The Arabian Campaigns of Ardashir Pabagan

The Sasanids were interested in Arabia from the very beginning of their reign in Iran, and it was already the founder of the new dynasty Ardashir I Pabagan who attempted to establish Persian military and political influence in the Arabian Peninsula. In this regard, the purpose of the article is a historical reconstruction of the events connected with the conquest of the eastern and southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula by Ardashir I. The main sources are the “Book of Long Narratives” by Dinawari, “The History of the Prophets and Kings” by Tabarī, the anonymous “Desire to Know the History of Persians and Arabs” and “The Dictionary of Countries” by Yakut. Additional but important information is contained in the inscription of the shahanshah Shapur I on the Ka’bah-i Zardusht, the Sabean inscription Sh 31, and the rock relief of the Shahanshah Warahran II. It is difficult to say anything definite about the chronology of the Arabian campaigns of Ardashir I, however, judging by the context in which these events are described in the relevant sources, they did not cover a very long period and presumably can be dated back to the first half of the reign of Ardashir Pabagan. At first glance, the campaigns of Ardashir I to Arabia were situational and tactical, and their main reason was the desire of the shahanshah to secure the southwestern regions of Iran from the invasions of the Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula. At the same time, a more thorough analysis of the sources and taking into account the events that occurred later, during the reign of Shapur II and Khosrow I, allow us to consider the Arabian campaigns of Ardashir Pabagan as the first stage of the long struggle of the Sasanids for hegemony over the entire eastern and southern part of the Arabian Peninsula from southern Iraq to Yemen inclusive.