The (Book of the Deeds of Ardashir, Son of Papag) is a short Middle Persian prose tale written in the Sasanian period (226–651). It tells the story of Ardashir I, the founder of the Sasanian dynasty, including his rise to the throne, battle against the Parthian king Artabanus IV, and conquest of the Parthian Empire. It also contains sections about his successor Shapur and the latter’s son, Hormizd.

Plot

thumb|right|270px|Coin of [[Ardashir I (r. 224–242) and Shapur I (r. 240-270).]]

The story starts with the birth of Ardashir to Pābag's daughter and Sasan, a descendant of the Kayanian dynasty. He leaves his home to be educated by Ardavan, but after an argument with Ardavan's son he is demoted to overseer of the stables. After some time, a favourite maid of the Parthian king Ardavan fell in love with Ardashir and informed him of a prophecy that had been announced to the sovereign by the chief astrologer about Ardashir's future greatness.

Translations

The story has been translated to numerous languages. The oldest English translation was translated by Darab Dastur Peshotan Sanjana, B.A., 1896.

See also

  • Middle Persian literature

Notes

Further reading

  • A typed version with an updated transcription and translation.
  • The Middle Persian text (transcription into the Latin alphabet)
  • Editions in the Internet Archive containing the text in the original Pahlavi script: 1. Nosherwan, 1896, 2. Sanjana, 1896 (note: the Latin transcriptions in these works are outdated)
  • English translation of the Book of the Deeds of Ardashir, Son of Babag