Beate Dignas & Engelbert Winter - Kaveh Farrokh

24 2 A chronological survey
became more and more visible towards the end of ˇ Sāpūr I’s reign, and
in particular after his death. Although the Christian population displayed
loyalty towards the king in many instances, as a guardian and protector
of Zoroastrianism he was ultimately not allowed to tolerate Christianity
(30). Here we see clear parallels to the developments in the Roman
Empire where reasons of state were also responsible for persecutions of the
Christians.
ˇSāpūr I’s long-standing policy of religious tolerance favoured especially
the rise of Mani, the founder of Manichaeanism, 28 a religion that was for
a short time a religious alternative to Zoroastrianism, but at the end of his
life the king turned to Zoroastrianism. 29 In his Great Inscription ˇ Sāpūr
proclaimed that he owed his political successes entirely to the goodwill of
Ahura Mazda (30). At the beginning of the fourth century Constantine the
Great displayed a similar attitude with regard to the Christian God after
his victories over Maxentius and Licinius. 30 Both rulers propagated their
close relationship with a supreme god in a way that illustrates structural
similarities between their ideas of kingship. On the Eastern side, one is
reminded of the Sasanian reliefs that capture the ‘King of kings’ receiving
the ring, symbol of his divine rule, that is Ahura Mazda handing over
his power to the secular ruler; on the Western side, what comes to mind
are the many images that underline the close link between emperor and
God and show the emperor as the executor of divine plans in the world. 31
Further parallels to the religious situation in Persia can be observed with
regard to the motives, goals and consequences of Constantine’s religious
policy. As the Sasanian kings supported Zoroastrianism a long time before
the conversion of Constantine, religious developments in Persia must have
been significant for the events in the West. 32
It is striking how much ˇ Sāpūr I’s aggressive policy against Rome reinforced
the claims made by the founder of the Sasanian dynasty, Ardaˇsīr
I, namely to rule the territories that had once made up the Achaemenid
Empire (2). During his reign, Sasanian interests in the West reached a high
point for the first time and Rome had to apply all its energies in order to
28 On Mānī and the religion named after him see MacKenzie 1979: 500–31; Hutter 1988; Lieu 1992 and
1994.
29 On Zoroastrianism in the Sasanian Period see Zaehner 1975 and 1961; Duchesne-Guillemin 1983:
866–908 and Boyce 1984a: 101–43 and 1984b.
30 See Brandt 1998: 32–7 and 128–46 for references.
31 One famous example is the silver medallion from Ticinum, which probably dates to the year 315;
see Brandt 1998: 135–7.
32 Paul 1983: 108–12.