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Naqš-i Rustam (4)
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.

The first page of pictures can be found here.
Investiture of Narseh (293-303). The king, the second large figure from the right, receives the cydaris ring from a female figure. A young prince is standing between them; to the left are imperial grandees.
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Narseh, a younger son of the great Shapur I, had come to power by a coup d'état, which may explain that he does not receive the cydaris from Ahuramazda, but from a women. We do not know who she is. It has been assumed that she is the goddess Anahita, but the king does not greet her as befits a worshipper in front of a deity. It has been argued that the lady is not a goddess at all, but queen Shapurdokhtak. The identity of the prince is less problematic: it must be the king's son Hormizd II, who succeeded his father.
Behind the king, we can see several important courtiers, making the gesture with the fist and index finger that shows respect for the king.

There is no triumph relief of Narseh, which comes as no surprise, because he was defeated by the Romans and forced to give up parts of Armenia. After the reign of Shapur I, the Sasanian empire was weak and divided, which can also be deduced by the rapid succession of kings.
One of the courtiers.
The equestrian victory of Hormizd II (303-309) is immediately below Achaemenid tomb 3 (Artaxerxes?) and a vanished relief of Shapur II.
It shows how king Hormizd unhorses an enemy, who can propably be identified with king Papak of Armenia.
Once, there was a relief of a seated king Shapur II (309-379) and several courtiers between the relief of Hormizd II and Achaemenid tomb 3. It is very damaged.
An unfinished relief.
A charming little lion in the neighborhood of the relief of Narseh.
Final overview. From left to right, the Kaba, tomb 4 (Darius II Nothus), 3 (Artaxerxes I Makrocheir), and 1 (Darius I the Great), the relief of the investiture of Narseh, an autobus, tomb 2 (Xerxes).
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