Shápúr ascends the throne and addresses the chiefs. He wars with success against Rúm, appoints Urmuzd his successor, and dies.
This reign affords a good illustration of the inaccurate way in which events are recorded even in the most historical of the four dynasties of the Sháhnáma. Shápúr, son of Ardshír (Sapor I., A.D. 241-272), is confused with Shápúr, son of Urmuzd (Sapor II., A.D. 309-379). Important historical events are transferred from the former's reign to the latter's where, to save repetition, they will be dealt with. Again, Shápúr son of Ardshír's two wars with Rome, which historically are parted by a considerable interval of time, are rolled into one. The first war ended in A.D. 244, and the second did not begin till some fourteen or more years later. The latter is the one chiefly commemorated in the Sháhnáma. In the course of it the Roman Emperor Valerian, the Bazánúsh of Firdausí, was defeated and taken prisoner in Mesopotamia owing to the treachery of Macrianus, his Prætorian prefect, and died in captivity. Shápúr then made a raid into Cilicia and Cappadocia—names which appear as Kaidáfa and Pálawína in the poem.*
Subsequently he withdrew his forces, and during his retreat was handled very roughly by Odenathus, prince of Palmyra, who later on made himself master of Mesopotamia and ruled from the Tigris to the Mediterranean till his assassination in A.D. 267. A trace of Shápúr's mishap seems to survive, but the tale is told in connexion with Shápúr, son of Urmuzd. The triumph over Valerian was commemorated in many memorials by his conqueror.*
The name of the city built for the Roman captives was Gund-i-Shápúr, probably the Shápúr Gird of Firdausí as both cities are described as being in Susiana. It was between Susa and Shúshtar, and its situation is indicated by the ruins of Sháhábád.*
The great dam in connexion with the river Kárún is still in existence. It is very likely that Shápúr's Roman prisoners helped to make it. It is known as the “Band-i-Kaisar.”*