Shapur II King of Persia Offering wine to the divine god Ahura Mazda.

Byname Shapur The Great 10th king of the Sasanian Empire of Persia, who withstood Roman strength by astute military strategy and diplomacy and brought the empire to the zenith of its power.

The name Shapur, meaning “son of a king,” was common in the Sasanian period and was often given to sons other than princes. Numerical designations were not used to distinguish kings of the same name; instead, the family genealogy was cited. Thus, in one inscription, Shapur styles himself, the Mazdah-worshipping god Shapur, king of kings of Iran and non-Iran, who is a scion of the Gods, the son of Hormizd (Ormizd II), the grandson of Narses

Every time we dig for the past we give the present a new meaning.

Shapur II

According to tradition, his father died before Shapur was born, and the child was proclaimed king by the Persian nobility at his birth in 309, in preference to his brothers. After a regency, he apparently took the realm into his own hands in at the age of 16. Shapur II The Great was the ninth King of the Sassanid Empire from 309 to 379. During his long reign, the Sassanid Empire saw its first golden era since the reign of Shapur I (241–272).