Head of King Shapur II (Sasanian dynasty 4th century). From The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art permanent collection.

Shapur II (sometimes called the Great) was King of Persia from309 to 379. In his prolonged reign, Sassanid empire, saw its first Golden era after reign of Shapur I of Persia (241–272), a revival of its former power and splendor. Head of Shapur II, King of Persia, Sasanian dynasty, A.D. 4th century. ... Head of Shapur II, King of Persia, Sasanian dynasty, A.D. 4th century. ... Shapur II was king of Persia (310 - 379). ... 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... The term Persian Empire refers to a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau. ... Events The Spanish provinces revolt from the control of Maxentius, acknowledging Constantine as their Emperor Pope Marcellus I is banished from Rome, as is his successor Eusebius later that year Shapur II becomes king of Persia. ... Events January 19 - Theodosius I is elevated as Roman Emperor at Sirmium. ... 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... A coin of Shapur I Shapur I, son of Ardashir I, was king of Persia from 241 to 272. ...

Early childhood

When King Hormizd II of Persia (302–309) died, the Persian magnates killed his eldest son, blinded the second, and imprisoned the third (Hormizd, who afterwards escaped to the Romans); the throne was reserved for the unborn child of one of the wives of Hormizd II, who was Jewish. It is said that Shapur II may have been the only King in history to been crowned in utero: the crown was placed upon his mother's belly. This child, named Shapur, was therefore born King; the government was conducted by his mother and the magnates. But when Shapur II came of age, he turned out to be one of the greatest monarchs of the dynasty. Hormizd II, King of Persia, son of Narseh of Persia (293–302), reigned for seven years and five months, from 302 to 309. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ...

Conquests

Bust of Shapur II.

In 337, just before the death of Constantine the Great (324–337), Shapur II broke the peace concluded in 297 between Narseh of Persia (293–302) and Emperor Diocletian (284–305), which had been observed for forty years, and a war of twenty-six years (337–363) began in two series of wars. The first war was between 337 and 350. Shapur II attempted with varying success to conquer the great fortresses of Roman Mesopotamia: Singara, Nisibis (which he invested three times in vain), and Amida (Diarbekr). Image File history File links Shapur_ii_bust. ... Image File history File links Shapur_ii_bust. ... Shapur II was king of Persia (310 - 379). ... Events February 6 - Julius is elected pope. ... Events Narseh of Persia and Diocletian conclude a peace treaty between Persia and Rome. ... Narseh (whose name is also sometimes written as Narses or Narseus) was a Sassanian King of Persia (292 - 303), and son of Shapur I. He rose as pretender to the throne against his grand-nephew Bahram III in AD 292, and soon became sole king. ... Emperor Diocletian. ... Mesopotamia (Greek: Μεσοποταμία, translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan between rivers; Aramaic name being Beth Nahrain house of rivers) is a region of Southwest Asia. ... The newly excavated Church of Saint Jacob in Nisibis. ... Diyarbakir (Syriac: ܐܡܝܕ; Zazaki and Kurdish: Amed; Turkish spelling: Diyarbakır) is a city in Turkey, situated on the banks of the River Tigris. ...

The Roman Emperor Constantius II (353–361) was always beaten in the field. Nevertheless Shapur II made scarcely any progress; the military power of his kingdom was not sufficient for a lasting occupation of the conquered districts. At the same time he was attacked in the east by nomad tribes, among whom the Chionites are named. After a prolonged struggle (353–358) they were forced to conclude a peace, and their King, Grumbates, accompanied Shapur II in the war against the Romans. emperor Constantius II Constantius II (Flavius Julius Constantius), Roman Emperor (7 August 317 - 3 November 361, reigned 337 - 361), was the second of the three sons of Constantine I and Fausta. ...

In 358 Shapur II was ready for the second series of wars against Rome, this time with much more success. In 359, Shapur II conquered Amida after a siege of seventy-three days, and he took Singara and some other fortresses in the next year (360). In 363 the Emperor Julian (361–363), at the head of a strong army, advanced to Ctesiphon, but was killed in a battle. His successor Jovian (363–364) was defeated and made an ignominious peace, by which the districts on the Tigris and Nisibis (total of 5 Roman provinces) were ceded to the Persians, and the Romans promised to interfere no more in Armenia. In the rock-sculptures near the town Bishapur in Persis (Stolze, Persepolis, p. 141) the great success is represented; under the hoofs of the King's horse lies the body of an enemy, probably Julian, and a suppliant Roman, the Emperor Jovian, asks for peace. Events Battle of Amida: Shapur II of Persia conquers Amida from the Romans. ... Events Perisapora is destroyed by Emperor Julian. ... Julian solidus, ca. ... Ctesiphon, 1932 Ctesiphon (Parthian: Tyspwn as well as Tisfun) 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 located in the ancient Iranian province of Khvarvaran. ... Combatants Romans Persians Commanders Julian the Apostate Shapur II Strength 90,000 N/A Casualties low, but include Julian, and casualties from disease 2,500 dead The Battle of Ctesiphon took place in June 26, 363 AD between the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate and the Persian emperor Shapur II... This siliqua of Jovian, ca 363, celebrates his fifth year of reign, as a good omen. ... Tigris River in Mosul, Iraq The Tigris (Kurdish: Tîj / Tûj / Tîr , Old Persian: Tigrā-, Pahlavi: Tigr, Syriac: ܕܩܠܬ; Deqlath, Arabic: دجلة; Dijla, Turkish: Dicle, Hebrew: חדקל; ḥiddeqel) is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of... The newly excavated Church of Saint Jacob in Nisibis. ... External links Official website of Fars Governorship Categories: Iran geography stubs | Provinces of Iran ...

Shapur II now invaded Armenia, where he took king Arsaces III, the faithful ally of the Romans, prisoner by treachery and forced him to commit suicide. He then attempted to introduce Zoroastrian orthodoxy into Armenia. However, the Armenian nobles resisted him successfully, secretly supported by the Romans, who sent King Pap, the son of Arsaces III, into Armenia. The war with Rome threatened to break out again, but Valens sacrificed Pap, arranging for his assassination in Tarsus, where he had taken refuge (374). Shapur II had conducted great hosts of captives from the Roman territory into his dominions, most of whom were settled in Susiana. Here he rebuilt Susa, after having killed the city's rebellious inhabitants. By his death in 379 the Persian Empire was stronger than ever before, considerably larger than when he came to the throne, the eastern enemies were pacified and Persia had gained control over Armenia. Zoroastrianism (Persian: زرتشتی, Zartoshti) was once the imperial religion of Sassanid (Sassanian) Iran, and played an important role in the Achaemenid as well as Parthian empires in Persia or more properly Iran. ... Events 4 May: Spearthrower Owl becomes emperor of Teotihuacan. ... The ancient Elamite Empire, تمدن عیلام in Farsi, lay to the east of Sumer and Akkad, in what is now southwestern Iran. ... For other uses of the name Susa please see this page. ...

Contributions

Under Shapur II's reign the collection of the Avesta was completed, heresy and apostasy punished, and the Christians persecuted. This was a reaction against the Christianization of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. He was successful in the east, and the great town Nishapur in Khorasan (eastern Parthia) was founded by him. He founded some other towns. See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... Apostasy (from Greek αποστασία, a defection or revolt from a military commander, from απο, apo, away, apart, στασις, stasis, standing) is a term generally employed to describe the formal renunciation of ones religion, especially if the motive is deemed unworthy. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... Constantine. ... Location of Neyshapur Tomb of Omar Khayyám, Neishabur Tomb of Kamal-ol-Molk, Neishabur. ... Khorasan (also spelled Khurasan and Khorassan; Xorasan or Xurasan in Kurdish; خراسان in Persian) is an area, located in eastern and northeastern Iran. ... Parthia, or known in their native Iranian language as Ashkâniân [2] (also called the Arsacid Empire) was the dominating force on the Iranian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BCE and 224 CE. It was the second dynasty of...

See also

• Raba

Raba or Raba Ben Joseph Ben Hama(c. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication in the public domain.