Beate Dignas & Engelbert Winter - Kaveh Farrokh

c h a p t e r 8
Emperor and ‘King of kings’
34: Concepts of ‘legitimate rule’ and the ‘family of kings’ 1
Although the military confrontations between Rome and Persia continued
over centuries and their ideological differences were irreconcilable, it is
evident that both ‘world powers’ from early on acknowledged the other’s
claims to being of equal rank. In particular the relationship between the
individual rulers and the way they treated each other are good indications
for this. Examining this relationship allows us to gain insight not only
into the state of diplomatic relations and the political balance of power
but also into the degree of mutual respect that existed between the two
rulers at a given point. 2 In this context one should pay special attention to
two fundamental ideas, namely the legitimacy of the ruler’s status and the
notion of a ‘family of kings’. Ammianus Marcellinus records an exchange
of letters between Constantius II (337–61) and ˇ Sāpūr II (309–79), which
clearly reveals that the two perceived each other’s rank as equal to their
own. The Sasanian king addresses the emperor with the following words:
Ammianus Marcellinus xvii.5.3 and 10
(3) ‘I, King of kings, ˇ Sāpūr, comrade of the stars, brother of the Sun and the Moon, 3
am sending many greetings to my brother, the Caesar Constantius.’ 4
The emperor’s response begins as follows:
(10) ‘I, Constantius, victor by land and by sea, always Augustus, am sending many
greetings to my brother, King ˇ Sāpūr.’
By the middle of the fourth century war between Rome and Persia had
been going on for quite some time without substantial gains on either
1 For a detailed discussion of this theme see Winter 1989a: 72–92.
2 On the representation in the Byzantine authors see Diebler 1995: 187–217.
3 On the Persian king as ruler of the stars see Widengren 1976: 231.
4 Cf. Syme 1968: 41.
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