Ruins of Bishapur

Sassanian relief, Bishapur

Bishapur (or Bishâpûr) is an ancient city situated south of modern Faliyan, Iran on the ancient road between Persis and Elam. The road linked the Sassanid capitals Istakhr (very close to Persepolis) and Ctesiphon. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... External links Official website of Fars Governorship Categories: Iran geography stubs | Provinces of Iran ... Elam (Persian: تمدن ایلام) is one of the oldest recorded civilizations. ... Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent The Sassanid dynasty (also Sassanian) was the name given to the kings of Persia during the era of the second Persian Empire, from 224 until 651, when the last Sassanid shah, Yazdegerd III, lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the Umayyad Caliphate... Istakhr(Ǐ-stáxÇœr), also known as Stakhr, is a city located in southern Iran close to Persepolis and Zohak. ... Ctesiphon, 1932 Ctesiphon (Parthian and Pahlavi: Tyspwn as well as Tisfun, Persian: ‎, also known as in Arabic Madain, Maden or Al-Madain: المدائن) is one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia and the capital of the Parthian Empire and its successor, the Sassanid Empire, for more than 800 years...

Bishapur was built near a river crossing and at the same site there is also a fort with rock-cut reservoirs and a river valley with six Sassanid rock reliefs.

History

Irano-Roman floor mosaic detail from the palace of Shapur I at Bishapur

According to an inscription, the city itself was founded in 266 by Shapur I (241-272), who was the second Sassanid king, restored the borders of the empire to where they had been in the Achaemenid Persian period, inflicting a triple defeat on the Romans. In his native province of Fars, he built a new capital that would measure up to his ambitions: Bishapur, Shapur's City. The city was not laid out in the circular design inherited from the Parthians, but followed the grid (Hippodamian) plan used by the Greeks. Outside the city, Shapur decorated the sides of the Bishapur River gorge with huge historical reliefs commemorating his triple triumph over Rome. One of these reliefs, in a semicircular shape, has rows of registers with files of soldiers and horses, in a deliberate imitation of the narrative scenes on the Trajan column in Rome. At Bishapur the king also inaugurated the Sassanid imagery of the king's investiture, which would be copied by his successors: the king and the god are face to face, often on horseback, and the god - usually Ahura Mazda - is holding the royal diadem out to the sovereign. Image File history File links Mosaic01. ... Image File history File links Mosaic01. ... A coin of Shapur I. Shapur I, son of Ardashir I (226–241), was King of Persia from 241 to 272. ... Events Ireland - Rule of High King Cormac mac Airt ends (approximate) Births Deaths Categories: 266 ... A coin of Shapur I. Shapur I, son of Ardashir I (226–241), was King of Persia from 241 to 272. ... Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Dynasty was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire, including Cyrus II the Great, Darius I and Xerxes I. At the height of their power, the Achaemenid rulers of Persia ruled over territories roughly emcompassing some parts of todays Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon... // Introduction Fars is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. ...

The city was built by Roman soldiers who had been captured after Valerian I's defeat in 260. However, it was not a completely new settlement: archaeologists have found remains from the Parthian and Elamite ages. Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent. ... Valerian defeated kneels in front of Shapur Publius Licinius Valerianus (Latin: IMPERATOR·CAESAR·PVBLIVS·LICINIVS·VALERIANVS·PIVS FELIX·INVICTVS·AVGVSTVS)¹ (ca. ... Events Valerian I captured by the Persian king Shapur I; Gallienus becomes sole Roman emperor. ... Parthia[1] (Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was a civilization situated in the northeast of modern Iran, but at its height covering all of Iran proper, as well as regions of the modern countries of Armenia, Iraq, Georgia, eastern Turkey, eastern Syria, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, the Persian Gulf...

The city remained important until the Arabian invasions and the rise of Islam in the second quarter of the 7th century. There were still people living there in the 10th century. There are other historical places in Fars which is called " ANAHITA " ( the Queen of Water), which is located 15km south of the ancient city of Kazeroun. Thre are more than 15 big monuments in the rocky mountain near the Anahita Temple. There is also a nearly 7 meter high statue of ShapourI, in a cave which is called " Shapour Cave".All these historical heritage heve been damaged during the last 27 years as no attention is given in order to restore them. The 7th century is the period from 601 - 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ...

Sumptuous decoration

Another mosaic excavated at Bishapur. Some mosaics were denuded during the islamic period. This one is kept at The Louvre.

The main part of the excavations took place in the royal sector, in the east of the city. A fire altar, sometimes interpreted as a shrine to Anahita, was erected near the palace. In the center there is a cross-shaped space with eight large square exedrae decorated with 64 alcoves. The French excavators believed it had been covered with a dome roof, but this reconstruction has been rejected. To the west lies a courtyard decorated with mosaics; to the east, a square iwan used as a reception room. Its walls must have been covered with small stucco ornaments: rows of medallions, bands of foliage, and topped with merlons inherited from Achaemenid architecture. All these decorative techniques were still used after the Islamic conquest of Iran. The floor was paved with black marble slabs, with a mosaic border. Along the walls runs a narrow band featuring a series of heads and masks, in a frontal or profile view, on a white background. At the top of each alcove there was a picture of women naked under their transparent veils: courtesans, musicians, dancers, women twisting garlands, together with a few richly attired noble ladies. Image File history File linksMetadata Bishapur_zan. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Bishapur_zan. ... This article is about the museum. ... The Islamic conquest of Iran (637-651 CE) destroyed the Sassanid Empire and led to the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Iran. ...

See also

• Sassanid dynasty
• Firouzabad
• Fars
• Shiraz
• Academy of Gundishapur

The Sassanid Empire in the time of Shapur I; the conquest of Cappadocia was temporary Official language Pahlavi (Middle Persian) Dominant Religion Zoroastrianism Capital Ctesiphon Sovereigns Shahanshah of the Iran (Eranshahr) First Ruler Ardashir I Last Ruler Yazdegerd III Establishment 224 AD Dissolution 651 AD Part of the History of... Map of Iran and surrounding countries, showing location of Firouzabad. ... // Introduction Fars is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. ... Eram Garden, Shiraz most popular garden. ... The Academy of Gundishapur (in Persian: ‎) was a renowned center of learning in the city of Gundeshapur during late antiquity, the intellectual center of the Sassanid empire. ...

External links

• Photos of Bishapur