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Lot Essay
PUBLISHED:
R. Gyselen, "Shapur, fils d'Ohrmazd, petit-fils de Narseh", Des Indo-Grecs aux Sassanides: données pour l'histoire et la géographie historique, Res Orientales XVII, Bures-sur-Yvette, 2007, pp. 73-80.
The Sasanian king was a ruler of supreme authority. At the time of Shapur II the Sasanian empire included modern Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Georgia, Afghanistan, and southern Central Asia. In a letter to Constantius II, Shapur II wrote "I, Shapur, king of kings, partner with the Stars, brother of the Sun and Moon, to my brother Constantius Caesar offer most ample greeting". (Ammianus Marcellinus, trans. J. C. Rolf, Loeb Classical Library, I, London, 1950, p. 333).
It is said that Shapur II is the only king in history to be crowned in-utero - the crown being placed on his mother's swollen belly, after his three elder brothers had been killed, blinded and imprisoned. The first 30 years of his reign are unknown - his mother governed with members from the seven great families. He was the 9th king and the longest ruling monarch of the Sasanian empire. His reign included two long drawn-out wars with Rome (337-350 and 358-363) which concluded with the capturing of Armenia in 363 A.D.
For a silver gilt head of a Sasanian king, perhaps Shapur II, see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no. 65.126.
R. Gyselen, "Shapur, fils d'Ohrmazd, petit-fils de Narseh", Des Indo-Grecs aux Sassanides: données pour l'histoire et la géographie historique, Res Orientales XVII, Bures-sur-Yvette, 2007, pp. 73-80.
The Sasanian king was a ruler of supreme authority. At the time of Shapur II the Sasanian empire included modern Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Georgia, Afghanistan, and southern Central Asia. In a letter to Constantius II, Shapur II wrote "I, Shapur, king of kings, partner with the Stars, brother of the Sun and Moon, to my brother Constantius Caesar offer most ample greeting". (Ammianus Marcellinus, trans. J. C. Rolf, Loeb Classical Library, I, London, 1950, p. 333).
It is said that Shapur II is the only king in history to be crowned in-utero - the crown being placed on his mother's swollen belly, after his three elder brothers had been killed, blinded and imprisoned. The first 30 years of his reign are unknown - his mother governed with members from the seven great families. He was the 9th king and the longest ruling monarch of the Sasanian empire. His reign included two long drawn-out wars with Rome (337-350 and 358-363) which concluded with the capturing of Armenia in 363 A.D.
For a silver gilt head of a Sasanian king, perhaps Shapur II, see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no. 65.126.