Ardashir Founds the Sasanian Empire

On April 28, 224, Ardashir, the local ruler of Persis, met the Parthian king of kings Artabanus IV on the plain of Hormozdgan. Artabanus fell in the fighting, bringing an abrupt end to more than four centuries of Arsacid rule across the Iranian plateau. In place of the decentralised Parthian realm, Ardashir claimed the imperial title of king of kings and inaugurated the Sasanian dynasty, an empire that modern historians often describe as the Second Persian Empire.

Ardashir's origins remain tangled in conflicting historical traditions. The medieval historian al-Tabari recorded that Ardashir was the son of Papak and the grandson of Sasan, rising from his position as commander of the fortress of Darabgard before consolidating control of Persis upon the sudden deaths of Papak and his elder brother Shapur. Other traditional narratives, including the epic Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan and Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, describe him as the child of Papak's daughter and Sasan, who was framed as an elusive descendant of Darius III. Modern historians generally view these diverging genealogies as deliberate attempts to fabricate royal and religious prestige for a newcomer without an established royal pedigree.