Shapur Captures a Roman Emperor
Persia: Empire and AfterwardsA New Dynasty, an Old Claim
In 224 AD Ardashir overthrew the last Parthian king and founded the Sassanid dynasty. It was not merely a change of family. The Sassanids claimed to be restoring the Achaemenid empire, made Zoroastrianism the organising religion of the state, and behaved from the outset as Rome's equal rather than its neighbour.
260
Ardashir's son Shapur I fought three Roman emperors. The third was Valerian, who marched east in 260 AD, met the Sassanid army near Edessa, and was captured alive with much of his staff. No Roman emperor had ever been taken prisoner by a foreign enemy. None ever was again.
Carved Into a Cliff
Shapur did not merely record the victory; he had it cut into living rock at Naqsh-e Rostam, beneath the tombs of the Achaemenid kings. The relief shows him mounted, one Roman kneeling before his horse and another held by the wrist. It is deliberately placed under Darius and Xerxes, arguing that this dynasty is the continuation of that one.
What Happened to Valerian
He died in captivity. Beyond that the sources are hostile witnesses and should be treated carefully. Later Christian Roman writers, notably Lactantius, describe humiliations — the emperor used as a mounting block, and after death flayed and displayed. Persian sources say nothing of the kind, and other accounts have him set to work with his men on engineering projects. The captivity is certain; the details are propaganda from a side that had every reason to write them.
Roman Prisoners, Persian Cities
The captured legionaries were put to work. A bridge and dam at Shushtar in southwestern Iran is traditionally credited to Roman prisoner labour, and the city of Bishapur shows Roman construction techniques. Rome's eastern defeats are physically built into Iranian infrastructure, some of it still standing.
Key Dates to Remember
- 224 AD — Ardashir founds the Sassanid dynasty
- 241–272 — Reign of Shapur I
- 260 AD — Valerian captured near Edessa
- 3rd c. — The Naqsh-e Rostam relief is carved
- 3rd c. — Shushtar and Bishapur built, traditionally with Roman prisoner labour