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Bishapur - general
Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.
Head of a statue of the Sassanid king Shapur I, in a cave near Bishapur. Photo Marco Prins. Bishapur consists of three main areas:
  1. the town itself, founded, according to an inscription, in 266 CE by the Sasanian king Shapur I (241-272) (picture);
  2. a castle with rock-cut reservoirs;
  3. the river valley with six Sasanian rock reliefs.
At some distance, there's a cave with a statue of Shapur that is eight meters tall. Here, you can find a satellite photo of the complex.
Ancient-Warfare.com, the online home of Ancient Warfare magazine
The Castle of Bishapur. Photo Jona Lendering.
On these webpages, you can find photos of the city, and of the reliefs 1 (below), 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This is the only photo of the fort, which was called "the virgin's castle".

Bishapur is situated south of modern Faliyan on the ancient road between Persis and Elam, which connected the Sasanian capitals Istakhr (very close to Persepolis) and Ctesiphon.
It was not a completely novel settlement: archaeologists have found remains from the Parthian and Elamite ages. It was built near a river crossing. Like the bridge at Shushtar, the city was built by Roman prisoners of war. On many places in Bishapur, architectural elements clearly show western, Roman influence. The city remained important until the Arabian invasions and the rise of Islam in the second quarter of the seventh century. There were still people living over here in the tenth century.

This picture shows the river Shapur and the Tang-e Chowgan gorge, where the rock reliefs can be found.
Map of Bishapur's reliefs. Design Jona Lendering This map shows the location of the six reliefs, the castle, the river and the entrance of the city, which is to the southwest. The cave with the statue of Shapur is to the east.
This relief shows the investiture of Shapur. Although it is badly damaged, we can see still recognize many elements, and because Sasanian investiture reliefs are often a bit stereotypical, we can deduce the rest. Essentially, this monument is a copy of a relief made by Shapur's father Ardašir I (224?-241) at Naqš-i Rustam. Two horsemen are facing each other. From the left, the supreme god Ahuramazda hands over the symbol of power, the cydaris ring, to Shapur, to the right. Ahuramazda's horse tramples upon the devil (Ahriman), whereas the horse of Shapur steps on the body of the Roman emperor Gordian III, who died during his campaign against the Sasanian capital Ctesiphon (244). The central, kneeling figure is the emperor Philippus Arabs, who paid a large ransom and was allowed to take back the remains of the Roman army.
Bust of Gordian III. Louvre, Paris (France). Photo Marco Prins. 
Gordian III (238-244)
Statue of Philip the Arab. Musei Capitolini, Roma (Italy). 
Philip (244-249)
Coin of Valerian.
In 260, Shapur had defeated another Roman emperor, Valerian (picture). Although the first relief is damaged, we can be certain that he was not depicted. Therefore, this monument was made between 244 and 260. The defeat of Valerian necessitated the creation of a new monument.

The city remained one of the most important in the Sasanian Empire, and was captured by the Arabs in c.647.
to part two

 
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