The great inscription of Châhpuhr I makes us foresee the organization of the Court, even if the painted picture is undoubtedly incomplete. The King of the kings is to some extent deified, because he says god mazdéen, of the race of the gods. He reigns on “Êrân and Anêrân”, the Iranian and nonIranian countries, a new definition of the Empire to be heard in an at the same time political, cultural and nationalist direction. Provinces of the Empire
The list of the provinces, to the III E century, at the same time geographical and ethnic, goes from the west towards the east. It starts with the most important ethnos groups (Persians and Parthes), then mentions Susiane (or Elam) and Mésopotamie, Atropatène (Azerbaïdjan current) in north, the areas transcaucasiennes, then, in the east, Hyrcanie (Gorgân), Margiane (Merv), Arie (Harat) and, in south-east, Carmanie (Kermân), Sistân and Sind (valley of Indus). The country of Kusânas (Kouchans), which is then still only one vassal kingdom, does not form part of the Empire yet: it will be only integrated there under king Narsès, at the end of IIIe century.
Sogdiane could depend on the king kouchan but Bactriane, which was the vital organs of this kingdom, was not invaded by Châhpuhr, and certainly not beyond Oxus (current Amou-Daria). Besides the king describes his principal campaigns in the west against Rome: victory in Babylonia over the Gordien emperor, which is killed, and payment of a ransom of 500 ' 000 dinars required of Philippe the Arab; wars in Syria, with the catch of 37 cities and their surroundings; finally war against Valérien, fact captive and off-set in Perside. These great feats of arms were immortalized on several famous low-reliefs.
Succession with the throne
The succession with the throne is normally reserved for the son first-born, with the agreement of noble and of the big families, but it was not always the case. Admittedly, as one saw, it was well the oldest son of Châhpuhr which succeeded to him, but then it was another son, Bahrâm, then his grandson, and even his great-grandson: but this last did not reign a long time, because a whole part of the nobility supported the claims of Narsès, which, as “Large King d' Arménie”, was the second character of the Empire. The king still reigning could associate his successor, thus instituting a Co-regency. Châhpuhr I er would have been thus crowned the alive one of his/her father, but while carrying, until the death of this last, only the simplified title of “king d' Iran”.
The kings having several different crowns besides, one can think that those were to indicate the various stages of their career. But, become of a considerable weight, they were then suspended by a gold chain above their head, where the king gave audience. The royal throne is illustrated on silverware, and in the literature arabo-Persian: the king is represented sat on a bench, a sword in front of him enters his isolated legs. The feet of the throne appear two animals: two lions, or two pégases, or two eagles. The ceremonial of the crowning, carried out by the chief of the clergy (Mowbadân Mowbad), seems late, and was first of all reserved to the chief of the cavalry (aspbed), which, in IIIe century, the third place in the hierarchy of the State occupies after the viceroy and the chiliarque one (which was probably a kind of “Prime Minister”). Among the other functions, less important, enumerated in the lists of Châhpuhr, the “advisers appear”, who could play a considerable part (near the Court, of the queens, the magi, of such or such province, etc).
The high society
The high society is divided into four classes: the sovereign kings (shahrdârân), who have in load an important province or a vassal State; princes and family members royal (vispuhrân), who do not receive a special load; the Large ones (vuzurgân) and the noble ones (âzâdân). According to a late text in pahlavi, the Epic of Ardachêr, the generals of the army would have formed one of these four classes.
The inscriptions being above all the monuments of royal propaganda, the middle-classes and the farming community are not mentioned there. Like the tripartite division of the company, inherited the Indo-Europeans, still course in Iran sassanide had, with the three classes of the priests, the warriors and of the farmers, one added that of the craftsmen. The crowned book of Mazdéens, Avesta (Hellenistic time), mentions already these four classes, of which each one had its chief.
These social structures had to be maintained in a certain balance, the king taking care not to leave too many being able with noble or the clergy. This one, as were rained to note it the theologists of the IX E century and the authors arabo-Persan, constitutes, as of the III E century, a strong countervailing power, or, if one wants, an ally of the State.
Life of Court
As in all the Courses, the order of precedence strict and is consigned in registers (gâhnâmag) indicating the place of the guests in the banquets. The seats were consisted cushions of which the degree of rise announced the place of each one in the presence of the king. The lists could understand to the 600 dignitaries, highest being obviously the family members royal.
The Court sassanide affirms itself by its ostentation, its intrigues and its pleasures, even if the kings are not stretched out with length of year in their castles. They are often in shift, alive in mobile campings in the middle of the army, recruited on the spot and made up by disparate elements, of various ethnos groups. In the same way, because of their immoderate taste for hunting, the kings remained in light houses or buildings, in the middle of reserves which one calls of the “paradises”. The weapons used with hunting were the same ones as those which were used for the war: the arc, the sword and the lance are the principal ones, but one still used the axe or the bludgeon. The cavalry is the essential deterrent force at that time, and the rider and its horse were heavily armoured. But one went up without clamps (known late invention to China with the O C century, then diffused in the west), only attested in the iconography under Khosrô II. The battle often started with a single combat. The infantry was not very useful. The prestige of the archery appears at the same time in the inscriptions (of Châhpuhr Ier) and on silverware.
“Paradises”
Though attested well in Iran under Achéménides, the paradise can be created by the Assyrians as of the IX E century before J. - C. It is especially known in Arménie, where the kings created great hunting preserves and organized sumptuous banquets. The Greek authors marked their admiration for Persia, where one could drive out the large deer, lions, bear, panthers.
The paradise is delimited by walls: it is an enclosure, planted trees, fruit-lofts or not, with houses. As of the seven years age, the young prince is educated with hunting as for the war. One drives out with foot or horse, or in the boat when one drives out in the marshes, privileged habitat of wild boar. The techniques are varied: apart from the weapons already indicated, one employs also the lasso (for the onager, the bear or the lion), the nets and the pits. Silverware provides on this subject an incomparable documentation. Like another game, there were still the ostriches, the gazelles, the tigers, the leopards, the stags, the moufflons, the ibexes, the zebus, the antelopes, etc the small game understood hare and rabbit, and, among the birds, the partridges, the pheasants, the larks, the cranes, the bustards, the ducks, and even the peacock, become later “bird of paradise”, symbol of immortality.