Editing Shapur II

{{Short description|Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire from 309 to 379}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Shapur II<br/>{{lang|pal|𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩}}
| title        = [[King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians]]
| image        = Bust of Shapur II the Great in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg
| caption      = Bust of Shapur II
| succession   = [[List of monarchs of the Sasanian Empire|Shahanshah]] of the [[Sasanian Empire]]
| reign        = 309 – 379
| predecessor  = [[Adur Narseh]]
| successor    = [[Ardashir II]]
| regent       = [[Ifra Hormizd]] (309{{nbnd}}325)
| queen        = 
| issue        = [[Shapur III]]<br/>[[Zruanduxt|Zurvandukht]]
| royal house  = [[House of Sasan]]
| father       = [[Hormizd II]]
| mother       = [[Ifra Hormizd]]
| birth_date   = 309
| birth_place  = 
| death_date   = 379 (aged 70)
| death_place  = 
| religion     = [[Zoroastrianism]]<br/>{{small|(possibly [[Zurvanism]])}}
}}

'''Shapur II''' ({{langx|pal|𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩}} {{Transliteration|pal|Šābuhr}}, 309–379), also known as '''Shapur the Great''', was the tenth [[King of Kings]] ([[List of monarchs of the Sasanian Empire|Shahanshah]]) of [[Sasanian Iran]]. He took the title at birth and held it until his death at age 70, making him the [[List of longest-reigning monarchs|longest-reigning monarch]] in [[History of Iran|Iranian history]]. He was the son of [[Hormizd II]] ({{Reign|302|309}}).

His reign saw the military resurgence of the country and the expansion of its territory, which marked the start of the first Sasanian golden era. Thus, along with [[Shapur I]], [[Kavad I]] and [[Khosrow I]], he is regarded as one of the most illustrious Sasanian kings. His three direct successors, on the other hand, were less successful. At the age of 16, he launched enormously successful military campaigns against [[Arab]] insurrections and tribes.

Shapur II pursued a harsh religious policy.{{Citation needed|reason=Your explanation here|date=March 2025}} Under his reign, the collection of the [[Avesta]], the sacred texts of [[Zoroastrianism]], was completed, [[heresy]] and [[apostasy]] were punished, and Christians were persecuted. The latter was a reaction against the [[Christianization of the Roman Empire]] by [[Constantine the Great]]. Shapur II, like Shapur I, was amicable towards [[Jews]], who lived in relative freedom and gained many advantages in his period (''see also [[Rava (amora)|Rava]]''). At the time of Shapur's death, the Sasanian Empire was stronger than ever, with its enemies to the east pacified and [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]] under Sasanian control.

== Etymology ==
''Shapur'' was a popular name in [[Sasanian Iran]], being used by three Sasanian monarchs and other notables of the Sasanian era. Derived from [[Iranian languages|Old Iranian]] *{{Lang|ira-Latn|xšayaθiya.puθra}} 'son of a king', it must initially have been a title, which became—at least in the late 2nd century AD—a personal name.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2002}} It appears in the list of [[Parthian Empire|Arsacid]] kings in some Arabic-Persian sources; however, this is [[anachronistic]].{{sfn|Shahbazi|2002}} Shapur is rendered variously in other languages: [[Greek language|Greek]] ''Sapur'', ''Sabour'' and ''Sapuris''; [[Latin]] ''Sapores'' and ''Sapor''; [[Arabic]] ''Sābur'' and ''Šābur''; [[New Persian]] ''Šāpur'', ''Šāhpur'', ''Šahfur''.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2002}}

== Accession ==
[[File:"The Coronation of the Infant Shapur II" cropped.jpg|thumb|"The Coronation of the Infant Shapur II", from the [[Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp|''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp]], {{Circa|1525–1530}}]]
When [[Hormizd II]] died in 309, he was succeeded by his son [[Adur Narseh]], who, after a brief reign which lasted few months, was killed by some of the nobles of the empire.{{sfn|Tafazzoli|1983|p=477}} They then blinded Hormizd's second son,{{sfn|Al-Tabari|1991|p=50}} and imprisoned the third ([[Hormizd (son of Hormizd II)|Hormizd]], who afterwards escaped to the [[Roman Empire]]).{{sfn|Shahbazi|2004|pp=461-462}} The throne was reserved for another one of Hormizd II's children, Shapur II; some sources say that Shapur was born forty days after his father's death while others say that he was infant at the time.{{Sfn|Al-Tabari|1991|p=50, note 144}} A legend exists that Shapur was crowned while still unborn, with the crown being placed upon his pregnant mother's womb. This story was known to Western historians such as [[Agathias]] (6th century),{{Sfn|Al-Tabari|1991|p=50, note 144}} who writes that the [[magi]] had prophesied that the child would be a boy.{{Sfn|Agathias|1975|pp=127–128 (Book 4, Chapter 25)}} Modern historians [[C. E. Bosworth]]{{Sfn|Al-Tabari|1991|p=50, note 146}} and [[Alireza Shapour Shahbazi]] consider this story to be fictional.{{Sfn|Shahbazi|2005}} The sex of the infant could not have been known before Shapur's birth, writes Bosworth. The crowning of the infant Shapur after the elimination of his older brothers was a means for the nobility and priesthood to gain greater control of the empire.{{Sfn|Al-Tabari|1991|p=50, note 146}} They maintained their control until 325, when Shapur reached maturity at the age of sixteen.{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=16}}

==War with the Arabs (325)==
{{main|Shapur II's Arab campaign}}
[[File:Nakhal Fort 1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Nakhal Fort]] and the [[Hajar Mountains]]]]

During the childhood of Shapur II, [[Arabs|Arab nomads]] raided the Sasanian homeland of [[Pars (Sasanian province)|Pars]], particularly the district of [[Ardashir-Khwarrah]] and the shore of the [[Persian Gulf]].{{sfn|Daryaee|2009}} At the age of 16, Shapur II led an expedition against the Arabs; primarily campaigning against the [[Iyad (tribe)|Iyad]] tribe in [[Asoristan]] and thereafter he crossed the Persian Gulf, reaching al-Khatt, modern [[Qatif]], or present eastern Saudi Arabia. He 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.{{sfn|Frye|1983|p=136}}

After having dealt with the Arabs of eastern Arabia, he continued his expedition into western Arabia and [[Syria]], where he attacked several cities—he even went as far as [[Medina]].{{sfn|Potts|2012}} Supposedly because of his cruel way of dealing with the Arabs, piercing the shoulders of captives, he was called ''Dhu'l-Aktaf'' ("the man with the shoulders") by them.{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=16}}{{sfn|Daryaee|2009}}{{efn|The [[Middle Persian]] rendering of that would be ''Šānag āhanj.''{{sfn|Daryaee|2009}}}} However, [[Theodor Nöldeke]] considered this a later folkloric explanation of an honorary epithet meaning "the man with the broad shoulders", i.e., capable of bearing the weight of kingship.{{sfn|Al-Tabari|1991|p=49, note 143}} Not only did Shapur II pacify the Arabs of the Persian Gulf, but he also pushed many Arab tribes further deep into the Arabian Peninsula. Furthermore, he also deported some Arab tribes by force; the [[Taghlib]] to [[Eastern Arabia|Bahrain]] and [[Khatt|al-Khatt]]; the [[Abd al-Qays|Banu Abdul Qays]] and [[Banu Tamim]] to Hajar; the [[Banu Bakr]] to [[Kirman (Sasanian province)|Kirman]], and the Banu Hanzalah to a place near [[Ahvaz|Hormizd-Ardashir]].{{sfn|Daryaee|2009}} Shapur II, in order to prevent the Arabs from making more raids into his country, ordered the construction of a wall near [[al-Hira]], which became known as {{lang|pal-Latn|war-i tāzigān}} ("[[wall of the Arabs]]").{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=17}}

The [[Zoroastrian]] scripture ''[[Bundahishn]]'' also mentions the Arabian campaign of Shapur II:
{{blockquote|During the rulership of Shapur (II), the son of Hormizd, the Arabs came; they took Khorig Rudbar; for many years with contempt (they) rushed until Shapur came to rulership; he destroyed the Arabs and took the land and destroyed many Arab rulers and pulled out many number of shoulders.{{sfn|Daryaee|2009}}}}

With Eastern Arabia more firmly under Sasanian control, and with the establishment of Sasanian garrison troops, the way for Zoroastrianism was opened. [[Pre-Islamic Arabia]]n poets often makes mention of Zoroastrian practices, which they must have made contact with either in Asoristan or Eastern Arabia.{{sfn|Bosworth|1983|p=603}} The [[Lakhmid]] ruler [[Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr]], who was originally a vassal of the Sasanians, may have suffered from Shapur II's raids in Peninsula.{{sfn|Shayegan|2004|p=112}} He seemingly swore fealty to the Romans, possibly after the incident.{{sfn|Shayegan|2004|p=112}}

In the accounts of the historians regarding Shapur's campaign against the Arab lands, as well as his mistreatment of the Arabs, the burning of cities, and the flooding of water sources, there are undoubtedly significant exaggerations. These embellishments stem from Persian sources that have been greatly overstated. However, the Roman historians' narratives about this event do not support this claim.<ref>{{cite book |last= Ali |first= Jawad |title= Al-Mufassal fi Tarikh al-‘Arab Qabl al-Islam |volume= 4 |page= 484 |publisher= Dar al-Talib |location= Beirut |year= 2007 |url=https://archive.org/details/mofassal06/Mofassal04/page/n483/mode/1up |access-date= 2025-03-12}}</ref>

== War with the Romans ==

=== Objectives ===
Ever since the "humiliating" [[Peace of Nisibis (299)|Peace of Nisibis]] concluded between Shapur's grandfather [[Narseh]] and the Roman emperor [[Diocletian]] in 298, the borders between the two empires had changed largely in favor of the Romans, who in the treaty received a handful of provinces in [[Mesopotamia]], changing the border from the [[Euphrates]] to the [[Tigris]], close to the Sasanian capital of [[Ctesiphon]].{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=275}}{{sfn|Shahbazi|2004|pp=464-465}} The Romans also received control over the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity)|Iberia]] and [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]], and gained control over parts of upper [[Media (region)|Media]] in Iran proper.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=275}} Shapur's primary objective was thus to nullify the treaty, which he spent much of his reign trying to accomplish.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=275}}

Another cause for Shapur's wars against the Romans was their attempts to meddle in the domestic affairs of the Sasanian Empire and hurt Shapur's kingship by supporting his brother [[Hormizd (son of Hormizd II)|Hormizd]], who had been well received at the Roman court by [[Constantine the Great]] and made a cavalry commander.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2004|pp=461-462}}{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=275}} Shapur had made fruitless attempts to satisfy his brother, even having his wife sent to him, who had originally helped him escape imprisonment.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2004|pp=461-462}} However, Hormizd had already become an avid [[philhellene]] during his stay with the Romans, with whom he felt at home.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2004|pp=461-462}} Another reason was Constantine's declaration of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire in 337. He had also declared himself the defender of all the Christians in the world, including those living in the Sasanian realm.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=275}}

=== Early campaigns and first war against the Romans ===
{{main|Perso-Roman wars of 337–361}}

[[File:British Museum Shapur II Plate.jpg|thumb|right|Gilded silver plate showing a king (identified as Shapur II) hunting a deer whilst riding a stag, in the [[British Museum]]]]
In 337, after the accession of [[Constantius II]] to the Roman throne, Shapur II, provoked by the Roman rulers' backing of Armenia{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=17}} and the Armenian kingdom's earlier [[Christianization of Armenia|conversion to Christianity]],{{Sfn|Daryaee|2009}}{{Efn|Lee E. Patterson writes, "That Armenia should officially become Christian 
was troubling mainly because such a transformation aligned it with 
the Romans even more than before."{{Sfn|Patterson|2017|p=191}}}} broke the peace concluded in 298 between [[Narseh]] (293–302) and [[Diocletian]] (284–305), which had been observed for forty years. Most of the fighting during this campaign occurred in Roman Mesopotamia, where Roman fortifications impeded the Persian advance.{{Sfn|Frye|1983|pp=130–131, 137}} Nevertheless, Shapur was able to take some forts, such as Vitra.{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=17}} Persian forces also devastated Armenia and captured and blinded the Armenian king [[Tiran of Armenia|Tiran]], perhaps in 350. Shapur besieged the Roman fortress city of [[Nusaybin|Nisibis]] in Mesopotamia thrice (in 338, 346, and 350) and was repulsed each time.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|pp=85–86}} During this campaign, the sole engagement between the sides' main armies was the [[Battle of Singara (344)|Battle of Singara]] (modern-day [[Sinjar]], Iraq) in 344, where Persian forces feinted a retreat and inflicted significant losses on the Roman army.{{Sfn|Potter|2004|pp=468, 690, note 140}}{{Efn|The date of the battle is disputed, and some scholars have suggested that there were actually two battles of Singara. See the references in {{harvnb|Potter|2004|p=690, note 140}} and {{harvnb|Dodgeon|Lieu|2005|pp=329–330}}. According to Potter, K. Mosig-Walburg conclusively demonstrated that there was one battle in 344 in the article "Zur Schlacht bei Singara," ''Historia'' 48 (1999): 330–84.{{Sfn|Potter|2004|p=690, note 140}}}} Neither side managed to achieve a decisive advantage, and an invasion of Central Asian nomads in the east forced Shapur to abandon his campaign against Rome by 350.{{Sfn|Daryaee|2009}} These nomads were likely the [[Kidarites]], who were threatening the [[Gupta Empire]] (320–500 CE) in India at the same time.{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=17}} After an extended campaign against the nomads, Shapur forced their king, [[Grumbates]], into an alliance,{{Sfn|Meyer|1911}} thus gaining a new ally against the Romans.{{Sfn|Daryaee|2009}} In particular, Grumbates's forces joined the Persians in the [[Siege of Amida (359)|Siege of Amida]] in 359.{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=18}}

=== Second war against the Romans and invasion of Armenia ===
[[File:Julian's campaign-en.svg|thumb|left|upright=1.5|Map showing Julian's journey from [[Constantinople]] to [[Antioch]] (in 362) and his Persian expedition (in 363), ending with his death near [[Samarra]]]]

In 356, Shapur rejected a peace overture by Constantius, replying that Rome should return Armenia and other territories lost by Persia in the Treaty of Nisibis.{{Sfn|Patterson|2017|p=191}} In 359, Shapur II invaded southern Armenia and besieged the fortress of [[Amida (Mesopotamia)|Amida]] (now [[Diyarbakır]], Turkey). He was joined by King Grumbates's forces{{Sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=18}} and other allies.{{Sfn|Rezakhani|2017|pp=90–91}}{{Efn|These were the Caucasian Albanians, Gelani, Mardians and Segestani.{{Sfn|Rezakhani|2017|pp=90-91}}}} Amida surrendered after a seventy-three-day siege.{{Sfn|Meyer|1911}} The city was plundered and its inhabitants were deported to Khuzistan.{{Sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=18}} The delay forced Shapur to halt operations for the winter. Early the following spring he continued his operations against the Roman fortresses, capturing [[Singara]] and [[Shapur II's siege of Bezabde|Bezabde]] ([[Cizre]]?), again at a heavy cost. In the next year [[Constantius II]] launched a counterattack, having spent the winter making massive preparations in [[Constantinople]]; Shapur, who had meanwhile lost the aid of his Asianic allies, avoided battle, but left strong garrisons in all the fortresses which he had captured. Constantius laid siege to Bezabde, but proved incapable of taking it, and retired on the approach of winter to [[Antioch]], where he died soon after.
Constantius was succeeded by his cousin [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] (361–363), who came to the throne determined to avenge the recent Roman reverses in the east. Though Shapur attempted an honorable reconciliation, warned of the capabilities which Julian had displayed in wars against the [[Alemanni]] in [[Gaul]], the emperor dismissed negotiation.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[File:Taq-e Bostan - High-relief of Ardeshir II investiture.jpg|thumb|Sasanian relief of the investiture of [[Ardashir II]] showing [[Mithra]], Shapur II, and [[Ahura Mazda]] above a defeated Julian, lying prostrate]]

In 363 Julian, at the head of a strong army, advanced to Shapur's capital city of [[Ctesiphon]] and defeated a presumably larger Sasanian force at the [[Battle of Ctesiphon (363)|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. Julian was killed by the enemy in a skirmish during his retreat back to Roman territory. His successor [[Jovian (emperor)|Jovian]] (363–364) made an ignominious peace in which the districts beyond the [[Tigris]] which had been acquired in 298 were given to the Persians along with Nisibis and Singara, and the Romans promised to interfere no more in Armenia.{{sfn|Daryaee|2009}} The great success is represented in the rock sculptures near the town [[Bishapur]] in Pars (Stolze, ''Persepolis'', p. 141); under the hooves of the king's horse lies the body of an enemy, probably Julian, and a supplicant Roman, the Emperor Jovian, asks for peace.

According to the peace treaty between Shapur and Jovian, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and Armenia were to be ceded to the Sasanians, and the Romans forbidden from further involvement in the affairs of Armenia.{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=19}} The Armenian King [[Arshak II]], who had joined Julian's campaign, was lured to Persia and imprisoned in the [[Castle of Oblivion]]{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=90}} (Armenian: {{lang|xcl-Latn|berd An(y)ush}}) in [[Khuzistan (Sasanian province)|Khuzistan]].{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1989|p=443}}{{Efn|Supposedly, Arshak then committed suicide during a visit by his eunuch Drastamat,{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=19}} although the Roman historian [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] (4th century) reports that Arshak was blinded and executed.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1989|p=443}}}} Shapur destroyed many towns in Armenia and deported their inhabitants to Persia.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=90}} He persecuted the local Christians, erected [[fire temple]]s and forced conversion to [[Zoroastrianism]].{{Sfn|Lenski|2002|p=172}} The Persians were assisted in Armenia by the magnates [[Meruzhan Artsruni]] and Vahan Mamikonian, who were made governors of the country and one of whom was given Shapur's own sister in marriage.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|p=90}}{{Efn|Shapur's sister, who is called Ormizdukht in the old Armenian histories, was given to Vahan according to the ''[[Buzandaran Patmutʻiwnkʻ]]'' and to Meruzhan according to [[Movses Khorenatsi]].{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1989|p=397}}}} However, the Armenian nobles resisted him successfully, secretly supported by the Romans, who sent King [[Pap of Armenia|Pap]], the son of Arshak II, into Armenia. Shapur personally invaded Armenia in response to Pap's return, although Pap was restored to the Armenian throne again with the help of a Roman army in approximately spring 370.{{Sfn|Lenski|2002|p=173}}{{Sfn|Drijvers|2016|p=580}} Persian forces were defeated by a joint Roman-Armenian army in 371,{{Sfn|Lenski|2002|p=175}} and an army led by Shapur himself was defeated in another battle on the eastern border of Armenia.{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1997|pp=90–91}} Eventually, Pap was suspected of colluding with the Persians and was assassinated in 375 by the order of the Roman emperor [[Valens]].{{Sfn|Lenski|2002|p=|pp=175–181}} Shapur and Valens negotiated inconclusively over the status of Armenia until 377, and Valens's defeat and death at the [[Battle of Adrianople]] in 378 ended Roman presence in Armenia. Armenia was left in peace for the time being. The country was later partitioned between Rome and Persia in 387, under Shapur's son [[Shapur III]].{{Sfn|Drijvers|2016|pp=582–583}}

In Georgia, then known as [[Kingdom of Iberia|Iberia]], where the Sasanians were also given control, Shapur II installed [[Aspacures II of Iberia]] in the east; however, in western Georgia, Valens also succeeded in setting up his own king, [[Sauromaces II of Iberia]].{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=19}}

Shapur II had conducted great hosts of captives from the Roman territory into his dominions, most of whom were settled in [[Elam]]. Here he rebuilt [[Susa]]—after having killed the city's rebellious inhabitants.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

==War in the East==
===Expansion into India (c. 350–358 CE)===
====Gandhara and Punjab====
{{see also|Hind (Sasanian province)}}
In the east around 350 CE, Shapur II gained the upper hand against the [[Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom]] and took control of large territories in areas now known as [[Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]], possibly as a consequence of the destruction of the Kushano-Sasanians by the [[Chionites]].{{sfn|Rezakhani|2017|p=85}} The Kushano-Sasanian still ruled in the north. Important finds of Sasanian coinage beyond the [[Indus river]] in the city of [[Taxila]] only start with the reigns of Shapur II ({{Reign|309|379}}) and [[Shapur III]] ({{Reign|383|388}}), suggesting that the expansion of Sasanian control beyond the Indus was the result of the wars of Shapur II "with the [[Kidarites|Chionites]] and [[Kushan Empire|Kushans]]" from 350 to 358 CE as described by [[Ammianus Marcellinus]].{{sfn|Ghosh|1965|pp=790-791}} During the last phase of the reign of Shapur II, a Sasanian mint was established south of the [[Hindu Kush]], the role of which was probably to pay local troops.<ref name="MA7">{{cite book |last1=Alram |first1=Michael |chapter=The numismatic legacy of the Sasanians in the East |title=Sasanian Iran in the Context of Late Antiquity |series=The Bahari Lecture Series at the University of Oxford |date=1 February 2021 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-46066-9 |page=7 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H5AcEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA7}}</ref> The Sasanians probably maintained control until [[Bactria]] fell to the [[Kidarites]] under their ruler [[Kidara]] around 360 CE,<ref name="Hyun">The Huns, Hyun Jin Kim, Routledge, 2015 [https://books.google.com/books?id=mcf4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT50 p.50 sq]</ref> and [[Kabulistan]] fell to the [[Alchon Huns]] circa 385 CE.{{sfn|Ghosh|1965|pp=790-791}}<ref name="MA7"/>

====Sindh====
{{see also|Sasanian coinage of Sindh}}
[[File:Shapurii.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Shapur II [[Sasanian coinage of Sindh|coinage of Sindh]]. Such coins were minted in [[Sind]], [[Baluchistan]] and [[Kutch]] in [[India]], as well as coins of his successors down to [[Peroz I]], although the Sasanians probably did not rule there directly.]]
In the area of [[Sindh]], from [[Multan]] to the mouth of the [[Indus river]], an important series of gold coins started to be issued on the model of the coinage of Shapur II, and would continue down to [[Peroz I]].{{sfn|Senior|1991|pp=3-4}}{{sfn|Schindel|2016|pp=127-128}} The coins are not the usual Sasanian imperial type, and the legend around the portrait tends to be degraded [[Middle Persian]] in the [[Pahlavi script]], but they have the [[Brahmi script]] character ''[[Sri]]'' [[File:Gupta_allahabad_shrii.jpg|14px]] (meaning "Lord") in front of the portrait of the King.{{sfn|Schindel|2016|pp=127-128}} The coins suggest some sort of Sasanian control of Sind from the time of Shapur II, and a recognition of Sasanian overlordship,{{sfn|Schindel|2016|pp=127-128}} but the precise extent of the Sasanian presence or influence is unknown.{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=137}}

===Loss of Bactria to nomadic invaders (c. 360 CE)===
Confrontations with nomadic tribes from Central Asia soon started to occur. [[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 ("Euseni" is usually amended to "Cuseni", meaning the [[Kushans]]),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scheers |first1=Simone |last2=Quaegebeur |first2=Jan |title=Studia Paulo Naster Oblata: Orientalia antiqua |date=1982 |publisher=Peeters Publishers |isbn=9789070192105 |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GlsbsTTwxjYC&pg=PA55 |language=fr}}</ref> finally making a treaty of alliance with the Chionites and the Gelani in 358 CE.

From around 360 CE, however, during his reign, the Sasanids lost the control of [[Bactria]] to invaders from the north, first the [[Kidarites]], then the [[Hephthalites]] and the [[Alchon Huns]], who would follow up with the invasion of [[India]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Neelis |first1=Jason |title=Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia |date=2010 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-9004181595 |page=159 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GB-JV2eOr2UC&pg=PA159}}</ref> These invaders initially issued coins based on [[Sasanian]] designs.<ref name="Tandon2013">{{cite journal |title=Notes on the Evolution of Alchon Coins |journal=Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society |year=2013 |last=Tandon |first=Pankaj |issue=216 |pages=24–34 |url=http://coinindia.com/Alchon.pdf |access-date=2018-07-08 }}</ref> Various coins minted in [[Bactria]] and based on a Sasanian designs are known, often with busts imitating Sasanian kings Shapur II (r. 309 to 379 CE) and [[Shapur III]] (r. 383 to 388 CE), adding the Alchon [[Tamgha]] and the name "Alchono" in [[Bactrian script]] on the obverse, and with attendants to a [[fire altar]] on the reverse.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rienjang |first1=Wannaporn |last2=Stewart |first2=Peter |title=Problems of Chronology in Gandhāran Art: Proceedings of the First International Workshop of the Gandhāra Connections Project, University of Oxford, 23rd-24th March, 2017 |date=2018 |publisher=Archaeopress |isbn=9781784918552 |page=23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I7dTDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23}}</ref>

== Death and succession ==
Shapur died in 379 and was succeeded by his slightly younger brother [[Ardashir II]], who agreed to rule till Shapur's son [[Shapur III]] reached adulthood.{{sfn|Shahbazi|1986|pp=380–381}} At the time of Shapur's death, the Sasanian Empire was stronger than it had ever been, and it was also considerably larger than when he came to the throne, the eastern and western enemies were pacified and Persia had gained control over Armenia. He is regarded as one of the most important Sasanian kings along with [[Shapur I]] and [[Khosrow I]], and could after a long period of instability regain the old strength of the Empire. His three successors, however, were less successful than he. Furthermore, his death marked the start of a 125-year-long conflict between the ''[[wuzurgan]]'', a powerful group of nobility, and the kings, who both struggled for power over Iran.{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|p=58}}

== Religious policy ==
Under Shapur II's reign, the collection of the [[Avesta]] was completed, [[heresy]] and [[apostasy]] punished, and the Christians persecuted (see [[Abdecalas]], [[Acepsimas of Hnaita]] and [[Abda and Abdisho|Abda of Kashkar]]). This was a reaction against the [[Christianization of the Roman Empire]] by Constantine.{{sfn|Daryaee|2009}}

According to [[Armenia]]n and primary sources, the Sasanian shahs revered the sun and the moon, with Roman sources stating that Shapur II asserted to be the "brother of the Sun and the Moon" ([[Latin]]: ''frater Solis et Lunae'').{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|pp=82-83}} This is however not mentioned in Sasanian sources, which implies that there are two possibilities; one that it is regarding about the angelic divinity [[Mithra]], whilst the other one being that it may be an [[Indo-Iranians|Indo-Iranian]] characteristic where the shahs considered their ancestors descendants of [[Manuchehr]] (Indic [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]]) and his father Wiwahvant (Indic [[Surya|Vivasvant]]), who were in [[India]] associated with the Moon and the Sun.{{sfn|Daryaee|2014|p=83}}

Shapur's own religious beliefs do not seem to have been very strict; he restored the family cult of [[Anahita]] in [[Istakhr]] and was possibly an adherent of [[Zurvanism]] as well as promoting the official orthodox variant of Zoroastrianism.{{sfn|Sauer|2017|p=91}}

=== Towards Christians ===
{{see also|Martyrs of Persia under Shapur II}}
[[file:Taq-e Bostan - High-relief Shapur II and Shapur III.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Taq Bostan|Taq-e Bostan]]: high-relief of Shapur II and [[Shapur III]]]]
Initially, Shapur II was not hostile to his [[Christians in Iran|Christian subjects]], who were led by [[Shemon Bar Sabbae]], the [[Patriarch]] of the [[Church of the East]]. However, the conversion of Constantine the Great to [[Christianity]] caused Shapur to start distrusting his Christian subjects. He started seeing them as agents of a foreign enemy. The wars between the Sasanian and Roman empires turned Shapur's mistrust into hostility. After the death of Constantine, Shapur II, who had been preparing for a war against the Romans for several years, imposed a double tax on his Christian subjects to finance the conflict. Shemon, however, refused to pay the double tax. Shapur started pressuring Shemon and his clergy to convert to Zoroastrianism, which they refused to do. It was during this period the 'cycle of the martyrs' began during which 'many thousands of Christians' were put to death. During the following years, Shemon's successors, [[Shahdost]] and [[Barba'shmin]], were also martyred.

[[Barbasceminus]], bishop of Seleucia and Ctesiphon from 342, was executed on 14 January 346 with sixteen of his clergy.<ref>{{citation |last=Butler|first=Alban|title=The Lives of the Primitive Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints... by the Rev. Alban Butler... |pages=181–182 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nsb1tEmV7Z8C&pg=PA181|year=1798|publisher=J. Moir}}</ref>
A near-contemporary fifth-century Christian work, the ''Ecclesiastical History'' of [[Sozomen]], contains considerable detail on the Persian Christians martyred under Shapur II. Sozomen estimates the total number of Christians killed as follows:

{{blockquote|The number of men and women whose names have been ascertained, and who were martyred at this period, has been computed to be upwards of sixteen thousand, while the multitude of martyrs whose names are unknown was so great that the Persians, the Syrians, and the inhabitants of Edessa, have failed in all their efforts to compute the number.|Sozomen, in his [http://www.arxpub.com/evolpub/CRE/CREseries.html#CRE12 ''Ecclesiastical History,'' Book II, Chapter XIV]{{sfn|Sozomen|2018}}|source=}}

== Imperial beliefs and numismatics ==
[[File:Gold coin of Shapur II, struck c. 320.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Gold dinar]] of Shapur II, struck {{c.}} 320]]
[[File:Shapur II (The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp).png|thumb|upright=0.8|right|Shapur II in the [[Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp|''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp]]]]
According to Ammianus Marcellinus, Shapur II fought the Romans in order to "re-conquer what had belonged to his ancestor". It is not known who Shapur II thought his ancestor was, probably the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenids]] or the legendary [[Kayanian dynasty]].{{sfn|Daryaee|2009}} During the reign of Shapur II, the title of "the divine [[Ahura Mazda|Mazda]]-worshipping, king of kings of the Iranians, whose image/seed is from the gods" disappears from the coins that were minted. He was also the last Sasanian king to claim lineage from the gods.{{sfn|Daryaee|2009}}

Under Shapur II, coins were minted in copper, silver and gold, however, 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. The weight of the coins also changed from 7.20 g to 4.20 g.{{sfn|Daryaee|2009}}

== Building activity ==
Besides the construction of the ''war-i tāzigān'' near al-Hira, Shapur II is also known to have created several other cities. He created a royal city called Eranshahr-Shapur, where he settled Roman prisoners of war. He also rebuilt and repopulated Nisibis in 363 with people from [[Istakhr]] and [[Isfahan|Spahan]]. In Asoristan, he founded [[Ukbara|Wuzurg-Shapur]] ("Great Shapur"), a city on the west side of the Tigris. He also rebuilt [[Susa]] after having destroyed it when suppressing a revolt, renaming it Eran-Khwarrah-Shapur ("Iran's glory [built by] Shapur").{{sfn|Daryaee|2009}}{{sfn|Frye|1983|p=136}}

==Offspring==
Besides his son Shapur III, Shapur II had a daughter, [[Zruanduxt|Zurvandukht]], who was named after [[Zurvanism|Zurvan]], a deity in [[Zoroastrianism]].{{Sfn|Boyce|1984|pp=118-119}} She is attested only in the 5th-century Armenian history ''[[Buzandaran Patmutʻiwnkʻ]]'' as the wife of the Armenian king [[Khosrov IV]].{{Sfn|Garsoïan|1989|p=434}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFBosworth1983}}
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
=== Ancient works ===
*{{Cite book |author=Agathias |author-link=Agathias |title=The Histories |others=Translated with an introduction and explanatory notes by Joseph D. Frendo |year=1975 |publisher=de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-003357-1 |location=Berlin }}
*[[Ammianus Marcellinus]], ''Res Gestae''

=== Modern works ===
* {{Cambridge History of Iran|volume=3a | last = Bosworth | first = C.E. |author-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth  | chapter = Iran and the Arabs before Islam | pages = 593–613}}
* {{cite book |title=Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices |year=1984 |publisher=Psychology Press |last=Boyce |first=Mary |authorlink=Mary Boyce |isbn=9780415239028 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a6gbxVfjtUEC&q=false}}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online|volume=2|fascicle=4|title=Armenia and Iran ii. The pre-Islamic period|year=1986|first=M. L.|last=Chaumont|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/armenia-ii|pages=418–438}}
* {{cite book |title=Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire |year=2014 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |last=Daryaee |first=Touraj |authorlink=Touraj Daryaee |isbn=978-0857716668 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LU0BAwAAQBAJ}}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online | title = Šāpur II | last = Daryaee | first = Touraj | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/shapur-ii | year = 2009 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Dodgeon |first=Michael H. |title=The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD 226-363: A Documentary History |last2=Lieu |first2=Samuel N. C. |date= |publisher=Routledge |year=2005|orig-date=Originally published 1991|edition=e-book |isbn=0-203-42534-0 |location=London}}
* {{cite book |last=Drijvers |first=Jan Willem |url= |title=Diwan: Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean |publisher=Wellem |year=2016 |isbn=978-3-941820-24-1 |editor1-last=Binder |editor1-first=Carsten |series=Festschrift für Josef Wiesehöfer zum |volume=68 |location=Duisburg |pages=571–590 |chapter=Ammianus Marcellinus, King Pap and the Dominance over Armenia |editor2-last=Börm |editor2-first=Henning |editor3-last=Luther |editor3-first=Andreas |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/28242142}}
* {{Cambridge History of Iran|volume=3a|last=Frye|first=R. N.|chapter=The political history of Iran under the Sasanians}}
* {{Cite book |last=Garsoïan |first=Nina |author-link=Nina Garsoïan |title=The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=1997 |isbn=0-312-10169-4 |editor-last=Hovannisian |editor-first=Richard G. |editor-link=Richard Hovannisian |volume=1 |location=New York |chapter=The Aršakuni Dynasty}}
* {{Cite book |last=Garsoïan |first=Nina G. |author-link=Nina Garsoïan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSnXAAAAMAAJ |title=The Epic Histories Attributed to Pʻawstos Buzand (Buzandaran Patmutʻiwnkʻ) |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1989 |isbn=0-674-25865-7 |location=Cambridge, Mass.}}
*{{cite book |last1=Ghosh |first1=Amalananda |title=Taxila |date=1965 |publisher=CUP Archive |pages=790–791 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0NA3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA787}}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online | title = Arabia ii. The Sasanians and Arabia | last = Potts | first = Daniel T. | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arabia-ii-sasanians-and-arabia | year = 2012 }}
* {{cite book | last = Al-Tabari | first = Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir | authorlink = Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari | title = The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume V: The Sasanids, the Byzantines, the Lakhmids, and Yemen | others = Trans. Clifford Edmund Bosworth | editor-last = Yar-Shater | editor-first = Ehsan | publisher = State University of New York Press | location = Albany, NY | year = 1991 | isbn = 0-7914-0493-5 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SdrtpZQphYUC&q=false }}
* {{cite book | title = The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen | year = 2018 | publisher = Evolution Publishing | location = Merchantville, NJ | others=Translated by Edward Walford | last = Sozomen | first = Hermias | authorlink = Sozomen | page = 59 | isbn = 978-1-935228-15-8 | url = http://www.evolpub.com/CRE/CREseries.html#CRE12 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Kia|first1=Mehrdad|year=2016|title=The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia |series=[2 volumes]|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1610693912|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B5BHDAAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Langer|editor-first=William L.|title=An Encyclopedia Of World History |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |place=Boston |year=1952}}
* {{cite book |last=Lenski |first=Noel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=paowDwAAQBAJ |title=Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century A.D. |publisher=University of California Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-520-28389-3}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Shapur|first=Eduard|last=Meyer|author-link=Eduard Meyer|volume=24|pages=804}}
* {{cite book |last=Patterson |first=Lee E. |title=Sasanian Persia: Between Rome and the Steppes of Eurasia |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2017 |editor-last=Sauer |editor-first=Eberhard |chapter=Minority Religions in the Sasanian Empire: Suppression, Integration and Relations with Rome}}
* {{Cite book |last=Potter |first=David S. |title=The Roman Empire at Bay, AD 180–395 |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=0-203-40117-4 |location=London}}
* {{citation |last=Pourshariati |first=Parvaneh |author-link=Parvaneh Pourshariati |title=Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran |location=London and New York |publisher=I.B. Tauris |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84511-645-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I-xtAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book | title = ReOrienting the Sasanians: East Iran in Late Antiquity | year = 2017 | publisher = Edinburgh University Press | last = Rezakhani | first = Khodadad | isbn = 9781474400305 | jstor = 10.3366/j.ctt1g04zr8 }} {{registration required}}
*{{cite book|last=Sauer|first=Eberhard|title=Sasanian Persia: Between Rome and the Steppes of Eurasia|location=London and New York|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2017|isbn=9781474401029|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djRWDwAAQBAJ&q=false}}
*{{cite book |last=Schindel |first=Nikolaus |title=The Parthian and Early Sasanian Empires: adaptation and expansion |date=2016 |publisher=Oxbow Books |isbn=9781785702105 |pages=127–128 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GqONDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA127}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Senior |first1=R.C. |title=The Coinage of Sind from 250 AD up to the Arab Conquest |journal=Oriental Numismatic Society |date=1991 |volume=129 |issue=June–July 1991 |pages=3–4 |url=http://orientalnumismaticsociety.org/JONS/Files/ONS_129.pdf |access-date=26 September 2019 |archive-date=26 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926175600/http://orientalnumismaticsociety.org/JONS/Files/ONS_129.pdf |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite journal |last=Shayegan|first=M. Rahim |year=2004 |title=On the Rationale behind the Roman Wars of Šābuhr II the Great |journal=Bulletin of the Asia Institute |volume=18 |pages=111–133 |jstor=24049144 }}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online |title=Ardašīr II |last=Shahbazi |first=A. Shapur |author-link=Alireza Shapour Shahbazi |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ardasir-ii-sasanian-king-of-kings-a |volume=2 |fascicle=4 |pages=380–381 |year=1986}}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online | last = Shahbazi | first = A. Shapur | title = Byzantine-Iranian relations |volume=4 |fascicle=6 | pages = 588–599 | year = 1990 | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/byzantine-iranian-relations}}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online | title = Šāpur I | last = Shahbazi | first = A. Shapur | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/shapur-i | year = 2002 }}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online |title=Hormizd (2) |last=Shahbazi |first=A. Shapur |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hormozd-ormisdas  |volume=12 |fascicle=5 |pages=461–462 |year=2004}}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online | last = Shahbazi | first  = A. Shapur | title = Sasanian dynasty | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sasanian-dynasty | year = 2005 | access-date = 30 March 2014}}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online | title = Ādur Narseh | last = Tafazzoli | first = Ahmad | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/adur-narseh-son-of-the-sasanian-king-hormizd-ii-a | volume=1 | fascicle=5 | page = 477 | year = 1983 }}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online | title = Bozorgān | last = Tafazzoli | first = Ahmad | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bozorgan-mpers | volume=4 |fascicle=4 | page = 427 | year = 1989 }}
{{Commons category}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[House of Sasan|Sasanian dynasty]]||309||379}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Adur Narseh]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[King of Kings of Iran and non-Iran]]|years=309–379}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Ardashir II]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Sasanian Rulers}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapur 02}}
[[Category:Shapur II| ]]
[[Category:309 births]]
[[Category:379 deaths]]
[[Category:Ancient child monarchs]]
[[Category:People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars]]
[[Category:4th-century Sasanian monarchs]]
[[Category:People from Firuzabad, Fars]]
[[Category:Shahnameh characters]]
[[Category:Julian's Persian expedition]]
[[Category:City founders]]