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108-496: Most of the evidence of the language comes from inscriptions within the cities dating between 100 BC and the mid-3rd century AD, coinciding with Shapur I 's destruction of Hatra in 241 AD and Assur in 257 AD. As a result of Hatra being the site with the most attestation, Hatran Aramaic is a more common name. It is attested by inscriptions from various local sites, that were published by Walter Andrae in 1912 and were studied by S. Ronzevalle and P. Jensen. The excavations undertaken by

216-513: A Lur tribe from Iran , primarily inhabiting the Central and South Zagros. Major cities inhabited by Bakhtiaris include Masjed Soleyman , Izeh and Shahr-e Kord . A significant number of Bakhtiari still practice nomadic pastoralism. Kurds are another Iranic group found in the northwestern and the eastern Zagros Taurus mountain ranges , which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria. The high altitude of

324-473: A dyke near Shushtar , called "Caesar's dyke". The victory over Valerian is presented in a mural at Naqsh-e Rustam , where Shapur is represented on horseback wearing royal armour and a crown. Before him kneels a man in Roman dress, asking for grace. The same scene is repeated in other rock-face inscriptions. Christian tradition has Shapur I humiliating Valerian, infamous for his persecution of Christians , by

432-573: A Christian-majority which used Syriac as the language of worship, the language rose to become the new regional lingua franca. Well over 70 important Syriac writers are known from the gold age of Syriac (5th – 9th centuries), stretching from the Levant and the Sinai to the foothills of the Zagros Mountains and Qatar . Combined with the devastation of the cities of Assur and Hatra, Syriac replaced

540-674: A common feature of the Zagros Mountains. Salt domes are an important target for petroleum exploration , as the impermeable salt frequently traps petroleum beneath other rock layers. There is also much water-soluble gypsum in the region. The mountains are completely of sedimentary origin and are made primarily of limestone . In the Elevated Zagros or the Higher Zagros, the Paleozoic rocks can be found mainly in

648-573: A council amongst the magnates. The Eastern provinces of the fledgling Sasanian Empire bordered on the land of the Kushans and the land of the Sakas (roughly today's Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan). The military operations of Shapur's father Ardashir I had led to the local Kushan and Saka kings offering tribute, and satisfied by this show of submission, Ardashir seems to have refrained from occupying their territories. Al-Tabari alleges he rebuilt

756-679: A region in the southwestern Iranian plateau , was the homeland of the southwestern branch of the Iranian peoples , the Persians. It was also the birthplace of the first Iranian Empire, the Achaemenids . The region served as the centre of the empire until its conquest by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great ( r.  336–323 BCE ). Since the end of the 3rd or the beginning of

864-556: A remote place, Bishapur in Khuzistan , where they were settled as a garrison and built a weir with bridge for Shapur. However, the Persian forces were later defeated by the Roman officer Balista and the lord of Palmyra Septimius Odaenathus , who captured the royal harem. Shapur plundered the eastern borders of Syria and returned to Ctesiphon, probably in late 260. In 264 Septimius Odaenathus reached Ctesiphon, but failed to take

972-643: A shorthand form of writing. Some 600 texts are known to exist. The Ashurian alphabet consists of the following letters. Ligatures have been used in certain inscriptions, although it appears to be optional. [REDACTED] Hatran/Ashurian script was added to the Unicode Standard in June, 2015 with the release of version 8.0. The Unicode block for Hatran/Ashurian is U+108E0–U+108FF: Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I ; Middle Persian : 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 , romanized:  Šābuhr )

1080-461: A third-century Roman army. Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains are a long mountain range in Iran , northern Iraq , and southeastern Turkey . The mountain range has a total length of 1,600 km (990 miles). The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of southeastern Turkey and northeastern Iraq. From this border region,

1188-730: A town named Pushang in Khorasan . In all records Shapur calls himself mzdysn ("Mazda-worshipping"). His inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht recounts his wars and religious establishments to the same extent. He believed that he had a responsibility; "For the reason, therefore, that the gods have so made us their instrument (dstkrt), and that by the help of the gods we have sought out for ourselves, and hold, all these nations (štry) for that reason we have also founded, province by province, many Varahrān fires (ʾtwry wlhlʾn), and we have dealt piously with many Magi (mowmard), and we have made great worship of

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1296-572: Is also attested in the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin, 63b) where it rhymes with tarnəgōl , "cock." The Hatran b-yld corresponds to the Syriac bēt yaldā "anniversary". The apocope of the final consonant of the substantive bt in the construct state is not attested in either Old Aramaic or Syriac; it is, however, attested in other dialects such as Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and Jewish Palestinian Aramaic . The distinction between

1404-513: Is also attested under Shapur, who made use of them to demolish the city of Hatra . He may also have used them against Valerian, as attested in the Shahnameh ( The Book of Kings ). Shapur I left other reliefs and rock inscriptions. A relief at Naqsh-e Rajab near Estakhr is accompanied by a Greek translation. Here Shapur I calls himself "the Mazdayasnan (worshipper of Ahuramazda ),

1512-570: Is also found in the story of the mythological Iranian king Kay Khosrow . According to the modern historian Bonner, the story of Shapur's birth and uprising "may conceal a marriage between Ardashir and an Arsacid princess or perhaps merely a noble lady connected with the Parthian aristocracy." On his inscriptions, Shapur identifies his mother as a certain Murrod . Shapur I was a son of Ardashir I and his wife Murrod or Denag . The background of

1620-701: Is also home to populations of Assyrians , Turkic peoples and Farsi speaking Iranians . The mountains contain several ecosystems . Prominent among them are the forest and forest steppe areas with a semi-arid climate . As defined by the World Wildlife Fund and used in their Wildfinder, the particular terrestrial ecoregion of the mid to high mountain area is Zagros Mountains forest steppe (PA0446). The annual precipitation ranges from 400–800 mm (16–31 in) and falls mostly in winter and spring. Winters are severe, with low temperatures often below −25 °C (−13 °F). The region exemplifies

1728-567: Is still active and the resulting deformation is distributed non-uniformly in the country, mainly taken up in the major mountain belts like Alborz and Zagros. A relatively dense GPS network which covered the Iranian Zagros also proves a high rate of deformation within the Zagros. The GPS results show that the current rate of shortening in the southeast Zagros is ~10 mm/a (0.39 in/year), dropping to ~5 mm/a (0.20 in/year) in

1836-555: Is transliterated in other languages as; Greek Sapur , Sabour and Sapuris ; Latin Sapores and Sapor ; Arabic Sābur and Šābur ; New Persian Šāpur , Šāhpur , Šahfur . According to the semi-legendary Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan , a Middle Persian biography of Ardashir I , the daughter of the Parthian king Artabanus IV , Zijanak, attempted to poison her husband Ardashir. Discovering her intentions, Ardashir ordered her to be executed. Finding out about her pregnancy,

1944-644: The mobads (priests) were against it. Nevertheless, Ardashir still demanded her execution, which led the mobads to conceal her and her son Shapur for seven years, until the latter was identified by Ardashir, who chooses to adopt him based on his virtuous traits. This type of narrative is repeated in Iranian historiography. According to 5th-century BCE Greek historian Herodotus , the Median king Astyages wanted to have his grandson Cyrus killed because he believed that he would one day overthrow him. A similar narrative

2052-695: The Arabian Plate . This collision mainly happened during the Miocene (about 25–5 mya or million years ago ) and folded the entirety of the rocks that had been deposited from the Paleozoic (541–242 mya) to the Cenozoic (66 mya – present) in the passive continental margin on the Arabian Plate. However, the obduction of Neotethys oceanic crust during the Cretaceous (145–66 mya), and

2160-749: The Babylonian Amoraim , the Talmudic sages from among the important Jewish communities of Mesopotamia . Shapur's campaigns deprived the Roman Empire of resources while restoring and substantially enriching his own treasury, by deporting many Romans from conquered cities to Sasanian provinces like Khuzestan , Asuristan , and Pars . This influx of deported artisans and skilled workers revitalised Iran's domestic commerce. In Bishapur , Shapur died of an illness. His death came in May 270 and he

2268-559: The Bazrangid ruler of Persis, Gochihr , taking Istakhr for himself. Around 208 Vologases VI succeeded his father Vologases V as king of the Arsacid Empire. He ruled as the uncontested king from 208 to 213, but afterwards fell into a dynastic struggle with his brother Artabanus IV , who by 216 was in control of most of the empire, even being acknowledged as the supreme ruler by the Roman Empire. Artabanus IV soon clashed with

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2376-766: The Fars Province have somewhat lower summits, reaching 4,000 metres (13,000 feet). They contain some limestone rocks showing abundant marine fossils. The peaks that are at least 3800 meters high and have a topographic prominence of at least 300 meters: The Zagros Mountains have significant ancient history. They were occupied by early humans since the Lower Paleolithic Period. The earliest human fossils discovered in Zagros belongs to Neanderthals and come from Shanidar Cave , Bisitun Cave , and Wezmeh Cave. The remains of ten Neanderthals , dating from around 65,000–35,000 years ago, have been found in

2484-556: The King of Kings using the Emperor as a footstool to mount his horse, and they claim he later died a miserable death in captivity at the hands of the enemy. However, just as with the above-mentioned Gilaks deported to the East by Shapur, the Persian treatment of prisoners of war was unpleasant but honourable, drafting the captured Romans and their Emperor into their army and deporting them to

2592-837: The Kings of Persis , most likely at the accession of the Arsacid monarch Phraates II ( r.  132–127 BCE ). Unlike the fratarakas , the Kings of Persis used the title of shah ("king"), and laid foundations to a new dynasty, which may be labelled the Darayanids. Under Vologases V ( r.  191–208 ), the Parthian Empire was in decline, due to wars with the Romans , civil wars and regional revolts. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus ( r.  193–211 ) had invaded

2700-562: The Neolithic period . The DNA from this bone fragment shows that it is from a distinct genetic group, which was not known to scientists before. He belongs to the Y-DNA haplogroup G2b, specifically its branch G-Y37100 , and mitochondrial haplogroup J1d6. He had brown eyes, relatively dark skin, and black hair, although Neolithic pre Indo-European Iranians carried reduced pigmentation-associated alleles in several genes and derived alleles at 7 of

2808-689: The Paleogene (66–23 mya) rocks south of the Cretaceous rocks and then the Neogene (23–2.6 mya) rocks south of the Paleogene rocks. The mountains are divided into many parallel sub-ranges (up to 10 or 250 km (6.2 or 155.3 miles) wide), and orogenically have the same age as the Alps . Iran's main oilfields lie in the western central foothills of the Zagros mountain range. The southern ranges of

2916-598: The Parthian Empire , but subsequently destroyed by the Sassanid Empire in 241 AD. Assur also has several inscriptions which came to an end following its destruction by the Sasanians in 257 AD while the rest of the inscriptions are spread sparsely throughout Dura-Europos , Gaddala, Tur Abdin , Tikrit, Sa'adiya and Qabr Abu Naif. Many of the contemporary ruins were destroyed by Islamic State of Iraq and

3024-698: The Roman-Persian Wars . However, in 363 AD the Romans were forced to surrender the city to the Persians and standby as the Christian population was expelled. St Ephrem the Syrian was one of these refugees and ended up settling in Edessa. The city was flourishing with pagans, quite the opposite to his beloved Nisibis which had been a bastion for Syriac-speaking Christians. As Edessa's demographics shifted to

3132-543: The Sinai Peninsula ), Jewish Babylonian Aramaic ( Babylon ), Palmyrene ( Palmyra ) and various Palestinian sub dialects ( Palestine ). Syriac, Mandaic and Christian Palestinian Aramaic also developed their own variants of the original script which is still employed today by Western Neo-Aramaic speakers as well as members of the Jewish nation for Hebrew who refer to it as ‘Ktāḇ Āšūrī’ (Assyrian writing) since it

3240-589: The Sumerian , Akkadian and Assyrian cities of Mesopotamia . The mountains create a geographic barrier between the Mesopotamian Plain, which is in modern Iraq , and the Iranian plateau . A small archive of clay tablets detailing the complex interactions of these groups in the early second millennium BC has been found at Tell Shemshara along the Little Zab . Tell Bazmusian , near Shemshara,

3348-519: The Zagros Mountains mouse-like hamster ( Calomyscus bailwardi ), the Basra reed-warbler ( Acrocephalus griseldis ) and the striped hyena ( Hyena hyena ). The Persian fallow deer ( Dama dama mesopotamica ), an ancient domesticate once thought extinct, was rediscovered in the late 20th century in Khuzestan Province, in the southern Zagros. Also, wild goats can be found almost all over

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3456-516: The continental arc collision in the Eocene (56–34 mya) both had major effects on uplifts in the northeastern parts of the belt. The process of collision continues to the present, and as the Arabian Plate is being pushed against the Eurasian Plate, the Zagros Mountains and the Iranian plateau are getting higher and higher. Recent GPS measurements in Iran have shown that this collision

3564-642: The lingua franca of Iran , Mesopotamia and the Levant . Hatran Aramaic developed through dialectic deviation as well as producing its own script. Various dialects of Aramaic developed around major cities or regions including the sister dialect of Syriac (city of Edessa), Mandaic (region surrounding the head of the Persian Gulf , Nabataean (from the Negev to the east bank of the Jordan River and

3672-500: The pet trade and habitat destruction . Climate change is predicted to strongly impact this species. The entrance to the ancient Mesopotamian underworld was believed to be located in the Zagros Mountains in the far east. A staircase led down to the gates of the underworld. The underworld itself is usually located even deeper below ground than the Abzu , the body of freshwater which the ancient Mesopotamians believed lay deep beneath

3780-550: The 12 loci, showing the strongest signatures of selection in ancient Eurasians. He did not contribute to the genetic makeup of early European farmers or modern Europeans . Instead, he was the most genetically similar to modern Iranian Zoroastrians , followed by Fars , Balochi , Brahui , Kalash and Georgians . Gallego-Llorente et al. (2016) believes that the Zagros Mountain was a plausible source of Eurasian ancestry in Central and South Asia, along with Kotias , which

3888-627: The 2nd century BCE, Pars was ruled by local dynasts subject to the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire . These dynasts held the ancient Persian title of frataraka ("leader, governor, forerunner"), which is also attested in the Achaemenid-era. Later under the frataraka Wadfradad II (fl. 138 BCE) was made a vassal of the Iranian Parthian (Arsacid) Empire . The frataraka were shortly afterwards replaced by

3996-572: The East and annexed most of the land of the Kushans, and appointing his son Narseh as Sakanshah—king of the Sakas—in Sistan . In 242 CE, Shapur conquered khwarezm . Shapur could now proudly proclaim that his empire stretched all the way to Peshawar, and his relief in Rag-i-Bibi in present-day Afghanistan confirms this claim. Shapur I claims in his Naqsh-e Rostam inscription possession of

4104-844: The Eastern territories with POW's from his previous campaign against the Medes of the Mountains. Agathias claims Bahram II (274–293 CE) later campaigned in the land of the Sakas and appointed his brother Hormizd as its king. When Hormizd revolted, the Panegyrici Latini list his forces as the Sacci (Sakas), the Rufii (Cusii/Kushans) and the Geli (Gelans / Gilaks , the inhabitants of Gilan ). Since

4212-413: The Gilaks are obviously out of place among these easterners, and as we know that Shapur I had to fight the Medes of the Mountains first before marching to the land of the Kushans, it is conceivable those Gilaks were the descendants of warriors captured during Shapur I's North-western campaign, forcibly drafted into the Sasanian army, and settled as a hereditary garrison in Merv , Nishapur , or Zrang after

4320-488: The Iraqi Department of Antiquities brought to light more than 100 new texts, the publication of which was undertaken by F. Safar in the journal Sumer . The first four series were the subject of reviews in the journal Syria . The texts range in date from the 2nd or 3rd century BCE to the destruction of the city c. 240 CE; the earliest dated text provides a date of 98 BCE. For the most part, these inscriptions are short commemorative graffiti with minimal text. The longest of

4428-579: The Last Glacial Period they had been glaciated to a depth in excess of 1,900 metres (1.2 miles), and during the Last Glacial Period to a depth in excess of 2,160 metres (7,090 feet). Evidence exists of a 20 km (12 miles) wide glacier fed along a 17 km (11 miles) long valley dropping approximately 1,600 m (5,200 ft) along its length on the north side of Kuh-i-Jupar with a thickness of 350–550 m (1,150–1,800 ft). Under conditions of precipitation comparable to current climatic record-keeping, this size of glacier could be expected to form where

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4536-453: The Levant in early 2015. It was encoded in the Unicode Standard 8.0 with support from UC Berkeley 's Script Encoding Initiative. The script is written from right to left, as is typical of Aramaic scripts and of most abjads. Numerals are also written from right to left (bigger place value on the right), and there are two known punctuation marks as well. Some common ligatures also exist, and they do not appear to be necessary, and are rather just

4644-535: The Nabataean inscriptions. This method usually includes the date of completion of the writing, place, person who commissioned the inscription or statue as well as the scribe's own details on some occasions. Unlike the Neo-Assyrian , Neo-Babylonian and the Syriac scribes of the Sasanian realm, the regal year is not included. Both Assyro-Babylonian and Arabian gods are mentioned in the inscriptions including Ashur , Allat , Bel , Gad ( Tyche ), Nabu , Nasr, ( Apollo ), Shamash and Sin . ܽWhile both cities also attest

4752-468: The Parthian domains in 196, and two years later did the same, this time sacking the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon. At the same time, revolts occurred in Media and Persis. The Iranologist Touraj Daryaee argues that the reign of Vologases V was "the turning point in Parthian history, in that the dynasty lost much of its prestige." The kings of Persis were now unable to depend on their weakened Parthian overlords. Indeed, in 205/6, Pabag rebelled and overthrew

4860-456: The Persians of 500,000 gold denarii. Philip immediately issued coins proclaiming that he had made peace with the Persians ( pax fundata cum Persis ). However, Philip later broke the treaty and seized lost territory. Shapur I commemorated this victory on several rock reliefs in Pars . Shapur I invaded Mesopotamia in 250 but again, serious trouble arose in Khorasan and Shapur I had to march over there and settle its affair. Having settled

4968-432: The Roman emperor Caracalla , whose forces he managed to contain at Nisibis in 217. Peace was made between the two empires the following year, with the Arsacids keeping most of Mesopotamia . However, Artabanus IV still had to deal with his brother Vologases VI, who continued to mint coins and challenge him. The Sasanian family had meanwhile quickly risen to prominence in Pars, and had now under Ardashir begun to conquer

5076-411: The Roman emperor, Valerian . He did not seem interested in permanently occupying the Roman provinces, choosing instead to resort to plundering and pillaging, gaining vast amounts of riches. The captives of Antioch, for example, were allocated to the newly reconstructed city of Gundeshapur , later famous as a center of scholarship. In the 260s, subordinates of Shapur suffered setbacks against Odaenathus ,

5184-400: The SE Zagros is deforming above a layer of rock salt (acting as a ductile decollement with a low basal friction ), whereas in the NW Zagros the salt layer is missing or is very thin. This different basal friction is partly responsible for the different topographies on either side of the Kazerun fault. Higher topography and narrower zone of deformation in the NW Zagros is observed whereas in

5292-459: The SE, deformation was spread more and a wider zone of deformation with lower topography was formed. Stresses induced in the Earth's crust by the collision caused extensive folding of the preexisting layered sedimentary rocks . Subsequent erosion removed softer rocks, such as mudstone (rock formed by consolidated mud) and siltstone (a slightly coarser-grained mudstone) while leaving harder rocks, such as limestone (calcium-rich rock consisting of

5400-532: The Sasanians with "a huge army and great quantity of gold," (according to a Sasanian rock relief) and wintered in Antioch , while Shapur was occupied with subduing Gilan , Khorasan , and Sistan . There the Roman general Timesitheus fought against the Sasanians and won repeated battles, and recaptured Carrhae and Nisibis, and at last routed a Sasanian army at Resaena, forcing the Persians to restore all occupied cities unharmed to their citizens. "We have penetrated as far as Nisibis, and shall even get to Ctesiphon ,"

5508-481: The Shanidar Cave. The cave also contains two later " proto-Neolithic " cemeteries, one of which dates back about 10,600 years and contains 35 individuals. Evidence from later Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic occupations come from Yafteh Cave, Kaldar Cave near Khoramabad , and Warwasi , Malaverd near Kermanshah , Kenacheh Cave in Kurdistan, Boof Cave in Fars and a number of other caves and rock shelters. Signs of early agriculture date back as far as 9000 BC in

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5616-440: The Zagros mountain range. In the late 19th century, the Asiatic lion ( Panthera leo persica ) inhabited the southwestern part of the mountains. It is now extinct in this region. The Luristan newt ( Neurergus kaiseri ) is a salamander endemic to a small section of the central Zagros Mountains in Iran. It lives in highland streams and is primarily aquatic. This newt is considered vulnerable to extinction due to poaching for

5724-428: The Zagros mountains produces a series of choke points and valleys perfect for agriculture and human development. It has also long defended the Kurds in times of war by acting as a natural barrier . Qashqai people are a tribal confederation in Iran mostly of Turkic origin. Significant populations can be found in Central and South Zagros, especially around the city of Shiraz in the Fars province . The Zagros

5832-430: The actions of his future wife al-Nadirah . Shapur also consolidated and expanded the empire of Ardashir I, waged war against the Roman Empire , and seized its cities of Nisibis and Carrhae while he was advancing as far as Roman Syria . Although he was defeated at the Battle of Resaena in 243 by Roman emperor Gordian III ( r.  238–244 ), he was the following year able to win the Battle of Misiche and force

5940-421: The affair in Khorasan he resumed the invasion of Roman territories, and later annihilated a Roman force of 60,000 at the Battle of Barbalissos . He then burned and ravaged the Roman province of Syria and all its dependencies. Shapur I then reconquered Armenia , and incited Anak the Parthian to murder the king of Armenia, Khosrov II . Anak did as Shapur asked, and had Khosrov murdered in 258; yet Anak himself

6048-462: The analytical construction, the definite noun is either in the emphatic state followed by d(y) (e.g. ṣlm’ dy ... "statue of   ...", spr’ dy brmryn’ "the scribe of (the god) Barmarēn") or is marked by the anticipatory pronominal suffix (e.g. qnh dy rꜥ’ "creator of the earth," ꜥl ḥyyhy d ... ’ḥyhy "for the life of his brother," ꜥl zmth dy mn dy ... "against the hair ( Syriac zemtā ) of whomever   ..."). The complement of

6156-418: The ancient city of Zrang in Sakastan (the land of the Sakas , Sistan ), but the only early Sasanian period founding of a new settlement in the East which is certain is the building by Shapur I of Nishapur —"Beautiful (city built) by Shapur"—in Dihistan (former Parthia , apparently lost by the Parthians to the Kushans ). Soon after the death of his father in 241 CE, Shapur felt the need to cut short

6264-454: The annual average temperature was between 10.5 and 11.2 °C (50.9 and 52.2 °F), but since conditions are expected to have been dryer during the period in which this glacier was formed, the temperature must have been lower. Although currently degraded through overgrazing and deforestation , the Zagros region is home to a rich and complex flora. Remnants of the originally widespread oak -dominated woodland can still be found, as can

6372-416: The battle or murdered by the Romans after the defeat. The Romans then chose Philip the Arab as Emperor. Philip was not willing to repeat the mistakes of previous claimants, and was aware that he had to return to Rome to secure his position with the Senate. Philip concluded a peace with Shapur I in 244; he had agreed that Armenia lay within Persia's sphere of influence. He also had to pay an enormous indemnity to

6480-430: The campaign they had started in Roman Syria, and reassert Sasanian authority in the East, perhaps because the Kushan and Saka kings were lax in abiding to their tributary status. However, he first had to fight "The Medes of the Mountains"—as we will see possibly in the mountain range of Gilan on the Caspian coast—and after subjugating them, he appointed his son Bahram (the later Bahram I ) as their king. He then marched to

6588-403: The city. The Colossal Statue of Shapur I , which stands in the Shapur Cave, is one of the most impressive sculptures of the Sasanian Empire . Shapur is mentioned many times in the Talmud , in which he is referred to in Jewish Aramaic as Shabur Malka (שבור מלכא), meaning "King Shapur". He had good relations with the Jewish community and was a friend of Shmuel , one of the most famous of

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6696-402: The conclusion of Shapur's north-eastern campaign, the usual Sasanian practise with prisoners of war. Ardashir I had, towards the end of his reign, renewed the war against the Roman Empire , and Shapur I had conquered the Mesopotamian fortresses Nisibis and Carrhae and had advanced into Syria . In 242, the Romans under the father-in-law of their child-emperor Gordian III set out against

6804-433: The continental variation of the Mediterranean climate pattern, with a snowy winter and mild, rainy spring, followed by a dry summer and autumn. The mountains of the East-Zagros, the Kuh-i-Jupar (4,135 m (13,566 ft)), Kuh-i-Lalezar (4,374 m (14,350 ft)) and Kuh-i-Hezar (4,469 m (14,662 ft)) do not currently have glaciers. Only at Zard Kuh and Dena some glaciers still survive. However, before

6912-459: The counted noun, in the plural, is preceded by a numeral in the construct state, with an inversion of genders, is attested by one inscription: tltt klbn "three dogs." This same construction has been discovered in Nabataean : tltt qysrym "the three Caesars." As in Syriac , the analytical construction of the noun complement is common. The use of the construct state appears to be limited to kinship terms and some adjectives: bryk’ ꜥh’ . In

7020-487: The divine Shapur, King of Kings of the Iranians , and non-Iranians, of divine descent, son of the Mazdayasnan, the divine Ardashir , King of Kings of the Aryans, grandson of the divine king Papak ". Another long inscription at Estakhr mentions the King's exploits in archery in the presence of his nobles. From his titles we learn that Shapur I claimed sovereignty over the whole earth, although in reality his domain extended little farther than that of Ardashir I. Shapur I built

7128-408: The end of the Arsacid era and the start of 427 years of Sasanian rule. The chief secretary of the deceased Arsacid king, Dad-windad , was afterwards executed by Ardashir I. Ardashir celebrated his victory by having two rock reliefs sculptured at the Sasanian royal city of Ardashir-Khwarrah (present-day Firuzabad ) in Pars . The first relief portrays three scenes of personal fighting; starting from

7236-406: The end of the Parthian Empire. Yet, the military was essentially the same as that of the Parthians; the same Parthians nobles who served the Arsacid royal family, now served the Sasanians, forming the majority of the Sasanian army. However, the Sasanians seem to have employed more cataphracts who were equipped with lighter chain-mail armour resembling that of the Romans. Although Iranian society

7344-423: The engraved inscriptions does not have more than 13 lines. It is therefore difficult to identify more than a few features of the Aramaic dialect of Hatra, which shows overall the greatest affinity to Syriac . The stone inscriptions bear witness to an effort to establish a monumental script. This script is little different from that of the Aramaic inscriptions of Assur (possessing the same triangular š , and

7452-419: The enigmatic terms brpdmrk’ and qwtgd/ry’ . The Hatran alphabet is the script used to write Aramaic of Hatra , a dialect that was spoken from approximately 98/97 BC (year 409 of the Seleucid calendar) to 240 AD by early inhabitants of present-day northern Iraq. Many inscriptions of this alphabet could be found at Hatra , an ancient city in northern Iraq built by the Seleucid Empire and also used by

7560-479: The family is obscure; although based in Pars (also known as Persis ), they were not native to the area, and were seemingly originally from the east. The historian Marek Jan Olbrycht has suggested that the family was descended from the Indo-Parthians of Sakastan . Iranologist Khodadad Rezakhani also noted similarities between the early Sasanians and the Indo-Parthians, such as their coinage. Yet, he stated that "evidence might still be too inconclusive." Pars,

7668-506: The foothills of the Zagros mountains, including Sulaymaniyah , Kermanshah , Khorramabad , and Shiraz . The Lurs are an Iranic tribe, primarily inhabiting the Central, Western, and Southern Zagros. Cities inhibited by Lurs include Khorramabad , Borujerd , Malayer , Izeh , Shahr-e Kord , Yasuj . Lurs speak Luri and span across many provinces in Iran including Lorestan , Khuzestan , Chaharmahal and Bakthiari , Ilam , Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad , and Hamedan . The Bakhtiaris are

7776-515: The foothills of the mountains. Some settlements later grew into cities, eventually named Anshan and Susa ; Jarmo is one archaeological site in this area. Some of the earliest evidence of wine production has been discovered in the mountains; both the settlements of Hajji Firuz Tepe and Godin Tepe have given evidence of wine storage dating between 3500 and 5400 BC. A human metatarsal bone fragment from Wezmeh Cave has been analyzed and dated to

7884-558: The gods." According to the Zoroastrian priest Kartir , Shapur treated the Zoroastrians generously, and permitted members of their clergy to follow him on his expeditions against the Romans. According to the historian Prods Oktor Skjærvø , Shapur was a "lukewarm Zoroastrian". During the reign of Shapur, Manichaeism , a new religion founded by the Iranian prophet Mani , flourished. Mani was treated well by Shapur, and in 242,

7992-557: The great town Gundishapur near the old Achaemenid capital Susa , and increased the fertility of the district with a dam and irrigation system—built by Roman prisoners—that redirected part of the Karun River . The barrier is still called Band-e Kaisar , "the mole of the Caesar". He is also responsible for building the city of Bishapur , with the labours of Roman soldiers captured after the defeat of Valerian in 260. Shapur also built

8100-513: The incorporation of new territory into the empire, however what was precisely seen as "non-Iran(ian)" ( aneran ) is not certain. Although this new title was used on his inscriptions, it was almost never used on his coinage . The title first became regularised under Hormizd I. Shapur appears in Harry Sidebottom 's historical fiction novel series as one of the enemies of the series protagonist Marcus Clodius Ballista, career soldier in

8208-457: The king of Palmyra . According to Shapur's inscription at Hajiabad, he still remained active at the court in his later years, participating in archery . He died of illness in Bishapur , most likely in May 270. Shapur was the first Iranian monarch to use the title of "King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians"; beforehand the royal titulary had been "King of Kings of Iranians". He had adopted

8316-600: The known Hatran words are found in Syriac , including words of Akkadian origin, such as ’rdkl’ "architect" ( Syriac ’ardiklā ), and Parthian professional nouns such as pšgryb’ / pzgryb’ "inheritor of the throne" ( Syriac pṣgryb’ ); three new nouns, which appear to denote some religious functions, are presumably of Iranian origin: hdrpṭ’ (which Safar compares with the Zoroastrian Middle Persian hylpt’ hērbed "teacher-priest"), and

8424-763: The language of the locals and remained as a major language until its decline following the Mongol invasions and conquests and rise of the Neo-Aramaic languages . With Hatra enjoying great prosperity during the life of the language, the city has by far the most inscriptions with the city of Assur also containing numerous inscriptions. The rest of the evidence is spread sparsely throughout Dura-Europos, Gaddāla, Tikrit, Qabr Abu Naif, Abrat al-Sagira and Sa'adiya. The surviving corpus which has been published, transliterated and translated consists of commemorative and votive inscriptions, similar to those found in Edessa, Palmyra and among

8532-631: The left, a Persian aristocrat seizing a Parthian soldier; Shapur impaling the Parthian minister Dad-windad with his lance; and Ardashir I ousting Artabanus IV. The second relief, conceivably intended to portray the aftermath of the battle, displays the triumphant Ardashir I being given the badge of kingship over a fire shrine from the Zoroastrian supreme god Ahura Mazda , while Shapur and two other princes are watching from behind. Ardashir considered Shapur "the gentlest, wisest, bravest and ablest of all his children", and nominated him as his successor in

8640-448: The mountain range include: Allium iranicum , Astragalus crenophila , Bellevalia kurdistanica , Cousinia carduchorum , Cousinia odontolepis , Echinops rectangularis , Erysimum boissieri , Iris barnumiae , Ornithogalum iraqense , Scrophularia atroglandulosa , Scorzonera kurdistanica , Tragopogon rechingeri , and Tulipa kurdica . The Zagros are home to many threatened and endangered species, including

8748-598: The neighbouring regions and more far territories, such as Kirman . At first, Ardashir I's activities did not alarm Artabanus IV, until later, when the Arsacid king finally chose to confront him. Shapur, as portrayed in the Sasanian rock reliefs , took part in his father's war with the Arsacids, including the Battle of Hormozdgan . The battle was fought on 28 April 224, with Artabanus IV being defeated and killed, marking

8856-460: The new Roman emperor Philip the Arab ( r.  244–249 ) to sign a favorable peace treaty that was regarded by the Romans as "a most shameful treaty". Shapur later took advantage of the political turmoil within the Roman Empire by undertaking a second expedition against it in 252/3–256, sacking the cities of Antioch and Dura-Europos . In 260, during his third campaign, he defeated and captured

8964-444: The nobility included the powerful Parthian noble families (known as the wuzurgan ) that were centred on the Iranian plateau . They served as the backbone of the Sasanian feudal army and were largely autonomous. The Parthian nobility worked for the Sasanian shah for personal benefit, personal oath, and, conceivably, a common awareness of the "Aryan" (Iranian) kinship they shared with their Persian overlords. Use of war elephants

9072-449: The northwest Zagros. The north–south Kazerun strike-slip fault divides the Zagros into two distinct zones of deformation. The GPS results also show different shortening directions along the belt, normal shortening in the southeast, and oblique shortening in the northwest Zagros. The Zagros mountains were created around the time of the second ice age, which caused the tectonic collision, leading to its uniqueness. The sedimentary cover in

9180-406: The object of the verb is also rendered analytically: ...l’ ldkrhy lnšr qb "do not make mention of N.", mn dy lqrhy lꜥdyn ktb’ "whoever reads this inscription." Likewise, the particle d(y) can have a simple declarative meaning: ...l’ lmr dy dkyr lṭb "(a curse against whomever) does not say, 'may he be well remembered'" which can be compared with l’ lmr dy dkyr . Practically all of

9288-496: The offspring of the officials who served Shapur's father. During the reign of Shapur, a certain Papak served as the commander of the royal guard ( hazarbed ), while Peroz served as the chief of the cavalry ( aspbed ); Vahunam and Shapur served as the director of the clergy; Kirdisro served as viceroy of the empire ( bidaxsh ); Vardbad served as the "chief of services"; Hormizd served as the chief scribe; Naduk served as "the chief of

9396-467: The park-like pistachio / almond steppelands. The ancestors of many familiar foods, including wheat, barley , lentil , almond, walnut , pistachio, apricot , plum , pomegranate and grape can be found growing wild throughout the mountains. Quercus brantii (covering more than 50% of the Zagros forest area) is the most important tree species of the Zagros in Iran. Other floral endemics found within

9504-505: The personal names of affluent citizens, the Hatran rulers with distinctly Parthian names are attested only in Hatra. The dialect of Hatra is no more consistent than that of Palmyra in its use of matres lectiones to indicate the long vowels ō and ī ; the pronominal suffix of the 3rd person plural is written indiscriminately, and in the same inscription one finds hwn and hn ,

9612-492: The prison"; Papak served as the "gate keeper"; Mihrkhwast served as the treasurer; Shapur served as the commander of the army; Arshtat Mihran served as the secretary; Zik served as the "master of ceremonies". Under Shapur, the Iranian military experienced a resurgence after a rather long decline in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, which gave the Romans the opportunity to undertake expeditions into the Near East and Mesopotamia during

9720-525: The prophet joined the Sasanian court, where he tried to convert Shapur by dedicating his only work written in Middle Persian , known as the Shabuhragan . Shapur, however, did not convert to Manichaeism and remained a Zoroastrian. While the titulage of Ardashir was "King of Kings of Iran(ians)", Shapur slightly changed it, adding the phrase "and non-Iran(ians)". The extended title demonstrates

9828-431: The province of Syria to Roman control. The speedy retreat of Shapur's troops caused Valerian to pursue the Persians to Edessa , but they were defeated , and Valerian, along with the Roman army that was left, was captured by Shapur Shapur then advanced into Asia Minor and managed to capture Caesarea , deporting hundred upon thousands of Roman citizens to the Sasanian empire. He used these captive Roman citizens to build

9936-654: The quantifier kwl and kl "all", the relative pronoun dy and d , and the word byš and bš "evil". The following features are attested: A weakening of ‘ayn ; in one inscription, the masculine singular demonstrative adjective is written ‘dyn ( ‘dyn ktb’ "this inscription") which corresponds to Mandaic and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic hādēn . Similar demonstratives, ‘adī and ‘adā , are attested in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. The divine name Nergal , written nrgl , appears in three inscriptions. The pronunciation nergōl

10044-592: The range continues southeast to the waters of the Persian Gulf . It spans the southern parts of the Armenian highlands , and the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau , ending at the Strait of Hormuz . The highest point is Mount Dena , at 4,409 metres (14,465 ft). The Zagros fold and thrust belt was mainly formed by the collision of two tectonic plates , the Eurasian Plate and

10152-418: The remains of marine organisms) and dolomite (rocks similar to limestone containing calcium and magnesium ). This differential erosion formed the linear ridges of the Zagros Mountains. The depositional environment and tectonic history of the rocks were conducive to the formation and trapping of petroleum, and the Zagros region is an important area for oil production. Salt domes and salt glaciers are

10260-767: The territory of the Kushans (Kūšān šahr) as far as "Purushapura" ( Peshawar ), suggesting he controlled Bactria and areas as far as the Hindu-Kush or even south of it: I, the Mazda-worshipping lord, Shapur, king of kings of Iran and An-Iran… (I) am the Master of the Domain of Iran (Ērānšahr) and possess the territory of Persis, Parthian… Hindestan, the Domain of the Kushan up to the limits of Paškabur and up to Kash, Sughd, and Chachestan. He seems to have garrisoned

10368-446: The three states is apparent. As in Syriac , the masculine plural form of the emphatic state has the inflection -ē , written -’ . The confusion of this form with that of the construct state may explain the constructions bn’ šmšbrk "sons of Š." and bn’ ddhwn "their cousins." The absolute state is scarcely used: klbn "dogs" and dkyrn "(that they may be) remembered." The ancient Semitic construction, according to which

10476-401: The title due to the influx of Roman citizens whom he had deported during his campaigns. However, it was first under his son and successor Hormizd I , that the title became regularised. Shapur had new Zoroastrian fire temples constructed, incorporated new elements into the faith from Greek and Indian sources, and conducted an extensive program of rebuilding and refounding of cities. "Shapur"

10584-438: The upper and higher sections of the peaks of the Zagros Mountains, along the Zagros main fault. On both sides of this fault, there are Mesozoic rocks, a combination of Triassic (252–201 mya) and Jurassic (201–145 mya) rocks that are surrounded by Cretaceous rocks on both sides. The Folded Zagros (the mountains south of the Elevated Zagros and almost parallel to the main Zagros fault) is formed mainly of Tertiary rocks, with

10692-728: The use of the same means to avoid confusion between m , s , and q ). The d s and the r s are not distinguished from one another, and it is sometimes difficult not to confuse w and y . Having conquered the Aramean city-states to the west, the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC) adopted Old Aramaic as the official language alongside the Assyrian Akkadian language . With the Achaemenid Empire succeeding them and adopting Old Aramaic, it rose to become

10800-455: The young emperor Gordian III , who had joined his father-in-law Timesitheus, exultantly wrote to the Senate. The Romans later invaded eastern Mesopotamia but faced tough resistance from Shapur I who returned from the East. Timesitheus died under uncertain circumstances and was succeeded by Philip the Arab . The young emperor Gordian III went to the Battle of Misiche and was either killed in

10908-485: Was a popular name in Sasanian Iran , being used by three Sasanian monarchs and other notables of the Sasanian era and its later periods. Derived from Old Iranian *xšayaθiya.puθra ("son of a king"), it must initially have been a title, which became—at least in the late 2nd century CE—a personal name. It appears in the list of Arsacid kings in some Arabic-Persian sources; however, this is anachronistic . Shapur

11016-489: Was greatly militarised and its elite designated themselves as a "warrior nobility" ( arteshtaran ), it still had a significantly smaller population, was more impoverished, and was a less centralised state compared to the Roman Empire. As a result, the Sasanian shahs had access to fewer full-time fighters, and depended on recruits from the nobility instead. Some exceptions were the royal cavalry bodyguard, garrison soldiers, and units recruited from places outside Iran. The bulk of

11124-473: Was inhabited by Caucasus Hunter-Gatherers. He cites archaeological evidence of eastward Neolithic expansions from the Near East. During early ancient times, the Zagros was the home of various Pre Indo-European peoples such as the Hurrians , Guti , Kassites , Elamites , Turukku and Lullubi , (together with Semitic peoples such as Assyrians and Amorites on the western side) who periodically invaded

11232-410: Was occupied between 5000 BCE and 800 CE, although not continuously. The Zagros mountains have been inhabited by different groups of pastoralists and farmers for thousands of years. Current Pastoralist groups such as Lurs , Bakhtiari Lurs , Kurds or Qashqais move from their herds from the east slopes in summer ( Yeylāgh ) to the west slopes in winter ( Gheshlāgh ). Some major cities are located on

11340-607: Was shortly thereafter murdered by Armenian nobles. Shapur then appointed his son Hormizd I as the "Great King of Armenia". With Armenia subjugated, Georgia submitted to the Sasanian Empire and fell under the supervision of a Sasanian official. With Georgia and Armenia under control, the Sasanians' borders on the north were thus secured. During Shapur's invasion of Syria he captured important Roman cities like Antioch . The Emperor Valerian (253–260) marched against him and by 257 Valerian had recovered Antioch and returned

11448-1127: Was succeeded by his son, Hormizd I . Two of his other sons, Bahram I and Narseh , would also become kings of the Sasanian Empire, while another son, Shapur Meshanshah , who died before Shapur, sired children who would hold exalted positions within the empire. Under Shapur, the Sasanian court, including its territories, were much larger than that of his father. Several governors and vassal-kings are mentioned in his inscriptions; Ardashir, governor of Qom ; Varzin, governor of Spahan ; Tiyanik, governor of Hamadan ; Ardashir, governor of Neriz; Narseh, governor of Rind; Friyek, governor of Gundishapur ; Rastak, governor of Veh-Ardashir ; Amazasp III , king of Iberia . Under Shapur several of his relatives and sons served as governor of Sasanian provinces; Bahram , governor of Gilan ; Narseh , governor of Sindh , Sakastan and Turan ; Ardashir, governor of Kirman ; Hormizd-Ardashir , governor of Armenia ; Shapur Meshanshah , governor of Meshan ; Ardashir, governor of Adiabene . Several names of Shapur's officials are carved on his inscription at Naqsh-e Rustam . Many of these were

11556-498: Was the Assyrian monarchs who promulgated it. Hatran Aramaic and Syriac have been heavily influenced by Akkadian, partly due to the proximity to the heartland as well as the native Assyrians having adopted these two dialects. Many commonly-used nouns such as month names were burrowed from Akkadian as well as being influenced phonologically, morphologically and syntactically. The city of Nisibis came under siege several times during

11664-400: Was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran . The precise dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardashir I as co-regent until the death of the latter in 242. During his co-regency, he helped his father with the conquest and destruction of the city of Hatra , whose fall was facilitated, according to Islamic tradition, by

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