The Sasanians and Shapur I

Ardashir, ruler of Persis, overthrows the last Parthian king and founds a dynasty that will stand four centuries. The Sasanians call themselves heirs of the Achaemenids, make Zoroastrianism the faith of the state, and build a realm with a strong priesthood, a bureaucracy and a tax register. His son Shapur I defeats the Romans three times and in 260 takes the emperor Valerian himself prisoner — a scene carved into the cliffs of Naqsh-e Rustam. In Sasanian Mesopotamia lives the greatest Jewish community of the age: there the academies of Sura and Pumbedita are at work, and the Babylonian Talmud takes shape.