Bishapur - Relief 5
The first page of Bishapur pictures can be found here.
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Bishapur - Relief 5 |
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The first page of Bishapur pictures can be found here. |
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The fifth Sasanian rock relief at Bishapur (map) is a classical representation of an investiture, this time of Bahram I (273-296). It is older than the preceding one, relief 4. There is a close parallel to the relief of the Investiture of Ardašir I at Naqš-i Rustam. | |
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Again, this monument is damaged by the aqueduct that was once there. It is clearly visible on this picture. | |
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From the left, the supreme god Ahuramazda approaches the king and gives him the ring of power, the cydaris. There is a diadem tied to it. | |
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Another picture. | |
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King Bahram is accepting the cydaris. His reign was the beginning of an era of Sasanian weakness. Under Shapur I, the Persians had defeated the armies of Rome, but in 283, the emperor Carus invaded Mesopotamia and even captured the important city Ctesiphon. Immediately after Bahram's dead, the Persians ceded territories in the west to buy peace. It comes as a surprise, therefore, to see Bahram represented as a conqueror, with a defeated enemy underneath his horse. However, it is likely that the dead man did not belong to the original design. | |
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It is often assumed that king Narseh (293-303) added the figure of the defeated enemy after a victory in the east. | |
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This is an inscription that Narseh added. | |
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