The Sasanian Empire was founded in the 220s CE when Ardashir I overthrew the last Parthian king and made himself ruler of Persia, taking the title king of kings. Based in Ctesiphon on the Tigris, it became the main rival of the Roman and later Byzantine Empire, fighting a long series of wars over Mesopotamia, Armenia and the Caucasus. Under rulers such as Shapur I and Khosrow I it was a centralized state with Zoroastrianism as the official religion, a flourishing court culture, and trade connections across the Silk Road. Exhausted by a final war with Byzantium in the early seventh century and by internal struggles, it fell to the Arab Muslim armies by 651. Its art, administration and ideas of kingship strongly influenced the Islamic caliphates that followed.
Before and after
- 216 CEConstruction of Baths of Caracalla
- from 220 CE to 280 CEThree Kingdoms
- from 220 CE to 638 CEGhassanids
- from 220 CE to 589 CEWei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties
- from 224 CE to 651 CESasanian Empire
- from 229 CE to 233 CEFirst Mesopotamian campaign of Ardashir I
- c. 233 CEEruption of Taupo
- from 235 CE to 284 CECrisis of the Third Century
- 238 CEConstruction of Roman amphitheatre of El Jem
More in Civilizations & archaeology
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- c. 1,051 BCEThe Phoenician alphabet spreads
- from 323 BCE to 30 BCEHellenistic period
- 323 BCEConstruction of Temple of Ephesian Artemis
- from 312 BCE to 63 BCESeleucid Empire
- from 279 BCE to 1480Construction of Lighthouse of Alexandria
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 3rd century.