Ardashir II
Ardashir II 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥 | |
---|---|
House of Sasan | |
Father | Hormizd II |
Religion | Zoroastrianism |
Ardashir II (
Ardashir II was seemingly a strong-willed character, and is known in some sources by the epithet of nihoukar ("the beneficent").
Name
Ardashir is the Middle Persian form of the Old Persian Ṛtaxšira (also spelled Artaxšaçā, meaning "whose reign is through truth").[1][2] The Latin variant of the name is Artaxerxes.[1] Three kings of the Achaemenid Empire were known to have the same name.[1]
Background
Ardashir was the son of shah
Ardashir, before becoming king of the Sasanian Empire, was vassal king of
Reign
Armenia had been constantly the source of war between the Roman and Sasanian Empires. In 378/9, Shapur II had achieved Iranian hegemony over the country after its regent Manuel Mamikonian submitted to him. A force 10,000 of Iranian soldiers led by general Surena were dispatched to Armenia.[9][10] Surena was given the title of marzban (margrave), which indicates that Armenia was now a Sasanian province.[9] But this did not work for long. During the early reign of Ardashir II,[11] a nobleman named Meruzhan Artsruni deliberately gave Manuel wrong information, informing him that commandant of the Iranian garrison desired to capture him. Enraged, Manuel fell upon the ten thousand Iranian soldiers stationed in Armenia and murdered them.[12]
Ardashir responded by sending an army under Gumand Shapuh to subdue Manuel, but the latter defeated the force and killed Gumand Shapuh. Another Iranian force, led by Varaz, was subsequently dispatched to Armenia, but met the same fate as his predecessor. A third army was sent into Armenia, led by general Mrkhan. Parts of Armenia was captured by the Iranians, but they were soon defeated and massacred by Manuel and his forces. This new victory guaranteed Armenia seven years of peace.[13] Ardashir was soon deposed or killed by the nobility, due to his continuation of Shapur II's policy of restricting the authority of power-hungry nobles. He was succeeded by Shapur III.[7]
Ardashir II was seemingly a strong-willed character, and is known in some sources by the epithet of nihoukar ("the beneficent").[7]
Coins
The
Rock relief
Ardashir, like his forefathers, also had himself memorialized on reliefs. However, instead of using the sites of
The two shahs are standing on the body of a fallen enemy, unmistakably a Roman, whose crown indicates that he is an emperor.
Notes
- ^ Also spelled "King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians".
References
- ^ a b c Schmitt 1986, pp. 654–655.
- ^ Wiesehöfer 1986, pp. 371–376.
- ^ Tafazzoli 1983, p. 477.
- ^ a b Bosworth 1999, p. 50.
- ^ Shahbazi 2004, pp. 461–462.
- ^ Daryaee 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Shahbazi 1986, pp. 380–381.
- ^ Marciak 2017, p. 412.
- ^ a b Chaumont 1986, pp. 418–438.
- ^ Lenski 2002, p. 185.
- ^ Lenski 2002, p. 185 (see also note 172).
- ^ Faustus of Byzantium, History of the Armenians, Book 5, Chapter 38–41
- ^ Faustus of Byzantium, History of the Armenians, Book 5, Chapter 38–42
- ^ Grenet 2006.
Bibliography
Ancient works
- Faustus of Byzantium, History of the Armenians.
Modern works
- ISBN 978-0-7914-4355-2.
- Canepa, Matthew (2018). "Taq-e Bostan". In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.). ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8.
- Chaumont, M. L. (1986). "Armenia Iran ii. The pre-Islamic period". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. II, Fasc. 4. pp. 418–438.
- Daryaee, Touraj (2009). "Šāpur II". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition.
- Grenet, Franz (2006). "Mithra ii. iconography in Iran and Central Asia". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition.
- Lenski, Noel Emmanuel (2002). Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman state in the fourth century A.D. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23332-4.
- Marciak, Michał (2017). Sophene, Gordyene, and Adiabene: Three Regna Minora of Northern Mesopotamia Between East and West. ISBN 9789004350724.
- Pourshariati, Parvaneh (2008). Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-645-3.
- Schmitt, R. (1986). "Artaxerxes". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. II, Fasc. 6. pp. 654–655.
- Shahbazi, A. Shapur (1986). "Ardašīr II". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. II, Fasc. 4. pp. 380–381.
- Shayegan, M. Rahim (2004). "Hormozd I". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. XII, Fasc. 5. pp. 462–464.
- Shahbazi, A. Shapur (2004). "Hormozd (2)". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. XII, Fasc. 5. pp. 461–462.
- Tafazzoli, Ahmad (1983). "Ādur Narseh". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. I, Fasc. 5. p. 477.
- Wiesehöfer, Joseph (1986). "Ardašīr I i. History". Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. II, Fasc. 4. pp. 371–376.
- Wiesehöfer, Josef (2018). "Ardashir II". In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.). ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8.
Further reading
- Shahbazi, A. Shapur (2005). "Sasanian dynasty". Encyclopædia Iranica (online ed.). Retrieved 30 March 2014.