CHAPTER II. THE EMPIRE OF THE SASSANIDS

[1Sidenote: [228-652 A.D.]]

2Of the countries whose sovereigns were subject to the dominion (sometimes actual and sometimes merely nominal) of the Parthian “king of kings,” Persia proper itself was one. The names of some of the lesser kings of that country during the Arsacid period are known to us, partly through a reference here and there in literature, partly from their coins; but we do not know whether they all belong to one and the same dynasty. About the beginning of the third century after Christ, the country presented a scene of confusion. The power of the local kings had fallen very low, and the mountainous regions, cleft asunder by natural divisions, were full of petty tyrants. Papak or Pabak, a son or descendant of Sassan, was one of these.

3He came originally from the village of Khir on the southern shore of the great salt lake east of Shiraz, and succeeded in overthrowing the last prince of that dynasty, Gozihr by name, in whose service he had been, and gaining dominion first over the district of Istakhr, the ancient Persepolis. On coins and inscriptions his son gives him the title of king. According to tradition, which in this instance is certainly trustworthy, his lawful successor would have been his son Sapor, to whom the Arsacid king is said to have granted the crown at his father’s request during the life-time of the latter.

4After his death, however, another of his sons, named Ardashir, refused to submit to his brother, and rose in revolt; about which time Sapor died--we can hardly suppose by accident. That Ardashir found his brothers in his way and slew them, is so definitely affirmed by well authenticated tradition that we cannot entertain a doubt that such was the case. The empire of the Sassanids begins with Ardashir, just as that of the Achæmenides begins with Cyrus, whose forefathers had likewise been kings. His name, of which Artachshathr is the older form, is the same as that which the Greeks rendered by Artaxerxes. It is a remarkable fact that in the native home of the Achæmenides, who are otherwise unknown to genuine Persian tradition, the ancient royal names should have survived in common use; for several princes of the pre-Sassanid period were named Artaxerxes and Darius (Darjaw, Darao, Dara). According to a fairly probable estimate, Ardashir’s first appearance as king should be assigned to the year 211-12 A.D.

5[Sidenote: [211-233 A.D.]]

6That he had hard work to exalt himself from prince of Persis to “king of the kings of Iran” is recognised by tradition. He first made himself master of the province of Carmania, which lies east of Persis, then of Susiana, then of the small kingdom about the mouth of the Tigris. The resistance which he had to overcome in the first instance was offered by local sovereigns, not by the Parthian king, whose power was restricted to an enormous extent by his nobles and vassals. Ultimately, however, Ardashir came into conflict with him also.

7According to Dion Cassius,[c] a contemporary, we are led to believe that Ardashir defeated the Parthians in three battles. His decisive encounter with Ardavan (Artabanus), the last Parthian Great King, probably took place on April 22nd, 224 A.D.[30] Ardavan fell in the battle, and from that time forward Ardashir assumed the title of “king of kings,” which from ancient days had been borne by the ruler of the empire of anterior Asia. All the evidence points to the decisive battle having taken place in Babylonia or Susiana. This would fit in with Dion’s statement that the first expedition afterwards undertaken was directed against Atra, in the midst of the Mesopotamian desert, where a small independent state had come into being in the near neighbourhood of the Parthian capital. At first Ardashir beat in vain upon the walls of Atra, whose strength can still be seen from the mighty ruins that remain, but the place was soon taken and destroyed either by him or his successor. He succeeded in conquering Media, where he was opposed by a scion of the Arsacid family, and the greater part of the Iranian highlands; but not Armenia, whither sons of Ardavan had fled.

8The Romans had watched the rise of Ardashir with apprehension. There is no question that he cherished the design of seizing upon as many of their Asiatic possessions as he could. He gained some successes at first, but was forced to give ground when Alexander Severus marched against him. The history of the empire of the Sassanids was conditioned from the outset by its relations with Rome. Peace was again and again concluded between the two, but they invariably looked upon each other as adversaries, and as adversaries of equal rank. Under capable rulers and tolerable internal conditions Rome (that is Byzantium) maintained the ascendency of the European over the Asiatic, but circumstances were frequently adverse, and the Persians heaped disgrace upon the Roman name. This struggle fills the chief place in the political history of the Sassanids.