The Shahenshahs of the Sassanid Empire ruled over a vast majority of land, even continuing its role as a superpower in Asia. The Sassanid dynasty began with Ardeshir I in 224 and was destroyed with Yazdegerd III in 651. The downfall of the Sassanid Empire proved great significance and effects to Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...

, the state religion of the Sassanid Empire. The previous Zoroastrian shahenshahs were replaced with Muslim Caliphs who forced the Zoroastrians and their faith

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...

 to endure harsh conditions, including the destruction of fire temples throughout the previous Sassanid Empire and marginalization of the faith.

In the Sasanid era, the term "the king of kings of Iran" (Middle Persian

Middle Persian

Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...

: šāhān šāh Ērān; En.

Transliteration

Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...

 Shahenshahs) was used from the time of its establishment by Ardashir. The term "king of kings of Iran" appears in Sasanid documents. In Kabe Zartosht inscription of Shapur I the Great the titles are chosen in a precise manner. In that Shapur names four of his Sasanid predecessors with different titles and in "an ascending order of importance" by giving the title (Xwaday) "the lord" to Sasan, "the king

Shah

Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...

" to Papag, "the King of kings of Iran

Sassanid Empire

The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...

" to Ardashir, and "king of kings of Iran and non-Iran

Aniran

Anīrān or Anērān is an ethno-linguistic term that signifies "non-Iranian" or "non-Iran." Thus, in a general sense, 'Aniran' signifies lands where Iranian languages are not spoken...

" to himself. .

Throughout its existence, the Sassanid Empire had been an absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy

Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...

. The Shahenshah was the height of authority, with satraps ruling over their satrapies underneath them. Shahenshah's being the highest form of authority throughout the empire often had rebellions from their satraps from different satrapies. In fact, the Sassanid Empire had been founded on a rebellion towards the Parthian Empire

Parthian Empire

The Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia...

 from a satrapie.

#	Shahenshah	Coin or statue	Reigned from	Reigned until	Relationship to Predecessor	Notes
1	Ardeshir I		224	241	—	Declared himself as Shahenshah after defeating Artabanus IV of Parthia at the Battle of Hormizdegan Battle of Hormizdegan The Battle of Hormizdgan was the climactic battle of the end of the Parthian Empire between the Parthian Empire and the Sassanid Empire, on April 24, 224 AD. The Sassanid victory broke the power of the Arsacid dynasty, effectively ending almost five centuries of Parthian rule in the Middle East,... Died of natural causes in 242
2	Shapur I Shapur I Shapur I or also known as Shapur I the Great was the second Sassanid King of the Second Persian Empire. The dates of his reign are commonly given as 240/42 - 270/72, but it is likely that he also reigned as co-regent prior to his father's death in 242 .-Early years:Shapur was the son of Ardashir I...		241	272	Son	Co-ruled with his father Ardashir I Ardashir I was the founder of the Sassanid Empire, was ruler of Istakhr , subsequently Fars Province , and finally "King of Kings of Sassanid Empire " with the overthrow of the Parthian Empire...  since 239 Died of natural causes in 270/272
3	Hormizd I Hormizd I Hormizd I was the third Sassanid King of Persia from 270/72 to 273.He was the youngest son of Shapur I , under whom he was governor of Khorasan, and appears in his wars against Rome Hormizd I was the third Sassanid King of Persia from 270/72 to 273.He was the youngest son of Shapur I...		272	273	Son	Reigned only for 1 year
4	Bahram I Bahram I Bahram I was the fourth Sassanid emperor of the second Persian Empire. He was the eldest son of Shapur I and succeeded his brother Hormizd I , who had reigned for only a year....		273	276	Brother	Committed the persecution of Manichaeism, including the death of Mani Mani (prophet) Mani , of Iranian origin was the prophet and the founder of Manichaeism, a gnostic religion of Late Antiquity which was once widespread but is now extinct... Died of disease/natural causes in 276
5	Bahram II Bahram II Bahram II was the fifth Sassanid King of Persia in 276–293. He was the son of Bahram I .Bahram II is said to have ruled at first tyrannically, and to have greatly disgusted all his principal nobles, who went so far as to form a conspiracy against him, and intended to put him to death...		276	293	Son	Died of natural causes in 293
6	Bahram III Bahram III Bahram III was the sixth Sassanid King of Persia and son of Bahram II. He was appointed viceroy to the region of Sakasthan after Bahram II's conquest of it sometime in the 280's CE....		293	293	Son	Possibly executed during the uprising which had been led by his own grand uncle Narseh
7	Narseh Narseh Narseh was the seventh Sassanid King of Persia , and son of Shapur I ....		293	302	Grand-uncle	Enthroned after seizing power from Bahram III in a rebellion led against him
8	Hormizd II Hormizd II Hormizd II, was the eighth Persian king of the Sassanid Empire, and reigned for seven years and five months, from 302 to 309. He was the son of Narseh .Almost nothing is known of his reign...		302	309	Son	Enthroned after abdicating the throne from his father
9	Adarnases		309	309	Unknown	Assassinated by the grandees
10	Shapur II Shapur II Shapur II the Great was the ninth King of the Persian Sassanid Empire from 309 to 379 and son of Hormizd II. During his long reign, the Sassanid Empire saw its first golden era since the reign of Shapur I...		309	379	Brother	After the death of his brother, Adarnases, Shapur II was in his mother's pregnant stomach and was crowned in utero.
11	Ardashir II Ardashir II Ardashir II was the tenth Sassanid King of Persia from 379 to 383.He is believed by some to be the son and by others to be the brother of his predecessor, Shapur II...		379	383	Brother or son	Died of natural causes in 384
12	Shapur III Shapur III Shapur III was the eleventh Sassanid King of Persia from 383 to 388. Shapur III succeeded his father Ardashir II in the year 383.- Treaty with Rome :...		383	388	Brother
13	Bahram IV Bahram IV Bahram IV was twelfth Sassanid King of Persia , son and successor of Shapur III of Persia , under whom he had been governor of Kerman; therefore he was called Kermanshah Bahram IV was twelfth Sassanid King of Persia (388–399), son and successor of Shapur III of Persia (383–388), under whom he had...		388	399	Son
14	Yazdegerd I Yazdegerd I Yazdegerd I, or Izdekerti , was the thirteenth Sassanid king of Persia and ruled from 399 to 421. He is believed by some to be the son of Shapur III and by others to be son of Bahram IV...		399	420	Son
15	Bahram V Bahram V Bahram V was the fourteenth Sassanid King of Persia . Also called Bahram Gur or Bahramgur , he was a son of Yazdegerd I , after whose sudden death he gained the crown against the opposition of the grandees by the help of Mundhir, the Arab dynast of al-Hirah.- Reign and war with Rome :Bahram V...		420	438	Son
16	Yazdegerd II Yazdegerd II Yazdegerd II was the fifteenth Sassanid King of Persia. He was the son of Bahram V and reigned from 438 to 457....		438	457	Son
17	Hormizd III Hormizd III Hormizd III, sixteenth Sassanid King of Persia, son of Yazdegerd II , succeeded his father in 457.Hormizd, the older son of Yazdegerd II, was kept near Ctesiphon, while his younger brother, Peroz, was stationed in Sistan. Following his father's death, Hormizd became ruler of the Sassanian Empire...		457	459	Son
18	Peroz I Peroz I Peroz I Peroz I Peroz I (also Pirooz; Peirozes (Priscus, fr. 33); Perozes (Procopius, De Bello Pers. I. 3 and Agathias iv. 27; the modern form of the name is Perooz, Piruz, or the Arabized Ferooz, Firuz; Persian: پیروز "the Victor"), was the seventeenth Sassanid King of Persia, who ruled from 457...		457	484	Brother
19	Balash Balash Balash , the eighteenth Sassanid King of Persia in 484–488, was the brother and successor of Peroz I of Persia , who had died in a battle against the Hephthalites who invaded Persia from the east.- Reign of Balash :Balash was made King of Persia following the death of his...		484	488	Brother	Two rebellions rose from two of Peroz's sons (his nephews) The first rebellion was from Zareh Zareh Zareh is an Armenian given name, derived from a legendary king mentioned in chapter 1.31 of the History of Armenia.... , but he was unsuccessful and executed The second rebellion was from Kavadh Kavadh Kavadh may refer to:*Kavadh I of Persia *Kavadh II of Persia, 7th century... , who at first unsuccessful requested help from Hephthalites
20	Kavadh I Kavadh I Kavad or Kavadh I was the son of Peroz I and the nineteenth Sassanid king of Persia, reigning from 488 to 531...		488	531	Uncle	Enthroned after leading a rebellion against his uncle Balash with assistance from Hephthalites
21	Djamasp Djamasp Djamasp was a Sassanid king who ruled from 496 to 498. He was a younger brother of king Kavadh I and was installed on the Sassanid throne upon the deposition of the latter by members of the nobility....		496	498	Brother
22	Khosrau I Khosrau I Khosrau I , also known as Anushiravan the Just or Anushirawan the Just Khosrau I (also called Chosroes I in classical sources, most commonly known in Persian as Anushirvan or Anushirwan, Persian: انوشيروان meaning the immortal soul), also known as Anushiravan the Just or Anushirawan the Just...		531	579	Son
23	Hormizd IV Hormizd IV Hormizd IV, son of Khosrau I, reigned as the twenty-first King of Persia from 579 to 590.He seems to have been imperious and violent, but not without some kindness of heart. Some very characteristic stories are told of him by Tabari. His father's sympathies had been with the nobles and the priests...		579	590	Son
24	Bahrām Chobin Bahram Chobin General Bahrām Chobin was a famous Eran spahbod during the late 6th century in Persia, usurping the Sassanid throne for a year as Bahram VI .- Life :...		590	591	Rebel	Rebelled against Hormizd IV and proclaimed himself to be king during the reign of Khosrau II
25	Bistam		591	595	Uncle	Uncle of Khosrau II Founded the city of Bistam
26	Hormizd V Hormizd V Hormizd V was briefly the ruler of the Sassanid Empire. Described as a usurper, he was one of many pretenders who rose after the temporary deposition of Chosroes II by Bahram Chobin....		593	593	Unknown
27	Khosrau II Khosrau II 250px|thumb|Khosrau II 250px|thumb|Khosrau II 250px|thumb|Khosrau II (Khosrow II, Chosroes II, or Xosrov II in classical sources, sometimes called Parvez, "the Ever Victorious" – (in Persian: خسرو پرویز), was the twenty-second Sassanid King of Persia, reigning from 590 to 628...		591	628	Son
28	Kavadh II Kavadh II Kavadh II , twenty-third Sassanid King of Persia, son of Khosrau II , was raised to the throne in opposition to his father in February 628, after the great victories of the Emperor Heraclius...		628	628	Son	Enthroned after killing his father and eighteen brothers Died after a few months of reign
29	Ardashir III Ardashir III Ardashir III was the twenty-fourth Sassanid King of Persia from 628 to 630.He was a son of Kavadh II/Shiroes and "Anzoy the Roman". His mother was probably from the Byzantine Empire. He was raised to the throne as a boy of seven years, but was killed 18 months later by his general, Shahrbaraz .-...		628	630	Son
30	Shahrbaraz Shahrbaraz Shahrbaraz or Shahrwaraz was a general, with the rank of Eran Spahbod under Khosrau II . His name was Farrokhan, and Shahrbaraz was his title...		630	630	General
31	Borandukht		630	631	Daughter	Daughter of Khosrau II Khosrau II 250px|thumb|Khosrau II 250px|thumb|Khosrau II 250px|thumb|Khosrau II (Khosrow II, Chosroes II, or Xosrov II in classical sources, sometimes called Parvez, "the Ever Victorious" – (in Persian: خسرو پرویز), was the twenty-second Sassanid King of Persia, reigning from 590 to 628... One of two only women who attained the Sassanid throne
32	Azarmidokht Azarmidokht Azarmidokht was the twenty-seventh Sassanid Monarch of Persia, and daughter of Khosrau II. She ruled Persia after her sister Purandokht.After the death of her father Khosrau II anarchy spread in the Sassanid empire. The subsequent rulers could stay for only a relatively brief time on the throne,...		631	631	Daughter	Daughter of Khosrau II and sister of Borandukth Second woman to attain the Sassanid throne |-	33	>	631	631	Unknown
34	Hormizd VI Hormizd VI Hormizd VI or V, twenty-eighth Sassanid King of Persia, was one of the many pretenders who rose after the murder of Khosrau II in 628. He maintained himself about two years in the district of Nisibis. There was also a brief usurper king, not always numbered among the monarchs, called Hormizd V in...		631	632	Usurper
35	Yazdegerd III		632	651	Unknown	Enthroned through a series of internal conflicts and murders The Muslim conquest of Persia began in his first year of reign
Destruction of the Sassanid dynasty
-	Peroz II		631 (In exile)	631 (In exile)	Son	Retreated to Chinese territory where he served as a Tang General Served as the head of the Governorate of Persia, an exiled extension of the Sassanid court
-	Narsieh Narsieh Narsieh was a Persian-Chinese general stationed in the Tang military garrison. He was son of prince Peroz III and grandson of Yazdgerd III, the last Sassanid king of Persia....		Unknown	Unknown	Son	Served as a Tang general, like his father The last Sassanid emperor (in exile) about whom there is information