Some relate that during his reign the Messiah—u. w. p. —was sent, and having despatched a messenger to Ardeshir, he invited him to embrace Islâm, whereon the king made a secret profession of his religion [sic]. All historians agree that Ardeshir Bâbeg Bin Sâsân was the youngest scion of Sâsân Bin Behmen Bin Esfendiâr, but they are at variance concerning the manner of his appearance. If all the opinions on this subject were to be mentioned, our object would be frustrated; therefore we shall content ourselves with one of them.
Some historians assert that Ardvân was the last of the Ashkânian kings, and also that he usually spent the summer at Esfahân, and the winter at Ahvâz. Others state that his capital was Rei; that he entrusted the government of Fârs to one of his great Amirs, the government of Dârâbgard to his chief eunuch Piri, and the superintendence of the fire-temples was left to the father of Ardeshir Bâbeg. At that time the Governor of Fârs heard that the youngest son of Bâbeg manifested great signs of intelligence and bravery; therefore he requested to be entrusted with the care of his education. Accordingly, the young prince remained with the Governor of Fârs, and having made great progress in the two above-mentioned qualities, Ardeshir was joined to Piri in the government of Dârâbgard, and ordered to take entire charge thereof in case of the decease of Piri. This event actually took place a short time afterwards, in conformity with the statement of the astrologers, who had predicted to Ardeshir that he would become the sovereign of the inhabited world, and with the words of an angel, who had appeared to him in a dream, saying: ‘I congratulate you on the subjugation of kingdoms.’ Accordingly he wrote a letter to his father to watch the opportunity and to kill the Viceroy of Ardvân, who was governing Fârs. The father complied with his advice, and installed his eldest son Shâpûr on the throne of government, who was obeyed by all the sons of Bâbeg except by Ardeshir, who refused to do so even after the decease of Bâbeg, in consequence whereof Shâpûr despatched couriers to him, requiring him to pay homage to the new sovereign.
The refusal of Ardeshir to submit to Shâpûr induced the latter to march against his brother with an army. When, however, the forces were about to encounter each other, some of the brothers, relatives, and courtiers betrayed Shâpûr, and delivered him into the hands of Ardeshir, who took Estakhar [Persepolis], and dismissed, by the advice of his wazir, those who had captured Shâpûr, to their own countries. Then Ardeshir marched to Kermân, and fiercely attacked Bellâsh, the governor of it, who, however, died. The conqueror then marched to Bam, the ruler of which he killed; he also captured and similarly punished the kings of the surrounding provinces, and founded a new town in every one of them. When Ardvân was informed of these events, he despatched an insulting letter to Ardeshir, who replied as follows: ‘I shall vanquish thee, and shall separate thy body from thy head, which I shall send to the fire-temple. Verily supreme power is in the gift of God, and He bestows it upon him who civilizes the land and cherishes his subjects.
Distich: God grants His gifts to those
Who allow the people to repose.’
Ardeshir then continued his victorious expedition, but the correspondence between these two sovereigns ceased only when the plain of Hormuzân was chosen to be the battle-field, which, however, Ardeshir reached before the appointed time, fortified it with entrenchments, and provided it with water. Ardvân likewise made his appearance soon afterwards with an army more numerous than ants or locusts, but lost his life in the battle which ensued. After this victory Ardeshir was immediately proclaimed Shahanshâh, and gradually conquered Hamadan, the mountainous country, and Armenia. Then he marched to Mousul, subjugated all that country, and built a large city to the east of the river Tigris. After that he marched back from the plains to Estakhar, whence he proceeded to Sejestân, to Jorjân, Nishapûr, Merv, Balkh, and Khovarezm. When he had subjugated the last-mentioned country he again marched back towards Fârs, and received from all the surrounding kings presents, as tokens of their submission, except from the ruler of Bahrain, who refused to pay him allegiance; when, however, Ardeshir marched against him, he was so terrified that he precipitated himself from a high tower to the ground, and thus perished by his own act. Having taken possession of Bahrain, Ardeshir went to Madâin, and abdicated during his lifetime the government in favour of his son Shâpûr. The duration of Ardeshir’s reign after Ardvân amounted to fourteen years, and before him to twelve. Ardeshir is said to have been one of the kings who had subjugated the inhabited world, and had founded great cities.
Many excellent and approved maxims are attributed to him, some of which are as follows: ‘A kingdom cannot subsist except by men, and men cannot subsist except by property, and property cannot subsist except by civilization, and civilization cannot subsist except by justice.—A rapacious lion is better than a tyrannical king, and a tyrannical king is better than perpetual revolutions.—A righteous king is better than abundant rain.—He is the worst sovereign whom good men dread and the wicked love.—Religion is strengthened by kings, and kings by religion.— Rely not on this world, because everyone must leave it; happiness, however, in the next world cannot be attained except by making good use of our life in the present one.’
Let it not remain concealed that Shâh Ardeshir was one of the Kings of Persia, distinguished by his maxims, which he left to posterity. One of his literary compositions bears the title of Kâr-nâmah, and contains descriptions of his victorious campaigns in the inhabited world. Another of his books he wrote for the instruction of the people, and surnamed it Adab-ul-a’ish, which contains practical rules of life and dietetical maxims. It is related that police-officers kept Ardeshir informed of everything going on in his realm, to such a degree that he was able to tell persons whom he admitted to his audiences what they had been saying or doing on the preceding day. He also maintained spies at foreign courts, who reported to him everything he wished to know. It is also related that the subjects of no monarch were so afraid of their ruler as the people of the dominions of Ardeshir dreaded him. It was his custom, when appointing an envoy to a foreign court, to despatch another after him, and to draw his conclusions after obtaining the reports of both. He also was in the habit of saying that many armies are destroyed, much property is alienated, and many alliances are broken, in consequence of the mismanagement of ambassadors. He considered it incumbent on a monarch to possess the following qualities: 1. High aspirations. 2. Affability. 3. Self-restraint in anger. 4. High regard for the lives and property of his subjects. A king ought during the time of his prosperity to keep in mind the state of those who are in distress. When he is joyful he ought to remember those who are plunged in sorrow, and in his strength he ought to regard those who are weak and helpless. Any king possessing the laudable qualities just mentioned will enjoy permanent dominion, and govern happy subjects.