Editing Ardashir I (section)

== Biography ==

=== Early years until his uprising and gaining power ===
[[Image:Sasanian province of Pars.png|thumb|250px|right|Map of [[Fars province|Pars]].]]
According to [[Al-Tabari]]'s report, Ardashir was born in a village named "Tirudeh" in the country "Khir" around [[Istakhr]], Pars in an established family. His grandfather, [[Sasan]], was the trustee of the Temple of [[Anahita]] in Istakhr and his grandmother was [[Rambehesht]] from [[Bazrangi]] House. Al-Tabari added that when Ardashir was seven years old, [[Papak]], Ardashir's father, asked [[Gochihr]], local [[shah]] in Pars, to send Ardashir to Tiri, commander of Fort Darabgard, for raising, which Gochihr did. After Tiri's death, Ardashir took over for him and became the commander of Fort Darabgard.<ref name=":15">{{Cite book|title="Bābak", Encyclopædia Iranica|last=Frye}}</ref><ref name=":08">{{Cite book|title="Ardašīr I i. History". In Encyclopædia Iranica|last=Wiesehöfer}}</ref>

According to the current sources, Papak was the priest of the Fire Temple of Anahita. He managed to assemble local Persian warriors who believed in the deity.<ref name=":52">{{Cite book|title=The Sasanian Empire|last=Daryaee}}</ref> At the time, [[Vologases V]]'s reign was disrupted due to the invasion of [[Septimius Severus]], [[Roman emperor]], on [[Mesopotamia]].<ref name=":08"/> It is probable that Vologases defeated Papak after he rebelled and forced him to submit to [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] rule for a while. It is not probable that Papak's kingdom was beyond the Persian land.<ref name=":15" />

According to [[Arabic]]-[[Persian language|Persian]] sources, Ardashir started his uprising when he was the commander of Fort Darabgard in eastern Pars. The oldest [[Archaeology|archaeological]] proofs of the period of Ardashir's reign are acquired from ''Ardashir-Khwarrah'' (Gor or current [[Firuzabad, Fars|Firuzabad]]) in south border of Pars. Therefore, Ardashir rose up in his war in ''Ardashir-Khwarrah'', far from the fortress of local Persian shahs in Istakhr and farther from the Parthian Empire. The beginning of Ardashir's uprising may be related to his first [[Epigraphy|inscription]] in Firuzabad; in the inscription, he is shown acquiring the royal ring from [[Ahura Mazda]] in front of his henchmen.<ref name=":2"/> Ardashir began the procedure of extending his reign by killing some local kings and taking their domains. According to Al-Tabari's report, Ardashir then asked Papak to stand against Gochihr and start a rebellion. Papak did it and rebelled against Gochihr and killed him.<ref name=":08"/> Daryaee believes that Papak was a local governor who dreamed of conquering Istakhr and was eventually able to achieve it by the help of his older son Shapur; that means in contrast to Al-Tabari's report, it was not Ardashir's request and order that caused Papak's rebellion against Gochihr, governor of Istakhr, and it can be implied from the common coins of Papak and Shapur.<ref name=":03"/> Later, Papak wrote a letter to [[Artabanus IV of Parthia|Artabanus IV]] and requested permission to appoint Shapur instead of the "overthrown" Gochihr in power; in response, Artabanus announced Papak and Ardashir outlaws.<ref name=":32">{{Cite book|title=Persia During the Sasanians|last=Christensen}}</ref> Although Artabanus had defeated the [[Roman Empire|Romans]], he faced the problem of the defiance of [[Vologases VI]], who had minted coins in his own name between 221 and 222; and this shows that no powerful emperor controlled the Parthian Empire then. During the time that Artabanus was dealing with a more important challenge, he could not pay much attention to the rise of a newcomer in Pars.<ref name=":52"/> After a while, Papak died in an unknown date and Shapur ascended to the throne; afterward, the contest and fight started between the two brothers (Shapur and Ardashir), but Shapur died in an accidental way. According to sources, Shapur stopped at a ruin while assaulting Darabgard and a stone suddenly separated from the ceiling and hit his head and Shapur succumbed immediately. After the incident, the brothers relinquished the Persian throne and crown to Ardashir, who became the Persian Shah thereafter.<ref name=":33"/><ref name=":32" /> Ardashir and his followers could be considered the main suspects of Shapur's mysterious death, since they "benefitted from the accidental death"; but the accusation is not provable.<ref name="Daryaee"/>

Papak's picture has been drawn on both Shapur's coins and later Ardashir's; in the picture of the Papak drawn on Shapur's coins, he wears a wig dissimilar to normal Parthian and local Persian shahs and only Shapur has worn a royal wig. According to royal reports, it was Papak who overthrew Gochihr and appointed Shapur instead of him. Ardashir refused to accept Shapur's appointment and removed his brother and whoever stood against him and then minted coins with his face drawn on them and Papak's behind them. Papak's picture on Ardashir-Papak coins, wears a wig similar to those of local Persian shahs in contrast to his picture in Shapur-Papak coins.<ref name=":03"/> According to the descriptions given on Papak's pictures on the coins, it is probable that the determining role of Ardashir depicted in leading the rebellion against the central government is the product of later historical studies. It is probable that Papak had united most of Pars under his rule by the time;<ref name=":33"/><ref name=":08"/> since his picture exists on Ardashir's coins too.<ref name=":08"/>
[[File:Ghal'eh_Dokhtar2.jpg|thumb|440x440px|Ghaleh Dokhtar, or "The Maiden's Castle", Iran, built by Ardashir I in AD 209, before he was finally able to defeat the Parthian empire.]]
In the procedure of extending his domain and power, Ardashir made many Parthian-dependent local shahs and landlords follow him. In the first phase of rebellion, Ardashir challenged the Parthians' central power by actions like minting coins and constructing new cities. After all, a sight of victory was not imaginable for Ardashir without a public dissatisfaction and interest in rebellion against the Parthians.<ref name=":08"/> For example, according to sources, the governor of a land northeast of [[Ctesiphon]] called "[[Beth Garmai]]" in [[Syriac language|Syriac]] and its center was today [[Kirkuk]], along with Sharat, who was the governor of [[Adiabene]], aided Ardashir in his rebellion against the Parthians.<ref name="Frye"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=Ancient Persian History|last=Frye}}</ref> In order to consolidate his power, Ardashir killed some of the important figures in Darabgard; then he invaded [[Kerman]] and took it too and took control of whole Pars, including the [[Persian Gulf]] shores. At that time, Ardashir constructed a palace and [[fire temple]] in Gor (current [[Firuzabad County|Firuzabad]]) that its ruins still remain and is called the [[Palace of Ardashir]]. He appointed one of his sons named Ardashir as the governor of Kerman. Artabanus, the Parthian emperor, ordered the governor of [[Susa]] to attack Ardashir, suppress his rebellion and send him to Ctesiphon. After Ardashir killed and terminated [[Shadh-Shapur]], the governor of [[Isfahan|Spahan]], after fighting him, headed towards [[Khuzestan province|Khuzestan]] and killed the governor of Susa too and added his domain to the lands under his rule. Then he invaded [[Characene]] State in the mouth of [[Tigris]] and took it and added it to his kingdom.<ref name=":32" />

Eventually, in Ardashir's contest with Artabanus in the [[Battle of Hormozdgan]] on April 28, 224, Artabanus was killed by Ardashir and the Parthian dynasty was overthrown with his death. The year of the occurrence of the battle is confirmed by [[Shapur I]]'s inscription in [[Bishapur]]. The extended report of the Battle of Hormozdgan is probably made for the Sasanian's formal history. If the mentioned assumption is right, the writing may have been the main source of Al-Tabari's History.<ref name=":08"/> After Artabanus's death, Ardashir's quest for extending his kingdom did not end. In a procedure, the large landlord Parthian houses, either submitted to Ardashir (willingly or unwillingly) or were conquered by him.<ref name=":33"/><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/pages/chronology-1|title=Iranica Online}}</ref>
[[File:Ardeshir_Babakan_and_Ahuramazda_Photo_From_Sahand_Ace.jpg|left|thumb|Ardashir I is receiving the Kingship's ring from [[Ahuramazda]] at [[Naqsh-e Rajab]].]]
The subsequent sources emphasized on the Sasanians' hatred of everything adapted from the Parthians. The existence of such a mentality in Ardashir is understandable; but even he was forced to establish his newborn government on Parthian foundations by the help of other remarkable Iranian houses, who were either affiliated with the Parthians or nursed by them. However, no change is seen in that hatred of the Parthians in the next generations of Sasanian emperors either. Therefore, it can be deduced that the Parthians enforced a more hard and tyrannical domination than presumed on their submitted shahs and that might have been the reason that facilitated Ardashir's conquest.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Numismatics|last=Sellwood}}</ref>

=== After coronation ===
There is controversy among specialists about the year of Ardashir's coronation; according to [[Walter Bruno Henning|W.B. Henning]]'s studies and calculations, Ardashir was crowned on April 28, 224; however, the calculations of [[Hassan Taqizadeh|H. Taqizadeh]] show the date April 6, 227.<ref name=":33"/> [[Josef Wiesehöfer]] believes the year of Ardashir's coronation in [[Ctesiphon]] 226 and at the time of his invasion on Northern [[Mesopotamia]] based on other sources.<ref name=":08"/>

Anyway, by choosing the title ''Shahanshah'' ([[King of Kings|king of kings]]), Ardashir revealed his inclination toward government. During about 226–227, Ardashir experienced a failed attempt to conquer [[Hatra]], which was previously unsuccessfully tried by [[Trajan]] and [[Septimius Severus]], while on a crusade for taking the northwest regions of the land. In the late [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] era, Hatra had become semi-dependent due to the gradual deterioration of the central government. After that unsuccessful attempt of Ardashir's in the west, he started taking eastern lands and dominating large Parthian landlords, local noblemen and large Iranian houses and was successful.<ref name=":08"/> The exact extent and limits of Ardashir's ruled domain can not be determined correctly.<ref name=":33"/> Ardashir's domain in the west was probably extended to the traditional borders between the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] and Parthians in the northwest; in the east, the [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] and [[Turan (Baluchistan)|Turan]] and probably [[Merv]] Desert rulers surrendered to Ardashir's empire;<ref name=":08"/> and in the southwest, the northern part of "[[Arab world|Arabic]] shores of the [[Persian Gulf]]"were taken by war.<ref name=":33"/><ref name=":08"/>

=== War with Rome ===
According to the information collected from [[Latin]] and Greek sources, the first clash between the "newborn [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] power"{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}  in its west borders with Rome occurred by the [[Persian people|Persians]]' attack on the regions held by Rome in Northern [[Mesopotamia]] on Ardashir's era, 230. Ardashir besieged [[Nusaybin]], which was one of the two fortresses of Roman defense system in Mesopotamia -the other being [[Harran]], but was not able to take it; the Sasanian riders' assault was pulled to other [[Syria]]n regions and [[Cappadocia]] and they invaded it. After the Romans' unfruitful attempt to make peace with Ardashir, [[Severus Alexander]] eventually decided to oppose the Persians unwillingly and reluctantly in 232.<ref name=":08"/> The Roman forces led by Alexander attacked [[Armenia]] by one military column and the south by two columns. Although there is no accurate information about the details of the events, it is known that the Romans achieved some victories in the north (Armenia); but the troops sent to Southern Mesopotamia did not achieve anything.<ref name=":33"/>

In any case, "the first war test between the Sasanians and Romans" ended without any positive result for the Romans; though Alexander held a celebration in Rome for his "victory" and the war has been viewed as a victory in some Roman writings due to preserving the past borders of the Roman empire and Alexander appeared as a victor in Rome. In the war, many casualties were inflicted upon the two armies. In subsequent [[Arabic]]-[[Persian language|Persian]] sources, there has been no mention of the war; the cause of not mentioning might have been Ardashir considering the incident shameful.<ref name=":08"/>

Although no peace treaty was signed, the eastern Roman borders were not attacked by the Sasanians in the next years. It might have been more important for the Romans to attach [[Hatra]] to their fortresses of the border defense system. The people of Hatra knew that their relative [[autonomy]], which became possible at the late Parthian era due to the weakness of the central government, was under the threat of the policies announced by the Sasanians. The foreign policy of the new Persian rulers was to proceed to the Occident and that was probably in order to divert the public attention from the internal problems of the land; that is while the procedure of the Parthians and the Romans in the final years was to leave everything be as they are.<ref name=":08"/>

The murder of Severus Alexander by his soldiers and its aftermath which resulted in disturbances in Rome, motivated Ardashir to attack Rome again. In about the years 237–238,<ref name=":6" /> Ardashir took Nusaybin and Harran and attacked the city Dura;<ref name=":08"/><ref name=":32" /> then he marched toward Hatra, which was a commercial city and the center of the traffic of commercial caravans. Hatra stood hard against the Persian siege and did not fall until April or September 240; it seems that Hatra was chosen as a point for pushing and operation against Roman Mesopotamia. The fall of Hatra might have been the cause of [[Gordian III]]'s wars with Persia.<ref name=":33"/><ref name=":08"/>

In the mythical-national Persian history, the Battle of Hatra and the incident of its fall is accompanied with a romantic story. According to the story, at the time of the Persian attack on Hatra, the daughter of the city's king had fallen in love with [[Shapur I]], Ardashir's son and had him promise her marriage and then opened the gate of the city; then the Persians captured the city and destroyed it. After Shapur found out about the kindness and attention of the father towards his daughter on the wedding night, the former had her killed due to the daughter's inappreciation to that kind of father.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Descriptive Persian History|last=Yarshater}}</ref>

=== Final years and succession ===
Due to the difficulties in the sources, the last years and the day of Ardashir's death are not very clear. His son, [[Shapur I|Shapur]] probably ascended as a royal partner on April 12, 240. The time is found from the Pirchavush inscriptions in [[Salmas]], Northwestern [[Iran]] that show Shapur's royal participation. The answer to the question if Shapur was crowned as a shah without a partner during Ardashir's life depends on the interpretation a special kind of coin.<ref name=":08"/> On those coins, the faces of Ardashir and Shapur are carved together. Adding Shapur to his royal position was probably Ardashir's plan to solve the succession problem without any troubles; the reason was that Ardashir had other sons and feared that they might have craved the throne like himself.<ref name="Daryaee"/>

About the year of Shapur's participation in reign with Ardashir, it has been written in [[Cologne Mani-Codex]] in Greek about Mani's life:<ref name=":33"/><ref>{{Cite book|title="Cologne Mani Codex". In Encyclopædia Iranica.|last=Sundermann}}</ref><blockquote>''When I became twenty-four years old; in the year that Persian king, Dari-Ardashir opened the city Hatra, and in the year Shapur Shah, his son, put the largest crown in the month Famuthi, on the month day (8th day of Farmuthi), my god, who is the most blessed, made me proud by his generosity, summoned me by his favor...''</blockquote>It can be deduced by calculating the [[Egypt]]ian month and year that Shapur's coronation as his father's royal partner occurred on April 12, 240 (the first day of the [[Babylonia]]n month Nisan in the year 551). Ardashir and Shapur's simultaneous reign lasted apparently until early 242. Therefore, it can be said that Shapur was probably crowned twice; once as a royal partner in 240 and later in 243 as lonely reign; however it is more likely that he was crowned only once in 240.<ref name=":33"/>

=== Timeline of life ===
According to three dates that are achieved from [[Shapur I|Shapur's]] [[Epigraphy|inscription]] on a column in [[Bishapur]], the period between 205 and 206 appears as the beginning of an era in [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] history;<ref name=":33"/> it is written in the first lines of the mentioned inscription:<blockquote>''1- [[Farvardin]] 58, 2- [[Azar]] Ardashir 40, 3- Azar Shapur from royal Azars 24''</blockquote>Therefor, history is designated with "three eras" in the inscription; "Azar Ardashir 40" means the 40th year in Ardashir's era and "Azar Shapur 24" means the 24th year in Shapur's era. 58 shows an era that has remained unknown.<ref name=":13"/> It has been deduced from the allusion that one of the mentioned events (overthrowing the local [[shah]] of [[Istakhr]] by [[Papak]] or announcing independence from the [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]]) has happened between the years 205 and 206; since the year is implied as "the year of the beginning of an era". The assumption that "the period between the years 205 and 206" is related to Papak's rebellion is very probable since "the period between the years 205 and 206" was never a basis in any of the future achieved histories from the Sasanians and usually every Sasanian emperor either based the calendar on the year of "his ascension" or based it on the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] calendar that began with [[312 BC|312 B.C]].<ref name=":33"/><ref name=":08"/> [[Roman Ghirshman|R. Ghirshman]] believes that the year 58 shows the beginning of the domination of the Sasanian dynasty over the Iranian lands. Besides, the date of altering the Persian coins along with which the names of previous governors were replaced with the Sasanian dynasty can be accepted to be 205–206.<ref name=":13"/> It is very probable that Papak took the royal throne of Istakhr between the years 205/206 and 211/212 and appointed his son Shapur for it; then in an insurgent action, Ardashir moved to Gur (Ardashir-Khwarrah or current [[Firuzabad County|Firuzabad]]) from Darabgard and raised his defense fortifications there in order to be able to attack his older brother just after the death of his father, Papak. "The first inscription of Ardashir's quest of the crown" in Firuzabad is probably the symbol of his rebellion against his father and brother. Papak probably died in about 211/212 and it is after that when his two sons (Shapur and Ardashir) minted coins titled "The Shah" and decorated them with the face of their recently deceased father (Papak) behind. The report of ''Zin-el-Akhbar'' also confirms that Ardashir was crowned as a local shah in 211/212. The events of 211/212, which contain the defeat of Shapur (Ardashir's brother) and his probable murder, might be related to Ardashir's second inscription on [[Naqsh-e Rajab]] and also minting coins without the Papak's face. The writing of the phrase "his majesty worshiping [[Ahura Mazda|Mazda]], Ardashir the Persian Shah" on some second group of coins of Ardashir's might have been after his conquest of Istakhr and taking control of Pars. Ardashir's conquest of Pars and taking the adjacent lands was a threat for [[Artabanus IV of Parthia|Artabanus]]; therefore, Artabanus defied Ardashir and eventually lost the [[Battle of Hormozdgan]] and was killed. It was after that when Ardashir was able to claim being "the [[King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians|Shahanshah]] of [[Iran (word)|Iranians]]". Ardashir carved a memorial inscription for victory in the Battle of Hormozdgan near the city Gur. The signs of these events (the period between taking Istakhr until conquering [[Ctesiphon]] and formal [[coronation]] there) are shown in [[Ahura Mazda and Ardashir I|the inscription of Ardashir's coronation in Naqsh-e Rostam]] and also the alteration of his coins.<ref name=":03"/>