![[SassanidEmpirebeforeArabConquest.png]] *Sasanian Empire's greatest extent* The Sasanian Empire had begun in 224 CE, when a conqueror named Ardashir I who claimed descent from Achaemenid emperors, overthrew the Parthians. Internal strife and perennial conflict with the Roman Empire had weakened the Parthian, and Ardashir organized a more centralized state, with a capital at Ctesiphon on the Tigris River in present-day Iraq, about twenty miles from Baghdad. Ctesiphon was a center of Silk Road commerce. The city was a melting-pot of Persian, Greek, and Mesopotamian cultures with Zoroastrian temples, Christian churches, and Jewish synagogues. The Christians were members of the Eastern (or Nestorian) branch of the religion, which also spread through Armenia, Georgia, and Bactria. During Constantine's promotion of Christianity, some Sasanian rulers distrusted Christians as possible allies of Rome, and persecuted them. The proximity of their capital to Constantinople, only about 600 miles away, was a danger and Ctesiphon was sacked by a Roman army in 363 CE. ----- Next: [[8.8 - Gupta Empire]] Back: [[8.6 - Constantinople]]