Sasanian Coins from the Early Sasanian Kingdom |
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The Sasanians revived the Zoroastrian religion,
tried to erase the memory of the Parthian regime, and sought to
reconquer Asia Minor and Egypt. This military threat had much to do
with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Artashir I almost
immediately invaded Roman Mesopotamia, and his son Shapur I expanded
the conflict by invading Syria. In 260 Shapur captured the Roman
Emperor Valerian and his entire army, nearly wrecking the Roman
Empire.
In 276 the Romans regained Armenia and Mesopotamia while the Persians dealt with the Kushan empire. |
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Conflict broke out anew in the reign of Shapur II, and
the Persians had the worst of it despite killing Julian II. The
eastern frontier then became a threat again as the Epthalites took
over the Kushan territories, distracting the Persians from their drive
to regain ancient Persian territory from the Roman Empire.
Sasanian coins (sometimes also spelled Sassanian) retain the denominations and weight standard of their Parthian predecessors, but the drachms are of much larger and thinner module, and the legends are in Pahlavi. |
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Parthian Client Kingdoms |
The Early Sasanian
Kingdom |
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Artashir I 224 - 242 ad |
Hormazd I 270 - 271 ad |
Varhran II 274 - 293 ad |
Narseh 293 - 302 ad |
Shapur II 309 - 379 ad |
Shapur III 383 - 388 ad |
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Shapur I 240 - 270 ad |
Varhran I 271 - 274 ad |
Varhran III 293 ad |
Hormazd II 302 - 309 ad |
Artashir II 379 - 383 ad |
Varhran IV 388 - 399 ad |
MAZDISN BAGI SHAHPURI MALKAN MALKA AIRAN 
