Shapur III.

Coin with the portrait of Shapur III.

Shapur III. ( Persian شاپور Shāpūr [ ʃɔːˈpuːr ]; † 388 ) was Great King of the Sassanid Empire from 383 to 388 .

Shapur was a son of Shapur II and succeeded Ardaschir II on the throne after he was defeated and deposed in a power struggle. Because of internal problems, Schapur III. a settlement with the Roman Empire . Probably (but not certain) there was a treaty with the Roman emperor in the east, Theodosius I, in 387. According to this, the always controversial Armenia was divided, whereby Persia was awarded the majority due to its relatively strong position (4/5 of the country , see Persarmenia ).

In connection with the rapprochement with the Christian Roman Empire, the end of the persecution of Christians in the Sassanid Empire, which began under Shapur II. In the east, the so-called Kuschano-Sassanids' dominion finally collapsed. Associated with this was the loss of some eastern territories; this is evident from the end of some Sassanid coinage in the northeast of the empire. A group of the so-called Iranian Huns , the Alchon , who seized Sassanid areas and mints , appeared as opponents .

According to the oriental sources, Shapur seems to have ruled well and fairly towards his subjects. Nevertheless, he fell victim to a palace revolt in 388 and was murdered; apparently his government policy had met resistance from sections of the nobility.

literature

• Geoffrey B. Greatrex : The Background and Aftermath of the Partition of Armenia in AD 387 . In: The Ancient History Bulletin , 14.1-2, 2000, pp. 35-48, online here .
• Karin Mosig-Walburg: Royalty and nobility in the reign of Ardashir II, Shapur III. and Truthams IV . In: Henning Börm, Josef Wiesehöfer (eds.): Commutatio et contentio. Studies in the Late Roman, Sasanian, and Early Islamic Near East . Düsseldorf 2010, pp. 133–158.
• Nikolaus Schindel: Shapur III. In: Nikolaus Schindel (ed.): Sylloge Nummorum Sasanidarum . Vol. 3/1 (text volume). Vienna 2004, p. 264ff.
• Klaus Schippmann : Basic features of the history of the Sassanid Empire . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1990, ISBN 3-534-07826-8 .

Web links

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predecessor	Office	successor
Ardashir II.	King of the New Persian Empire 383–388	Bahram IV.