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broke the power of the Basrangi and came to dominate all of Persia. As there had been no immediate
opposition from the Arsacids, Papak understood that their authority was vulnerable.
In time Papak died, leaving his eldest son, Shapur, to rule. Shapur's more talented brother, Ardashir, was a
leading general in Persia. In 208 he revolted against Shapur, becoming king almost immediately upon the
mysterious death of his brother. A massive war was launched on the adjoining provinces, and
victories mounted quickly as Ardashir and his horsemen swept across the Persian plains. Finally, in either
224 or 226, Artabanus, the king of the Arsacids, faced Ardashir in battle and died.
Ardashir entered the city of Ctesiphon, which had been the winter capital of the Arsacids, and declared
himself King of Kings. His own dynastic ambitions were satisfied, as he had a son, Shapur, to succeed him.
Steps were taken to organize the new Sassanid Empire. Ardashir maintained the general
bureaucratic system, but the entire Persian world was now answerable only to him and his successors. No
new rival would be allowed to grow in secret. Stricter controls were upheld in the provinces, especially in
the west, in Parthia. This policy brought Ardashir into direct conflict with Rome.
Media fell under attack, and soon after Armenia, but there Ardashir met with failure, as Artabanus' sons, the
most important of whom was Artavasdes, were allied with King Chosroes I of Armenia. Ardashir retired
temporarily and in 230 invaded Mesopotamia, attacking all of the camps and garrisons of the
Romans. Emperor Severus Alexander mustered troops and marched into Syria, launching from Antioch an
ill-advised and three-pronged attack on Persia. The first column was to pass into Media, the second to
march toward Ctesiphon by way of the Euphrates, and the third, under the personal command of Severus
Alexander, to move through Mesopotamia. Ardashir struck first in Media but without result, being called
away to the Euphrates to protect his capital. There he met the Romans and defeated them, but not
significantly; heavy Persian losses made a stalemate. From 232 until 237, while his western holdings
regrouped, Ardashir was centered in the east, where vast areas were available.
In 238, the King of Kings returned to the west and attacked Mesopotamia with his son, Shapur, capturing
the fortress of Hatra and the cities of Nisibis and Carrhae. Ardashir died in 241, and Shapur was crowned
the ruler of the Sassanids, eager to carry on his father's ambitions. Ardashir was also known as
Artaxerxes.
¤ ARETAS III (fl. 1st century B.C.) King of Nabataean Arabia who in 65 B.C. invaded Judaea and laid
siege to Jerusalem but was driven back to Arabia. Antipater of Idumaea convinced the Nabataean king that
it would be in Arabia's best interest to side with Hyrcanus in his feud with his brother, Aristobulus II, over
the rule of Judaea. Ambitious, Aretas attacked Aristobulus, satisfying Anti-pater's ambitions to see him
removed. Victory for Aretas was impossible,
because Pompey dispatched two servants, A. Gabinius and
Aemilius Scaurus, from Syria with orders to pacify the region. Aretas withdrew, but Pompey soon attacked
him in Arabia in 63 B.C. He could not get to Petra, the capital, before Aristobulus and Hyrcanus attacked
one another. Thus the Roman advance was aborted. Scaurus was sent against Petra in turn, but Antipater
mediated the situation and brought an end to the confrontation.
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