Shapur I (ca. 241 CE)

SHAPUR I (reigned 241-272 CE) Persian king of the Sassanid dynasty. The first reigned from 241 to 272 C.E., the second from 309 to 379, and the third and last from 383/4 to 388/9. In rabbinic literature apparently only the first two are mentioned. Shapur I Samuel, the head of the academy at Nehardea, discussed with Shapur I, with whom he was on friendly terms, religious topics (Sanh. 98a; Suk. 53a), the tense political relations between Persia and Rome (Ber. 56a), and also other subjects. Although aggadic in their extant form, the conversations, in view of their subject matter and contents, are historical. The Jewish community in Babylonia, a large ethnic-religious group recognized by the authorities, was a political and economic factor of considerable importance, and Jewish representatives met the king or other representatives of local authorities to discuss matters of common concern. In the days of Samuel, as during the third century generally, Persia, which included Babylonia, was the scene of a particularly animated religious ferment. There were the sect of Mani and the fanatical priest Kartir who was actively hostile to all non-Mazdean religious minorities. His boast of his ill-treatment of the followers of various religions, the first to be mentioned being the Jews, was found in an inscription. Under such circumstances the Jews appealed to the authorities for protection, these contacts providing an occasion for discussions on religious topics. In any event, talmudic literature records no complaint against Shapur I.