A bold gaze conveys the valor of Shapur II (310–379 A.D.), the Sassanian king who aggressively tried to reclaim the lands Persia had controlled in ancient times. Adopting the title Shahanshah, or “King of Kings,” Shapur II and his fellow Sassanian emperors claimed descent from the great Achaemenid dynasty of Cyrus (the Persian king who brought an end to the Babylonian Exile by releasing the Jews in 539 B.C.). From imperial portraits on coins, we know that each Sassanian ruler had his own highly individual crown, the symbolism of which expressed his earthly and divine power. The base of […]
