Editing Shapur I (section)

=== Army ===
[[File:Shapur I (The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp).png|thumb|upright=0.8|right|Shapur I in the [[Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp]]]]
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 the end of the Parthian Empire.{{sfn|Daryaee|Rezakhani|2017|p=157}} 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.{{sfn|McDonough|2013|p=603}} However, the Sasanians seem to have employed more [[cataphracts]] who were equipped with lighter chain-mail armor resembling that of the Romans.{{sfn|McDonough|2013|p=603}}

Although Iranian society was greatly militarized and its elite designated themselves as a "warrior nobility" (''arteshtaran''), it still had a significantly smaller population, was more impoverished, and was a less centralized state compared to the Roman Empire.{{sfn|McDonough|2013|p=603}} As a result, the Sasanian shahs had access to fewer full-time fighters, and depended on recruits from the nobility instead.{{sfn|McDonough|2013|p=603}} Some exceptions were the royal cavalry bodyguard, garrison soldiers, and units recruited from places outside Iran.{{sfn|McDonough|2013|p=603}} The bulk of the nobility included the powerful Parthian noble families (known as the ''[[wuzurgan]]'') that were centered on the [[Iranian plateau]].{{sfn|McDonough|2013|p=604}} They served as the backbone of the Sasanian [[Feudalism|feudal]] army and were largely autonomous.{{sfn|McDonough|2013|p=604}} 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.{{sfn|McDonough|2013|p=604}}

Use of [[Persian war elephants|war elephants]] is also attested under Shapur, who made use of them to demolish the city of [[Hatra]].{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=46}} He may also have used them against Valerian, as attested in the ''[[Shahnameh]]'' (''The Book of Kings'').{{sfn|Daryaee|2016|p=37}}