The Sassanian (suh-SANE-ee-uhn), or Sassanid (SA-suh-nid), kingdom originated in about a. d. 226 in the region of Fars, from which the Persians had emerged more than 700 years before. Founded by Ardashir I (AHR-duh-shuhr; r. 224-241), it was greatly expanded by his son Shapur I (shah-POOR; r. 241-272). The empire of Shapur I included not only Iran but also Afghanistan, virtually all of the Caucasus, and the coast of the Arabian Peninsula along the Persian Gulf.
Shapur went to war with the Roman Empire over Syria, which he conquered in the a. d. mid-200s. He won victories over several Roman emperors, and he even captured and killed one, Valerian (vah-LEER-ee-un). To the east, Shapur defeated the Kushans and added their lands to his empire as well.
During the late a. d. 200s, however, the kings who followed Shapur managed to lose much of what he had gained. As a result of their losses, which included Armenia and most of Mesopotamia, a number of noblemen decided to promote a new king from outside the royal family. His name would be Shapur as well—Shapur II—and he would be even more powerful and dynamic than his namesake. For five years, from a. d. 353 to 358, Shapur fought against the Huns from the east, who were also having an enormous impact on Rome. Facing a weakened Roman Empire, Shapur succeeded in winning back all of Mesopotamia and Armenia.
Except for Khusrau (kohs-ROW), a reformer who became king in the late 500s, the Sassanians would never again produce a figure as strong as the two Shapurs were. For two centuries, their royal house would face increasing pressure from noblemen eager to gain a share in the power, as well as from Kushans and Huns on the border. Nonetheless, Khusrau's attempts to reorganize everything from the tax system to the military to the nobility—and to usher in a return to Zoroastrianism when people were tempted by a variety of religious sects—helped stabilize the Sassanian Empire for a time.
But a later Khusrau, Khusrau II in the early 600s, was a ruthless and corrupt leader. Though he conquered vast new areas at the expense of the Byzantine Empire, he spent most of his time living it up in his palace in Ctesiphon, which was renowned for its wealth and its lavish way of life. In a. d. 628 he was assassinated, and by 651 a new, powerful force had gained control over Persia.
World History
