The Sasanian Empire was the last period of the Persian Empire (Iran) before the rise of Islam, named after the House of Sasan who ruled from 224 to 651 AD.
The Sasanian Empire, which succeeded the Parthian Empire, was recognised as one of the leading world powers alongside its neighbouring arch-rival the Roman-Byzantine Empire, for a period of more than 400 years.
The coinage of the Sasanian empire is not only the most important primary source for its monetary and economic history, but is also of greatest importance for history and art history. Only through the evidence of the royal portraits on the coins, does it become possible to identify depictions of kings on other media of Sasanian art such as silverware or rock and stucco reliefs.
The Sasanian Empire, which succeeded the Parthian Empire, was recognised as one of the leading world powers alongside its neighbouring arch-rival the Roman-Byzantine Empire, for a period of more than 400 years.
The coinage of the Sasanian empire is not only the most important primary source for its monetary and economic history, but is also of greatest importance for history and art history. Only through the evidence of the royal portraits on the coins, does it become possible to identify depictions of kings on other media of Sasanian art such as silverware or rock and stucco reliefs.
Shapur II was the tenth shah of the Sasanian Empire., and the longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history.
He reigned for his entire 70-year life from 309 to 379.
His reign saw the military resurgence of the country, and the expansion of its territory, which marked the start of the first Sasanian golden era.
Shapur later died in 379, although he had a son named Shapur III, h...
His reign saw the military resurgence of the country, and the expansion of its territory, which marked the start of the first Sasanian golden era.
Shapur later died in 379, although he had a son named Shapur III, h...
Khusro II was the last great king of the Sasanian Empire, reigning from 590 to 628.
He was the son of Hormizd IV (reigned 579–590) and the grandson of Khosrow I (reigned 531–579). He was the last king of Persia to have a lengthy reign before the Muslim conquest of Iran, which began five years after his death by execution. He lost his throne, then recovered it with Roman help, and, a dec...
He was the son of Hormizd IV (reigned 579–590) and the grandson of Khosrow I (reigned 531–579). He was the last king of Persia to have a lengthy reign before the Muslim conquest of Iran, which began five years after his death by execution. He lost his throne, then recovered it with Roman help, and, a dec...
Also known as Artaxares and Artaxerxes. Declared himself as Shahanshah after defeating Artabanus IV of Parthia at the Battle of Hormizdegan.
Died of natural causes in 242.
Died of natural causes in 242.
Also known as Sapores or Sapor. Co-ruled with his father since 12 April 240. Died of natural causes in May 270.
Also known as Oromastes. Son of previous king. Reigned only for 1 year.
Brother of the previous king. Committed the persecution of Manichaeism, including the death of Mani. Died of disease/natural causes in September 274.
Son of the previous king. Died of natural causes in 293.
He was son and successor of Bahram II. He was appointed viceroy to the province of Sakastan after Bahram II's re-conquest of it sometime in the 280s.
Also known as Narses or Narseus. He was the son of Shapur I . During the rule of his father, Narseh had served as the governor of Sakastan, Sindh and Turan. Prior to becoming shah of Iran, he held the title of "Great King of Armenia". Enthroned after seizing power from Bahram III in a rebellion led against him
Enthroned after abdicating the throne from his father.
He was the brother of his predecessor, Shapur II, under whom he had served as governor-king of Nodardashiragan, where he fought alongside his brother against the Romans. Ardashir II was appointed as his brother's successor to rule interimly till the latter's son Shapur III reached adulthood.
He was the son of Shapur II and succeeded his uncle Ardashir II. He ultimately met the same fate as his predecessor, being killed by the nobility.
He was the son and successor of the previous king Shapur III.
The son of Yazdegerd I, Bahram was exiled at an early age to the Lahkmid court in al-Hira, where he was raised under the tutelage of the Lakhmid kings. After the assassination of Yazdegerd I, Bahram hurried to the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon with a Lakhmid army, and won the favour of the nobles and priests, according to a long-existing popular legend, after withstanding a trial against two lions.
Son of the previous king Bahram V.
He was the son and successor of Yazdegerd II. His reign was marked by the rebellion of his younger brother Peroz I, who with the aid of one the Seven Great Houses of Iran, the House of Mihran, and the eastern neighbours of the Sasanians, the Hephthalites, had him captured and executed.
He was the son of Yazdegerd II and brother of Hormizd III. During his reign, he successfully quelled a rebellion in Caucasian Albania in the west, and put an end to the Kidarites in the east. He was, however, less successful in handling the Hephthalites, who had taken the Kidarites' place. This eventually resulted in a disastrous defeat near Balkh, where Peroz was killed.
He was the brother and successor of Peroz I (r. 459–484), who had been defeated and killed by a Hephthalite army near Balkh.
A son of Peroz I, he was crowned by the nobles to replace his deposed and unpopular uncle Balash.
Inheriting a declining empire where the authority and status of the Sasanian kings had largely ended, Kavad tried to reorganize his empire by introducing many reforms whose implementation was completed by his son and successor Khosrow I. They were made possible by Kavad's use of the Mazdak...
Inheriting a declining empire where the authority and status of the Sasanian kings had largely ended, Kavad tried to reorganize his empire by introducing many reforms whose implementation was completed by his son and successor Khosrow I. They were made possible by Kavad's use of the Mazdak...
He was a son of Peroz I and younger brother of Kavad I. Jamasp was installed on the Sasanian throne upon the deposition of the latter by the nobility and clergy.
Khosrow I was known for his character, virtues and knowledge. During his ambitious reign, he continued his father's project of making major reforms in the social, military, and economic aspects of the empire, increasing the welfare and the revenues, establishing a professional army, and founding or rebuilding many cities, palaces, and infrastructures. He was interested in literature and philosophy...
He was the son and successor of Khosrow I and his mother was a Khazar princess. During his reign, Hormizd IV had the high aristocracy and Zoroastrian priesthood slaughtered, whilst supporting the landed gentry (the dehqan). His reign was marked by constant warfare: to the west, he fought a long and indecisive war with the Byzantine Empire, which had been ongoing since the reign of his father; and ...
Son of general Bahram Gushnasp and hailing from the noble House of Mihran, Bahram began his career as the governor of Ray, and was promoted to the army chief (spahbed) of the northwestern portions of the empire after capturing the Byzantine stronghold of Dara, fighting in the war of 572–591. After a massive Hephthalite-Turkic invasion of the eastern Sasanian domains in 588, he was appointed as the...
He was a Parthian dynast of the Ispahbudhan house, and maternal uncle of Khosrow II. Vistahm helped Khosrow regain his throne after the rebellion of another Parthian noble Bahram Chobin, of House of Mihran, but later led a revolt himself, and ruled independently over a region which encompassed the entire Iranian East until he was defeated by Khosrow and his allies.
He was the son of Khosrow II whom he succeeded after having him overthrown in a coup d'état. Kavad's reign is seen as a turning point in Sasanian history, and has been argued by some scholars as playing a key role in the fall of the Sasanian Empire.
Ardashir was the son of king Kavad II and Anzoy, who was a princess from the Byzantine Empire, which made Ardashir less popular among the Iranians, who had recently been in a long and devastating war against the Byzantines. In 628, a devastating plague spread through western Iran, which claimed the lives of half of the population, including Kavad II himself.
He usurped the throne from Ardashir III, and was killed by Iranian nobles after forty days. Before usurping the Sasanian throne he was a general (spahbed) under Khosrow II. He is furthermore noted for his important role during the climactic Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, and the events that followed afterwards.
He was a Sasanian rival claimant who briefly ruled a part of Khorasan for a few months in 630. In some sources he has been described as a son of Kavad II, whilst other state that he was a son of Khosrow II.