Shapurdukhtak

Shapurdukhtak (Middle Persian: Šābuhrduxtag, literally "daughter of Shapur") was a 3rd-century Sasanian queen (banbishn). She was the wife of her cousin, king Bahram II (r. 274–293).She was one of the most powerful and influential women of the Sasanian era. Being among the wise and capable ladies of her time, she lived with such authority that, despite the formidable and fearsome personality of the chief priest Kartir, she exercised influence over him as well, and, known as the “Queen of Queens,” she enjoyed significant power in state affairs.

== Biography == She was the only daughter of Shapur Meshanshah, a Sasanian prince who governed Meshan, and was the son of the Sasanian shah Shapur I. Her mother was a queen named Denag. Shapurdukhtak had many brothers: Hormizdag, Odabakht, Bahram, Shapur, Peroz, and Hormizd. She was probably raised in Meshan, which was then governed by her father. In 260, her father died and was probably succeeded by Denag as the governor of Meshan.