View source for Shapur III

{{Short description|Shahanshah of the Sasanian Empire from 383 to 388}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name        = Shapur III<br>{{lang|pal|𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩}}
| title       = [[King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians]]
| image       = Plate of Shapur III killing a tiger.jpg
| image_size  =
| caption     = A depiction of a king killing a leopard on the "Klimova Plate" ([[Hermitage Museum]]), presumed to be Shapur III
| succession  = [[List of shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire|Shahanshah]] of the [[Sasanian Empire]]
| reign       = 383 – 388
| predecessor = [[Ardashir II]]
| successor   = [[Bahram IV]]
| royal house = [[House of Sasan]]
| issue       = [[Yazdegerd I]]<br>[[Bahram IV]]
| father      = [[Shapur II]]
| mother      =
| spouse      = [[Yazdan-Friy Shapur]]
| birth_date  =
| birth_place = 
| death_date  = 388
| death_place = 
| religion    = [[Zoroastrianism]]
}}
{{SpecialChars|fix=Help:Special characters#Middle Persian}}
'''Shapur III''' ({{langx|pal|𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩}} {{Transliteration|pal|Šābuhr}}), was the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] [[King of Kings]] ({{lang|pal|[[shah]]anshah}}) of Iran from 383 to 388. He was the son of [[Shapur II]] ({{reign|309|379}}) and succeeded his uncle [[Ardashir II]] ({{reign|379|383}}).

His reign was largely uneventful; to the west, a dispute with the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] over [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]] was eventually settled [[Peace of Acilisene|through diplomacy]], partitioning the area between the two empires in a manner which left most of it under Sasanian control. To the east, Shapur III lost control of the important mint city [[Kabul]] to the [[Alchon Huns]].

He is notable for having a [[rock relief]] carved at [[Taq-e Bostan]], depicting a scene of him along with his father. He was the penultimate monarch to have a rock relief carved, the last one being [[Khosrow II]] ({{reign|590|628}}), who mimicked and magnified Shapur III's work. The king died in 388, after reigning for five years. He was crushed by the collapsing weight of his own tent, after some conspiring nobles had cut its ropes. His son [[Bahram IV]] succeeded him.

== Etymology ==
"Shapur" was a popular name in [[Sasanian Iran]], being used by three Sasanian monarchs and other notables of the Sasanian era and its later periods. Derived from [[Old Iranian]] ''*xšayaθiya.puθra'' ("son of a king"), it must initially have been a title, which became—at least in the late 2nd century AD—a personal name.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2002}} It appears in the list of [[Parthian Empire|Arsacid]] kings in some Arabic-Persian sources, however, this is [[anachronistic]].{{sfn|Shahbazi|2002}} Shapur is transliterated in other languages as; [[Greek language|Greek]] ''Sapur'', ''Sabour'' and ''Sapuris''; [[Latin]] ''Sapores'' and ''Sapor''; [[Arabic]] ''Sābur'' and ''Šābur''; [[New Persian]] ''Šāpur'', ''Šāhpur'', ''Šahfur''.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2002}}

==Background and accession==
Shapur III was the son of [[Shapur II]] ({{reign|309|379}}). In 379, Shapur II designated his half-brother [[Ardashir II]] as his successor on the condition that he would abdicate when his son reached adulthood.{{sfn|Shahbazi|1986|pp=380–381}}{{efn|This led to some Armenian writers to wrongly state that Ardashir II was Shapur II's son.{{sfn|Shahbazi|1986|pp=380–381}}}} Ardashir II's reign lasted until 383, when he was killed or deposed by the Iranian nobility. The reason behind this was due to his continuation of Shapur II's policy of restricting the authority of power-hungry nobles.{{sfn|Shahbazi|1986|pp=380–381}} Shapur III then succeeded him; according to the narratives included in the history of [[al-Tabari]] (died 923), he was well received by his subjects due to the crown being given to an offspring of Shapur II.{{sfn|Bosworth|1999|p=68}} Shapur III declared to them in his accession speech, that he would not allow deceit, greed or self-righteousness at his court.{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|pp=57-58}} However, to the nobility this was unacceptable.{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|p=58}}

== Reign ==
[[Image:Roman-Persian Frontier in Late Antiquity.svg|thumb|Map of the Roman-Iranian frontier|280px]]
[[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]] had been constantly the source of war between the Roman and Sasanian Empires. In 378/9, Shapur II had achieved Iranian hegemony over the country after its regent [[Manuel Mamikonian]] submitted to him. A force 10,000 of Iranian soldiers led by general [[Surena (4th century)|Surena]] were dispatched to Armenia.{{sfn|Chaumont|1986|pp=418–438}}{{sfn|Lenski|2002|p=185}} Surena was given the title of ''[[marzban]]'' ([[margrave]]), which indicates that Armenia was now a Sasanian province.{{sfn|Chaumont|1986|pp=418–438}} Under Ardashir II, however, Manuel rebelled and succeeded in maintaining independence against both the Iranians and Romans in the early 380s.{{sfn|Lenski|2002|p=185 (see also note 172)}} However, just before his death in 385/386,{{sfn|Toumanoff|1961|p=5}} he seemingly placed Armenia under Roman protection.{{sfn|Blockley|1987|p=229}} With his death, many Armenian ''[[nakharar]]s'' (grandees) revolted against the [[Arsacid dynasty of Armenia|Arsacid]] king [[Arshak III]] ({{reign|378|387}}) and appealed to Shapur III for another king. Shapur III responded by crowning [[Khosrov IV of Armenia|Khosrov IV]] as king, and gave him his sister [[Zurvandukht]] in marriage.<ref>Faustus of Byzantium, History of the Armenians, Book 6, Chapter 1</ref> He then sent an invasion force into Armenia, which occupied most of the country. Arshak III was forced to withdraw to the western region of [[Acilisene]], where he awaited Roman reinforcements.{{sfn|Toumanoff|1961|p=5}}{{sfn|Blockley|1987|p=229}}

Instead of declaring war, Iran and Rome agreed to come to terms through diplomacy.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=278}}{{sfn|Blockley|1987|p=229}} An [[Peace of Acilisene|agreement]] was made to partition Armenia.{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=278}}{{sfn|Chaumont|1986|pp=418–438}} The boundary stretched through [[Erzurum|Theodosiopolis]] in the north and [[Amida (Mesopotamia)|Amida]] in the south, which meant that most of Armenia remained in Sasanian [[Sasanian Armenia|hands]],{{sfn|Chaumont|1986|pp=418–438}} including the two Arsacid capitals of [[Artaxata]] and [[Dvin (ancient city)|Dvin]].{{sfn|Hovannisian|1997|p=92}} With this treaty, the Romans also fully acknowledged Iranian hegemony over all of [[Sasanian Iberia|Iberia]].{{sfn|Toumanoff|1963|pp=360–361}}{{sfn|Suny|1994|p=22}}{{sfn|Howard-Johnston|2006|p=27}} When this treaty exactly took place is unsure; most scholars believe the treaty was made in 387, whilst a few others state 384 or even in 389 or 390.{{sfn|Chaumont|1986|pp=418–438}} Both sides were to cooperate in the defense of the [[Caucasus]], with the Romans agreeing to pay the Iranians roughly 500&nbsp;lbs (226&nbsp;kg) of gold at irregular intervals.{{sfn|Shayegan|2013|p=809}}{{sfn|Payne|2015|pp=297–298}} While the Romans saw this payment as political allocations, the Iranians saw it as tribute.{{sfn|Payne|2015|p=298}}

In order to further reduce the political and economic power of Iranian Armenia, Shapur III deprived the country of several of its provinces;{{sfn|Bournoutian|2002|p=53}} [[Artsakh (historic province)|Artsakh]], [[Utik]], Shakashen, [[Gardman]] and Kolt were given to [[Caucasian Albania]] (ruled by a [[Arsacid dynasty of Caucasian Albania|collateral line]] of the Arsacids);{{sfn|Hewsen|2001|pp=40, 75}} [[Gugark]] (ruled by the [[Mihranids of Gugark|Mihranids]]) became subject to Iberia;{{sfn|Rapp|2014|p=66}}{{sfn|Toumanoff|1961|p=38}} and [[Arzanene]] (ruled by a ''[[bidaxsh]]'', i.e. margrave), [[Paytakaran]], Korjayk ([[Corduene]]) and [[Parskahayk]] were incorporated into Iran.{{sfn|Hovannisian|1997|p=92}}{{sfn|Bournoutian|2002|p=53}}{{sfn|Toumanoff|1961|p=31}} Arshak III soon died, which made the Romans abolish their branch of the Arsacid monarchy and create the province of [[Byzantine Armenia|Western Armenia]].{{sfn|Lenski|2002|p=185}}{{sfn|Chaumont|1986|pp=418–438}} As a result many of the ''nakharars'' who had followed him subsequently rejoined the Iranians.{{sfn|Hovannisian|1997|p=92}} The Arsacid monarchy in Iranian Armenia continued to last for a few decades, until its abolishment by king [[Bahram V]] ({{reign|420|438}}) in 428.{{sfn|Lenski|2002|p=185}}{{sfn|Chaumont|1986|pp=418–438}} Shapur III's religious tolerance towards the Christians is reported by the historians [[Elishe]] and [[John of Ephesus]]. According to the former, Shapur III granted the Armenians lavish gifts and exempted their Church from royal taxation.{{sfn|McDonough|2006|p=252}}

Besides the dispute over Armenia, Shapur III seems to have clashed with the [[Alchon Huns]] to the east; coinage indicates that the Alchon Huns seized [[Kabul]] from him sometime before 388. They duplicated the same coin mints issued by Shapur III, with the only difference being the newly added [[Bactrian language|Bactrian]] inscription "αλχοννο" (''alxanno''), added to display their takeover of Sasanian territory.{{sfn|Payne|2016|p=11}} The loss of the city was a major blow, as it had been a center of coin manufacture since the 360s.{{sfn|Payne|2016|p=11}}

Shapur III died in 388, after reigning for five years. He died when some nobles cut the ropes of a large tent that he had erected in one of his palace courts, so that the tent fell on top of him.{{sfn|Pourshariati|2008|p=58}} He was succeeded by his son [[Bahram IV]].{{sfn|Klíma|1988|pp=514–522}} Another of his sons, [[Yazdegerd I]], later succeeded Bahram IV in 399.{{sfn|Shahbazi|2005}}

== Coinage ==
[[Image:Gold coin of Shapur III.jpg|thumb|[[Gold dinar]] of Shapur III, [[Sindh]] [[Sasanian coinage of Sindh|mint]]]]
Under Shapur III and Bahram IV, the administrative program for [[Sasanian coinage]] substantially changed. More coins were minted, with administrative areas often producing dies for several types of mints.{{sfn|Schindel|2013|p=818}} Shapur III was one of the few Sasanian kings to mint coins of himself not wearing a crown and ''[[Korymbos (headgear)|korymbos]]'', but only a [[diadem]]. This demonstrates that the diadem was the most important [[headgear]] of the Sasanian king.{{sfn|Shayegan|2013|p=832}} On his coins, he used the typical title of ''Mazdēsn bay Šābuhr šāhān šāh Ērān ud Anērān kēčihr az yazdān'' ("the Mazda-worshiping, divine Shapur, King of Kings of Iran(ians) and non-Iran(ians), whose image/brilliance is from the gods").{{sfn|Schindel|2013|p=836}}{{sfn|Shayegan|2013|p=805}}

== Rock relief ==
{{Further|Inscription of Shapur II and Shapur III at Taq-e Bostan}}
Shapur III ordered the creation of a [[rock relief]] located at the site of [[Taq-e Bostan]] near present-day [[Kermanshah]]. Its design was that in the form of an [[iwan]]. Two Sasanian kings are portrayed, with inscriptions identifying the king to the left as Shapur III, and the king to the right as Shapur II.{{sfn|Canepa|2013|p=870}} While the king to the right is wearing Shapur II's crown, the one to left does properly duplicate the crown of Shapur III.{{sfn|Canepa|2013|p=870}} Unlike other Sasanian reliefs, the one created under Shapur III was not sculptured at the surface of a rock face, but at the back of a [[barrel vault]]ed area.{{sfn|Canepa|2018|p=360}} This style was mimicked and magnified in the 7th century by the Sasanian monarch [[Khosrow II]] ({{reign|590|628}}).{{sfn|Canepa|2018|p=361}}

<gallery mode=packed heights=150px style="text-align:center"> 
File:Taq-e Bostan - High-relief Shapur II and Shapur III.jpg|Relief of Shapur III (left) and Shapur II (right).{{sfn|Canepa|2013|p=870}}
File:Shapur II and Shapur III.jpg|19th-century drawing of the relief from a book of [[George Rawlinson]].
File:Taq-e Bostan - Pahlavi writing.jpg|[[Inscriptional Pahlavi]] text near the sculptures.
</gallery>

== Klimova plate ==
The "Klimova Plate" (part of the [[Klimova Treasure]]), is a silver vessel located in the [[Hermitage Museum]], which depicts a king slaying a leopard. His crown is highly identical to that of Shapur III. The crown is topped by the traditional ''korymbos'', a globe-like cloth.{{sfn|Harper|Meyers|1981|p=74}} The king is wearing a dress identical to that of the plate of Yazdegerd I located in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].{{sfn|Harper|Meyers|1981|p=75}} A [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]] inscription from the 7th or 8th-century is inscribed on its reverse.{{sfn|Harper|Meyers|1981|p=74}} While Harper and Meyers in their book ''Silver Vessels of the Sasanian Period: Royal Imagery'' (1981) consider the king to possibly represent Shapur III,{{sfn|Harper|Meyers|1981|pp=74–75}} the ''[[The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity|Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity]]'' (2018) considers it be him.{{sfn|Hunter-Crawley|2018|pp=1158}}

==Onyx seal==
One of the wives of Shapur III, named [[Yazdan-Friy Shapur]], has been immortalized by an [[onyx]] seal of remarkable quality, where she is shown wearing the horns of a ram. The seal is now in the [[Cabinet des Médailles]], [[France]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Intaille |url=http://medaillesetantiques.bnf.fr/ws/catalogue/app/collection/record/ark:/12148/c33gb1v1s6 |website=medaillesetantiques.bnf.fr |language=fr}}</ref>{{sfn|Lo Muzio|2008|p=201}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

== Bibliography ==
=== Ancient works ===
*[[Faustus of Byzantium]], ''History of the Armenians''.

=== Modern works ===
* {{cite journal |last=Blockley|first=Roger C. |year=1987 |title=The Division of Armenia between the Romans and the Persians at the End of the Fourth Century A.D. |journal=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte |volume=36|issue=2 |pages=222–234|jstor=4436006 }} {{Registration required}}
* {{cite book | last = Bosworth | first = C.E. | author-link= Clifford Edmund Bosworth | editor1 = Ehsan Yar-Shater | title = The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume V: The Sāsānids, the Byzantines, the Lakhmids, and Yemen | volume = 5 | publisher = State University of New York Press | location = Albany, NY | date = 1999 | url= https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-history-of-al-tabari-vol-5-the-sasanids-the-byzantines-the-lakhmids-and-yemen-d183777497.html}}
* {{cite book|last1=Bournoutian|first1=George A.|title=A Concise History of the Armenian People: (from Ancient Times to the Present)|date=2002|publisher=Mazda Publishers|isbn=978-1568591414|edition=2|url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00geor}}
* {{cite book |last1=Canepa|first1=Matthew P. |editor-last=Potts|editor-first=Daniel T.|title=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0199733309 |chapter=Sasanian Rock Reliefs|url=https://www.academia.edu/3862504}}
* {{cite book |first1=Matthew P. |last1=Canepa|title=The Iranian Expanse: Transforming Royal Identity through Architecture, Landscape, and the Built Environment, 550 BCE–642 CE |date=2018 |publisher=University of California Press |chapter=Earthly Paradises|pages=1–512|isbn=9780520964365|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/62562}}
* {{Encyclopaedia Iranica | title = Armenia Iran ii. The pre-Islamic period | last = Chaumont | first = M. L. | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/armenia-ii | volume = 2 | fascicle = 4 | pages = 418–438 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Harper|first1=Prudence Oliver|last2=Meyers|first2=Pieter|title=Silver Vessels of the Sasanian Period: Royal Imagery|date=1981 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=9780870992483 |pages=1–256|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/Silver_Vessels_of_the_Sasanian_Period_Vol_1_Royal_Imagery}}
* {{cite book|last=Hewsen|first=Robert H.|author-link=Robert H. Hewsen|title=Armenia: A Historical Atlas|url=|year=2001|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0226332284}}
* {{cite book | last = Hovannisian | first = Richard G. | title = The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times: Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century | year = 1997 | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | location = | pages = | isbn = 978-1403964212 }}
* {{cite book |last=Howard-Johnston |first=James |author-link=James Howard-Johnston |title=East Rome, Sasanian Persia And the End of Antiquity: Historiographical And Historical Studies |year=2006 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |isbn=0-86078-992-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1U4rUaLdYnQC}}
* {{cite book|last1=Kia|first1=Mehrdad|title=The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia|date=2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1610693912|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B5BHDAAAQBAJ}}
* {{Encyclopaedia Iranica | title = Bahrām IV | last = Klíma | first = O. | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bahram-04 | volume = 3 | fascicle = 5 | pages = 514–522 }}
* {{cite book|last=Lenski|first=Noel Emmanuel|title=Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman state in the fourth century A.D. |year=2002|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-23332-4}}
* {{cite journal |last1=McDonough|first1=Scott|title=Power by Negotiation: Institutional Reform in the Fifth Century Sasanian Empire |date=2006 |publisher=|isbn=|chapter=|url=https://www.academia.edu/966746}}
* {{cite journal |last=Lo Muzio|first=Ciro| title=Remarks on the Paintings from the Buddhist Monastery of Fayaz Tepe (Southern Uzbekistan) |journal=Bulletin of the Asia Institute |date=2008|volume=22|pages=189–208|url=https://www.academia.edu/3586155|url-access=registration}} 
* {{ODLA|last=Hunter-Crawley|first=Heather|title=Perm Treasures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A09WDwAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book |last=Payne |first=Richard|title=The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Attila |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-107-63388-9 |editor-last=Maas |editor-first=Michael |pages=282–299|chapter=The Reinvention of Iran: The Sasanian Empire and the Huns|url=https://www.academia.edu/8586255}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Payne|first1=Richard|title=The Making of Turan: The Fall and Transformation of the Iranian East in Late Antiquity |journal=Journal of Late Antiquity |date=2016 |volume=9 |pages=4–41 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|doi=10.1353/jla.2016.0011|s2cid=156673274}}
* {{cite book|last=Pourshariati|first=Parvaneh|title=Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran|location=London and New York|publisher=I.B. Tauris|year=2008|isbn=978-1-84511-645-3|url=http://www.victoriaazad.com/pdf/Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Sasanian_Empire.pdf}}
* {{cite book|last1=Rapp|first1=Stephen H.|title=The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature|date=2014|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1472425522|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T8VIBQAAQBAJ&q=rapp+inscription+kartir}}
* {{cite book |last1=Schindel |first1=Nikolaus |editor-last=Potts|editor-first=Daniel T.|title=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0199733309 |chapter=Sasanian Coinage}}
* {{Encyclopaedia Iranica | title = Ardašīr II | last = Shahbazi | first  = A. Shapur  | author-link = Alireza Shapour Shahbazi | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ardasir-ii-sasanian-king-of-kings-a |volume = 2 | fascicle = 4 | pages = 380–381 }}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online | title = Šāpur I | last = Shahbazi | first = A. Shapur | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/shapur-i | year = 2002 }}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online | last = Shahbazi | first  = A. Shapur | title = Sasanian dynasty | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sasanian-dynasty | year = 2005 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Shayegan|first1=M. Rahim|editor-last=Potts|editor-first=Daniel T.|title=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0199733309 |chapter=Sasanian Political Ideology}}
* {{cite book | title = The Making of the Georgian Nation | year = 1994 | publisher = Indiana University Press | last = Suny | first = Ronald Grigor | pages = 1–418 | isbn = 9780253209153 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=riW0kKzat2sC }}
* {{cite journal |last=Toumanoff |first=Cyril |author-link=Cyril Toumanoff |year=1961|title=Introduction to Christian Caucasian History: II: States and Dynasties of the Formative Period |journal=Traditio |publisher= Cambridge University Press |volume=17|pages=1–106 |doi= 10.1017/S0362152900008473|jstor=27830424|s2cid=151524770 }} {{Registration required}}
* {{cite book | title = Studies in Christian Caucasian history | year = 1963 | publisher = Georgetown University Press | last = Toumanoff | first = Cyril | pages = 1–599 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jlE1AAAAIAAJ}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|last1=Greatrex|first1=Geoffrey|last2=Lieu|first2=Samuel N. C.|title=The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II, 363–630 AD)|location=New York, New York and London, United Kingdom|publisher=Routledge (Taylor & Francis)|year=2002|isbn=0-415-14687-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=awCGAgAAQBAJ&q=editions:RnfRGIKzbn8C|ref=none}}
* {{cite book | title = ReOrienting the Sasanians: East Iran in Late Antiquity | year = 2017 | publisher = Edinburgh University Press | last = Rezakhani | first = Khodadad | chapter = East Iran in Late Antiquity| pages = 1–256 | isbn = 9781474400305 |ref=none| jstor = 10.3366/j.ctt1g04zr8 }} {{registration required}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian dynasty]]||||388}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Ardashir II]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[King of Kings of Iran and non-Iran]]|years=383–388}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Bahram IV]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Sasanian Rulers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapur 03}}
[[Category:388 deaths]]
[[Category:4th-century births]]
[[Category:Murdered Persian monarchs]]
[[Category:4th-century Sasanian monarchs]]
[[Category:Shahnameh characters]]
[[Category:4th-century murdered monarchs]]