Editing Shapur I (section)

== Birth ==
According to the semi-legendary ''[[Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan]]'', a [[Middle Persian]] biography of [[Ardashir I]],{{sfn|Bonner|2020|p=25}} the daughter of the Parthian king [[Artabanus IV of Parthia|Artabanus IV]], Zijanak, attempted to poison her husband Ardashir. Discovering her intentions, Ardashir ordered her to be executed. Finding out about her pregnancy, the ''[[mobad]]s'' (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 chose to adopt him based on his virtuous traits.{{sfn|Stoneman|Erickson|Netton|2012|p=12}} 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 the Great|Cyrus]] killed because he believed that he would one day overthrow him. A similar narrative is also found in the story of the mythological Iranian king [[Kay Khosrow]].{{sfn|Stoneman|Erickson|Netton|2012|p=12}} According to the modern historian Michael Bonner, this story of Shapur's birth "may conceal a marriage between Ardashir and an Arsacid princess or perhaps merely a noble lady connected with the Parthian aristocracy."{{sfn|Bonner|2020|p=49}} According to [[A. Shapur Shahbazi]], this is one of several stories meant to legitimize Sasanian role by connecting Ardashir and his successors with the Parthian nobility.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2002}} In the tale, the birth of Shapur to Zijanak takes place after the overthrow of Artabanus, but [[C. E. Bosworth]] states that Shapur I must have been born "well before" this event (i.e., before 224);{{Sfn|Al-Tabari|1985–2007|loc=v. 5: p. 25, note 86}} the Sasanian [[Rock relief|rock reliefs]] and the history of [[al-Tabari]] indicate that Shapur took part in Ardashir's battles against the Parthians.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2002}} In his inscriptions, Shapur identifies his mother as a certain [[Murrod]].{{sfn|Bonner|2020|p=49}}