The Vanished Relief of Sassanian King in Naghsh-e Rustam V: An Appraisal

With the eight Sassanians reliefs, Naghsh-e Rustam in Marvdasht is a prominent complex safeguarding a complete collection of the Sassanian period. Seven of these reliefs have been repeatedly the subject of investigations thanks to their relatively better conditions. The fifth relief, however, has not yet been studied due to their damaged status. It depicts the full-face portrait of a Sassanid king carved in relief. Historically, in other Sassanid reliefs as well as coins and vessels alike, the same method was exercised to portray kings. The king carved in this relief is wearing an embattled crown posing him as Shapur II (309-379 AD). Since no relief had previously been associated to his long 70-year reign, relating this relief to him was highly welcomed by researchers. In a bid to identify the king in the relief, and through a close investigation of the relief and compare it with another ones, this study compared the mixed opinions on four different kings (Shapur II, Adhur Narseh, Shapur III and Shapur I) who might possibly be carved in this relief. Finally, the possibility of assignment of the relief to Shapur I is discussed.