The Sasanian rulers, starting with Ardashir I, sought to expand the borders of Iran in the west, gain a foothold in the Transcaucasus, and enter the Mediterranean. In this they were prevented first by the troops of Rome, and then by Byzantium. Back in 228, Iranian troops crossed the Euphrates River, the border of Rome's possessions. Emperor Alexander Severus, in a letter to Arda-shir, arrogantly called him a barbarian and warned against a big war, advising him to protect his own lands and not try to radically change the state borders in Asia. In turn, Ardashir suggested that the emperor be content with Europe and withdraw from Syria and the rest of Asia, allowing the Persians to regain their former possessions. The response of the Persians was regarded in Rome as audacity. All 400 ambassadors of Ardashir were seized and made prisoners, regardless of their heroic constitution, for which they were selected as ambassadors, or their golden weapons. The Roman legions, under the command of the emperor himself, moved to Iran. Alexander Sever did not shine with military talents, and in 232 he had to conclude a truce with Iran.
Taking advantage of the struggle for power in Rome, Shahanshah Shapur I, the son and successor of Ardashir, decided to start a war with Rome in 241. Initially, military successes accompanied the Romans. Their legions under the command of the 18-year-old emperor Gordian III reached the capital of Iran, but Gordian III was treacherously killed by his close associate Philip the Arab, who, having become emperor, hastened to make peace with Shapur in 244.
Shapur again started a war with Rome in 258. Due to mediocre leadership, the Roman army was completely defeated, and the war ended in 260 with the capture of the aged emperor Valerian, who died in captivity.
Shapur I ordered his victory to be imprinted for centuries in a rock relief in Naqsh-i-Rustem, in the homeland of his ancestors in the province of Pars. Another monument to the victory won by the Shahanshah over the Romans was the “Emperor's Dam” built by the hands of the captives - a complex irrigation system erected on the Karun River. The legend says that among others, the captive emperor Valerian worked on its construction.
https://all-andorra.blogspot.com/2020/06/news-update-pinterest-google-26062020-63.html
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