even placing him above Cyrus the Great.

##### Later Years

From around 370, towards the end of the reign of Shapur II, the Sasanians lost the control of Bactria to invaders from the north: first the Kidarites, then the Hephthalites and finally the Alchon Huns, who would follow up with the invasion of India. These invaders initially issued coins based on Sasanian designs. Various coins minted in Bactria and based on Sasanian designs are extant, often with busts imitating Sasanian kings Shapur II (r. 309 to 379) and Shapur III (r. 383 to 388), adding the Alchon Tamgha and the name "Alchono" in Bactrian script on the obverse, and with attendants to a fire altar on the reverse.

Under the reign of Shapur II, the collection of the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, was completed. Shapur II, like Shapur I, was amicable towards Jews, who lived in relative freedom and gained many advantages during his reign. At the time of his death, the Persian Empire was stronger than ever, with its enemies to the east pacified and a stable situation in Anatolia, due to the unable Gothic kingdom to start another invasion.

### Consolidation and Hunnic Invasions (379–498 CE)

From Shapur II's death until Kavad I's first coronation, there was a largely peaceful period within the boundaries of the Sasanian Empire. Throughout this era, Sasanian religious policy differed dramatically from king to king. Despite a series of weak leaders, the administrative system established during Shapur II's reign remained strong, and the empire continued to function effectively.

After Shapur II died in 379, the empire passed on to his half-brother Ardashir II (379–383; son of Hormizd II) and his son Shapur III (383–388). Bahram IV (388–399), ascended the throne after Shapur III.

Bahram IV's son Yazdegerd I (399–421) was physically and diplomatically powerful, opportunistic, practiced religious tolerance and provided freedom for the rise of religious minorities, such as Christianity. Yazdegerd stopped all persecutions against the Christians and punished nobles and priests who persecuted them. Yazdegerd also married a Jewish princess, who bore him a son called Narsi.

In 399, the Huns had launched a invasion into the empire, attempting to take the capital Ctesiphon, though this invasion only resulted in the death of the Hunnic rulers Kursich and Basich. In 404, under Uldin, the Huns launched another invasion from 2 directions. One Hunnic army unsuccessfully tried to take Ctesiphon. However the second army, led by Uldin himself succeeded and the Huns captured the prosperous city of Mithripolis, after shooting hundreds of fire arrows onto the city. Mithripolis then went through a dark age under Hunnic occupation. This was a great strategic loss for Yazdegerd I and the Sasanian Empire as a whole.

Yazdegerd I's successor was his son Bahram V (421–438), one of the most well-known Sassanid kings and the hero of many myths. These myths persisted even after the destruction of the Sasanian Empire by the Arabs. Bahram gained the crown after Yazdegerd's sudden death (or assassination), which occurred when the grandees opposed the king with the help of al-Mundhir, the Arabic dynast of al-Hirah. Bahram's mother was Shushandukht, the daughter of the Jewish Exilarch. In 425 he launched an invasion, attacking Mithripolis from two sides. Having a massive naval advantage, he decisively defeated the Huns, recapturing Mithripolis. Shortly after, Bahram V rebuilt the city, which under the Huns was mostly made up of wooden houses for their soldier quarters. In 427, he crushed an invasion in the east by the nomadic Hephthalites, extending his influence into Central Asia, where his portrait survived for centuries on the coinage of Bukhara (in modern Uzbekistan).

There are many stories that tell of Bahram V's valour, his beauty, and his victories over the Huns, the Turkic peoples, Indians and Africans, as well as his exploits in hunting and his pursuits of love. He was better known as Bahram-e Gur, *Gur* meaning onager, on account of his love for hunting and, in particular, hunting onagers. He symbolised a king at the height of a golden age, embodying royal prosperity. He had won his crown by competing with his brother and spent much time fighting foreign enemies, but mostly he kept himself amused by hunting, holding court parties and entertaining a famous band of ladies and courtiers. During his time, the best pieces of Sassanid literature were written, notable pieces of Sassanid music were composed, and sports such as polo became royal pastimes.

Bahram V's son Yazdegerd II (438–457) was in some ways a moderate ruler.

At the beginning of his reign in 443, Yazdegerd II assembled an army of soldiers in Nishapur from various nations, including his Indian allies, and launched a prolonged campaign against the Kidarites. After a number of battles he crushed them and drove them out beyond the Oxus river in 450.

In the same year, the Hunnic leader Attila had launched a massive campaign deep into the Sasanian Empire, first by recapturing Mithripolis. His huge army marched towards the city of Antioch, however the Huns were badly defeated by the overwhelming Persian cataphracts, with heavy losses on both sides in 451. Shortly after, the Sassanids liberated and rebuilt Mithripolis once again. Yazdegerd II, then built a fortified wall around the city, called the Yazdegerdian Wall.

The Sassanids weren't eager to conquer Thrace anymore, as there was almost nothing left, that would be worth it to conquer, and the Persians themselves had to recover from the Huns and had to rebuild Mithripolis.

In the later years of Yazdegerd II, he was engaged yet again with the Kidarites right up until his death in 457. Hormizd III (457–459), the younger son of Yazdegerd II, then ascended to the throne. During his short rule, he continually fought with his elder brother Peroz I, who had the support of the nobility, and with the Hephthalites in Bactria. He was killed by his brother Peroz in 459. In 465, the Sassanids conquered the Kingdom of Cyrenaica which had split off from Carthage before.

At the beginning of the 5th century, the Hephthalites (White Huns), along with other nomadic groups, attacked Iran. At first Bahram V and Yazdegerd II inflicted decisive defeats against them and drove them back eastward. These Huns returned at the end of the 5th century and defeated Peroz I (457–484) in 483. Following this victory, the White Huns invaded and plundered parts of eastern Iran continually for two years. They exacted heavy tribute for some years thereafter.

These attacks brought instability and chaos to the kingdom. Peroz tried again to drive out the Hephthalites, but on the way to Balkh his army was trapped by the Huns in the desert. Peroz was defeated and killed by a Hephthalite army near Balkh. His army was completely destroyed, and his body was never found. Four of his sons and brothers had also died. The main Sasanian cities of the eastern region of Khorasan−Nishapur, Herat and Marw were now under Hephthalite rule. Sukhra, a member of the Parthian House of Karen, one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran, quickly raised a new force and stopped the Hephthalites from achieving further success. Peroz' brother, Balash, was elected as shah by the Iranian magnates, most notably Sukhra and the Mihranid general Shapur Mihran.

Balash (484–488) was a mild and generous monarch, and showed care towards his subjects, including the Christians. However, he proved unpopular among the nobility and clergy who had him deposed after just four years in 488. Sukhra, who had played a key role in Balash's deposition, appointed Peroz' son Kavad I as the new shah of Iran. According to Miskawayh (d. 1030), Sukhra was Kavad's maternal uncle. Kavad I (488–531) was an energetic and reformist ruler. He gave his support to the sect founded by Mazdak, son of Bamdad, who demanded that the rich should divide their wives and their wealth with the poor. By adopting the doctrine of the Mazdakites, his intention evidently was to break the influence of the magnates and the growing aristocracy. These reforms led to his being deposed and imprisoned in the Castle of Oblivion in Khuzestan, and his younger brother Jamasp (Zamaspes) became king in 496. Kavad, however, quickly escaped and was given refuge by the Hephthalite king.

Jamasp (496–498) was installed on the Sassanid throne upon the deposition of Kavad I by members of the nobility. He was a good and kind king; he reduced taxes in order to improve the condition of the peasants and the poor. He was also an adherent of the mainstream Zoroastrian religion, diversions from which had cost Kavad I his throne and freedom. Jamasp's reign soon ended, however, when Kavad I, at the head of a large army granted to him by the Hephthalite king, returned to the empire's capital. Jamasp stepped down from his position and returned the throne to his brother. No further mention of Jamasp is made after the restoration of Kavad I, but it is widely believed that he was treated favourably at the court of his brother.

### Second Golden Era

*(This part of the article has not been confirmed as correct, as it surpasses the year 500 and therefore the Chapter 1 of Sine Roma).*

The second golden era began soon after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire and second reign of Kavad I. In 504, the western Huns invaded Armenia from the Caucasus, but they were easily defeated by the Sasanians.

After the reign of Kavad I, his son Khosrow I, also known as Anushirvan ("with the immortal soul"; ruled 531–579), ascended to the throne. He is the most celebrated of the Sassanid rulers. Khosrow I is most famous for his reforms in the aging governing body of Sassanids. He introduced a rational system of taxation based upon a survey of landed possessions, which his father had begun, and he tried in every way to increase the welfare and the revenues of his empire. Previous great feudal lords fielded their own military equipment, followers, and retainers. Khosrow I developed a new force of dehqans, or "knights", paid and equipped by the central government and the bureaucracy, tying the army and bureaucracy more closely to the central government than to local lords.

Around 570, "Ma 'd-Karib", half-brother of the King of Yemen, requested Khosrow I's intervention. Khosrow I sent a fleet and a small army under a commander called Vahriz to the area near present Aden, and they marched against the capital San'a'l, which was occupied. Saif, son of Mard-Karib, who had accompanied the expedition, became King sometime between 575 and 577. Thus, the Sassanids were able to establish a base in South Arabia to control the sea trade with the east. Later, the south Arabian kingdom renounced Sassanid overlordship, and another Persian expedition was sent in 598 that successfully annexed southern Arabia as a Sassanid province, which lasted until the time of troubles after Khosrow II.

Khosrow I's reign witnessed the rise of the dihqans (literally, village lords), the petty landholding nobility who were the backbone of later Sassanid provincial administration and the tax collection system. Khosrow I was a great builder, embellishing his capital, expanding Mithridatia and founding new towns with the construction of new buildings. He rebuilt the canals and restocked the farms destroyed in the wars. He built strong fortifications at the passes and placed subject tribes in carefully chosen towns on the frontiers to act as guardians against invaders. He was tolerant of all religions, though he decreed that Zoroastrianism should be the official state religion, and was not unduly disturbed when one of his sons became a Christian.

After Khosrow I, Hormizd IV (579–590) took the throne. After Khosrow I, Hormizd IV (579–590) took the throne and his son Khosrow II (590–628) ascended the throne after him.

Khosrow II focused on the Sassanid Empire's eastern frontier. Circa 600, the Hephthalites had been raiding the Sassanid Empire as far as Spahan in central Iran. The Hephthalites issued numerous coins imitating the coinage of Khosrow II. In c. 606/607, Khosrow recalled Smbat IV Bagratuni from Persian Armenia and sent him to Iran to repel the Hephthalites. Smbat, with the aid of a Persian prince named Datoyean, repelled the Hephthalites from Persia, and plundered their domains in eastern Khorasan, where Smbat is said to have killed their king in single combat.

This golden era was paralleled by a blossoming of Persian art, music, and architecture.

**more to come..**

## List of Sasanian Kings

(These are the names and reign dates).

**House of Sasan**

Ardashir I (224-242)

Shapur I (240- May 270) - Co-ruled with his father since 12 April 240.

Hormizd I (May 270- June 271)

Bahram I (June 271- September 274) - Died of disease/natural causes in September 274.

Bahram II (274-293)

Bahram III (293-293) - Possibly executed during the uprising which had been led by his own grand-uncle Narseh.

Narseh (293-302) - Enthroned after seizing power from Bahram III in a rebellion led against him.

Hormizd II (302-309) - Enthroned after abdicating the throne from his father.

Adur Narseh (309-309) - Deposed by Sasanian nobles because of his cruelty.

Shapur II (309-379) - After the death of his brother, Adar Narseh, Shapur II was still in his mother's womb when he was crowned.

Ardashir II (379-383)

Shapur III (383-388)

Bahram IV (388-399)

Yazdegerd I (399-420)

Shapur IV (420-420)

Khosrow (420-420)

Bahram V (420-438)

Yazdegerd II (438-457)

Hormizd III (457-459)

Peroz I (457-484)

Balash (484-488) - Two rebellions rose from two of Peroz's sons (his nephews):

* The first rebellion was from Zarir, but he was unsuccessful and executed.
* The second rebellion was from Kavad, who at first unsuccessfully requested help from Hephthalites.

Kavad I (488-496) - Enthroned after leading a rebellion against his uncle Balash with assistance from Hephthalites.

Jamasp (496-498)

Kavad I (498- ) - Restored to the throne with the aid of Zarmihr Karen and the Hephthalites.

## Source

This page uses content from **Wikipedia**. The original article was at **Sasanian Empire** (view authors). As with Sine Roma - What if Rome never existed? Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasanian\_Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_monarchs\_of\_the\_Sasanian\_Empire

https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2020/03/13/sassanian-naval-capabilities-an-overview/