Thanks! And if I were you I’d be more concerned about the Romans. Even though I’ve already spoiled that they get better, it might not look the same as OTL. Who knows what kind of ripple effects losing so much territory could have, especially since I’ve already hinted at a certain pirate who could cause some trouble 😉
The Two Eyes of the World: A bigger Sassanid Persia
- Thread starter Collondi
- Start date
Very nice! Always love to see another Persian TL!
This is very interesting.
Just wondering but will this inspire the Goths to attack the Eastern half of the Empire, now that it's in dire straits?
The Islamic invasions of OTL are still centuries away, a lot can happen until then
Definitely, word gets around and tribes beyond the Rhine and Danube are going to hear about Rome’s defeats, and many of them will want to take advantage.
So far the focus has been on the Persian Empire, but the Romans are very much also a “main character” in this story. I intend to focus quite heavily on both their perspectives
Map of the Sasanian Empire
A map of the Sasanian Empire around 40 S.E. (265 C.E.). In green is land directly controlled by the Sasanian monarchy, while other colors are used for vassals, tributaries, and dependencies. In the next update I'll go more in depth about how the kingdom works and look at each of these regions
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Beautiful, may the House of Sassan make the empire stretch from the Bosporus towards the Aral Sea
Lords and Caesars of Eran and Aneran
Before we begin, I wanted to give a quick note that I felt was too important to shove into the footnotes, which is about sources. You may have noticed that my narrative has been based on the kind of information that would be available to scholars ITTL. By far my biggest primary source so far has been Shapur’s own inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht (SKZ for short), where he details his own court and campaign against the Romans. Besides that, it’s mostly accounts from the Romans and the occasional Islamic scholar. We don’t have many sources IOTL.
Why? Well, it’s because of the Muslims. The Persians had a deep oral tradition which is how they preserved most of their history. Much of that was lost in the Islamic conquests. However, we know they did keep written historical records, such as the “Book of Kings” commissioned by Khosrow I. The reason we don’t have those is also because of the Muslims. They didn’t bother preserving texts they saw as Zoroastrian heathenry.
ITTL, they have most of the same sources as OTL, but the Book of Kings and others are better preserved, giving us a Sasanian account of their own history, albeit riddled with propaganda and historical revisionism. We also have Syrian chroniclers recording Sasanian history, albeit with their own biases. While historiography is still fragmented and with problems, it’s a lot better than OTL.
What this means for this TL is that even if I’m describing info from before the POD, that doesn’t mean it’s OTL, and my interpretations of OTL figures shouldn’t be taken as a historical record. A lot of it is made up or extrapolated from shaky-at-best evidence. I didn’t want to make dozens of footnotes explaining each one, so if you have any questions about where an idea came from, please ask and I’ll explain.
Anyways, this will be a tour, where we’ll look at each territory not directly controlled by Shapur, AKA all the non-green regions on the map (except Cyprus and Cyrenaica, which aren’t part of the empire but are more like dependencies/tributaries. Also, the Kushano-Sassanian empire, which is a whole other can of worms I won’t open yet. They’ll be looked at more in the future). I realized I needed to pause the narrative and lay some groundwork, otherwise things would have gotten confusing. I recommend having the map I made in another tab or something while reading this. Enjoy!
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Chapter 4: Lords and Caesars of Eran and Aneran
Between 35 S.E. (260) and 45 S.E. (270), Shahanshah Shapur I presided over what had become the world’s largest kingdom in only a few decades. His full title became “King of Kings and Caesars of Iran and Not-Iran.” The new Sasanian Empire differed from its Arsacid predecessors in several ways. Most importantly, it was more centralized, with more territory under the direct control of the Shahanshah or by appointed Satraps, essentially governors. However, it wasn’t far removed from its decentralized Parthian roots. It continued to be a hodgepodge of vassals.
Though later chronicles always claim there were seven great houses of Iran due to the number seven’s Zoroastrian religious significance, there were at this point five autonomous vassal kingdoms, the houses of Waraz, Suren, Andegan (Espahbad), Karin, and Mihran, in order of best to worst relations with the Shahanshah. Some of these houses were well established for centuries, others came into existence during the turbulent fall of Parthia, others have mysterious origins. These kings were functionally independent, with their own taxes, laws, and trade policies, and their combined army was far larger than the Sasanians’. What bound them to the Shahanshah was the need for a higher authority to mediate disputes, the need for a common military leader to defend Iran, and most importantly, their culture and religion. Zoroastrian tradition is steeped in ideas of the dichotomy between order and chaos, and the eternal war between the two. The king of kings was an arbiter of order, and to revolt against him was to be an agent of chaos, something that was literally sacrilegious. If they disapproved of the reigning Shahanshah, they would support the claim of a rival from the same house who promised to align with their interests. Only in periods of severe crisis did they consider deposing the reigning house. This didn’t change much in the transition from Parthian to Sasanian, as both Ardashir and Shapur sought to increase their own power without infringing on the rights and privileges of the houses. How much favoritism each house enjoyed in this period depended entirely on what role they played in the rise of Ardashir.
House Suren was one of the oldest houses in Iran and an honored house in Parthia, one of the prestigious houses of Parthian times. They originated in Sakastan and had once held a vast, nearly autonomous region to the east, making them the most powerful and respected of the families. Since then, their power and territory had waned, but their legacy remained, and they still had a little more respect and territory than most houses. Of course, they kept their pretentiousness. Suren was one of the very first allies of the Sasanians, back when they controlled only Persis. In fact, some scholars argue the house of Sasan was originally an offshoot of Suren. Because they played a crucial role in elevating Ardashir, they were the second most favored house. Their domain was also a major supplier of tin.
House Varaz/Waraz was the second house to ally Ardashir. Their family name meant “wild boar,” a symbol of warfare and military victory in Iranian society. During the civil wars in the fall of the Parthian empire they were likely a minor noble house which, through skilled generalship, was able to conquer its own fiefdom and become a royal house. They very quickly gained a reputation for military prowess. Their king Dehen, who submitted to Ardashir, was an extremely capable and valuable commander, and he was critical in helping conquer the Kushan empire. Because of this house Waraz would be the favorites of the Sasanians, with numerous family members being given important positions, especially as military commanders, and each Warazid commander would reinforce their reputation, creating a cycle. Being on the northeastern frontier, they also played an important role in defending Persia from steppe nomads. Their land was also quite fertile and produced high-quality wine.
Moving west, House Karin was another house known to have been well established and respected in Parthia, and was, according to legend, an offshoot of the Arsacids. During the Sasanian rise, the Karinids were divided between the brothers Peroz and Gog, who were too busy fighting each other for control to get involved, making them one of the only two known houses that didn’t support Ardashir. Still, they continued to be respected. Media, the territory they controlled, was in the center of overland trade routes and the location of several ancient cities, making them quite rich. Partly because of this, they were very politically powerful. The Karin had a reputation for being very well connected politically, with their finger in every pie. Ardashir, lord of house Karin (no relation to the Shahanshah Ardashir), was reported in Syrian chronicles to have poisoned several of his enemies, including his own father Gog. Unequivocally they were the most politically influential house.
The other house that didn’t support Ardashir was Mihran, formerly house Esfandiar. Esfandiar was one of the prestigious houses of the Parthian era. During Ardashir’s rise, they were a staunch opponent, refusing to give up their support of the Arsacids. We don’t know how many other houses opposed Ardashir, because his policy towards them was simple: not only did he eliminate them and take their land, but he completely erased them from the historical record. Mihran was no exception, and they were destroyed. However, the other houses were highly offended by this callous destruction of a prestigious centuries-old house. Caving to pressure, Shapur eventually granted Ashstad, lord of Esfandiar, back most of his family’s former territory. He also forced them to change their name to Mihran, probably to try and erase their history. They were still hated by the Shahanshah and left significantly weakened, and with their territory on the coast of the Caspian Sea now ruled by the lords of Andegan. Most of their territory was the arid plains and desert of central Iran, valuable for pastures and trade roads. During this period the house would lay low, biding its time and building alliances for when it can once again become a massive player in Persian politics.
The newest of the houses were the lords of Andegan. They would later become known as house Espahbad, meaning general, connecting themselves to old Parthian generals. Andegan was a town on the very eastern edge of Mihranid rule. During the war between the Sassanids and Mihranids, they revolted and conquered much of the Caspian Sea coast, heavily contributing to Ardashir’s victory. Because of this, despite not being a royal house, they were treated as such by the Sasanians, and would work to build their legitimacy for decades. Of all the houses, they were the poorest, as their land on the south coast of the Caspian Sea was some of the least valuable, most underdeveloped land in the empire. However, they would develop it themselves. With the founding of cities like Nishapur in the province of Parthia, they began to profit off a growing maritime trade between the Caucasus and the east, and founded port cities, where a fishing industry also developed.
All these houses still considered themselves Parthian, and exerted so much influence that the Sasanian empire is often referred to as a confederation rather than a single state. Each house would send representatives the city of Isfahan, on the border between Khuzestan and Media, to make collective decisions. The influence of these houses can be seen in later histories, where both houses Mihran and Espahbad would erase their defeat and illegitimacy, respectively, from the royal records completely. Fundamentally, the Persian Empire was still Parthian.
“Aneran” was the name of the conquered regions outside of the Persian heartland, Namely Kush, the Caucuses, the levant, and Egypt. These regions were seen as “second-class” among the Persian nobility. When Ardashir and Shapur conquered land, they almost always claimed it as their own royal domain to increase their house’s power. During his Roman wars, the Sasanian nobility grew uncomfortable at the idea of Shapur personally claiming all the new territory and expanding his power too much. They also weren’t interested in being given the land themselves, especially if they had to defend it militarily. They had no standing army to garrison cities with. A compromise was reached, where Shapur got to claim Armenia and Egypt, but each former Caucasian kingdom or Roman province would be ruled by an appointed king or “Caesar” (who was not allowed to claim the titles of Augustus or Imperator). Most of the Roman and Caucasian administration was kept intact.
In the kingdom of Iberia, king Hamazasp III “the Great” was propped up by the Sasanians, a member of the old Pharnavazid dynasty that had been replaced by the Arsacids. Georgia was not subdued easily. For centuries they had exploited a Roman-Parthian rivalry to maintain independence, now they were fully subdued. The last straw happened when he converted to Manichaeism, a new religion from the still-living prophet Mani, promoted by Shapur (more on that in the future), which intentionally combined aspects of other religions. He received a religious dream, compelling him to invite a Manichean to his court. He was said to have debated his own advisors on theology and was quite a learned man who impressed even the Manichaeans with his theological intellect. He eventually converted himself and promoted the religion throughout the empire. The nobility saw this as a blatant attempt to erase Iberian culture, and briefly overthrew him in 40 S.E. (265), only for him to regain power with Sasanian help, though crushing this rebellion would leave Iberia thoroughly devastated. Archaeology shows a quite thorough massacre of the elites who at any point had opposed the Persians. After the initial rebellion, the kingdom quickly became loyal. Hamazasp created a powerful Manichean church, which much of the former noble estates was donated to. He helped pave the way for Iberia to become a center of Manichaeism (1).
Colchis/Lazica was the most Romanized Caucasian kingdom. In the year 29 (254), Gothic naval raiders attacked Pityus, but a local commander named Successianus was able to inflict devastating defeats on them. Emperor Valerian noticed his effort and made him praetorian prefect. This was the highest position a Lazican had ever reached, making him popular among his people. However, in his absence, the Goths returned and thoroughly sacked the coast. When Shapur conquered it, it was a poor backwater, its economy dead from the sacks and collapse of black sea trade. Worse, Successianus had been promoted far above his capabilities, and he failed to juggle his many new responsibilities. He was among those captured along with Valerian. However, what puzzles historians is that Shapur appointed Successianus as the Lazican king. This may have been a sign of mercy towards the Romans, or he wanted to prevent a rebellion like in Iberia by appointing a popular king. Either way, he was more competent as king of Lazica, and helped to rebuild the damage.
In the former Roman territory, “The Persian Caesars,” as the Romans called them, were mostly independent. They appointed their own successors if the Shahanshah approved them, had their own laws, trade policies, and army. Essentially, though they were on a tighter leash, they were incorporated into the same “confederation” system as the Great Houses.
There’s a common misconception that the levant was disloyal and rebellious, for two reasons. The first is hindsight, as many look at later history and use it to make assumptions about earlier history. The second is that Roman chroniclers loved to describe how corrupt and debauched the Persian reign of terror was, with the Shahanshah beheading, torturing, and enjoying seeing Syrians wallow in their misery. In reality, Sasanian rule was generally accepted. They brought political and economic stability the Romans could no longer provide, plus more autonomous rule. However, what made the Persians nervous, and what would bring issues down the line, was that they didn’t have the same Zoroastrian belief in cosmic order that kept the Great Houses loyal. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Cilicia was the northernmost province, ruled by Diomedes. It had fertile plains to the east and rugged hills to the west, and was surrounded by mountains where the only passes were through the Cilician gates north of Tarsus and the thin coastline, making it ideal for geographic defense. It was economically closely tied to Armenia. Prince Hormizd invested heavily in Cilicia, recognizing its potential for trade. There was also a Zoroastrian community, a holdover from Achaemenid times, which experienced a renaissance in Roman territory with Hormizd’s support. However, like everywhere else in the Roman Empire, Cilicia was impacted by the Millenium Crisis. Because of the declining economy, bandits grew more powerful and took to hiding in the hills, and their numbers began growing with refugees fleeing the collapsing Cappadocia. Before the region could recover and grow, a long war had to be fought with bandits, especially in the west, where the Isaurians were establishing independence.
Syria was the largest Caesarian province, led by Maryada, or Mariades in Roman sources. It was the second most looted region besides Cappadocia, but recovery was fast. Maryada created a senate and government that mirrored the Principate of Rome. Despite centuries of Roman rule, the Syrians easily adapted from the Roman “first citizen” emperors back to the absolute monarchy of the Persians, showing that not much had changed since the Seleucid Empire. It had a rich economy, producing grain, wine, oil, fruit, and was the home of several large cities like Antioch that were centers of textile manufacturing. These products were increasingly exported to Persia rather than the Mediterranean. Most of this took place on the coast, with the population getting more nomadic the further inland you went. Maryada, in cooperation with the Persians, would begin constructing outposts along roads to Mesopotamia to defend the roads from Arabs, which promoted economic growth. This, plus population growth and climate change, would make Syria grow, prosper, and urbanize for centuries to come. Syria was both ethnically and religiously diverse. Thanks to Shapur bringing the prophet Mani with him on campaign, Manichaeism was starting to spread, as well as Zoroastrianism thanks to Hormizd. But one religion that had been around for a while in relative obscurity began to grow fast: Christianity, a religion centered around a Jewish prophet the Romans had crucified centuries ago. Christians now made up a sizeable minority in Syria, especially among the urban poor. In time, this religion would create massive problems for the Persians, but for now they didn’t care who their Roman subjects worshipped.
To the south, Phoenicia was Syria’s rival. They were ruled by Uranius, who unlike Maryada presented himself as a divine monarch, albeit subordinate to Shapur. He was celebrated for his victory against the Persians, which he attributed to divine support of the sun god Elagabal. The Phoenician religion, which would come to be known as Helicism, was enforced by Uranius and would spread rapidly throughout the levant partly due to his support. Though the black stone they prayed to had been taken, they still prayed east towards Persepolis where the stone was kept, and the most devout even made pilgrimages there. Monotheists, primarily Jews and Christians, were persecuted, but Uranius encouraged the growth of new sects that syncretized with Helicism, treating the sun as an extension of God/Yahweh. In fact, what made this cult so popular was its ability to syncretize with every religion, whether polytheistic or not. Among Christians, this new split was deeply controversial and led to intense bickering about God’s true nature, as monotheists tended to. Economically, Phoenicia wasn’t as strong as Syria, but they specialized in glass and dyes, especially the lucrative purple. They also enjoyed much of the same economic growth as Syria.
The city state of Palmyra, ruled by Odaenathus, also retained its independence for a little while. It was quite unique and impressive, a caravan city state on an oasis in the middle of a desert road. Its zenith was gone, however. The Sasanians preferred to direct trade north through Armenia or south around Arabia, weakening their only economic source. In addition, climate change and population growth meant the city could no longer support its own population, culminating in a large-scale riot in 47 S.E. (272), after which the city would shrink before being quietly absorbed into Phoenicia in 59 (284).
A century earlier, the province of Judea was thoroughly depopulated in Hadrian’s cultural genocide, as he forced the Jews into diaspora and repopulated it with Roman pagans. Under the Sasanians, Shapur created a Jewish vassal kingdom, with cities like Jerusalem reconstructed, including the Third Temple of Jerusalem. He was directly mirroring Cyrus the Great, and for his efforts he was the second non-jew to be declared Messiah. Not everyone supported this, as many remembered the massacre of Caesarea, and fiercely debated whether someone who had killed 12,000 jews could be a messiah. Appointed as king was Herod Alexander, descendant of Herod the Great and part of the Herodian dynasty. Despite their liberation, most of the diaspora’d Jews had made lives for themselves outside Judea, so only the more devout returned. Among those who didn’t return home, it became quite common to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to see the Third Temple at least once in their lives. Rebuilding the kingdom came with some problems. First, two thirds of the population were pagan Romans that had been settled there. Shapur explicitly forbade persecuting them, but they weren’t allowed in government positions and were given extra taxes, something that bred resentment. Second was the spread of Helicism, especially among syncretic Jews, which became far more of a problem with Uranius promoting the faith and persecuting orthodox Jews. Judea was deeply divided between Helic and Orthodox Jews, as well as pagans. All this led not only to deep internal tensions, but external tension with Phoenicia as well. Since founding the kingdom of Judea was Shapur’s PR project, he didn’t want violence breaking out, so he endorsed the orthodox Jews but ordered everyone to get along (2).
Last was the province of Arabia, where Timagenes was made Caesar as a reward for his help during the war. The fact that an Egyptian was made Caesar shows how closely this province was tied to Egypt, both politically and economically. In the Roman Empire, this province was integrated relatively late and was a peripheral province, mostly ignored and underdeveloped. Under the Persians, Arabia grew as a trading crossroads that connected Syria, Egypt, Arabia, and the Arabian Sea (OTL Red Sea). It benefitted from the growth of Arabian Sea trade. In particular, the city of Petra was renovated to become the administrative center of Arabia, as well as a major military base. This allowed it to grow quickly, and it soon became what Palmyra once was: a caravan metropolis in the desert, and a major trade hub among multiple roads. Its star rising fast. Its interconnectedness also made Arabia a religious and cultural melting pot, with a unique blend of Hellenic, Egyptian, and Arabian culture. It had a pantheon full of gods from each of those regions, as well as Christians, Jews, Manicheans, and others.
All these religious, economic, and political developments would intersect not only with each other, but with the emerging Persian Empire. The most impressive thing about it was not its size, but its ability to string these regions into a cohesive empire.
1. Hamazasp is an interesting but very obscure historical figure. All of this is OTL up until his overthrowal. To my knowledge he was the only king to have adopted Manichaeism besides a Lakhmid king and apparently Zenobia according to some sources.
2. This was a problem the Jews had OTL, though ITTL it’s worse. Also, I should note that these religions aren’t necessarily seen as rigid, exclusive, or intolerant of one another the same way we see religions today. The lines between them are very blurry.
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These updates have gotten longer than I initially planned them to be, but it generally feels unnatural trying to break them up into parts. Next update will tour the rest of the empire and Shapur’s economic development. Depending on how long it takes I might also talk about religion, the court, or the army.
As always, any thoughts, questions, comments, anything else, are appreciated!
Why? Well, it’s because of the Muslims. The Persians had a deep oral tradition which is how they preserved most of their history. Much of that was lost in the Islamic conquests. However, we know they did keep written historical records, such as the “Book of Kings” commissioned by Khosrow I. The reason we don’t have those is also because of the Muslims. They didn’t bother preserving texts they saw as Zoroastrian heathenry.
ITTL, they have most of the same sources as OTL, but the Book of Kings and others are better preserved, giving us a Sasanian account of their own history, albeit riddled with propaganda and historical revisionism. We also have Syrian chroniclers recording Sasanian history, albeit with their own biases. While historiography is still fragmented and with problems, it’s a lot better than OTL.
What this means for this TL is that even if I’m describing info from before the POD, that doesn’t mean it’s OTL, and my interpretations of OTL figures shouldn’t be taken as a historical record. A lot of it is made up or extrapolated from shaky-at-best evidence. I didn’t want to make dozens of footnotes explaining each one, so if you have any questions about where an idea came from, please ask and I’ll explain.
Anyways, this will be a tour, where we’ll look at each territory not directly controlled by Shapur, AKA all the non-green regions on the map (except Cyprus and Cyrenaica, which aren’t part of the empire but are more like dependencies/tributaries. Also, the Kushano-Sassanian empire, which is a whole other can of worms I won’t open yet. They’ll be looked at more in the future). I realized I needed to pause the narrative and lay some groundwork, otherwise things would have gotten confusing. I recommend having the map I made in another tab or something while reading this. Enjoy!
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Chapter 4: Lords and Caesars of Eran and Aneran
Between 35 S.E. (260) and 45 S.E. (270), Shahanshah Shapur I presided over what had become the world’s largest kingdom in only a few decades. His full title became “King of Kings and Caesars of Iran and Not-Iran.” The new Sasanian Empire differed from its Arsacid predecessors in several ways. Most importantly, it was more centralized, with more territory under the direct control of the Shahanshah or by appointed Satraps, essentially governors. However, it wasn’t far removed from its decentralized Parthian roots. It continued to be a hodgepodge of vassals.
Though later chronicles always claim there were seven great houses of Iran due to the number seven’s Zoroastrian religious significance, there were at this point five autonomous vassal kingdoms, the houses of Waraz, Suren, Andegan (Espahbad), Karin, and Mihran, in order of best to worst relations with the Shahanshah. Some of these houses were well established for centuries, others came into existence during the turbulent fall of Parthia, others have mysterious origins. These kings were functionally independent, with their own taxes, laws, and trade policies, and their combined army was far larger than the Sasanians’. What bound them to the Shahanshah was the need for a higher authority to mediate disputes, the need for a common military leader to defend Iran, and most importantly, their culture and religion. Zoroastrian tradition is steeped in ideas of the dichotomy between order and chaos, and the eternal war between the two. The king of kings was an arbiter of order, and to revolt against him was to be an agent of chaos, something that was literally sacrilegious. If they disapproved of the reigning Shahanshah, they would support the claim of a rival from the same house who promised to align with their interests. Only in periods of severe crisis did they consider deposing the reigning house. This didn’t change much in the transition from Parthian to Sasanian, as both Ardashir and Shapur sought to increase their own power without infringing on the rights and privileges of the houses. How much favoritism each house enjoyed in this period depended entirely on what role they played in the rise of Ardashir.
House Suren was one of the oldest houses in Iran and an honored house in Parthia, one of the prestigious houses of Parthian times. They originated in Sakastan and had once held a vast, nearly autonomous region to the east, making them the most powerful and respected of the families. Since then, their power and territory had waned, but their legacy remained, and they still had a little more respect and territory than most houses. Of course, they kept their pretentiousness. Suren was one of the very first allies of the Sasanians, back when they controlled only Persis. In fact, some scholars argue the house of Sasan was originally an offshoot of Suren. Because they played a crucial role in elevating Ardashir, they were the second most favored house. Their domain was also a major supplier of tin.
House Varaz/Waraz was the second house to ally Ardashir. Their family name meant “wild boar,” a symbol of warfare and military victory in Iranian society. During the civil wars in the fall of the Parthian empire they were likely a minor noble house which, through skilled generalship, was able to conquer its own fiefdom and become a royal house. They very quickly gained a reputation for military prowess. Their king Dehen, who submitted to Ardashir, was an extremely capable and valuable commander, and he was critical in helping conquer the Kushan empire. Because of this house Waraz would be the favorites of the Sasanians, with numerous family members being given important positions, especially as military commanders, and each Warazid commander would reinforce their reputation, creating a cycle. Being on the northeastern frontier, they also played an important role in defending Persia from steppe nomads. Their land was also quite fertile and produced high-quality wine.
Moving west, House Karin was another house known to have been well established and respected in Parthia, and was, according to legend, an offshoot of the Arsacids. During the Sasanian rise, the Karinids were divided between the brothers Peroz and Gog, who were too busy fighting each other for control to get involved, making them one of the only two known houses that didn’t support Ardashir. Still, they continued to be respected. Media, the territory they controlled, was in the center of overland trade routes and the location of several ancient cities, making them quite rich. Partly because of this, they were very politically powerful. The Karin had a reputation for being very well connected politically, with their finger in every pie. Ardashir, lord of house Karin (no relation to the Shahanshah Ardashir), was reported in Syrian chronicles to have poisoned several of his enemies, including his own father Gog. Unequivocally they were the most politically influential house.
The other house that didn’t support Ardashir was Mihran, formerly house Esfandiar. Esfandiar was one of the prestigious houses of the Parthian era. During Ardashir’s rise, they were a staunch opponent, refusing to give up their support of the Arsacids. We don’t know how many other houses opposed Ardashir, because his policy towards them was simple: not only did he eliminate them and take their land, but he completely erased them from the historical record. Mihran was no exception, and they were destroyed. However, the other houses were highly offended by this callous destruction of a prestigious centuries-old house. Caving to pressure, Shapur eventually granted Ashstad, lord of Esfandiar, back most of his family’s former territory. He also forced them to change their name to Mihran, probably to try and erase their history. They were still hated by the Shahanshah and left significantly weakened, and with their territory on the coast of the Caspian Sea now ruled by the lords of Andegan. Most of their territory was the arid plains and desert of central Iran, valuable for pastures and trade roads. During this period the house would lay low, biding its time and building alliances for when it can once again become a massive player in Persian politics.
The newest of the houses were the lords of Andegan. They would later become known as house Espahbad, meaning general, connecting themselves to old Parthian generals. Andegan was a town on the very eastern edge of Mihranid rule. During the war between the Sassanids and Mihranids, they revolted and conquered much of the Caspian Sea coast, heavily contributing to Ardashir’s victory. Because of this, despite not being a royal house, they were treated as such by the Sasanians, and would work to build their legitimacy for decades. Of all the houses, they were the poorest, as their land on the south coast of the Caspian Sea was some of the least valuable, most underdeveloped land in the empire. However, they would develop it themselves. With the founding of cities like Nishapur in the province of Parthia, they began to profit off a growing maritime trade between the Caucasus and the east, and founded port cities, where a fishing industry also developed.
All these houses still considered themselves Parthian, and exerted so much influence that the Sasanian empire is often referred to as a confederation rather than a single state. Each house would send representatives the city of Isfahan, on the border between Khuzestan and Media, to make collective decisions. The influence of these houses can be seen in later histories, where both houses Mihran and Espahbad would erase their defeat and illegitimacy, respectively, from the royal records completely. Fundamentally, the Persian Empire was still Parthian.
“Aneran” was the name of the conquered regions outside of the Persian heartland, Namely Kush, the Caucuses, the levant, and Egypt. These regions were seen as “second-class” among the Persian nobility. When Ardashir and Shapur conquered land, they almost always claimed it as their own royal domain to increase their house’s power. During his Roman wars, the Sasanian nobility grew uncomfortable at the idea of Shapur personally claiming all the new territory and expanding his power too much. They also weren’t interested in being given the land themselves, especially if they had to defend it militarily. They had no standing army to garrison cities with. A compromise was reached, where Shapur got to claim Armenia and Egypt, but each former Caucasian kingdom or Roman province would be ruled by an appointed king or “Caesar” (who was not allowed to claim the titles of Augustus or Imperator). Most of the Roman and Caucasian administration was kept intact.
In the kingdom of Iberia, king Hamazasp III “the Great” was propped up by the Sasanians, a member of the old Pharnavazid dynasty that had been replaced by the Arsacids. Georgia was not subdued easily. For centuries they had exploited a Roman-Parthian rivalry to maintain independence, now they were fully subdued. The last straw happened when he converted to Manichaeism, a new religion from the still-living prophet Mani, promoted by Shapur (more on that in the future), which intentionally combined aspects of other religions. He received a religious dream, compelling him to invite a Manichean to his court. He was said to have debated his own advisors on theology and was quite a learned man who impressed even the Manichaeans with his theological intellect. He eventually converted himself and promoted the religion throughout the empire. The nobility saw this as a blatant attempt to erase Iberian culture, and briefly overthrew him in 40 S.E. (265), only for him to regain power with Sasanian help, though crushing this rebellion would leave Iberia thoroughly devastated. Archaeology shows a quite thorough massacre of the elites who at any point had opposed the Persians. After the initial rebellion, the kingdom quickly became loyal. Hamazasp created a powerful Manichean church, which much of the former noble estates was donated to. He helped pave the way for Iberia to become a center of Manichaeism (1).
Colchis/Lazica was the most Romanized Caucasian kingdom. In the year 29 (254), Gothic naval raiders attacked Pityus, but a local commander named Successianus was able to inflict devastating defeats on them. Emperor Valerian noticed his effort and made him praetorian prefect. This was the highest position a Lazican had ever reached, making him popular among his people. However, in his absence, the Goths returned and thoroughly sacked the coast. When Shapur conquered it, it was a poor backwater, its economy dead from the sacks and collapse of black sea trade. Worse, Successianus had been promoted far above his capabilities, and he failed to juggle his many new responsibilities. He was among those captured along with Valerian. However, what puzzles historians is that Shapur appointed Successianus as the Lazican king. This may have been a sign of mercy towards the Romans, or he wanted to prevent a rebellion like in Iberia by appointing a popular king. Either way, he was more competent as king of Lazica, and helped to rebuild the damage.
In the former Roman territory, “The Persian Caesars,” as the Romans called them, were mostly independent. They appointed their own successors if the Shahanshah approved them, had their own laws, trade policies, and army. Essentially, though they were on a tighter leash, they were incorporated into the same “confederation” system as the Great Houses.
There’s a common misconception that the levant was disloyal and rebellious, for two reasons. The first is hindsight, as many look at later history and use it to make assumptions about earlier history. The second is that Roman chroniclers loved to describe how corrupt and debauched the Persian reign of terror was, with the Shahanshah beheading, torturing, and enjoying seeing Syrians wallow in their misery. In reality, Sasanian rule was generally accepted. They brought political and economic stability the Romans could no longer provide, plus more autonomous rule. However, what made the Persians nervous, and what would bring issues down the line, was that they didn’t have the same Zoroastrian belief in cosmic order that kept the Great Houses loyal. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Cilicia was the northernmost province, ruled by Diomedes. It had fertile plains to the east and rugged hills to the west, and was surrounded by mountains where the only passes were through the Cilician gates north of Tarsus and the thin coastline, making it ideal for geographic defense. It was economically closely tied to Armenia. Prince Hormizd invested heavily in Cilicia, recognizing its potential for trade. There was also a Zoroastrian community, a holdover from Achaemenid times, which experienced a renaissance in Roman territory with Hormizd’s support. However, like everywhere else in the Roman Empire, Cilicia was impacted by the Millenium Crisis. Because of the declining economy, bandits grew more powerful and took to hiding in the hills, and their numbers began growing with refugees fleeing the collapsing Cappadocia. Before the region could recover and grow, a long war had to be fought with bandits, especially in the west, where the Isaurians were establishing independence.
Syria was the largest Caesarian province, led by Maryada, or Mariades in Roman sources. It was the second most looted region besides Cappadocia, but recovery was fast. Maryada created a senate and government that mirrored the Principate of Rome. Despite centuries of Roman rule, the Syrians easily adapted from the Roman “first citizen” emperors back to the absolute monarchy of the Persians, showing that not much had changed since the Seleucid Empire. It had a rich economy, producing grain, wine, oil, fruit, and was the home of several large cities like Antioch that were centers of textile manufacturing. These products were increasingly exported to Persia rather than the Mediterranean. Most of this took place on the coast, with the population getting more nomadic the further inland you went. Maryada, in cooperation with the Persians, would begin constructing outposts along roads to Mesopotamia to defend the roads from Arabs, which promoted economic growth. This, plus population growth and climate change, would make Syria grow, prosper, and urbanize for centuries to come. Syria was both ethnically and religiously diverse. Thanks to Shapur bringing the prophet Mani with him on campaign, Manichaeism was starting to spread, as well as Zoroastrianism thanks to Hormizd. But one religion that had been around for a while in relative obscurity began to grow fast: Christianity, a religion centered around a Jewish prophet the Romans had crucified centuries ago. Christians now made up a sizeable minority in Syria, especially among the urban poor. In time, this religion would create massive problems for the Persians, but for now they didn’t care who their Roman subjects worshipped.
To the south, Phoenicia was Syria’s rival. They were ruled by Uranius, who unlike Maryada presented himself as a divine monarch, albeit subordinate to Shapur. He was celebrated for his victory against the Persians, which he attributed to divine support of the sun god Elagabal. The Phoenician religion, which would come to be known as Helicism, was enforced by Uranius and would spread rapidly throughout the levant partly due to his support. Though the black stone they prayed to had been taken, they still prayed east towards Persepolis where the stone was kept, and the most devout even made pilgrimages there. Monotheists, primarily Jews and Christians, were persecuted, but Uranius encouraged the growth of new sects that syncretized with Helicism, treating the sun as an extension of God/Yahweh. In fact, what made this cult so popular was its ability to syncretize with every religion, whether polytheistic or not. Among Christians, this new split was deeply controversial and led to intense bickering about God’s true nature, as monotheists tended to. Economically, Phoenicia wasn’t as strong as Syria, but they specialized in glass and dyes, especially the lucrative purple. They also enjoyed much of the same economic growth as Syria.
The city state of Palmyra, ruled by Odaenathus, also retained its independence for a little while. It was quite unique and impressive, a caravan city state on an oasis in the middle of a desert road. Its zenith was gone, however. The Sasanians preferred to direct trade north through Armenia or south around Arabia, weakening their only economic source. In addition, climate change and population growth meant the city could no longer support its own population, culminating in a large-scale riot in 47 S.E. (272), after which the city would shrink before being quietly absorbed into Phoenicia in 59 (284).
A century earlier, the province of Judea was thoroughly depopulated in Hadrian’s cultural genocide, as he forced the Jews into diaspora and repopulated it with Roman pagans. Under the Sasanians, Shapur created a Jewish vassal kingdom, with cities like Jerusalem reconstructed, including the Third Temple of Jerusalem. He was directly mirroring Cyrus the Great, and for his efforts he was the second non-jew to be declared Messiah. Not everyone supported this, as many remembered the massacre of Caesarea, and fiercely debated whether someone who had killed 12,000 jews could be a messiah. Appointed as king was Herod Alexander, descendant of Herod the Great and part of the Herodian dynasty. Despite their liberation, most of the diaspora’d Jews had made lives for themselves outside Judea, so only the more devout returned. Among those who didn’t return home, it became quite common to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to see the Third Temple at least once in their lives. Rebuilding the kingdom came with some problems. First, two thirds of the population were pagan Romans that had been settled there. Shapur explicitly forbade persecuting them, but they weren’t allowed in government positions and were given extra taxes, something that bred resentment. Second was the spread of Helicism, especially among syncretic Jews, which became far more of a problem with Uranius promoting the faith and persecuting orthodox Jews. Judea was deeply divided between Helic and Orthodox Jews, as well as pagans. All this led not only to deep internal tensions, but external tension with Phoenicia as well. Since founding the kingdom of Judea was Shapur’s PR project, he didn’t want violence breaking out, so he endorsed the orthodox Jews but ordered everyone to get along (2).
Last was the province of Arabia, where Timagenes was made Caesar as a reward for his help during the war. The fact that an Egyptian was made Caesar shows how closely this province was tied to Egypt, both politically and economically. In the Roman Empire, this province was integrated relatively late and was a peripheral province, mostly ignored and underdeveloped. Under the Persians, Arabia grew as a trading crossroads that connected Syria, Egypt, Arabia, and the Arabian Sea (OTL Red Sea). It benefitted from the growth of Arabian Sea trade. In particular, the city of Petra was renovated to become the administrative center of Arabia, as well as a major military base. This allowed it to grow quickly, and it soon became what Palmyra once was: a caravan metropolis in the desert, and a major trade hub among multiple roads. Its star rising fast. Its interconnectedness also made Arabia a religious and cultural melting pot, with a unique blend of Hellenic, Egyptian, and Arabian culture. It had a pantheon full of gods from each of those regions, as well as Christians, Jews, Manicheans, and others.
All these religious, economic, and political developments would intersect not only with each other, but with the emerging Persian Empire. The most impressive thing about it was not its size, but its ability to string these regions into a cohesive empire.
1. Hamazasp is an interesting but very obscure historical figure. All of this is OTL up until his overthrowal. To my knowledge he was the only king to have adopted Manichaeism besides a Lakhmid king and apparently Zenobia according to some sources.
2. This was a problem the Jews had OTL, though ITTL it’s worse. Also, I should note that these religions aren’t necessarily seen as rigid, exclusive, or intolerant of one another the same way we see religions today. The lines between them are very blurry.
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These updates have gotten longer than I initially planned them to be, but it generally feels unnatural trying to break them up into parts. Next update will tour the rest of the empire and Shapur’s economic development. Depending on how long it takes I might also talk about religion, the court, or the army.
As always, any thoughts, questions, comments, anything else, are appreciated!
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Loved the update, always a good day when you update!
I liked this little breakdown of the status quo of the new borders, shows that while war is easy, governing is hard and while Shapur has for now managed to keep things calm, there's several problems that can and will blow up in the future, all it depends is whoever succeeds him to see if they're up to task. Oh and, can't forget about the Romans, they'll probably want their lands back too.
I liked this little breakdown of the status quo of the new borders, shows that while war is easy, governing is hard and while Shapur has for now managed to keep things calm, there's several problems that can and will blow up in the future, all it depends is whoever succeeds him to see if they're up to task. Oh and, can't forget about the Romans, they'll probably want their lands back too.
The Persians definitely chose an interesting time to invade
Thank you so much! Glad I can give you something to look forward to.
This update was a lot of setup, no glorious battles or political intrigue, just sowing the seeds of things to come
Can't help but laugh at House KAREN
Guess their main contribution to the mighty Sassanid Empire is spawning a great deal of famous, well-known screeching, banshee KARENS
Given that the houses were almost completely autonomous under Parthia, just like IOTL under the Sasanians they’re going to fight hard to be as autonomous as possible, in a way that will get them portrayed in some sources as selfish, self-serving, and entitled. And right now house Karen/Karin (it’s spelled differently in different sources) is the most influential one.
So basically from a certain point of view that’s not entirely wrong
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Shapur's last decade
Chapter 5: Shapur’s last decade
Shapur I was one of the most successful kings not just in Sasanian history, but in the entire history of Persia. He and his father had led the small territory of Persis to conquering a fractured and collapsing kingdom and turning it into a massive, prosperous empire.
He could never keep himself off his horse for long, and shortly after the Roman war he went on extensive campaigns in the central Asian steppe, possibly up to the Chorasmian Sea (Aral Sea). There he extracted tribute and took more captives. But this was his last war. He and his father had spent practically their entire reign on a horse, conquering and campaigning, but now was the time for consolidation.
What Shapur excelled at the most was propaganda. He carved several inscriptions depicting and describing his own successes in battle. In fact, he carved more than any other Shahanshah, showing not just his propaganda skills but also just how prideful he was, with one inscription dedicated to how far he shot an arrow. He very intentionally portrayed himself as a new Cyrus the Great and his empire as a resurgent Achaemenid Empire (1). Both oral and written accounts of Cyrus’s conquests were promoted during this period. Achaemenid history, which was mostly preserved orally, was so long ago that memory of it had become hazy, making it a blank canvas that Shapur could apply his propaganda to. He portrayed the Parthians as barbarian tyrants, and also tried to erase his own family’s connections to Parthia, going so far as to deliberately omit Sasan, his great-grandfather and the man the empire is now named after, from his own inscriptions because of his Parthian heritage. It’s important to remember that the Sasanians were a new dynasty, still trying to establish legitimacy.
He also promoted cultural unity among Iranians. It was during this time when the distinction between Eran (Iranians) and Aneran (not-Iranians) began to form. Iranians included Armenians and Caucasians, despite those people seeing themselves as distinct, and those within Persia proper. Not-Iranians included Mesopotamian, Roman, and Eastern subjects.
Shapur’s religious policies generated controversy, but to understand that we first need to understand Zoroastrianism. To give an oversimplified summary, Zoroastrianism was a religion centered around the supreme deity Ahura Mazda and the duality between good and evil. These two were locked in a cosmic war, and adherents needed to follow a set of rituals and moral principles to fight evil. The sun and fire were worshipped, and in certain temples sacred fires were constantly kept burning. It was not a unified religion, but a series of split, disorganized traditions. There also was no centralized church. The Great Houses controlled their local churches, and each house had their own dedicated fire temples.
All that changed when Ardashir came to power. He strove to unite the Zoroastrianism under one church and one faith. All fire temples in the empire were extinguished, as Ardashir claimed they hadn’t been founded legitimately. His message was clear: only the Shahanshah controlled the church. By uniting the church and state, Zoroastrianism became one of the main ways he could control his country. He proclaimed his dynasty to be “from the seed of the gods.” He hired Zoroastrian scholars from around the empire, most prominently the high priest Tosar, to create a unified “orthodoxy.” He massively expanded the church and centralized its hierarchy. Ardashir created a single unified religion out of the scattered traditions, he was the founder of Zoroastrianism as we know it. Religion was part of how his dynasty would secure legitimacy.
One of the more troublesome new assertions in orthodox Zoroastrianism was the iconoclasm. The priests believed that gods like Ahura Mazda should not be depicted, and religious imagery should not be worshipped in place of the gods. The only exceptions were the fires in each fire temple.
Ardashir didn’t enforce Zoroastrianism as the state religion. Other religions were tolerated. This had been the norm since the dawn of Iranian history, so it wasn’t considered major at the time to simply continue this policy.
Shapur followed in his father’s footsteps. In fact, he improved them. Not only did his conquests bring money which accelerated the expansion of religion, but he also began funding and sending priests to the levant, growing the religion in former Roman territory. And yet, at the same time he patronized one of the most influential heretics in Iranian history.
The prophet Mani.
Mani was born in Mesopotamia and raised in a Jewish-Christian sect. According to legend, in his early twenties, he received religious visions, and upon trying to explain them to his elders he was banished. From then on, he devoted his life to travelling and spreading his new religion, Manichaeism. He went east, converting the king of Turan, and convincing Peroz, Shapur’s brother, to introduce the prophet to the Shahanshah. Shapur was known for his interest in religious scholarship. Consequently, he took a liking to Mani, and although he himself didn’t convert, he brought Mani into his court and allowed him to proselytize, while also being the king’s medic and astrologist. Mani accompanied Shapur during his Roman campaigns, proselytizing in Syria. He became quite close to the crowned prince Hormizd, who he tutored and discussed theology with. Hormizd grew to admire the prophet. Eventually, Mani asked to leave the court so he could continue to dedicate himself to his religion full-time.
Manichaeism intentionally mixed aspects of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism and “perfected” them. This made it highly adaptive, and able to syncretize in different environments, allowing it to spread far and wide. Like Zoroastrianism, it was dualistic, with a war between the worlds of good/light and evil/darkness. The material world was made of darkness with bits of light imprisoned in it, in fruits, vegetables, juice, water, etc. It was the duty of Manichean monks known as “the elect” to help the light escape the material world by following a strict moral code of asceticism, celibacy, and non-violence (including harvesting plants), which gave them the ability to free this light by eating it. Non-monks, known as “hearers,” followed a less strict moral code, committing sins like picking fruit to care for the Elect.
Some Persian nobles converted, most notably the Iberian king Hamazasp. The favor Mani enjoyed from Shapur made his own priesthood and administration uncomfortable. Mani’s biggest rival at court was an influential high priest named Kartir. Kartir came from humble, obscure origins, and like Mani, he rose to prominence because of his charisma and strong beliefs in Zoroastrianism. Shapur promoted him to high priest because, again like Mani, his religious rhetoric captivated the Shahanshah. He came with Shapur during his Roman campaigns, during which he fought bitterly with Mani, when the two weren’t bickering, Kartir helped renovate Roman Zoroastrian temples and convinced the king not to harm Zoroastrians during sackings, and to free those who had accidently been taken prisoner or converted while imprisoned.
Kartir was not yet as powerful as he would come to be, but he led a growing faction. He, along with several of Shapur’s priests, generals, and administrators, grew concerned over Mani. Why should heretics like him be allowed to lead believers astray? Wasn’t it the Shahanshah’s job to protect the faith? Mani’s heresy, as well as the rise of other religions like Christianity and Buddhism, forced them to reconsider the nature of Zoroastrianism and kingship. According to their Zoroastrian doctrine, heathens were promoting Evil and allowing it to overtake Good. As they became more radical, they began pressuring the Shahanshah to ban heathenry outright.
In 46 (271), only a year before his death, Shapur finally caved. He began persecuting Manichaeans, and banished Mani, forcing him to travel east.
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As described in the last chapter, vassals controlled most Persian territory. To increase their power without angering the magnates, Ardashir and Shapur focused on developing their own land economically. The Sasanian economy was extremely lassaiz-faire, with the Shahanshah only caring about profiting from levies. Because they could only directly profit from their own land, they especially developed trade roads going through their estates. Practically every trade route passed through at least one royal province.
The collapsing Roman Empire meant external trade had declined. Though the silk road still provided luxuries to places like Syria, it wasn’t as lucrative as it had once been. Internal trade, meanwhile, was stronger than it had ever been. Levantine goods were now flowing into Persia, rather than the Mediterranean. Persia already had heavy Hellenic influence, and the levant already had heavy Persian influence, but this new trade dynamic helped the cultures cross-pollinate even more. Like emperor Hadrian, Shapur toured his domains, and ordered the building of dams, bridges, and irrigation to spur productivity. He and Ardashir became known as “the city builders,” as he developed numerous cities in royal domains to encourage economic growth. Several of the cities he made would be powerful trading centers for centuries.
Captives from Central Asia or Rome (especially Cappadocia) became royal slaves and were deported to these cities. Some lived in the cities and built infrastructure, others were given farmland in the suburbs they were tied to. These cities thus had a strict hierarchical class system between the ruling nobility, artisans/traders, and slaves. They built Roman-style architecture, and they retained and even spread their religion and culture (2).
There were three instrumental centers of Sasanian power and bureaucracy, all three of which were regional breadbaskets. First and most importantly was Mesopotamia, which enjoyed heavy development. Dozens of cities were refounded here, chief among them Ctesiphon, the empire’s capital. The agricultural productivity, crucial trade roads, and taxes made Mesopotamia the Shahanshah’s cash cow. Second, controlling the eastern flank, was Persis. Here Bishapur was founded, where former emperor Valerian was kept captive. The once mighty emperor was now in charge of bridge construction and was supposedly used as a footstool. Persis was especially the center of the Zoroastrian clergy. Last, on the eastern flank, was Egypt. Like the rest of the former Roman provinces, the administration of Egypt was kept intact, with only the very top layer being replaced with Persians. Egypt was the center of Persian trade in the Mediterranean, which at this stage was still in its infancy. Prior to its conquest, Egypt had been one of the provinces hit hard by the millennium crisis, with the city of Alexandria especially suffering from plague, riots, economic downturn, and a sacking, and had now lost three fourths of its population. Alexandria was thus renovated and renamed “Piravashapur.” Though this was the city’s “official” name, most Egyptians simply kept calling it Alexandria, and soon it would get a new, unofficial name.
The province of Khuzestan, being the connector between Persis and Mesopotamia, especially enjoyed heavy development. Here, among other cities, Gondeshapur was founded (3), one of Shapur’s largest cities. It had a rich economy based on rice and sugar plantations. In addition, after his conquests, Shapur brought here scholarly texts of all kinds from as far as India to Egypt, and commanded that they be copied and studied, turning Gondeshapur into Iran’s biggest center of scholarship.
Another important province was Parthia, the old homeland of the Parthians, on the empire’s northern frontier. Steppe nomads were a persistent threat to Persia for its entire history, owing partly to the fact that there were zero natural defenses from the steppe. As such, the city of Nishapur was founded, an administrative center and military fortress. It also helped develop trade flowing in from the Kushans and China and had lucrative turquoise mines.
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Shapur had three living sons, Bahram, Hormizd, and Narses (4). Like his own father, Shapur involved his own children heavily in the business of war and politics from a young age. During his wars, he made them generals, and had them compete, promising that he would make the most skilled warrior out of his children his heir. Afterwards, he let them govern the largest, most important provinces in the empire, using them as trustworthy administrators while also training them in governance. As a king, taking this approach successfully trained them to each be competent and skilled. As a father, making them compete bred resentment between the siblings, who saw each other as rivals.
The eldest son was Bahram, born around 5 years before Ardashir’s crowning (220). His mother was a lowborn concubine, making him equivalent to a bastard child. Despite this, Shapur may still have had hopes for the boy, as he had him educated in politics and warfare. However, their relationship still grew strained over time, especially as Shapur started to show favoritism towards his younger brothers. Neither father nor son had much love for each other. Bahram fiercely criticized his father’s policies, especially his promotion of Mani. One, likely apocryphal, Manichean source reports that after receiving visions, Mani warned Shapur that, if he ever became Shah, a pair of shears would cut Persia’s divine wings and plunge it into evil. He was the only son Shapur didn’t grant a dedicated fire temple to. He was made king of Gilan, an isolated province in the Alborz mountains, on the Caspian Sea coast. The Gilani were one of several tribes within Iranian territory who lived in areas too isolated to be fully incorporated into the empire, like the Daylamites. They often served as Sasanian mercenaries. Bahram was assigned a small, isolated, and relatively unimportant region, likely just to give him something to do. He was savvy however, and he bid his time in the shadows, making alliances with nobles disaffected by Shapur’s reign. That is when he wasn’t hunting, a common pastime.
The next son, Hormizd, born in 7 S.E. (232), was the chosen heir. He was his father’s favorite, having demonstrated his military capability in his invasion of Anatolia and having earned the title “the brave.” He was quite ambitious and idolized his father. Shapur made him king of Armenia, which was considered the crowned jewel of the empire, being historically a key strategic province against the Roman Empire, having several important trade roads, and most importantly the source of many skilled cavalry, making it a sizeable portion of the Sasanian royal army. It still had its own unique institutions and governance, making it very different from regular provinces. During the Parthian era, Armenia was divided between feudal lords who squabbled and fought, until the Sasanians arrived to keep the peace. Among the nobles were the relatives of the deposed Arsacid dynasty, many of whom had originally helped the Sasanians invade Armenia. One of the biggest challenges Hormizd faced was religious. Armenia was deeply Zoroastrian, but like everywhere else it had a decentralized series of traditions rather than a formal religion. Many of Armenia’s deep-rooted traditions were now considered heresy, especially idol worship. Idols and icons made up a significant portion of Armenian spiritual and material culture, and the Sasanians would soon find out that forcefully changing Armenian culture was not an easy task. For now, Hormizd focused solely on converting the nobility, while ignoring the rural peasants living in the highlands.
After Anatolia came under Callistus’s rule, Hormizd began raiding Cappadocia annually, arguing that since it had split off from Rome it was it was independent, meaning he technically wasn’t violating the treaty. It wasn’t like the Empire was in a position to respond. He deported even more captives, until the region was thoroughly depopulated. He also relocated Cappadocian Zoroastrians, who were apparently being persecuted under suspicion of cooperating with Persia.
The youngest, Narses, was born in 13 S.E. (238). He was in his twenties and also quite ambitious, and apparently earned a reputation for being pious. He was made governor of Sakastan. With the recent conquest of the Kushan Empire, there was a power vacuum in the east, which Narses filled by conquering and annexing the regions of Turan, Makran, and India going up and possibly past the Indus River. These conquests were probably done to impress Shapur, and yet Hormizd was still the favorite son. His territory now bordered the indo-scythian kingdom, which was undergoing a renaissance under king Rudrasena II. Relations between the two were cordial, with Rudrasena paying Narses tribute in exchange for peace. Unfortunately, very little is known about the eastern edge of the empire. The Indus River, like it had been for centuries, remained an important conduit of trade roads between India and Persia, with Sasanian irrigation projects promoting its prosperity. Other regions, like Makran and Turan, were less developed, and remained arid, remote deserts. The entire area had dozens of different tribes, which has historically made it difficult to control. Much of the region, especially in the rural areas, was still ruled by the same kings/chieftains, now subject to Narses. Narses was only interested in directly controlling the trade roads. Religiously the entire region was a blend of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism, with the geography making promoting Zoroastrianism especially difficult.
To the north of Narses’s domain was Kushanshah, also known as the Kushano-Sasanian Empire. The once great Kushan Empire, which thrived off trade and supposedly had rulers that lived in luxury, had been conquered by Ardashir only a year after his crowning (in 227 C.E.). However, it took decades for Sasanian control to truly be established. There was considerable debate over how exactly these territories should be governed. On the one hand, provinces like Bactria were rich and powerful, but on the other hand they were far on the kingdom’s edge, away from any centers of power. Ardashir had decided to make one of his sons, also named Ardashir, a vassal king in Merv. The oasis city of Merv was the Persians’ main base of power in this region, functioning as a fortress, trading center, and regional capital. Shapur annexed Merv in 37 (262), along with the rest of the east, but soon he was confronted with the reality that governing the region directly was simply impractical. In 43 (268), he reinstated his brother Ardashir as governor of Bactria and Kush, making him the first Kushanshah of what historians would call the Kushano-Sasanian Empire. He was no mere governor; he had a great deal of autonomy and even minted his own coins. Shapur seems to have understood the potential threat this new vassal kingdom could pose, so he annexed Merv as the empire’s easternmost directly controlled stronghold, the city that would be responsible for keeping the Kushanshah in line.
East of Merv, Bactria was during Kushan times one of the most important centers of Kushan power, and the heartland of the new Kushano-Sasanian kingdom. It was highly urbanized, with extensive and highly complex irrigation networks that made it one of the most fertile regions in the empire. It was the major trade center linking China and Persia and profited immensely from the silk road. Though its zenith had passed with the fall of the Kushan Empire, the Sasanian conquest had only caused it to slightly decline. It was still just as powerful as ever. It’s this wealth that Shapur was interested in controlling directly, before deciding it was more trouble than it was worth. The locals were not particularly rebellious, the war that ended the Kushan Empire had not been the most violent. What posed an issue was that Bactria was a massive center of Buddhism, where the religion was entrenched in their society. Among the growing “heretic” religions, Buddhism was the one they most feared because of its tendency to spread along trade routes, most of which came from Bactria. In addition, the Buddhists loved their religious icons, which didn’t sit well with the iconoclast priesthood.
The Bactrian highlands to the south, while technically considered part of Bactria, were geographically very different. It was always a difficult region, with a harsh climate and independent locals, but it was important for the trade roads that connected Bactria with the Indus. These roads contain the major cities in the region, in specific basins and passes. They could not possibly hope to tax every rural village here, so once again Ardashir stuck to light control over only the important trade roads and cities. In fact, archaeologically there’s no evidence the Sasanians controlled the region at all.
East of Bactria the region of Gandhara was at the very fringes of the empire. It’s likely they were merely vassals/tributaries of Ardashir. In Punjab, the “little Kushans” remained, who were also vassalized. This Kushan rump state was in economic disrepair and forced to debase their currency. The city of Gandhara marked the very edge of Persia’s borders. It was something of a Buddhist “holy land” and center of monasticism. Culturally, this region was something of a land between worlds, with Central Asia, India, China, and Persia all converging here. Gandhara was responsible for spreading Buddhism into each of these regions. Economically, they were located on the only road to China. Despite the decline of the Silk Road, this still made them quite powerful, and they could leverage their position to, once again, strengthen Buddhism. Despite Ardashir being a devout Zoroastrian, he couldn’t ignore how entrenched Buddhism was. To keep his vassals and subjects loyal, he had to tolerate the faith, much to the chagrin of the Persian priesthood.
Shapur I died peacefully in 47 S.E. (272). He was in his 70’s and had ruled for 31 years. At the time of his death, he had a complex legacy. To many Persians, he was the warrior king who created a massive empire and restored prosperity. To radical Zoroastrian clergymen, he promoted heretics and allowed evil to sweep the empire. To the Romans, he was the largest threat they had faced since Hannibal (5). Powerful as Persia had become, immediately after Shapur’s death the cracks began to show. There was the increasingly zealous clergy, who were beginning to convince the nobility to join their crusade. Not even Shapur could ignore them anymore. Then there were the Shahanshah’s brothers Bahram and Narses, both of whom were competent, ruthless, and felt they deserved the throne. It was up to the newly crowned Hormizd I to fill the large shoes his father left behind.
1. Hence why I almost named this TL “The Neo-Achaemenid Empire,” though now I very much prefer the name I did settle on. I’m not very good at naming things.
2. IOTL, they also brought Christianity and helped it spread in Persia. ITTL, the vast majority of captives are from Cappadocia rather than Syria, where Christianity wasn’t as prevalent. That means Christianity has far less of a foothold in Persia proper
3. One of my favorite obscure historical facts is that IOTL this city was populated with captives from Antioch and named “Shapur’s better Antioch.” Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen ITTL.
4. I have to make a correction. Back in chapter 3 I said one of Shapur’s sons, Shapur Mesanshah, might have been killed in battle against Uranius Antoninus in 254. However, he was attested to be alive in 262, so either he was resurrected, or I was wrong. I’m not retconning it, just know that IOTL it was probably some general who got sling-shotted, rather than a prince. Really, I just wanted to give poor prince Shapur an interesting story, since as we’ll see, all three of his brothers have their own role in the next few decades of Sasanid history, whereas he dies before getting to join in on the fun.
5. There will be more to say about Shapur’s legacy that I’m intentionally withholding right now, because a lot of it has to do with political events after his death.
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Compared to OTL, the Sasanian central monarchy is richer and more powerful. Yes, they gave away most of the conquered land, but Shapur still kept the northern half of Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Egypt, which is a significant improvement from OTL. Not to mention how they benefit from Levantine trade and taxes, as we've discussed. So far, though, there haven't been many direct political changes. Most of those will come in the decades after Shapur's death.
But before we explore that, we're first going to turn west and look at the changes in the Roman Empire, and seeing just how much worse things could possibly get.
Shapur I was one of the most successful kings not just in Sasanian history, but in the entire history of Persia. He and his father had led the small territory of Persis to conquering a fractured and collapsing kingdom and turning it into a massive, prosperous empire.
He could never keep himself off his horse for long, and shortly after the Roman war he went on extensive campaigns in the central Asian steppe, possibly up to the Chorasmian Sea (Aral Sea). There he extracted tribute and took more captives. But this was his last war. He and his father had spent practically their entire reign on a horse, conquering and campaigning, but now was the time for consolidation.
What Shapur excelled at the most was propaganda. He carved several inscriptions depicting and describing his own successes in battle. In fact, he carved more than any other Shahanshah, showing not just his propaganda skills but also just how prideful he was, with one inscription dedicated to how far he shot an arrow. He very intentionally portrayed himself as a new Cyrus the Great and his empire as a resurgent Achaemenid Empire (1). Both oral and written accounts of Cyrus’s conquests were promoted during this period. Achaemenid history, which was mostly preserved orally, was so long ago that memory of it had become hazy, making it a blank canvas that Shapur could apply his propaganda to. He portrayed the Parthians as barbarian tyrants, and also tried to erase his own family’s connections to Parthia, going so far as to deliberately omit Sasan, his great-grandfather and the man the empire is now named after, from his own inscriptions because of his Parthian heritage. It’s important to remember that the Sasanians were a new dynasty, still trying to establish legitimacy.
He also promoted cultural unity among Iranians. It was during this time when the distinction between Eran (Iranians) and Aneran (not-Iranians) began to form. Iranians included Armenians and Caucasians, despite those people seeing themselves as distinct, and those within Persia proper. Not-Iranians included Mesopotamian, Roman, and Eastern subjects.
Shapur’s religious policies generated controversy, but to understand that we first need to understand Zoroastrianism. To give an oversimplified summary, Zoroastrianism was a religion centered around the supreme deity Ahura Mazda and the duality between good and evil. These two were locked in a cosmic war, and adherents needed to follow a set of rituals and moral principles to fight evil. The sun and fire were worshipped, and in certain temples sacred fires were constantly kept burning. It was not a unified religion, but a series of split, disorganized traditions. There also was no centralized church. The Great Houses controlled their local churches, and each house had their own dedicated fire temples.
All that changed when Ardashir came to power. He strove to unite the Zoroastrianism under one church and one faith. All fire temples in the empire were extinguished, as Ardashir claimed they hadn’t been founded legitimately. His message was clear: only the Shahanshah controlled the church. By uniting the church and state, Zoroastrianism became one of the main ways he could control his country. He proclaimed his dynasty to be “from the seed of the gods.” He hired Zoroastrian scholars from around the empire, most prominently the high priest Tosar, to create a unified “orthodoxy.” He massively expanded the church and centralized its hierarchy. Ardashir created a single unified religion out of the scattered traditions, he was the founder of Zoroastrianism as we know it. Religion was part of how his dynasty would secure legitimacy.
One of the more troublesome new assertions in orthodox Zoroastrianism was the iconoclasm. The priests believed that gods like Ahura Mazda should not be depicted, and religious imagery should not be worshipped in place of the gods. The only exceptions were the fires in each fire temple.
Ardashir didn’t enforce Zoroastrianism as the state religion. Other religions were tolerated. This had been the norm since the dawn of Iranian history, so it wasn’t considered major at the time to simply continue this policy.
Shapur followed in his father’s footsteps. In fact, he improved them. Not only did his conquests bring money which accelerated the expansion of religion, but he also began funding and sending priests to the levant, growing the religion in former Roman territory. And yet, at the same time he patronized one of the most influential heretics in Iranian history.
The prophet Mani.
Mani was born in Mesopotamia and raised in a Jewish-Christian sect. According to legend, in his early twenties, he received religious visions, and upon trying to explain them to his elders he was banished. From then on, he devoted his life to travelling and spreading his new religion, Manichaeism. He went east, converting the king of Turan, and convincing Peroz, Shapur’s brother, to introduce the prophet to the Shahanshah. Shapur was known for his interest in religious scholarship. Consequently, he took a liking to Mani, and although he himself didn’t convert, he brought Mani into his court and allowed him to proselytize, while also being the king’s medic and astrologist. Mani accompanied Shapur during his Roman campaigns, proselytizing in Syria. He became quite close to the crowned prince Hormizd, who he tutored and discussed theology with. Hormizd grew to admire the prophet. Eventually, Mani asked to leave the court so he could continue to dedicate himself to his religion full-time.
Manichaeism intentionally mixed aspects of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism and “perfected” them. This made it highly adaptive, and able to syncretize in different environments, allowing it to spread far and wide. Like Zoroastrianism, it was dualistic, with a war between the worlds of good/light and evil/darkness. The material world was made of darkness with bits of light imprisoned in it, in fruits, vegetables, juice, water, etc. It was the duty of Manichean monks known as “the elect” to help the light escape the material world by following a strict moral code of asceticism, celibacy, and non-violence (including harvesting plants), which gave them the ability to free this light by eating it. Non-monks, known as “hearers,” followed a less strict moral code, committing sins like picking fruit to care for the Elect.
Some Persian nobles converted, most notably the Iberian king Hamazasp. The favor Mani enjoyed from Shapur made his own priesthood and administration uncomfortable. Mani’s biggest rival at court was an influential high priest named Kartir. Kartir came from humble, obscure origins, and like Mani, he rose to prominence because of his charisma and strong beliefs in Zoroastrianism. Shapur promoted him to high priest because, again like Mani, his religious rhetoric captivated the Shahanshah. He came with Shapur during his Roman campaigns, during which he fought bitterly with Mani, when the two weren’t bickering, Kartir helped renovate Roman Zoroastrian temples and convinced the king not to harm Zoroastrians during sackings, and to free those who had accidently been taken prisoner or converted while imprisoned.
Kartir was not yet as powerful as he would come to be, but he led a growing faction. He, along with several of Shapur’s priests, generals, and administrators, grew concerned over Mani. Why should heretics like him be allowed to lead believers astray? Wasn’t it the Shahanshah’s job to protect the faith? Mani’s heresy, as well as the rise of other religions like Christianity and Buddhism, forced them to reconsider the nature of Zoroastrianism and kingship. According to their Zoroastrian doctrine, heathens were promoting Evil and allowing it to overtake Good. As they became more radical, they began pressuring the Shahanshah to ban heathenry outright.
In 46 (271), only a year before his death, Shapur finally caved. He began persecuting Manichaeans, and banished Mani, forcing him to travel east.
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As described in the last chapter, vassals controlled most Persian territory. To increase their power without angering the magnates, Ardashir and Shapur focused on developing their own land economically. The Sasanian economy was extremely lassaiz-faire, with the Shahanshah only caring about profiting from levies. Because they could only directly profit from their own land, they especially developed trade roads going through their estates. Practically every trade route passed through at least one royal province.
The collapsing Roman Empire meant external trade had declined. Though the silk road still provided luxuries to places like Syria, it wasn’t as lucrative as it had once been. Internal trade, meanwhile, was stronger than it had ever been. Levantine goods were now flowing into Persia, rather than the Mediterranean. Persia already had heavy Hellenic influence, and the levant already had heavy Persian influence, but this new trade dynamic helped the cultures cross-pollinate even more. Like emperor Hadrian, Shapur toured his domains, and ordered the building of dams, bridges, and irrigation to spur productivity. He and Ardashir became known as “the city builders,” as he developed numerous cities in royal domains to encourage economic growth. Several of the cities he made would be powerful trading centers for centuries.
Captives from Central Asia or Rome (especially Cappadocia) became royal slaves and were deported to these cities. Some lived in the cities and built infrastructure, others were given farmland in the suburbs they were tied to. These cities thus had a strict hierarchical class system between the ruling nobility, artisans/traders, and slaves. They built Roman-style architecture, and they retained and even spread their religion and culture (2).
There were three instrumental centers of Sasanian power and bureaucracy, all three of which were regional breadbaskets. First and most importantly was Mesopotamia, which enjoyed heavy development. Dozens of cities were refounded here, chief among them Ctesiphon, the empire’s capital. The agricultural productivity, crucial trade roads, and taxes made Mesopotamia the Shahanshah’s cash cow. Second, controlling the eastern flank, was Persis. Here Bishapur was founded, where former emperor Valerian was kept captive. The once mighty emperor was now in charge of bridge construction and was supposedly used as a footstool. Persis was especially the center of the Zoroastrian clergy. Last, on the eastern flank, was Egypt. Like the rest of the former Roman provinces, the administration of Egypt was kept intact, with only the very top layer being replaced with Persians. Egypt was the center of Persian trade in the Mediterranean, which at this stage was still in its infancy. Prior to its conquest, Egypt had been one of the provinces hit hard by the millennium crisis, with the city of Alexandria especially suffering from plague, riots, economic downturn, and a sacking, and had now lost three fourths of its population. Alexandria was thus renovated and renamed “Piravashapur.” Though this was the city’s “official” name, most Egyptians simply kept calling it Alexandria, and soon it would get a new, unofficial name.
The province of Khuzestan, being the connector between Persis and Mesopotamia, especially enjoyed heavy development. Here, among other cities, Gondeshapur was founded (3), one of Shapur’s largest cities. It had a rich economy based on rice and sugar plantations. In addition, after his conquests, Shapur brought here scholarly texts of all kinds from as far as India to Egypt, and commanded that they be copied and studied, turning Gondeshapur into Iran’s biggest center of scholarship.
Another important province was Parthia, the old homeland of the Parthians, on the empire’s northern frontier. Steppe nomads were a persistent threat to Persia for its entire history, owing partly to the fact that there were zero natural defenses from the steppe. As such, the city of Nishapur was founded, an administrative center and military fortress. It also helped develop trade flowing in from the Kushans and China and had lucrative turquoise mines.
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Shapur had three living sons, Bahram, Hormizd, and Narses (4). Like his own father, Shapur involved his own children heavily in the business of war and politics from a young age. During his wars, he made them generals, and had them compete, promising that he would make the most skilled warrior out of his children his heir. Afterwards, he let them govern the largest, most important provinces in the empire, using them as trustworthy administrators while also training them in governance. As a king, taking this approach successfully trained them to each be competent and skilled. As a father, making them compete bred resentment between the siblings, who saw each other as rivals.
The eldest son was Bahram, born around 5 years before Ardashir’s crowning (220). His mother was a lowborn concubine, making him equivalent to a bastard child. Despite this, Shapur may still have had hopes for the boy, as he had him educated in politics and warfare. However, their relationship still grew strained over time, especially as Shapur started to show favoritism towards his younger brothers. Neither father nor son had much love for each other. Bahram fiercely criticized his father’s policies, especially his promotion of Mani. One, likely apocryphal, Manichean source reports that after receiving visions, Mani warned Shapur that, if he ever became Shah, a pair of shears would cut Persia’s divine wings and plunge it into evil. He was the only son Shapur didn’t grant a dedicated fire temple to. He was made king of Gilan, an isolated province in the Alborz mountains, on the Caspian Sea coast. The Gilani were one of several tribes within Iranian territory who lived in areas too isolated to be fully incorporated into the empire, like the Daylamites. They often served as Sasanian mercenaries. Bahram was assigned a small, isolated, and relatively unimportant region, likely just to give him something to do. He was savvy however, and he bid his time in the shadows, making alliances with nobles disaffected by Shapur’s reign. That is when he wasn’t hunting, a common pastime.
The next son, Hormizd, born in 7 S.E. (232), was the chosen heir. He was his father’s favorite, having demonstrated his military capability in his invasion of Anatolia and having earned the title “the brave.” He was quite ambitious and idolized his father. Shapur made him king of Armenia, which was considered the crowned jewel of the empire, being historically a key strategic province against the Roman Empire, having several important trade roads, and most importantly the source of many skilled cavalry, making it a sizeable portion of the Sasanian royal army. It still had its own unique institutions and governance, making it very different from regular provinces. During the Parthian era, Armenia was divided between feudal lords who squabbled and fought, until the Sasanians arrived to keep the peace. Among the nobles were the relatives of the deposed Arsacid dynasty, many of whom had originally helped the Sasanians invade Armenia. One of the biggest challenges Hormizd faced was religious. Armenia was deeply Zoroastrian, but like everywhere else it had a decentralized series of traditions rather than a formal religion. Many of Armenia’s deep-rooted traditions were now considered heresy, especially idol worship. Idols and icons made up a significant portion of Armenian spiritual and material culture, and the Sasanians would soon find out that forcefully changing Armenian culture was not an easy task. For now, Hormizd focused solely on converting the nobility, while ignoring the rural peasants living in the highlands.
After Anatolia came under Callistus’s rule, Hormizd began raiding Cappadocia annually, arguing that since it had split off from Rome it was it was independent, meaning he technically wasn’t violating the treaty. It wasn’t like the Empire was in a position to respond. He deported even more captives, until the region was thoroughly depopulated. He also relocated Cappadocian Zoroastrians, who were apparently being persecuted under suspicion of cooperating with Persia.
The youngest, Narses, was born in 13 S.E. (238). He was in his twenties and also quite ambitious, and apparently earned a reputation for being pious. He was made governor of Sakastan. With the recent conquest of the Kushan Empire, there was a power vacuum in the east, which Narses filled by conquering and annexing the regions of Turan, Makran, and India going up and possibly past the Indus River. These conquests were probably done to impress Shapur, and yet Hormizd was still the favorite son. His territory now bordered the indo-scythian kingdom, which was undergoing a renaissance under king Rudrasena II. Relations between the two were cordial, with Rudrasena paying Narses tribute in exchange for peace. Unfortunately, very little is known about the eastern edge of the empire. The Indus River, like it had been for centuries, remained an important conduit of trade roads between India and Persia, with Sasanian irrigation projects promoting its prosperity. Other regions, like Makran and Turan, were less developed, and remained arid, remote deserts. The entire area had dozens of different tribes, which has historically made it difficult to control. Much of the region, especially in the rural areas, was still ruled by the same kings/chieftains, now subject to Narses. Narses was only interested in directly controlling the trade roads. Religiously the entire region was a blend of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism, with the geography making promoting Zoroastrianism especially difficult.
To the north of Narses’s domain was Kushanshah, also known as the Kushano-Sasanian Empire. The once great Kushan Empire, which thrived off trade and supposedly had rulers that lived in luxury, had been conquered by Ardashir only a year after his crowning (in 227 C.E.). However, it took decades for Sasanian control to truly be established. There was considerable debate over how exactly these territories should be governed. On the one hand, provinces like Bactria were rich and powerful, but on the other hand they were far on the kingdom’s edge, away from any centers of power. Ardashir had decided to make one of his sons, also named Ardashir, a vassal king in Merv. The oasis city of Merv was the Persians’ main base of power in this region, functioning as a fortress, trading center, and regional capital. Shapur annexed Merv in 37 (262), along with the rest of the east, but soon he was confronted with the reality that governing the region directly was simply impractical. In 43 (268), he reinstated his brother Ardashir as governor of Bactria and Kush, making him the first Kushanshah of what historians would call the Kushano-Sasanian Empire. He was no mere governor; he had a great deal of autonomy and even minted his own coins. Shapur seems to have understood the potential threat this new vassal kingdom could pose, so he annexed Merv as the empire’s easternmost directly controlled stronghold, the city that would be responsible for keeping the Kushanshah in line.
East of Merv, Bactria was during Kushan times one of the most important centers of Kushan power, and the heartland of the new Kushano-Sasanian kingdom. It was highly urbanized, with extensive and highly complex irrigation networks that made it one of the most fertile regions in the empire. It was the major trade center linking China and Persia and profited immensely from the silk road. Though its zenith had passed with the fall of the Kushan Empire, the Sasanian conquest had only caused it to slightly decline. It was still just as powerful as ever. It’s this wealth that Shapur was interested in controlling directly, before deciding it was more trouble than it was worth. The locals were not particularly rebellious, the war that ended the Kushan Empire had not been the most violent. What posed an issue was that Bactria was a massive center of Buddhism, where the religion was entrenched in their society. Among the growing “heretic” religions, Buddhism was the one they most feared because of its tendency to spread along trade routes, most of which came from Bactria. In addition, the Buddhists loved their religious icons, which didn’t sit well with the iconoclast priesthood.
The Bactrian highlands to the south, while technically considered part of Bactria, were geographically very different. It was always a difficult region, with a harsh climate and independent locals, but it was important for the trade roads that connected Bactria with the Indus. These roads contain the major cities in the region, in specific basins and passes. They could not possibly hope to tax every rural village here, so once again Ardashir stuck to light control over only the important trade roads and cities. In fact, archaeologically there’s no evidence the Sasanians controlled the region at all.
East of Bactria the region of Gandhara was at the very fringes of the empire. It’s likely they were merely vassals/tributaries of Ardashir. In Punjab, the “little Kushans” remained, who were also vassalized. This Kushan rump state was in economic disrepair and forced to debase their currency. The city of Gandhara marked the very edge of Persia’s borders. It was something of a Buddhist “holy land” and center of monasticism. Culturally, this region was something of a land between worlds, with Central Asia, India, China, and Persia all converging here. Gandhara was responsible for spreading Buddhism into each of these regions. Economically, they were located on the only road to China. Despite the decline of the Silk Road, this still made them quite powerful, and they could leverage their position to, once again, strengthen Buddhism. Despite Ardashir being a devout Zoroastrian, he couldn’t ignore how entrenched Buddhism was. To keep his vassals and subjects loyal, he had to tolerate the faith, much to the chagrin of the Persian priesthood.
Shapur I died peacefully in 47 S.E. (272). He was in his 70’s and had ruled for 31 years. At the time of his death, he had a complex legacy. To many Persians, he was the warrior king who created a massive empire and restored prosperity. To radical Zoroastrian clergymen, he promoted heretics and allowed evil to sweep the empire. To the Romans, he was the largest threat they had faced since Hannibal (5). Powerful as Persia had become, immediately after Shapur’s death the cracks began to show. There was the increasingly zealous clergy, who were beginning to convince the nobility to join their crusade. Not even Shapur could ignore them anymore. Then there were the Shahanshah’s brothers Bahram and Narses, both of whom were competent, ruthless, and felt they deserved the throne. It was up to the newly crowned Hormizd I to fill the large shoes his father left behind.
1. Hence why I almost named this TL “The Neo-Achaemenid Empire,” though now I very much prefer the name I did settle on. I’m not very good at naming things.
2. IOTL, they also brought Christianity and helped it spread in Persia. ITTL, the vast majority of captives are from Cappadocia rather than Syria, where Christianity wasn’t as prevalent. That means Christianity has far less of a foothold in Persia proper
3. One of my favorite obscure historical facts is that IOTL this city was populated with captives from Antioch and named “Shapur’s better Antioch.” Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen ITTL.
4. I have to make a correction. Back in chapter 3 I said one of Shapur’s sons, Shapur Mesanshah, might have been killed in battle against Uranius Antoninus in 254. However, he was attested to be alive in 262, so either he was resurrected, or I was wrong. I’m not retconning it, just know that IOTL it was probably some general who got sling-shotted, rather than a prince. Really, I just wanted to give poor prince Shapur an interesting story, since as we’ll see, all three of his brothers have their own role in the next few decades of Sasanid history, whereas he dies before getting to join in on the fun.
5. There will be more to say about Shapur’s legacy that I’m intentionally withholding right now, because a lot of it has to do with political events after his death.
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Compared to OTL, the Sasanian central monarchy is richer and more powerful. Yes, they gave away most of the conquered land, but Shapur still kept the northern half of Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Egypt, which is a significant improvement from OTL. Not to mention how they benefit from Levantine trade and taxes, as we've discussed. So far, though, there haven't been many direct political changes. Most of those will come in the decades after Shapur's death.
But before we explore that, we're first going to turn west and look at the changes in the Roman Empire, and seeing just how much worse things could possibly get.
Another great chapter, hopefully Shapur's heirs can keep the empire stable despite the problems brewing beneath it
This is interesting. With a lot of land lost in the east including the important granary of Egypt, would the Roman Empire even bother to split in two like OTL (if Iran can hold it)?
The WRE/ERE split from our timeline doesn’t make much sense here. There’s all kinds of ways Roman government in the 4th century could go down a different path, but there could potentially be a silver lining in the east being conquered, since it means there’s a lot less territory to administer.
Especially because holding to Western Anatolia plus the rest of the Empire is much more doable and does wonder for the already overextended army and treasury, a smaller Roman Empire actually works better if it doesn't have to constantly keep massive armies in Syria and Egypt in case of a potential war/border raid with Persia, for the moment at least
Based on context and characterization, Narses is giving me the vibe that there's a possibility of détente between him and and his brother by virtue of him being an accomplished conqueror with lots of real estate to work on to the east whereas Bahram will lead the charge with the upset clergy because he has much less to lose and much more to gain. Though Narses being known as devout muddies that possibility.