32 Facts About Shapur II

Shapur II, known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings of Iran.

Shapur II's reign saw the military resurgence of the country, and the expansion of its territory, which marked the start of the first Sasanian golden era.

Shapur II is thus along with Shapur I, Kavad I and Khosrow I, regarded as one of the most illustrious Sasanian kings.

Shapur II is transliterated in other languages as; Greek Sapur, Sabour and Sapuris; Latin Sapores and Sapor; Arabic Sabur and Sabur; New Persian Sapur, Sahpur, Sahfur.

At the age of 16, Shapur II led an expedition against the Arabs; primarily campaigning against the Iyad tribe in Asoristan and thereafter he crossed the Persian Gulf, reaching al-Khatt, modern Qatif, or present eastern Saudi Arabia.

Shapur II then attacked the Banu Tamim in the Hajar Mountains.

Shapur II reportedly killed a large number of the Arab population and destroyed their water supplies by stopping their wells with sand.

Not only did Shapur II pacify the Arabs of the Persian Gulf, but he pushed many Arab tribes further deep into the Arabian Peninsula.

Shapur II seemingly swore fealty to the Romans, possibly after the incident.

Shapur II had made fruitless attempts to satisfy his brother, even having his wife sent to him, who had originally helped him escape imprisonment.

Shapur II had selected himself as the defender of all the Christians in the world, including those living in the Sasanian realm.

In 337, just before the death of Constantine the Great, Shapur II, provoked by the Roman rulers' backing of Roman Armenia, broke the peace concluded in 297 between emperors Narseh and Diocletian, which had been observed for forty years.

The most renowned was the inconclusive Battle of Singara in which Constantius II was at first successful, capturing the Persian camp, only to be driven out by a surprise night attack after Shapur II had rallied his troops.

Shapur II besieged the city thrice, and was repulsed each time.

Shapur II had to break off the war with the Romans and arrange a hasty truce in order to pay attention to the east.

In 358 Shapur II was ready for his second series of wars against Rome, which met with much more success.

In 359, Shapur II invaded southern Armenia, but was held up by the valiant Roman defence of the fortress of Amida, which finally surrendered in 359 after a seventy-three-day siege in which the Persian army suffered great losses.

The delay forced Shapur II to halt operations for the winter.

In 363 the Emperor Julian, at the head of a strong army, advanced to Shapur's capital city of Ctesiphon and defeated a presumably larger Sassanian force at the Battle of Ctesiphon; however, he was unable to take the fortified city, or engage with the main Persian army under Shapur II that was approaching.

Under this agreement Shapur II assumed control over Armenia and took its King Arsaces II, the faithful ally of the Romans, as prisoner, and held him in the Castle of Oblivion.

In Georgia, then known as Iberia, where the Sasanians were given control, Shapur II installed Aspacures II of Iberia in the east; however, in western Georgia, Valens succeeded in setting up his own king, Sauromaces II of Iberia.

Shapur II had conducted great hosts of captives from the Roman territory into his dominions, most of whom were settled in Elam.

Ammianus Marcellinus reports that in 356 CE, Shapur II was taking his winter quarters on his eastern borders, "repelling the hostilities of the bordering tribes" of the Chionites and the Euseni, finally making a treaty of alliance with the Chionites and the Gelani in 358 CE.

Shapur II is regarded as one of the most important Sassanian kings along with Shapur I and Khosrow I, and could after a long period of instability regain the old strength of the Empire.

Shapur II started seeing them as agents of a foreign enemy.

Shapur II started pressuring Shemon and his clergy to convert to Zoroastrianism, which they refused to do.

Shapur II was the last Sasanian king to claim lineage from the gods.

Under Shapur II, coins were minted in copper, silver and gold a great amount of the copper coins were made on Roman planchet, which is most likely from the riches that the Sasanians took from the Romans.

Besides the construction of the war-i tazigan near al-Hira, Shapur II is known to have created several other cities.

Shapur II created a royal city called Eranshahr-Shapur, where he settled Roman prisoners of war.

Shapur II rebuilt and repopulated Nisibis in 363 with people from Istakhr and Spahan.

Shapur II rebuilt Susa after having destroyed it when suppressing a revolt, renaming it Eran-Khwarrah-Shapur.