The Sassanians

The Sassanians came to power in AD 224 when the first of their rulers, Ardashir I, defeated the last Parthian king, Artabanus V, in a battle which was commemorated in a huge rock relief close to his own capital city and palace at Firuzabad, in the central province of Fars (Persis). 

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Firuzabad, Ardashir I
The Sassanians were thus the major power that opposed the Romans along their eastern frontier. The most familiar aspects of their history are the wars and campaigns which they fought with the later Roman emperors, and which are commemorated in a stunning series of historical rock reliefs set up to celebrate Sassanian victories.

 

The slides that accompany this lecture are designed to offer a visual presentation of the Sassanian Empire, and inevitably the historical reliefs take a central place. However, they will also attempt to evoke the landscape and settlements of Sassanian Iran, and thus provide some context for understanding the dynasty’s achievements.

 

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Table of Contents:

1. Home
2. Historical Empires
3. The Sassanians
4. The Geography of the Iranian Empire
5. Roads, Bridges and Communications
6. The foundations of Ardashir at Firuzabad
7. Bishapur
8. Takht-e Suleyman
9. Eastern Cities – Nishapur and Tus
10. Sassanians and Achaemenids: the message of Naqsh-e Rustam
11. Religion
12. Hunting & Warfare
13. Provinces and Frontiers
14. The Royal Reliefs – Investiture, Conquest and Cult
15. Bishapur
16. Azerbaijan - Pir Čavuş
17. Naqsh-e Rajab
18. Sarab-e Bahram
19. Barm-i Dilak
20. Taq-e Bostan
21. Bibliography


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