c. 3rd century–272
Shapur I ruled the Sasanian Empire from about AD 240 to 270 and greatly expanded Persian power against Rome. He captured major cities, defeated several Roman emperors and took Valerian prisoner at Edessa in 260, an unprecedented humiliation preserved in royal rock reliefs.
Shapur also supported urban development and religious communities while presenting himself as king of kings of Iran and non-Iran. His conquests reshaped the balance of power in the Near East. Shapur I was born in Firuzabad and died in Bishapur.
In Harry Sidebottom’s Fire in the East, in AD 255 Marcus Clodius Ballista, an Angle taken to Rome as a diplomatic hostage and remade as an imperial officer, is sent to command the remote eastern fortress of Arete. Shapur I of Persia is advancing through Roman territory, and Ballista must repair the defences, organise a divided population and prepare an uncertain garrison for siege. In Harry Sidebottom’s King of Kings, as Shapur I renews pressure on Rome’s eastern provinces, Ballista is drawn into a campaign in which military decisions cannot be separated from court conspiracy. Further fictional perspectives on Shapur I can be found in Harry Sidebottom’s Lion of the Sun and Valerio Massimo Manfredi’s Empire of Dragons. For broader historical treatment of Shapur I, see Nick Holmes’ The Roman Revolution and Ian Hughes’ Thirteen Roman Defeats.
