In 260 CE, Persian king Shapur I captured Roman emperor Valerian near Edessa, the only Roman emperor ever taken alive by a foreign power and never freed. Shapur's trilingual inscription at Ka'ba-ye Zartosht boasted taking Valerian "with our own hands." The Naqsh-e Rajab rock relief shows Shapur gripping Valerian's wrist while Philip the Arab kneels before his horse.
Shapur I's capture of Emperor Valerian recorded in Persian inscriptions and rock reliefs
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Key facts
- In 260 CE, the Persian king Shapur I captured the Roman emperor Valerian near Carrhae and Edessa
- Shapur recorded the victory in a trilingual inscription at Ka'ba-ye Zartosht in southern Iran, listing the Roman provinces represented in Valerian's army
- The inscription declares Valerian was taken prisoner 'with our own hands' along with his commanders and senior officials
- Shapur deported Roman captives into his empire
- The rock relief at Naqsh-e Rajab depicts Shapur on horseback with two Roman emperors: Philip the Arab kneeling in front and Valerian standing beside the horse with Shapur gripping his wrist
- Valerian was the only Roman emperor in history to be captured alive by a foreign power and never returned
- 4th-century historian Eutropius confirmed Valerian grew old in humiliating captivity
- Valerian's son Gallienus succeeded him as emperor
Sources
cambridge.org
Linked in video description
Shapur Ien.wikipedia.org
In 260, during his third campaign, he defeated and captured the Roman emperor, Valerian. He did not seem interested in permanently occupying the Roman provinces ...
Shāpūr I | History | Research Starters | EBSCOhostebsco.com
Shāpūr I devastated the Roman cities of Dura Europus and Antioch in 256 C.E. and captured Roman emperor Valerian in 260 C.E., who died in Sāsānian captivity.
Valerian (emperor)en.wikipedia.org
Valerian was Roman emperor from 253 to spring 260 AD. He rose to power during a particularly unstable period during the Crisis of the Third Century and ...
Shapur, King of Persia, Humiliates the Roman Emperor ...getty.edu
After a series of wars against the Romans, Shapur defeated Valerian at Edessa in A.D. 260 and kept him captive for the rest of his life.
Shapur I, Valerian and Rome's Great Persian Rivkinzercoins.com
Shapur I captured Valerian, Roman emperor from AD 253 to 260. Valerian is the only Roman emperor known to have been captured alive by a foreign ...
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