Res Gestae Divi Saporis
The Res Gestae Divi Saporis (also known as the Great Inscription of Shapur I., SKZ or ŠKZ ) is an inscription of the Sassanid Great King Shapur I (240 / 2–270 AD) on the Kaʿbe-ye Zartuscht, probably built in 262 in Iran , which informs about his reign. The Russian ancient historian Michael Rostovtzeff introduced the name in analogy to the Res Gestae Divi Augusti .
The inscription is carved into the walls of the Kaʿbe-ye Zartuscht, which in addition to the inscription of Shapur I bears other important inscriptions such as that of Katir . The 12 m high, tower-like building can be found in the archaeological site of Naqsch-e Rostam , which is located a few kilometers north of Persepolis in the province of Fars . The inscription is trilingual and contains 35 paragraphs in Middle Persian , 30 paragraphs in Parthian and 70 paragraphs in Greek . Except for a considerable part of the Middle Persian part of the inscription, which is damaged and illegible, the inscription is well preserved.
content
Schapur introduces himself
Shapur describes himself as the Zoroastrian majesty and king of the kings of Eran and Aneran. He traces his origins back to the gods and then names his father Ardaschir I and his grandfather Papak in the same way.
Description of the borders of his realm
List of provinces that are subject to tribute and over which Shapur I has suzerainty:
" Persis , Parthia , Susiane , Mesan, Mesopotamia , Adiabene , Arabia , Atropatene (= Azerbaijan), Armenia , Iberia (= Georgia), Machelonia, Arrān , Balasagun up to the Caucasus and the Alanen-Gate (= Darial Gorge ) and the whole Elburzkette , media , Hyrcania , Merv , Harew and all upper (= eastern) provinces: Kerman , Sakien, Turan , Maguran (= Makran ), para Dene, Hindustan and the Kuschanenreich as far as Peshawar and mountains Kasgariens, Sogdia and Tashkent , and from that seaside: Oman . "
The three campaigns against the Romans
In the context of the Roman-Persian wars , the three campaigns of Shapur are described.
First campaign
Shortly after Schapur came to power (to date probably 243/44) Gordian III. against the Sassanids and was defeated in the battle of Mesiche . His successor Philip bought the peace with a ransom of 500,000 denarii and further tribute payments.
Second campaign
After an alleged injustice by the Romans in Armenia, a battle against a 60,000-strong Roman army took place at Barbalissos (to be dated probably 253/254) , which the Sassanids won. There was pillage, pillage, devastation and conquest of Roman cities and fortifications in the province of Syria and the surrounding area. This is followed by a list of the 37 conquered cities.
Third campaign
When the Sassanids besieged the cities of Edessa and Karrhae , Valerian (in the year 260) advanced with a force of 70,000 men, whose soldiers came from various Roman provinces. The defeat of Valerian in the Battle of Edessa led to the capture of the Emperor and the Praetorian prefects , senators and knightly officers of the contingent and their deportation to Persis. This is followed by a report on the pillage and devastation of the provinces of Syria, Cilicia and Cappadocia as well as an enumeration of the total of 36 conquered cities and their surroundings. The section also shows that numerous people were deported and resettled from the Roman territory.
Establishment of new fire sanctuaries
The establishment of a total of five new fire sanctuaries, which should serve his own salvation and that of his daughter and that of his three sons, was done out of gratitude for the support of the gods. The daily sacrifice and the offerings (1 lamb, 5 bread, 4 wine) are then laid down in a document. This is followed by a long list of all those who were the victims.
Finally, he asks to keep the practice beyond his life in order to gain the benevolence of the godhead.
Signature of the writer
At the end of the inscription the scribe calls himself ("Hormizd, the son of the scribe Shilak") and puts his signature underneath.
literature
- Michael Back: The Sassanid state inscriptions. Studies on the orthography and phonology of the Middle Persian of the inscriptions together with an etymological index of the Middle Persian verbal material and a text corpus of the inscriptions treated. Brill, Leiden 1978.
- Michael Geiger: Gallienus. Lang, Frankfurt am Main ( inter alia) 2013, ISBN 9783631645345 , p. 28.
- Philip Huyse: The trilingual inscription Šābuhrs I. on the Ka'ba-i Zardušt (ŠKZ). Humphries (inter alia), London (inter alia) 1999. [fundamental]
- Zeev Rubin: The Roman Empire in the Res Gestae Divi Saporis: the Mediterranean World in Sasanian Propaganda. In: Edward Dabrowa (Ed.): Ancient Iran and the mediterranean world: proceedings of an international conference in honor of Professor Józef Wolski held at the Jagiellonian University Cracow, in September 1996. Jagiellonian Univ. Press, Kraków 1998, pp. 177-185.
- Zeev Rubin: Res gestae Divi Saporis: Greek and Middle Iranian in a Document of Sasanian anti-Roman Propaganda. In: James N. Adams (Ed.): Bilingualism in Ancient Society: language contact and the written text. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford (et al.) 2002, pp. 267-297.
Web links
supporting documents
- ↑ Stephen H. Rapp: The Sasanian world through Georgian eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian literature. Ashgate, Farnham 2014, pp. 28 . ; AUB - Berytus Archeological Studies. Retrieved July 24, 2018 .
- ↑ Michael Geiger: Gallienus. Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2013, p. 28 .
- ^ The Inscription of Shapur I | SKZ - Parthian Sources Online. Retrieved July 24, 2018 .
- ↑ The point is paraphrased after Michael Back: Die Sassanidischen Staatsinsschriften. Studies on the orthography and phonology of the Middle Persian of the inscriptions together with an etymological index of the Middle Persian verbal material and a text corpus of the inscriptions treated . Brill, Leiden 1978, pp. 284-371.
- ↑ Quoted from: Michael Back: Die Sassanidischen Staatsinsschriften. Studies on the orthography and phonology of the Middle Persian of the inscriptions together with an etymological index of the Middle Persian verbal material and a text corpus of the inscriptions treated . Brill, Leiden 1978, pp. 286-288.
- ↑ Quoted from: Michael Back: Die Sassanidischen Staatsinsschriften. Studies on the orthography and phonology of the Middle Persian of the inscriptions together with an etymological index of the Middle Persian verbal material and a text corpus of the inscriptions treated . Brill, Leiden 1978, p. 371.