Sarāb-i Bahrām

The Iranian king Bahrām II (276-293) was not the strongest ruler of the Sasanian dynasty. Having lost a war against the Roman emperor Carus, he accepted the loss of Armenia and Mesopotamia; he had some difficulty in suppressing a revolt by his brother Hormizd II; and he lost power to the Zoroastrian high priest Kartir. Still, Bahrām II left no less than ten rock reliefs.

One of them can be found at Sarāb-i Bahrām, north of Bishapur along the Royal Road. It is 2.66 m high and 4 m wide, and shows how four courtiers salute their king with a typical gesture with the hand (which is still made by the Luri nomads who live in this area). The king himself is seated on his throne, resting upon his sword, and can be recognized by his crown, which is also shown on his coins. It is the oldest Sasanian rock relief on which the king faces the spectators. The man with the sword to the far left is Bahrām's vizier Papak, recognizable by the flower on his cap, and the second man from the left is Kartir, with the scissor-like badge. The other two dignitaries, resting on their swords, can not be identified.

Literature

• Louis Vanden Berghe, Reliefs rupestres de l' Iran ancien (1983 Brussels) 76-80

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