Before the Fall: The World of the Sasanians

In order to fully understand the history of the Sassanid Empire and how the Sassanid dynasty came to be the rulers of the Neo-Persian Empire, we must go back to the formation of the Achaemenid Empire. Their rule extended from a region that the natives called Parsa, and in Greek that region was called Farsis. That region was located near the Zagros Mountains in present-day southern Iran and extended to the shores of the Persian Gulf. Their homeland became the name of the entire empire we know today as Persia in Hellenistic pronunciation. From the 6th century BC. From the middle to the 4th BC. By the end, the First Persian Empire had expanded its empire over three continents and controlled the region.

For a short time, much of the empire was incorporated into Alexander the Great's Macedonian empire, which united and unified Greece, Persia, and other Eastern cultures. Thus, a Hellenistic culture was created, which was largely Greek in origin, but was not so accepted by the Persians. After Alexander's death, the empire disintegrated into various smaller Hellenistic states that fought over territories once under Persian control. The most successful of these, the Seleucid Empire, ruled what is today Iran, Iraq, the Levant (present-day Syria, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon), and some Turkish territories. But in the 2nd century BC. Fossils from Central Asia were brought out of the Iranian plateau by the Parthians.

The Parthians gradually denounced the Greek traditions and began to revive by turning to the old Persian culture, the real Persians, no matter how hard they tried, did not like the Parthians. In their eyes, the Parthians and Arsacid dynasties were always aliens. Even so, Persis remained a loyal province of the Parthian Empire, as long as the Empire was powerful enough to command them. Under Parthian rule, Persia was a semi-autonomous state allowed to mint its own coins. On them, archaeologists have found the traditions and memories of the glory days of the first Persian Empire in the 3rd century BC. They saw that they were there until approx.

Sassanian rock relief, ca, 350 AD – Getty Images

But we cannot be sure how obvious and how important it was to the people of Parsa because there is no clear evidence of its history in the pre-Sasanid period. What historians do know is that Parthia's strength was in the 2nd century BC. It is thought to be the result of a flood of civil wars and conflicts with the Roman Empire in the West. This weakened their control over the local rulers, allowing Ardashir I to rise to the House of Sasan. The story of the house of Sasan does not begin with Ardashir, but the mists of its origin prevent us from seeing it. Whatever the exact truth, in 205 B.C.E. Sources hinted that Area Papak's case for rebellion against the Partisan regime failed. By this time he was already in control of most of the Persian Empire. His eldest son Shapur, who appears on his father's coins, must have helped him. Papak died shortly after the failed rebellion, and Shapur and Ardashir seem to have been involved in some kind of power struggle, but as there is no concrete evidence, historians are not sure how that struggle went down. Maybe he was killed by his brother.

However, in 216 B.C. Persis was under the strict control of Ardashir. After establishing himself as the unchallenged ruler of Persia, he began to expand his empire in the east and west. Artabanus V, king of Parthia, was at the time preoccupied with conflicts with Rome and a civil war with his brother Vologasus VI, which he could not reconcile with Ardashir and his immorality. This turned out to be the biggest mistake of Ardashir's lifetime in 224 when he gathered a large force and allies and defeated his suzerain (feudal overlord) at the Battle of Hormozdgan. That battle was a decisive victory in which Ardashir was able to kill Artabanus. He then seized the crown for himself, probably in the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon.

Today, some historians believe that he took the crown in 227 BC. They assume that after the area Vologasez won the sixth. At that time, most of Iran's aristocratic families either willingly or under threat from the Sassanid army gave their allegiance to Ardashir and the new Sassanid dynasty. Ardashir took the title Shahanshah, also an old Persian title used by the Parthians, meaning king of kings. This clearly shows his intention to restore the old Achaemenid Empire. And to make it clearer, he invaded Rome and its ally Armenia in 230, but fled in 233. Although there was no clear winner, Ardashir refused to attack again until he heard of the death of Roman Emperor Alexander Severus in 235. In the same year he took northern Mesopotamia from the Romans. After this success, Ardashir felt his time was coming to an end, so in 240 he made his son Shapur 1st co-ruler. This led to a peaceful transition of power when the founder of the Sasanian Empire died in 242. Shapur proved to be the right choice when he was attacked by Roman Emperor Gordian III in 243 and defeated by the young king in 244.

After that defeat, Gordian was assassinated by his own men and his successor, Philip, paid a tribute of 500,000 Roman denarii, ceded some of the remaining Roman territories in Mesopotamia, and, considering it a Sasanian sphere of influence, agreed that Rome would not interfere in Armenia. That last point of the treaty was very important to the Sassanid Empire, as Armenia was ruled by the Parthian side branch of the Arsacid dynasty, making them bitter enemies of the Sassanid Empire. With this in mind, the Sasanians killed the Armenian king, whose son had fled to Rome. This was enough for Shapur I to attack his western enemies again. His expeditions in 253 and 256 were successful. The Sasanian Empire controlled Dura-Europos and Antioch, extending into Syria and the Mediterranean coast.

In 257, the Roman Emperor Valerian marched east to end the Sasanian threat and was besieging Edessa in present-day southeastern Turkey, where he clashed with Shapur in 259. In 260 Shapur won another decisive victory at the Battle of Edessa, killing more than 60,000 Roman and allied soldiers. In addition, Emperor Valerian himself was captivated. However, Shapur's victories were short-lived. Later that year, he was defeated and forced to retreat, fighting sporadically with the Romans until 264. Around that time, some peace seems to have taken place as the fighting stopped, and the Sassanid king focused more on building and reorganizing his empire. Making some of his brothers local rulers, he distributed the kingdom among his sons.

In fact, Shapur was a great builder who founded several cities and created the first dam bridge in Iran, further developing the Sasanian irrigation system. When he died in 270, he left to his youngest son Hormiz I the territory from the western Caucasus mountains to the east of present-day India. Unfortunately he only bought it for one year. During his short reign, he led a campaign against the Sogdians, an Iranian tribe that settled in Central Asia and forced them to pay tribute to him. He, in turn, was succeeded by his brother Bahram I, who caused instability in the Sasanian Empire. In the 3rd century BC. He began the religious persecution of Manichaeism, a religious movement that spread from Iran.

Nonetheless, Bahram came under pressure from Zoroastrian priests who feared that the new religion would threaten their position. Shortly thereafter, in 274, Bahram I died, leaving the throne to his son Bahram II. Bahram II ruled during a time when Zoroastrianism was the official state religion, but tensions existed with other religious groups. The powerful Zoroastrian high priest Kartir held significant influence during this time, promoting the persecution of other faiths such as Manichaeism, Christianity, and Judaism. Bahram II supported Kartir’s religious policies, reinforcing Zoroastrian orthodoxy, and granting Kartir more privileges than most priests had enjoyed under previous rulers.

Unfortunately, his rule saw rebellions from within the royal family; his brother Hormizd II Kushanshah, who ruled the eastern territories (Kushan and Sogdiana regions), rebelled and declared himself king. This internal division weakened the empire’s cohesion and its ability to respond to external threats. While Bahram II was preoccupied with internal affairs, the Roman Emperor Carus took advantage of the situation and invaded Mesopotamia around 283 CE. At this time Romans advanced as far as Ctesiphon, the Sasanian capital. Luckily for Bahram, Carus died suddenly (reportedly struck by lightning), and the Roman army withdrew. Anyway, Bahram II died around 293 CE. He was succeeded by his son, Bahram III, though his reign was brief and unstable, quickly overthrown by Narseh, another member of the royal family and a son of Shapur I. So, the story goes on.

However, the decline and fall of the Sasanian Empire, one of history’s great imperial collapses. Its fall wasn’t sudden, but the result of a combination of prolonged wars, internal instability, religious tensions. For centuries, the Sasanians were locked in a long and draining rivalry with Rome and later Byzantium. These wars peaked under: Khosrow II (590–628 CE) — who initially achieved major victories against the Byzantines, capturing Jerusalem (614 CE) and even threatening Constantinople. However, the tide turned when the Byzantine emperor Heraclius launched a brilliant counter-campaign (622–628 CE), devastating Sasanian territories and forcing a humiliating peace. By the end of this war, both empires were economically ruined, with depleted armies, shattered infrastructure, and political unrest.

After the assassination of Khosrow II in 628 CE, the empire plunged into chaos: Over 10 rulers in just a few years, many of them figureheads controlled by military or religious factions. The most notable was Yazdegerd III, a young and inexperienced monarch (crowned in 632 CE), who lacked the resources and authority to restore order. This power vacuum destabilized the central government and weakened the empire's capacity to resist invasions.

While Zoroastrianism was the state religion, the empire was home to: Christian, Jews, Manichaeans, Buddhists and Pagans. These groups often faced persecution and discrimination under zealous Zoroastrian clergy. Discontent festered, especially in frontier regions, and many non-Zoroastrians welcomed the new Arab-Muslim rulers as liberators. However, later, Yazdegerd III fled eastward, seeking refuge in Central Asia, but was assassinated by a local miller in 651 CE, marking the formal end of the Sasanian dynasty.