Ardashir I

Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, romanized: Arda(x)šēr), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the Persian king of Persis and the founder of the Sasanian Empire, the last empire of ancient Iran. After defeating Artabanus IV, the last King of Kings of Parthia, on the Hormozdgan plain in 224, he overthrew the Arsacid dynasty and established the Sasanian dynasty. Afterwards, Ardashir called himself King of Kings (Šâhân Šâh) and began conquering the land that he called Ērānšahr, the realm of the Iranians. Ardashir I founded an empire described by scholars as the “Second Persian Empire” or the “Neo-Persian Empire.”

There are various historical reports about Ardashir's lineage and ancestry. According to al-Tabari's History of the Prophets and Kings, Ardashir was son of Papak, son of Sasan. Another narrative recorded in Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan and Ferdowsi's Shahnameh states that Ardashir was born from the marriage of Sasan, a descendant of Darius III, with the daughter of Papak, a local governor in Pars.

According to al-Tabari's report, Ardashir was born in the outskirts of Istakhr, Pars. Al-Tabari adds that Ardashir was sent to the lord of Fort Darabgard when he was seven years old. After the lord's death, Ardashir succeeded him and became the commander of Fort Darabgard. Afterwards, Papak overthrew the local Persian shah named Gochihr and appointed his son, Shapur, instead of him. Shapur and his father, Papak, suddenly died and Ardashir became the ruler of Pars. Tension rose between Ardashir and the Parthian empire, and eventually on April 28, 224, Ardashir faced the army of Artabanus IV in the Hormozdgan plain, where the Parthian shahanshah was defeated and killed in battle.

According to the royal reports, it was Papak who overthrew Gochihr, the local Persian shah, and appointed his son, Shapur, instead of him; Ardashir refused to accept Shapur's appointment and removed his brother and whosoever stood against him and then minted coins with his face drawn on and his father, Papak's behind. It is probable that the determining role that is stated about Ardashir in leading the rebellion against the central government is the product of the later historical studies. Papak had probably united most of Pars under his rule by then.