Persian dynasty (
AD 224 – 651). Founded by Ardash
ir I (r.
AD 224 – 241) and named for his ancestor S
as
an (
c. 1st century
AD), it replaced the Parthian empire (
see Parthia). Its capital was
Ctesiphon. The dynasty battled the
Roman Republic and Empire and its successor the
Byzantine Empire in the west and the Kush
ans and Hephthalites in the east throughout much of its existence. In the 3rd century its empire stretched from
Sogdiana and Georgia to northern Arabia, and from the Indus River to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Traditions of the
Achaemenian dynasty were revived, Zoroastrianism was reestablished as the state religion, and art and architecture experienced a renaissance. Its important rulers included Sh
ap
ur I (d. 272), Sh
ap
ur II (309 – 379),
Khosrow I, and
Khosrow II. The S
as
anids were the last native Persian dynasty before the Arab conquest of the region in the late 7th century.
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