or Sāssānian dynasty
Persian dynasty (AD 224–651).
Founded by Ardashīr I (r. AD 224–241) and named for his ancestor Sāsān (с 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 Kushāns 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 Shāpūr I (d. 272), Shāpūr II (309–379), Khosrow I , and Khosrow II . The Sāsānids were the last native Persian dynasty before the Arab conquest of the region in the late 7th century.