General Notes

Ardashir I (flourished 3d century ad), king of Persia (224- 41), founder of
the Sassanid dynasty and grandson of Sassan, for whom the dynasty was named.
Ardashir's father made himself ruler of a district in Persia as vassal of
the Arsacid king of Parthia. After his father's death in 212, Ardashir took
over the district, killed his brothers, warred against neighboring vassals,
and, in 224, finally defeated the king of Parthia, Artabanus V (reigned
about 213-24), at the Battle of Hormuz. Ardashir then assumed the title of
king of kings and tried to rebuild a unified Persian empire after the model
of the ancient Achaemenids. He made Zoroastrianism the national religion,
built a new capital at Ctesiphon on the Tigris River, and, on the site of
the ancient city of Seleucia, built the city of Weh-Ardashir. His last years
were spent in unsuccessful wars against the Roman Empire. He was succeeded
by his son, Shapur I (reigned 241-72). Worshiped as a god in his own day,
Ardashir was later the subject of countless legends among the Persians. His
sculptured image, identified by an inscription in the Greek and Pahlavi
languages, was found on the site of Persepolis.