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Shapur II

File:Bust_of_Shapur_II_the_Great_in_the_Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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The tenth Sasanian emperor (309–379)

OverviewAI-generated

Shapur II was a male sovereign of the Sasanian Empire and a member of the Sasanian dynasty. He held the noble title of King of Kings and practiced Zoroastrianism. Born in Firuzabad, he was the son of Hormizd II and Ifra Hormizd. His siblings included Hormizd, and his children were Shapur III and Zruanduxt. Shapur II spoke Middle Persian.

He died in Bishapur in 0379-01-01. His birth is recorded as 0309-01-01 or 310, with a significant event noted as a posthumous birth. Shapur II is described in sources such as the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary and Pauly–Wissowa.

Synthesized by Vinony from 27 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, MusicBrainz, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Given name
Shapur
Gender
male
Citizenship
Sasanian Empire
Place of birth
Firuzabad
Place of death
Bishapur
Sibling
Hormizd
Occupation
sovereign
Languages spoken
Middle Persian
Noble title
King of Kings
Image
Bust of Shapur II the Great in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg
Significant event
posthumous birth
Show 4 more facts
date of death
0379-01-01
date of birth
0310-03-00
topic's main category
Category:Shapur II
Commons category
Shapur II
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

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Encyclopedic overview

Shapur II (Middle Persian: 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 Šābuhr, 309–379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth King of Kings (Shahanshah) of the Sasanian Empire. He took the title at birth and held it until his death at age 70, making him the longest-reigning monarch in Sasanian history. He was the son of Hormizd II (r. 302–309).

His reign saw the military resurgence of the country and the expansion of its territory, which marked the start of the first Sasanian golden era. Thus, along with Shapur I, Kavad I and Khosrow I, he is regarded as one of the most illustrious Sasanian kings. His three direct successors, on the other hand, were less successful. At the age of 16, he launched enormously successful military campaigns against Arab insurrections and tribes.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Shapur II” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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