Home > Shapur II of Persia

When King Hormizd II died, the Persian magnates killed his eldest son, blinded the second, and imprisoned the third (Hormizd, who afterwards escaped to the Romans); the throne was reserved for the unborn child of one of the wives of Hormizd. It is said that Shapur may have been the only king in history to been crowned in utero: the crown was placed upon his mother's belly. This child, named Shapur, was therefore born king; the government was conducted by his mother and the magnates. But when Shapur came of age, he turned out to be one of the greatest monarchs of the dynasty.

Under his reign the collection of the Avesta was completed, heresy and apostasy punished, and the Christians persecuted. This was a reaction against the Christianization of the Roman empire by Constantine.

In 337, just before the death of Constantine, Shapur broke the peace concluded in 297 between Narseh and Diocletian, which had been observed for forty years, and a war of twenty-six years (337-363) began. Shapur attempted with varying success to conquer the great fortresses of Roman MesopotamiaThis is an article about the ancient middle eastern region. For the region in modern times, see Iraq, Syria. See also Mesopotamia, Ohio. Mesopotamia ( Greek: , translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan "the Land between the Rivers" or the Aramaic name Beth-N: Singara , NisibisNisibis (Nusaybin, province Mardin, south-eastern Turkey) is the ancient Mesopotamian city, which Alexander's successors refounded as Antiochia Mygdonia and is mentioned for the first time in Polybius' description of the march of Antiochus against the Mol (which he invested three times in vain), and Amida ( Diarbekr ).

The Roman emperor Constantius IIConstantius II Roman Emperor ( 337 361), was the middle of the three sons of Constantine I the Great and Fausta. He was born in Illyricum and named Caesar or Junior Emperor. When his father died in 337, he led the massacre of his relatives decended from t was always beaten in the field. Nevertheless Shapur made scarcely any progress; the military power of his kingdom was not sufficient for a lasting occupation of the conquered districts. At the same time he was attacked in the east by nomad tribes, among whom the Chionites are named. After a prolonged struggle they were forced to conclude a peace, and their king, Grumbates , accompanied Shapur in the war against the Romans.

In 359Events Battle of Amida: Shapur II of Persia conquers Amida from the Romans. September The Council of Seleucia is held. Births Godgisel, king of the Vandals Gratianus, Roman emperor Stilicho, Roman general Deaths 359., Shapur conquered Amida after a siege of seventy-three days, and he took Singara and some other fortresses in the next year. In 363Events Perisapora is destroyed by Emperor Julian. June 26 Jovian becomes Roman emperor. Nisibis is given to Persia by Jovian. Births Deaths June 26 Julian, Roman emperor (mortally wounded in battle) 363. the emperor JulianFlavius Claudius Julianus ( 331/ 332 June 26, 363), known to Christians as Julian the Apostate was a Roman emperor who ruled from 361 to 363, as well as the son of a half-brother of Constantine I. As a child he witnessed the murder of his family by his un, at the head of a strong army, advanced to CtesiphonCtesiphon was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia and the capital of the Parthian Empire and its successor, the Persian Empire, for more than 600 years. Located approximately 20 miles southeast of the modern city of Baghdad, along the river Tig, but was killed. His successor JovianJovian as an adjective (from Latin Jovis means "related or pertaining to Jupiter" — either the planet or the Roman god. Jovian (c. 332 February 17, 364) was also a soldier elected Roman Emperor by the army on June 26, 363 upon the death of Julian. The lat was defeated and made an ignominious peace, by which the districts on the Tigris and Nisibis were ceded to the Persians, and the Romans promised to interfere no more in Armenia. In the rock-sculptures near the town Shapur in Persis (Stolze, Persepolis, p. 141) the great success is represented; under the hoofs of the king's horse lies the body of an enemy, probably Julian, and a suppliant Roman, the emperor Jovian, asks for peace.

Shapur now invaded Armenia, where he took king Arsaces III , the faithful ally of the Romans, prisoner by treachery and forced him to commit suicide. He then attempted to introduce Zoroastrian orthodoxy into Armenia. However, the Armenian nobles resisted him successfully, secretly supported by the Romans, who sent King Pap, the son of Arsaces III, into Armenia. The war with Rome threatened to break out again, but Valens sacrificed Pap, arranging for his assassination in Tarsus, where he had taken refuge ( 374). Shapur had conducted great hosts of captives from the Roman territory into his dominions, most of whom were settled in Susiana. Here he rebuilt Susa, after having killed the city's rebellious inhabitants, and founded some other towns. He was successful in the east, and the great town Nishapur in Khorasan (eastern Parthia) was founded by him.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica