(1) al-Tabari,1 Annales, pp. 813–45, edd. Earth—Nöldeke (German trans. Nöldeke, pp. 1–68) (Arabic)
Since Alexander’s capture of Babylon five hundred and twenty-three years had passed, according to the reckonings of Christians and adherents of the older revelations, two hundred and sixty-six years, according to the reckonings of the magi, when Ardashir rose up, the son of Pabak Shah, king of Chir, son of the younger Sasan, son of Sasan, son of Pabak, son of Mihrmas (?), son of Sasan, son of king Bahman, son of Spendijar, [N., p. 2] son of Bistasp, son of Lohrasp, son of Kai Ogi (?), son of Kai Manus. According to other information however his family tree is: Ardashir—Pabak—Sasan —Pabak—Zarar—Behafridh—the older Sasan—Bahman— Spendijar—Bistasp—Lohrasp. Well, [N., p. 3] he arose, as he maintained, [p. 814] to avenge the blood of his cousin Dara (i.e. Darius)— son of Dara, grandson of Spendijar—who made war against Alexander and who was murdered by his two servants. As he explained, he wished to restore power to the legitimate family, to establish authority as it had been in the days of his ancestors, who had lived before the Diadoche, and to unite the empire under one head and one king again. It is said that he was born in a village called Tirudih, which belongs to the region of Chir and to the administrative area of Istakhr. His grandfather, Sasan, was such a brave and courageous man, [N., p. 4] that he once fought single-handed against eighty strong and vigorous men of Istakhr and put them to flight. His wife came from the house of Bazrangi, a king’s family in Pars; she was called Rambehist and was a beautiful, excellent woman. Sasan was overseer of a fire-temple in Istakhr, called ‘the fire temple of Anahedh’, and at the same time a zealous huntsman and horseman. To him Rambehist bore Pabak; when he was born his hair was already longer than a hand’s span. When he was grown up he followed his father in the government of men. Then his son Ardashir was born to him. At that time the king of Istakhr was a man of the Bazrangi, who was called Gozihr, according to others. This same man had a eunuch [p. 815] called Tire, whom he had made commandant [N., p. 5] of Darabgerd. When now Ardashir was seven years old, his father went with him to Gozihr, who was living in Baida, introduced his son to him and asked that he (the boy) should be handed over to Tire, to be educated so that he should become commandant after him. The king agreed to this and wrote out for him an official appointment. Thereupon the father took him to Tire, who received him kindly and took him for his son. And so, after Tire’s death Ardashir took over his office and held it well. Then some of the astrologers and sooth-sayers told him that he had been born under lucky signs and that he would rule the lands. Then, it is said, Ardashir became very humble and daily increased in goodness. Once in a dream [N., p. 6] he saw an angel sitting at his head and this angel told him that God gave him dominion over the lands; and that he should set about getting it. When he awoke he rejoiced about this and felt in himself a strength and boldness such as he had never known before. His first act was to march to a place called Gopanan, in the area around Darabgerd, where he killed the king Pasin. Thereupon he went to a place called Konus (?) and killed the king there, one Manocihr, then he went to another place called Lurwir (?) and killed the king Dara. In all these places he installed his own people as regents. Then he wrote to his father, telling him what he [N., p. 7] had done and urged him to rise up against [p. 816] Gozihr, who was in Baida; he did that, killed Gozihr and took his crown. Then he (Pabak) wrote to Ardawan the Pahlawi, king of the mountain-land (i.e. Media) and of the neighbouring lands and humbly begged permission to crown his son Shapur with the crown of Gozihr. But Ardawan [N., p. 8] wrote him an ungracious letter and declared, that he and his son Ardashir had behaved as rebels by killing the men. Pabak did not care about that however. When he lay dying in those days, his son Shapur had himself crowned and became king in place of his father. As such he wrote to Ardashir, telling him to come to him (Shapur); Ardashir however refused. Then Shapur became very angry, collected an army and marched to fight against him. When he had departed from Istakhr (and had settled in the building of the Chumai on the road to Darabgerd, a piece of the building fell on him and killed him. As soon as Ardashir heard the news, he went to Istakhr); there he met a great many of his brothers who, although some of them were older than him, altogether offered him the throne and crown, so that everything would be his. When he was crowned and had ascended the throne, he immediately manifested strength and zeal, installed some people in certain ranks, made [N., p. 9] a man called Abarsam the Buzurgframadhar and clothed him with great power, and he made another called Pahr (?) the Chief Mobedh. Then he realized that his brothers and some other people close to him were making [N., p. 10] a plot against him; so then he killed a great many of them. Then he heard that the inhabitants of Darabgerd had rebelled against him; so he went there again and took the town, after [p. 817] killing many of the inhabitants. After that he went to Kerman, where there was a king called Balas. After a violent battle, in which he personally took part, he took him captive, seized control of the (capital)-city and made one of his sons, also called Ardashir, governor of Kerman. There was however at the Persian Sea coast a king called Astawadh (?), to whom was paid divine honour; Ardashir marched against him also, killed him, cut him [N., p. 11] in two with his sword, killed his entourage as well and brought out from their treasuries many treasures heaped up there. Then he wrote to Mihrak, king of Abarsas (?) in the district round Ardashir-Churra, and some of his peers, and told them to submit to him; when they did not do that he marched out against them and killed Mihrak. Thereupon he went to Gor, founded the town and began to erect the palace, called Tarbal, as well as a temple to fire. While he was occupied with this, an ambassador from king Ardawan suddenly came to him with a letter. Ardashir summoned the people together and read the letter aloud in the presence of everybody; it said: ‘You have overstepped your limit and brought your fate upon yourself, you Kurd, who was brought up in the tents [N., p. 12] of the Kurds. Who has permitted you to put on a crown, to take possession of lands, to subject their kings and inhabitants, who has ordered you to erect the town’—that is, Gor—‘on the plain of….? If we allow you to go on building like this in peace, then build yourself a town with an area of ten Parasangs and call it Ram-Ardashir.’ At the same time he informed him that he had sent the king of Ahwaz, to bring him [p. 818] before him in chains. Ardashir answered the letter thus: ‘God gave me the crown, which I put on, made me the king of the lands which I captured and helped me against the governors and kings, whom I killed. As far as the town is concerned, which you say I should build and call Ram-Ardashir, I hope that I shall get you in my power and send your head with all your possessions to the fire-temple which I have built in Ardashir-Churra.’ Then Ardashir went to Istakhr; when he had been there a short time, a letter came from Abarsam, whom he had left behind in Ardashir-Churra, saying that the king of Ahwaz had truly appeared but had already retreated, [N., p. 13] defeated (by him). Then Ardashir went to Ispahan, took captive its king Sadh-Shapur and killed him. Then having returned home to Pars, he set out to do battle against Nirofarr (?), the prince of Ahwaz. He marched via Aragan, Sambil and Tasan, which belong to (the area round about) Ram-Hormizd, as far as Surrak. When he had got that far, he rode with some of his men to the little Tigris, took the town (situated there) and built (in its place as a new foundation) the town Suq al Ahwaz. Then he returned with the booty to Pars. A second time he went from Pars to Ahwaz by way of Gireh and Kazerun, and from there further to Maisan, where he killed king Bandu (?) and built the town Karak-Maisan. Once again he returned [N., p. 14] to Pars, then however sent a challenge to Ardawan, that he should determine for them both a place for a battle. This letter answered: ‘I will meet you on a plain called Hormizdagan on the last day of the Mihr-month.’ Now Ardashir arrived there before the appointed time, occupied a suitable place on the plain, made a ditch around himself and his army and took possession of [p. 819] a spring there. Then when Ardawan arrived the army got into battle order. But Shapur, Ardashir’s son, had already advanced to protect him; it came to a fight, and Shapur killed with his own hand the Dadhbundadh, Ardawan’s scribe. Then Ardashir himself came out from his position and killed him; a great many of his companions fell and [N., p. 15] the rest fled. It is said that Ardashir got off his horse and trampled Ardawan’s head underfoot. On that day he received the title Shahan-Shah. Then he went from there to Hamadhan and took it by force, as well as the rest of the mountain-land, Azarbaijan, Armenia and (the region of) Mosul. Following that he went from Mosul to Suristan, i.e. the Sawad, took possession of it and on the west bank of the Tigris, opposite the town of Ctesiphon, which [N., p. 16] forms the eastern side of Madain, he built another place, which he named Veh-Ardashir, assigned to it an administrative area, consisting of the offices of Behrasir, Rumakan, Nahar Darqit, Kutha and Nahar Gaubar, and appointed [N., p. 17] local administrators for them.— Then he went from Sawad back to Istakhr, from there first of all to Sagistan, then to Gurgan, then to Abrasahr, Marw, Balch and Chwarizm as far as the outer limits of the lands of Chorasan, whereupon he returned to Marw. After he had killed many people and sent their heads to the fire-temple of Anahita, he returned from Marw back to Pars and settled in Gor. There came to him ambassadors of the king of the Kushan [p. 820], of the king of Turan and the king of Mokran (Makuran), with the declaration of their submission. Hereafter Ardashir proceeded from Gor to Bahrain and besieged the king there—Sanatruk —until he [N., p. 18] in extreme need fell from the fortress wall and died. Then he went back to Madain, remained there some time and in his own lifetime crowned his son Shapur.—It is said that there was in Alar, a village in the region of Kucaran (part of the coast-land of Ardashir-Churra), a queen who enjoyed divine veneration and had much wealth and many soldiers; Ardashir made war on her priests, killed the queen and took as booty much money and treasures which she had.—He is supposed also to have built 8 towns—to be precise in Pars Ardashir-Churra, i.e. Gor (I), Ram-Ardashir (II) and Rew-Ardashir (III); in Ahwaz Hormizd-Ardashir, i.e. ‘the market of Ahwaz (IV)’; in Sawad Veh- Ardashir, the western town [N., p. 20] of Madain (V) and Astarabadh-Ardashir, i.e. Karak Maisan (VI); in Bahrain Pasa (?)-Ardashir, i.e. the town of Chatt (VII) and in (the region of) Mosul Budh-Ardashir, i.e. Hazza (VIII).—It is also said that on his first appearance Ardashir wrote compelling letters to the diadoche, urging them to obey him. [N., p. 21]—Towards the end of his life he wrote his testament for his successor.—He was always glorious and victorious; never [p. 821] was his army defeated nor his banner driven back; he conquered and subjected all kings, surrounding his territory, and in all lands he appeared as lord. He formed administrative regions and founded cities, established the various ranks and saw to it that the land flourished.—His rule lasted, calculated from the fall [N., p. 22] of Ardawan until his death, fourteen years, according to some others however, fourteen years and ten months.
A report which goes back to Hisam b. Muhammed tells the following story: When Ardashir was advancing with the Persians to achieve dominion over ‘Iraq, he there met Papa as king of the Ardawanians; according to Hisam’s own explanation the former are the Nabataeans of Sawad, the latter the Nabataeans of Syria. They were both fighting each other for supremacy, but united however against Ardashir, by agreeing to fight him on alternate days. When it was Papa’s day, Ardashir could not hold out against him, but when it was Ardawan’s turn it was the other way round. When Ardashir saw this he made a treaty with Papa, whereby he would surrender Ardawan to him, but keep his lands and all that was in them. So then he only had Ardawan to deal with, he killed him quickly and took over all his possessions. Then (of necessity) Papa also became subject to him. Ardashir seized ‘Iraq, forced its princes to obedience and overpowered the obstinate inhabitants, forcing them to do what they did not wish to, but what he desired. [N., p. 23]…2
After Ardashir, son of Pabak, had died, his son Shapur became king of Persia, [p. 823]—When Ardashir [N., p. 26] son of Pabak, attained supremacy, he shed in rivers the blood of the Asakanians, of whom the diadoche were a part, until he exterminated them all, and all this because of an oath which Sasan the Elder, son of Ardashir, son of Bahman, son of Spendijar, the ancestor of Ardashir, son of Pabak had sworn, that, if he became king, he would not leave alive a single member of the family of Asak, son of Churra, binding also his successors and holding them to it in his last will and testament, that they also, if they came to rule, would leave none of them alive. Since Ardashir was the first of his children’s children to achieve this, he killed them all and left none alive because of this decree made by his ancestor Sasan. It is said that not one of them was left over except a girl; he found her in the royal palace and, taken by her perfect beauty, he asked her, the daughter of the murdered king, about her origins [N., p. 27], and she said she was the maid-servant of one of the wives of the king. To his question, whether she was a virgin or a widow, she answered: ‘a virgin’, and then he slept with her, took her for himself, and she became pregnant by him. After she was no longer afraid of him, because of her condition, she finally told him that she was of Asak’s family: immediately he left her however, called the Hargand (?), son of Sam, an aged man, informed him that she had admitted being of Asak’s family and said: ‘Above all it is our duty to carry out completely the oath of our father Sasan, as dear to our heart as she is, as you well know; [p. 824] so take her away and kill her.’ When the old man was going away to kill her, she told him that she was pregnant, which was confirmed by the midwives, to whom he took her. Then he kept her in a cellar, cut off his own male member, put it in a box and sealed it. Having returned to the king, he answered his question about what he had done by saying she was safely in the bosom of the earth, and at the same time he handed over the box, asking the king to put a seal on it as well and keep it safely in one of his treasuries; and that the king did. The girl however stayed with the old man and was eventually safely delivered of a boy. The old man did not like to give the king’s son a more humble name (than his rank required), but neither did he wish to let him know of the matter before he was grown-up and completely educated; [N., p. 28] moreover at the hour of the boy’s birth he had investigated his fate by reading his horoscope and had recognized that he would come to rule: for these reasons he gave him a name which would serve to describe him and as a name with this in mind, that when he knew about it, he would have the choice (that is, whether he wished to keep it as his own name); so he called him Sahpuhr, i.e. son of a king, and he is the first, so to be called. This is the son of Ardashir, who is called in Arabic ‘Shapur of the hosts’. —Some, however, maintain that he called the boy Ashapur, i.e. descendant of Asak, of whose tribe his mother was.—So now Ardashir lived for a while childless; then one day the old man, at whose house the boy was, went into his room and found him downcast. ‘What makes you sad, o king?’ he asked. The latter replied, ‘How should I not be sad? Admittedly between rising and going down I have defeated everything with my sword, I have achieved what I wanted and won completely for myself the empire, the empire of my fathers, but now I shall die without any heir to follow my rule and without having any part of it myself (after my death),’ Then the old man said to him: ‘God give you joy, o king, and let you live long! At my house there is a noble, splendid son of yours. But first of all send for the box [N., p. 29] which I gave you for safe keeping and which you sealed, so that I may give you the proof.’ Then Ardashir sent for the box, tested the seal, broke it then [p. 825] and found therein the old man’s member with a piece of writing as follows: ‘After we had discovered that Asak’s daughter was pregnant by Ardashir king of kings, we did not consider it right, despite the order, to kill her and destroy the noble seed of the king, but we kept it safe in the bosom of the earth, as the king ordered us, but we tried also to prove clearly our innocence so that no-one could slander it; we endeavoured to protect the right which had been sown, until it should finally come to the one entitled to it. These things happened at such and such a time in such and such a year.’ Then Ardashir ordered that the boy be put with one hundred—according to others with one thousand—boys of his own age, similar to him in appearance and size and had them all brought in to him together, avoiding any differentiation in dress, size and behaviour. The old man did that, and as soon as Ardashir looked at them, he recognized his son immediately in spirit, and knew who he was, without being given any hint or indication. Then on his command they were all taken into the palace courtyard, were given bats and played ball, while he sat in his palace on the throne. While they were playing the ball flew into the palace where the king was. All the boys were too afraid to go into the castle; only Shapur stepped out of the throng and went in. Ardashir, who of course at first sight had recognized him in spirit and felt a tenderness for him as for none of his comrades, now could tell clearly from his bold entry that this was his son. So he asked him in Persian: ‘What is your name?’, whereupon he answered, ‘Sahpur’; [N., p. 30] then Ardashir repeated: ‘Sahpur’ (son of a king!). When he was convinced by this, that it was his son, he acknowledged him publicly and declared him crown-prince.
Already before he came to rule and while his father was still alive the Persians experienced many examples of Shapur’s [p. 826] understanding, greatness of spirit, knowledge, furthermore his great courage, his eloquence, his graciousness to his subjects and his tender sensitivity. When now the crown was put on his head, the great ones assembled around him, called out their wishes that he should live long and spoke most generously about his father and his excellent qualities. Then he gave them to know that what they had said about his father had made him most happy and he made them fair promises. Thereupon he sent for money which was in the treasuries, gave rich presents to the people there and distributed it among the respected ones, the troops and the needy ones, whom he considered deserving of it. He also wrote to his governors in the various regions and lands, that they should do the same with the money. So his goodness and beneficence extended near and far, to noble and insignificant, high and low and for all of them life was made easier. Then he chose governors for them, but he excelled mightily above them and all his subjects. So his splendid way of life became well-known, his fame spread and he stood high above all kings.—It is said that after ruling for eleven years he marched to the town of Nesibin (i.e. Nisibis), where there were Roman troops and [N., p. 32] he besieged it for a time; then he heard of circumstances in Chorasan, which required his personal attention; he went there, arranged matters and then went back to Nesibin. It is said that the wall split (by itself) causing a breach, through which he could penetrate. He killed the soldiers, made women and children slaves and seized as booty great sums of money, deposited there for the Emperor. Then he continued to Syria and the Roman lands and occupied many cities there. It is said that Ciliciia and Cappadocia were among his conquests, and that he besieged a Roman Emperor, Valerianus, in the town of Antiochia, took him captive, led him [p. 827] and a great many others away and settled them in Gundeshapur. [N., p. 33] He is supposed to have forced Valerianus to build the dam of Sostar 1000 Ells across. The Roman is said to have had this carried out by people drawn from his Empire; after the completion of the dam Shapur is supposed to have agreed to his being freed. According to some he took a lot of money from him and cut off his nose, before letting him go; according to others he finally killed him.
In the mountains of Tekrit between Euphrates and Tigris there was a town called Hadr (i.e. Hatra); there lived [N., p. 34] a man of the Garamaeans called Satirun. It is he of whom Abu Duad der Ijadit says:
And I see how death hangs down from Hadr over the lord of its inhabitants Satirun.
The Arabs however call him Daizan; he is supposed to have been [N., p. 35] a man of Ba-Garma, but according to Hisam b. (Muhammed) Kelbi he was an Arab of the Qoda’s tribe, to be precise Daizan b. Mu’awija b. ‘Abid b. Agram (?) b. ‘Amr b. Nacha’ b. Salih b. Holwan b. ‘Imran b. Haft b. Qoda’a, while his mother was Gaihala of the tribe Tazid b. Holwan; he is said to be called after her name. As Hisam maintains, he was king of Mesopotamia and had around him countless number of the Banu ‘Abid b. Agram and the other Qoda’a tribes; his rule extended as far as Syria. When now [N., p. 36] Shapur, son of Ardashir, was once absent in [p. 828] Chorasan, he made a raid in Sawad, this was reported to the king when he returned home. Of Daizan’s deed ‘Amr b. Ila b. Gudai b. Daha b. Gusam b. Holwan b. ‘Imran b. Hafi b. Qoda’a says:
We came upon them with a host of (the tribe) Ilaf and with the hard-shot, male horses.
From a great distance we drew near the foreigners with hosts from Mesopotamia like the glow of fire.
So when Shapur heard of Daizan’s behaviour, he marched out against him and camped outside his fortress; he however fortified himself therein. According to Ibn Kelbi’s statement Shapur lay for four years outside his fortress, without destroying it or being able to reach Daizan. [N., p. 37] But A’sa Maimum b. Aais mentioned in his poem that he only camped there for two years; he says:
Have you not looked at Hadr, whose inhabitants always lived well?—but is any man, who lives well, immortal?
Sahpur the man of the armies camped there for two years and hewed his axes in there.
But God gave him (the king of Hadr) no more strength, and an axe like his could not remain still.
When God saw his action, he suddenly descended upon him, and he could not defend himself.
But he had called out to his people: Rise up for your cause, which is already decided!
[p. 829] So die then in honour by your own swords; I consider that a true man will take his own death upon him.
Now however one of Daizan’s daughters called Nadira was menstruating and according to the local custom was therefore taken to the outskirts of the town. She was one of the most beautiful women of her time, as Shapur was supposed to be one of the most handsome men [N., p. 38] of his time. When they caught sight of each other they fell in love immediately. She sent a message to him: ‘What will you give me if I show you how to destroy the walls of this town and kill my father?’ To which he answered: ‘Whatever you will; and I will raise you up above all my wives and put you closer to me than them.’ Then she told him the following: Take a greenish dove with a ring around its neck and with the menstrual blood of a blue-eyed virgin write something on its foot; then let it go, and it will sit on the wall around the town, and this will collapse.’ For this was the talisman of the town, that it could only be destroyed in this way. When he was doing that and preparing for battle she said further: ‘I will give the troops wine and then when they lie (drunk), kill them and enter the town.’ The king did all of this, the town collapsed, he stormed it and killed Daizan immediately. The Qoda’a tribes, which he had around him, were destroyed also, so that there are no known remnants of them. The same kind of extermination befell some tribes of Banu Holwan also. So ‘Amr b. Ila, who had been with Daizan, says:
Are you not downcast as the news arrives about what happened to the heads of Banu ‘Abid, [N., p. 39] And about the fall of Daizan and his fleshly brothers and of the men of Tazid, who always rode in the armies?
Shapur, the man of the armies, rode out against them with elephants covered with blankets and with heroic fighters.
And he destroyed the rocky blocks of the pillars of that fortress, whose foundations were like iron sheets.
Then Shapur destroyed the town and took with him Daizan’s daughter Nadira. The wedding took place in ‘Ain-attamar. It is said that she complained all night long about the roughness of the couch, which was however stuffed with finest silk and raw silk. As they tried to find out what was causing her discomfort they found a myrtle leaf [p. 830] in one of the folds of her belly, where it had lodged itself. Because her skin was so delicate, you could see right through to the marrow of her bones. Then Shapur said to her: Tell me, what did your father give you to eat?’ She answered: ‘Cream, bone-marrow and the honey of virgin bees together with the finest wine.’ ‘By your father!’ he exclaimed, ‘truly you have only known me a short time and yet you love me more than your father, who gave you such food!’ Then, at his command, a man mounted a wild horse, she was tied by her hair to its tail and the horse was made to gallop until she fell to pieces. Of this the poet says:
[N., p. 40] Deserted is Hadr of Nadira, as well as Mirba’ and the shore of the Tharthar.
In general the poets write a lot about this Daizan; he is referred to by ‘Adi b. Zaid in the words:
And (where is now) the man of Hadr, who once built it and taxed the land by the Tigris and Chaboras? He built a marble castle, covered with plaster and the birds nested in its summits.
He did not fear an unhappy fate, and yet he lost the dominion and his gate was lonely.
It is also said that Shapur built in Maisan (the town) Sadh-Shapur, called Dima (?) in Nabataean.—In Shapur’s time Mani the Zandik appeared.—It is told that Shapur came to the place where he wanted to build the town Gunde-Shapur and there he met an old man, called Bel, whom he asked, whether [N., p. 41] it was permitted to build a town on this spot. Bel answered; ‘If I can still learn to write, at my age, then it is permitted to build a town in this place.’ But Shapur answered: ‘Now [p. 831] both things, which you consider impossible, shall take place.’ Therewith he had the plan of the town marked out and at the same time handed Bel over to a teacher, in order to teach him to write and do arithmetic within a year. The teacher kept him at his house and began by shaving his hair and beard, so that they would not distract him; then he taught him continuously and, when he brought him to Shapur, he had made such progress in learning that the former handed over to him the book-keeping for the expenses of the town. There the king instituted an administrative area; and gave (the town and this area) the name Beh-az-Andew-i-Shapur’, i.e. ‘better than Antiochia of Shapur’; that is the place which is generally known as Gunde-Shapur but which the inhabitants of Ahwaz call Bel, after the man, who guided its construction.—Now, when he was near to death [N., p. 42] he declared his son Hormizd to be king and gave him testamentary instructions, according to which he was to conduct himself.—There are various views about the length of his rule: according to some he reigned thirty years and fifteen days, according to others it was thirty-one years six months and nineteen days.
Shapur, son of Ardashir, grandson of Pabak [N., p. 43], was succeeded by his son Hormizd, known also as ‘the Bold’. In his whole appearance he was similar to Ardashir, but did not equal him in insight and skill; yet he is supposed to have excelled himself in boldness, courage and physical size. It is said that his mother was one of the daughters of king Mihrak, whom Ardashir had killed in Ardashir- Churra. For the astrologers had foretold to Ardashir that one of Mihrak’s descendants would come to reign, so Ardashir had all the family sought out and executed. But Hormizd’s mother, a clever, beautiful and strong woman fled and came to a desert place, where she took refuge among shepherds, [p. 832] One day while Shapur was hunting he followed the game too far and became very thirsty: then he spotted the tents, where Hormizd’s mother had taken refuge. He approached them but found the shepherds were not there; [N., p. 44] but on his request the woman gave him water. It was then that he noticed her outstanding beauty, her splendid form and her noble face. When, shortly after, the shepherds returned, Shapur asked them about the woman and one of them gave her out to be a member of his family, so Shapur asked him for her to be his wife. He agreed to it, and so he took her home, had her cleaned up, dressed and adorned and wished to sleep with her. But when he was alone with her and demanded what a man demands from a woman she resisted and overcame him in wrestling in a way that was by no means tender, so that he was astonished by her strength. But when this had gone on for some time he became annoyed and asked her what the reason was. Then she told him that she was the daughter of Mihrak and had only behaved thus, in order to protect him from Ardashir. He, however, vowed not to speak of her circumstances; then he lay with her and she gave birth to Hormizd. But he kept the child hidden. When he was a few years old, however, Ardashir was out riding and went by Shapur’s home, because he wanted to say something to him, entered unannounced and sat down: just at that time Hormizd came out, a grown boy, carrying a bat to play ball and ran shouting after a ball which had shot off. When Ardashir saw him, he was annoyed about it, but immediately he was struck by the likeness to his own family; for the royal nature of Ardashir’s descendants could not be concealed and could not be mistaken by anyone because of certain signs: facial beauty, fullness of limbs and other special physical characteristics. So Ardashir called the boy up to him and asked Shapur who he was. [N., p. 45] Then Shapur fell on his knees, begging for mercy, admitted his offence and told his father what had really happened, [p. 833] But his father was pleased about it and told him that only now did he understand what the astrologers had meant with Mihrak’s descendant coming to royal power in future, that they had meant Hormizd, who was of course of Mihrak’s tribe; so now at last he was free of all his worry.—When Shapur came to rule after Ardashir’s death he made Hormizd governor of Chorasan. There he made independent appearances, subjected the kings of the neighbouring peoples and showed the proud strength of a ruler. For this reason people slandered him to Shapur and instilled the suspicion that he would not come if he (Shapur) summoned him, and that he wished to rob him of the crown. When Hormizd heard that, it is said that he, quite alone and secretly, cut off his own hand, put medicine on it to preserve it, wrapped it in a precious piece of cloth, put it in a box and sent it to Shapur; at the same time he wrote saying what he had heard and that he had done this thing in order to dispel any suspicion, for according to the ordering of their state, no mutilated man could become king. When Shapur received the letter he was ready to die of grief, and he wrote back saying how very grieved he was about what he had done, he apologized and declared that even if he should mutilate his whole body, limb by limb, yet the succession would go to no other; thus he appointed him to be king.—When the crown was put on his head, it is said that all the great ones came in and hailed him; but he gave them fair answer and they [N., p. 46] recognized from that that the story (just told) was true. He behaved very well to them, was just to his subjects and walked in the ways of his fathers. He set up the administrative area of Ram- Hormizd. His reign lasted one year and ten days.
Then came the reign of his son Bahram, that is Bahram, son of Hormizd, son of Shapur, son of Ardashir, son of Pabak. He (Bahram) was one of the (provincial) governors of Shapur, son of Ardashir, and Hormizd, son of Shapur and Bahram son of Shapur.
It is said that Bahram, son of Hormizd, was a gentle and good man, so the people rejoiced when he came to the throne. He behaved well to them and followed as king in the steps of his fathers in his treatment of people.—It is said that Mani the Zandik tried to convert him to his religion, but he had the matter scrutinized and found him to be an apostle of Satan; so he ordered that he should be killed, then skinned and his skin to be stuffed with chaff and to be hung up at one of the gates of Gunde-Shapur, which gate (since that) is called the Mani-gate; he also executed his companions and adherents. His [N., p. 48] reign lasted, it is said, three years, three months and three days.
Then came the reign of his son Bahram, son of Bahram, son of Hormizd, etc. and he was said to be an efficient ruler. When the crown had been put on his head the great ones called out similar blessings as they had done for his fathers; he gave them a fair [p. 835] answer and treated them well. He said (then): ‘If fate is good to us [N., p. 49] we accept it with gratitude; if not, we will be satisfied with what is our portion.’ There are differing opinions on his years of rule: according to some he reigned eighteen, according to others seventeen years.
Then Bahram, with the surname Shahan Shah, son of Bahram [N., p. 50] son of Bahram, son of Hormizd etc. became king. When the crown had been put on his head, the great ones assembled around him and called to him their wishes for a blessed reign and long life, and he gave them a fair answer. Before he came to reign he had been the king of Sagistan. He reigned four years.
Then came the reign of Narse (i.e. Narses), son of Bahram [N., p. 51] a brother of the third Bahram. When he had been crowned, the nobles and great ones came in and called out their blessings; but he promised them good things and commanded them to help him in his office. He behaved very justly to them. On the day he took over the governing he said: ‘We shall never cease thanking God for the grace shown to us.’ He reigned nine years.
Then the king was Hormizd, son of Narse, son of Bahram, etc. The people were afraid of this man, as they had got to know him to be hard and stern; but he gave them to know, that he was well aware how much they feared a harsh reign by him, but that he had exchanged the hardness and inflexibility of his nature for softness and leniency. So he ruled them then very kindly and treated them very justly, [p. 836] He strove to support the weak, to make the land flourish and to get justice for his subjects, then he died without leaving a son. The people were sad about this and in their affection for him they asked after his women; then they heard that one was pregnant. Others do say that Hormizd himself had bequeathed the crown to the unborn child in its mother’s womb. Then the woman gave birth to Shapur, [N., p. 52] the Man of Shoulders. According to one source Hormizd ruled six years and five months, according to another seven years and five months.
After him Shapur, the Man of Shoulders, son of Hormizd etc. was born king, since his father had bequeathed the title to him. The people rejoiced at his birth, spread the news of it in all directions and sent letters about it by messengers [N., p. 53] to all corners of the earth. The viziers and scribes, however, kept the posts they had occupied in his father’s reign. So things remained, until the news spread outside the boundaries of the Empire, that the Persians had no king, but were waiting for a boy in the cradle and no-one knew how he would turn out. Then the Turks and Romans desired their Empire. Now, however, the, lands of the Arabs were nearest to Persia and in addition these people were more dependent than others on getting provisions and places to live elsewhere, for their circumstances were miserable and their food scarce. So they came in hordes out of the region of ‘Abdalqais, out of Bahrain and Kiazma over the sea to Resahr, the coastal area of Ardashir-Churra and the other coastal lands of Persia, they took cattle, corn and [N., p. 54] other provisions from the inhabitants and made serious trouble [p. 837] in the land. They did this for some considerable time, without a single Persian attacking them, for they had of course crowned a child, of whom the people had little fear. This went on until Shapur stirred himself and grew up. When this happened, it is said that his practical sense and fine intellect were manifest on the following occasion. When he was once sleeping at night in the royal palace at Ctesiphon he was woken up towards morning by the noise of the people. When he asked what it was, he was told that the noise came from the throng of people crossing to and fro over the Tigris bridge. Then he ordered that another bridge be built, so that people would go one way on one bridge and the other way on the other and there would be no need for pushing people going in the opposite direction on the bridge. When the people saw what a good solution he had found, despite his tender years, they were very glad. He had the order carried out immediately and even before sunset on the same day a second bridge is supposed to have been erected near the first one. The people now no longer needed to endanger their lives, when they crossed the bridge. Now, in a single day the boy made such progress as others in a long time. Regularly the scribes and viziers brought one matter after another before him; among these was the affair of the troops, who were on the borders facing the enemy, for there came news, that most of them were in a sorry frame of mind. They painted a black picture to him, but he said to them: ‘Don’t be so worried about it, there’s an easy solution to it.’ So he ordered all these armies to be written to, telling them he had heard how long they had been at their posts and what exertions they had taken up [p. 838] for their brothers and those whom they were protecting; [N., p. 55] if anyone wished to return to his family he was welcome to do so and got leave to do so; but if any wished to complete his service by remaining at his post, this would not be forgotten. Furthermore he ordered that those who wanted to return home could stay with their families at home, until they were needed. When the viziers heard such words from him they were amazed at them and said: ‘If he had already had long experience in affairs of state and leadership of the army he could not have shown greater insight nor spoken more appropriately than we have just heard from him.’ Then came tidings upon tidings into the provinces and frontier areas about directions he had given to raise up his own people and cast down the enemies. When he was at last 16 years old, could bear arms and ride a horse and had gained great strength, he summoned the highest ones of his people and troops together and spoke to them. He spoke of the grace which God had shown him and them all through his fathers, how the latter had taught them right dealings and had driven away their enemies and how, in contrast, things had slipped backwards in the recent times of his childhood. Now, however, he added, he was going to act to defend the dearest possession, now he was determined to wage war against an enemy; only one thousand warriors should accompany him. Then the people came up to him with words of gratitude and blessing, but begged him, however, to stay where he was, and send the leaders of the army and troops out instead of him on the campaign he was determined on. He, however, was not willing to stay and equally unwilling to accede to their next request, to raise the number he mentioned. Rather he selected one thousand riders from the bravest and most warlike warriors, ordered them to advance at his command, forbade them, however, to spare any Arab that they came across, [N., p. 56] and to be concerned with taking booty. So he set off with them and attacked the Arabs, who regarded Pars as their own private territory, [and] before they knew what had happened, he wrought appalling havoc amongst them, took them into harsh captivity and chased away any who were left. Then he crossed the sea [p. 839] with his people, came to Chatt and, murdering, he marched through the land of Bahrain, refusing to be bought off or to bother with booty. Then he went further and came to Hagar, where there were Bedouins of the tribes of Tamim, Bekr b. Wail and ‘Abdalqais; amongst these also he brought great carnage and shed so much blood, that it ran like a river filled by rain. Even those who fled could not believe that any cave in the mountains nor any island in the sea would be safe from him. Then he turned upon the land of the ‘Abdalqais and exterminated everything apart from those who managed to escape into the sandy deserts. Then he advanced to Jamama, where he murdered in a similar fashion. He stopped up every one of the Arabs’ watering-places that he passed, every spring he blocked up. Then he approached Medina; there also he killed all the Arabs he came across or made them prisoner. Straight away he turned aside to the land of the Bekr and Taghlib, which lies between the Persian Empire and the line of Roman frontier fortresses in Syria; there he killed all the Arabs he could find or took them prisoner and stopped up all their watering-places. [N., p. 57] He did, by the way, settle some of the Taghlib in Bahrain, i.e. in Darin, which is also called Haig, and in Chatt, he settled people of the ‘Abdalqais and some sections of the Tamim in Hagar, people from the Bekr b. Wail in Kerman—the ones called ‘Bekr of Aban’—and people of the Hanzala in Ramalija he settled in Ahwaz.—At his command a town was built in Sawad, which he called Buzurg-Shapur, i.e. ‘Ukbara, and another which he called Peroz-Shapur, i.e. Ambar; furthermore in Ahwaz [N., p. 58] he had two towns built [p. 840] Eran-Churra-Shapur, i.e. ‘Shapur and his land’, called Karch in Syrian, and Sus, a town which he built near the fortress, where lies the coffin with the body of the Prophet Daniel. When he had marched against the Romans and had there made many prisoners [N., p. 59] he settled these in Eran-Churra-Shapur, out of which the Arabs made the abbreviation Sus. Moreover at his command a town was built in Ba Garma, which he called Giba-Shapur (?) and to which he granted an administrative area, and in Chorasan he built a town, which he called Neshapur, and to this also he gave an administrative area.
Shapur had made a truce with the Roman Emperor Constantine, the builder of the city of Constantinople and the first Christian ruler of the Romans. Then Constantine died and after him [N., p. 60] his three sons, among whom he had divided the Empire; then the Romans made a man of his house, Lulianus (i.e. Julian), Emperor and he was an adherent of the Roman religion, which had prevailed before Christianity. Previously he had of course kept this secret and had given himself out to be a Christian, but when he came to power, he confessed openly the Roman religion, re-established it, ordered that it should be called to life again, that the churches be destroyed and bishops and Christian priests should be killed. Then he assembled great hosts of Romans, Chazars and Arabs, who were in his Empire, in order to fight Shapur and his Persian troops. The Arabs, however, were very happy to take this opportunity [p. 841] to have vengeance on Shapur, who had of course killed Arabs. So one hundred and seventy thousand Arabs assembled in Lulianus’ army. Lulianus sent these ahead with a Roman patrician, Jovinianus as commander of the vanguard. He advanced himself until he had penetrated Persian territory. When Shapur heard how many Roman, Arab and Chazar troops he had, he was very afraid and sent out spies [N., p. 61] to bring him news and tell him how many they were, how brave and how much damage they were doing. But the reports of the spies about Lulianus and his army did not agree, so Shapur disguised himself and, accompanied by a few close companions, he went to spy out the army himself. When he came near to the army of Jovinianus, the leader of the vanguard, he sent some of his companions into the army to gather information and to bring it to him, telling the truth. But the Romans spotted them, took them captive and brought them before Jovinianus. Not one of them admitted why they had been sent into the army, except one single man, who told him how things were, said where Shapur was and asked him to give him a section of troops and he would hand the king over to them. But no sooner had Jovinianus heard these words, than he sent one of his closest companions to Shapur to tell them what happened and to warn him. So Shapur rode quickly away from that place to his army. But the Arabs in Lulianus’ army asked him for permission to attack Shapur [p. 842], and when he granted their request they attacked him, scattered his hosts and brought great slaughter among them. Shapur fled with the remnant of his army and Lulianus was able to take possession of Shapur’s residence, Ctesiphon, and the treasuries there with all the king’s wealth. The latter then wrote to the troops in distant regions and told them what had happened to him at the hands of Lulianus and his Arab accomplices, and he ordered all commanders to come to his aid quickly with all their troops. When now in a short time the hosts had assembled [N., p. 62] from all directions, he turned about, attacked Lulianus and snatched back from him the town of Ctesiphon. Lulianus then quartered his army and himself in Veh-Ardashir and the surrounding area. Then Lulianus and Shapur negotiated zealously with each other through messengers going to and fro. But one day when Lulianus was sitting in his room an arrow, shot by an invisible hand, hit him fatally in the heart. Thereupon the army lost all its composure; they were appalled at his fate and despaired of ever getting out of Persia. They were now a consultative body without king and without a leader; so they asked Jovinianus to take over the reins of government. He, however, refused, and when they pushed him, he explained to them, that he was a Christian and did not wish to rule over people who were of a different faith from himself. But now the Romans also declared that they shared his faith and that they had only kept it secret for fear of Lulianus. So then he acceded to their request: they made him Emperor and openly confessed Christianity again. When Shapur heard of the end of Lulianus he sent the following message to the Roman leader: ‘God has now put you in our power and granted us recompense for the wrong you did us and for your coming into our land. We [p. 843] hope now that you will die of hunger there, without us having to draw a single sword or lance in battle against you. So send us your leader (for negotiations) if you have chosen one.’ While Jovinianus was quite willing to go to Shapur, none of his commanders favoured this intention. He, however, insisted and came to Shapur, with eighty of the most respected men in the camp and in the whole army, and wearing the crown. [N., p. 63] When Shapur heard that he was coming he went out to meet him. They both fell on the ground (in obeisance) before each other; then Shapur embraced him in gratitude for what he had done for him. He ate a meal with Shapur and was of good cheer. Shapur meanwhile, however, gave the Roman leaders and governors to understand that if they had made any other than Jovinianus to be Emperor, they would all have perished in Persia; it was only because of his nomination that he did not let them feel his power. So through his efforts Jovinianus’ position became very strong. Then he said: ‘The Romans attacked our land, killed many people, chopped down date-palms and other trees in Sawad and devastated agriculture; now, they shall either pay us the full price for what they destroyed and laid waste to, or give up the town Nesibin with its territory as compensation.’ Jovinianus and his military leaders agreed to give Shapur compensation and yielded Nesibin to him. When the inhabitants of this town heard of it, they emigrated to other places in the Roman Empire because they feared the reign of a king who was of a different religion. When Shapur heard this, he had twelve thousand people of good family from Istakhr, Ispahan and other regions of his lands sent to Nesibin and settled them there. [N., p. 64] Jovinianus, however, returned with his troops to the Roman land, where he died after a brief reign.
Until his own death Shapur was busily engaged in slaughtering the Arabs [p. 844] and tearing out the shoulder-bones of their chiefs; for this reason they called him the ‘man of shoulders’. Some reporters say that after Shapur had overcome the Arabs and driven them out of the nearby territories, into which they had come i.e. Pars, Bahrain and Jamama, he invaded Syria and came to the Roman frontier; then he declared to his companions that he wanted to get into the Roman Empire in order to find out their secrets and to gather information about [N., p. 65] their towns and the number of their troops. This he did and for a time he roamed around in the Roman Empire. Then he heard that the Emperor was giving a banquet and had summoned the people together to share his meal. Shapur also, disguised as a beggar, went along to join in the company, to see the Emperor, to find out what he looked like and what happened at his feast. But he was recognized, taken prisoner and on the Emperor’s command he was put in the skin of a bull. Then the Emperor marched with his troops to Persia, taking Shapur along like this. On the way he provoked much murdering, devastation of towns and villages, chopping down of date-palms and other fruit-trees. Finally he came to Gunde-Shapur. The inhabitants defended themselves behind their fortifications, but he erected the catapults and with them destroyed a part of the town. While matters stood like this the Romans, who were supposed to be guarding Shapur, were inattentive one night; the latter ordered some prisoners from Ahwaz, who happened to be nearby, that they should pour oil from pipes there onto his chains. They did that and his skin became supple; he slipped out and crawled further and further to the gate of the town. There [N., p. 66] he told the garrison his name. So after he had been let in, the inhabitants were very joyful [p. 845] and praised God so loud, that the Emperor’s men were woken up. But Shapur assembled all who were in the town, armed them and in the same night, towards morning, he made an attack on the Romans. He slaughtered them, made the Emperor himself a prisoner and took as booty his treasures and his women. Then he had him put in heavy chains and gave him the task of making good everything which he had laid waste. He is supposed to have forced the Emperor to bring earth from the Roman land to Madain and Gunde-Shapur to restore what had been destroyed there, and to plant olives instead of the date-palms and other trees which had been destroyed. Then he cut off his heels, shod him and sent him on a donkey back to the Romans with the words: That is your punishment for the outrage committed against us.’ That is why the Romans no longer put boots on their horses, but shoe them with iron.
[N., p. 67] Thereafter Shapur stayed a long time in his Empire, but then he marched against the Romans, killed many, took many prisoners and settled these in a town, which he built near Sus and called Eransahr-Shapur.—Then he made peace with the Arabs and settled a few tribes from the Taghlib, ‘Abdalqais and Bekr b. Wail in Kerman, Tawag and Ahwaz.—He also built the town Nishapur and other towns in Sind and Sagistan.—He sent for a doctor from India, whom he settled in Kark near Sus; after this man’s death the people of Sus inherited his skill and this is why the inhabitants of that region [N., p. 68] are the most skilful in medicine of all Persians.—He bequeathed the royal title to his brother Ardashir. His reign lasted seventy-two years.
(2) Eutychius,3 Annales, ed. Cheikho, CSCO 50, pp. 109, 10–110, 5:
However, Shapur, the son of Ardashir, the king of the Persians returned to Nisibis. When he saw what they had accomplished in defensive preparation, he blamed them for their treachery and said, ‘You have acted in a deceitful and cunning manner.’ And [again] he put them under siege, yet when he had been unable to storm the city after expending a great deal of time there, he found this very fact a cause of vexation. Therefore he said to his companions, ‘Can you not find anyone in our army who is not distressed by what we are suffering?’ And so after holding an investigation they found two men given over to wine and song. The king said to them, ‘It is clear that our situation pleases you since you so conduct yourselves as if what we are doing were of no concern to you.’ They replied, ‘O king, if the situation of this city upsets you, we hope we shall capture it with that strategy which we are going to disclose to you.’ When he said ‘Then what is it?’, they answered that he should advance with his forces. ‘Joining your hands together you should (all) utter your prayers to the Lord that he allow you to storm the city.’ When Shapur did this and saw that it was of no use, he said to them: ‘We followed your plan and see that it is by no means close to accomplishment. So what do you say now?’ They replied: ‘We are afraid that men will belittle our plan; but if you take care that all as one man utter their prayers in a genuine frame of mind, you will obtain your wish.’ Therefore Shapur summoned his retinue and asked them to act with genuine feelings and with a sincere attitude. They (later) asserted that they had not repeated two short prayers before the city wall was split from top to bottom and a gap opened up through which men could enter. The inhabitants of the city were very frightened by this. They said, This is the end of our deception.’ Therefore Shapur entered the city and slew whatever men suitable for war came into his hands; the remaining inhabitants of it he led away as prisoners, and he found a great quantity of wealth in that [place]. However, he ordered the site which became the split in the wall to be left as it was, so that men might see it and take warning. Afterwards he captured various cities in Syria and slew many and took many prisoners. He also invaded the land of the Greeks, causing great slaughter among them and captured Kalonia (?=Lycaonia?) and Cappadocia.
Eutychius, Annales 186, ed. Breydey, CSCO 471, p. 66, 1–5: Maximianus (i. e. Galerius) marched into Persia, laid waste most of the country, massacred the inhabitants, burnt down trees and laid siege to Gundeshapur for days. Shapur entered the town through a ruse. He and his supporters attacked the Byzantines, defeated them, killing a large number and took their money and possessions. They then marched into their country and destroyed many towns. The Byzantine territory was stricken by epidemic, famine and plague to the extent that the people were always pressed for time to bury their dead.
(3) Chronicle of Se'ert4 2, ed. Scher, PO 4, pp. (Arabic):
In the eleventh year of his reign, Shapur, the son of Ardashir invaded the territories of the Romans; he remained there a long time, destroying several towns. He defeated the Emperor Valerian and carried him off into imprisonment in the land of the Nabataeans. Once there, Valerian fell victim to depression and died. The Fathers (i.e. Christian bishops) whom the cursed Valerian had exiled therefore returned to their episcopal towns. Shapur left the territories of the Romans, taking with him prisoners whom he settled in the countries of Iraq, Susiana, Persia and in the towns his father had founded. He also built three towns and gave them names derived from his own name. One was in the land of Maisan and was called Sod Shapur (i.e. Deir Mahraq). The second, in Persia, is still called Shapur today. He rebuilt Gunde-Shapur which had fallen into disrepair and named it Anti-Shapur, a word half Greek and half Persian, meaning: ‘You are Shapur’s equal (?).’ He constructed a third town on the banks of the Tigris called Marw Habor (which is ‘Ukbara and its environs). These towns were populated by his prisoners who were provided with homes and land to till.
The Christians also multiplied in Persia, building churches and monasteries.5 Their number included priests who had been taken prisoner at Antioch. They colonised Gundeshapur and elected Azdaq (=Hierax?) of Antioch as their bishop, owing to Demetri(an)us, the patriarch of Antioch, having fallen ill and died of sorrow. Before this second period of exile (?),6 and after Demetri(an)us’ first period of exile, Paul of Samosata had become Patriarch of Antioch. His biography has been set down by Daniel Ibn Mariam.
(4) Firdawsi, Shahnamah (Epic of the Kings)7 25, (New Persian): The Reign of Shapur, Son of Ardashir. His War with the Romans.
The time came when the news was divulged that the royal throne was vacant. Ardashir, that wise king, had left the throne and diadem to Shapur.8 Revolt broke out in every land and region from Cappadocia to Rum, and when tidings of this came to Shapur the Shah he paraded his drums and banners and troops. As far as Paluina he dispatched a light-armed force without full supplies or impedimenta. Out of Cappadocia there marched an army from whose dust the sun itself grew dark, and another army marched out of Paluina, in command of which was a prince named Bazanush [Valerian]. He was a proud knight of illumined spirit and much valued by the Caesars, a lasso-thrower, great in fame and lofty of dignity.
As the clamour of the drums arose on either side, that noble warrior stepped forth from the heart of his army, while from the foe there came out a gallant nobleman whose name was Garshasp the Lion. He was a brave knight who, on the day of the combat, feared nothing, whether it was a raging elephant or a man that stood opposed to him. The two warriors wrestled together in their struggle and their dust dropped onto the stars. Many were the devices by which they attempted to satisfy their rage but neither man could be overcome by the other. At last the entire armies on either side clashed together like mountain against mountain. From the great clamour caused by trumpets and Indian gongs you would have thought the sky dislodged from its place. In the midst of his army the warrior Bazanush was taken captive with bleeding heart, and of the Rumis in Paluina ten thousand were killed among the battle ranks, a thousand and twice three hundred were made prisoners and panic seized the hearts of the remaining warriors.
To Shapur, son of Ardashir, the Caesar sent a man of intelligence to inquire how long he would continue to shed blood for the sake of money. What would his answer be to God the All-wise when on the day of reckoning he was asked what excuse he could make? He. the Caesar, would send all that he possessed if no further pain was inflicted. He would obey any command concerning tribute and send numbers of his kinsmen as hostages. As for the Shah, it would be a just act on his part to retire from Paluina. Shapur stayed till the Caesar had sent him as tribute and tax ten oxhides filled with gold and Caesarian dinars, to which he added many valuables more.
For the sake of the captives of Rum, Shapur built a citadel in a prosperous territory. That region now holds the gate to the Khuzis and every traveller must pass through it. In Pars he raised a lofty citadel, magnificent and rich, and he built the fortress in the city of Nishapur which is rightly named Shapur-kard. Wherever he went the Shah carried Bazanush with him and listened to his discourse on all matters. At Shustar there was a river so wide that even fish could not traverse it, and to Bazanush Shapur said,.
‘If you are an engineer, you will build me a bridge as continuous as a cable, such a one as will remain everlastingly in position as a pattern to the wise when we have turned to dust. The length of this bridge, reckoned in cubits, shall be one thousand; you may demand from my treasury all that is required. In this land and region apply all the science of the philosophers of Rum, and when the bridge is completed, you may depart to your home or else remain as my guest for as long as you live.’
In gallant fashion Bazanush undertook the task and brought the bridge to completion within three years. When it was done he departed from Shustar and speedily set his face towards his own home.
(Levy, 1967:283–4)