Bishapur, Relief VII

Bishapur: important Sasanian city in Iran, founded by king Shapur I, and built by Roman POWs.

A charging cavalry man: relief from the Eastern Mosaic Hall

Bishapur is famous for its six rock reliefs, but there is also a little-known small relief, which can be found in the local museum. Here are some photos. This relief perfectly fits within the context of the Sasanian rock reliefs, although it is much smaller and decorated the Eastern Mosaic Hall in the palace.

Below, we can see

The artistic parallels are to the reigns of Ardašir I (r.224-241), Shapur I (r.241-272), Bahram II (r.276-293), Narseh (r.293-303), Hormizd II (r.303-309), and the beginning of the reign of Shapur II (r.309-379). This suggests that the small relief was made between 224 and about 330, although the most likely date is, of course, the reigh of Shapur I, who built Bishapur.