Sasanian art, or Sassanid art, was produced under the Sasanian Empire which ruled from the 3rd to 7th centuries AD, before the Muslim conquest of Persia was completed around 651. In 224 AD, the last Parthian king was defeated by Ardashir I. The resulting Sasanian dynasty would last for four hundred years, ruling modern Iran, Iraq, and much territory to the east and north of modern Iran. At times the Levant, much of Anatolia and parts of Egypt and Arabia were under its control. It began a new era in Iran and Mesopotamia, which in many ways was built on Achaemenid traditions, including the art of the period. Nevertheless, there were also other influences on art of the period that came from as far as China and the Mediterranean.Harper; Cotterell, 177–178;
The surviving art of the Sasanians is best seen in its architecture, reliefs and metalwork, and there are some surviving paintings from what was evidently a widespread production. Stone reliefs were probably greatly outnumbered by interior ones in plaster, of which only fragments have survived. Free standing sculptures are fewer than in Parthian art, but the Colossal Statue of Shapur I (r. AD 240–272) is a major exception, carved from a stalagmite grown in a cave;Harper there are literary mentions of other colossal statues of kings, now lost.Keall There are important Sasanian rock reliefs, and the Parthian tradition of moulded stucco decoration to buildings continued, also including large figurative scenes.
Surviving Sasanian art depicts courtly and chivalric scenes, with considerable grandeur of style, reflecting the lavish life and display of the Sasanian court as recorded by Byzantine ambassadors. Images of rulers dominate many of the surviving works, though none are as large as the Colossal Statue of Shapur I. Hunting and battle scenes enjoyed a special popularity, and lightly clothed dancing girls and entertainers. Although Parthian art preferred the front view, the narrative representations of the Sasanian art often features figures shown in the profile or a three-quarter view. Frontal views occur less frequently.
Sculpture and rock reliefs
Compared to the Parthian era, free standing sculptures are rare in this period. The Colossal Statue of Shapur I (r. AD 240–272) is the single outstanding exception to survive.
The large carved rock relief, typically placed high beside a road, and near a source of water, is a common medium in Persian art, mostly used to glorify the king and proclaim Persian control over territory.Canepa, 53 and throughout. Canepa, 63–64, 76–78 on siting It begins with Lullubi and Elamite rock reliefs, such as those at Kul-e Farah and Eshkaft-e Salman in southwest Iran, and continues under the Assyrians. The Behistun relief and inscription, carved around 500 BC for Darius the Great, is on a far grander scale, reflecting and proclaiming the power of the Achaemenid Empire.Luschey; Canepa, 55–57 Persian rulers commonly boasted of their power and achievements, until the Muslim conquest removed imagery from such monuments; much later there was a small revival during the Qajar era.Herrmann and Curtis
Behistun is unusual in having a large and important inscription, similar to the Egyptian Rosetta Stone it repeats its text in three different languages, and was important in the modern understanding of these languages. Other Persian reliefs generally lack inscriptions, and the kings involved often can only be tentatively identified. The problem is helped in the case of the Sassanids by their custom of showing a different style of crown for each king, which can be identified from their coins.
Naqsh-e Rostam is the necropolis of the Achaemenid dynasty (500–330 BC), with four large tombs cut high into the cliff face. These have mainly architectural decoration, but the facades include large panels over the doorways, each very similar in content, with figures of the king being invested by a god, above a zone with rows of smaller figures bearing tribute, with soldiers and officials. The three classes of figures are sharply differentiated in size. The entrance to each tomb is at the centre of each cross, which opens onto a small chamber, where the king lay in a sarcophagus.Cotterell, 162; Canepa, 57–59, 65–68 The horizontal beam of each of the tomb's facades is believed to be a replica of the entrance of the palace at Persepolis.
Well below the Achaemenid tombs, near ground level, are rock reliefs with large figures of Sassanian kings, some meeting gods, others in combat. The most famous shows Shapur I on horseback, with the Roman Emperor Valerian bowing to him in submission, and Philip the Arab (an earlier emperor who paid Shapur tribute) holding Shapur's horse, while the dead Emperor Gordian III, killed in battle, lies beneath it (other identifications have been suggested). This commemorates the Battle of Edessa in 260 AD, when Valerian became the only Roman Emperor who was captured as a prisoner of war, a lasting humiliation for the Romans. The placing of these reliefs clearly suggests the Sassanid intention to link themselves with the glories of the earlier Achaemenid Empire.Herrmann and Curtis; Canepa, 62, 65–68 There are three further Achaemenid royal tombs with similar reliefs at Persepolis, one unfinished.
The seven Sassanian reliefs, whose approximate dates range from 225 to 310 AD, show subjects including investiture scenes and battles. The earliest relief at the site is Elamite, from about 1000 BC. About a kilometre away is Naqsh-e Rajab, with a further four Sassanid rock reliefs, three celebrating kings and one a high priest. Another important Sassanid site is Taq-e Bostan with several reliefs including two royal investitures and a famous figure of a cataphract or Persian heavy cavalryman, about twice life size, probably representing the king Khosrow Parviz mounted on his favourite horse Shabdiz; the pair continued to be celebrated in later Persian literature.Herrmann and Curtis; Canepa, 74–76 Firuzabad and Bishapur have groups of Sasanian reliefs, the former including the oldest, a large battle scene, now badly worn.Herrmann and Curtis; Keall for the six at Bishapur At Barm-e Delak, a king offers a flower to his queen.
Sasanian reliefs are concentrated in the first 80 years of the dynasty, though one important set are 6th-century, and at relatively few sites, mostly in the Sassanid heartland. The later ones in particular suggest that they draw on a now-lost tradition of similar reliefs in palaces in stucco. The rock reliefs were probably coated in plaster and painted.
The standard catalogue of pre-Islamic Persian reliefs lists the known examples (as at 1984) as follows: Lullubi #1–4; Elam #5–19; Assyrian #20–21; Achaemenid #22–30; Late/Post-Achaemenid and Seleucid #31–35; Parthian #36–49; Sasanian #50–84; others #85–88.Vanden Berghe, Louis, Reliefs rupestres de l' Iran ancien, 1983, Brussels, per online summary of his list here
Many symbolic badges are found in the forms of various plant and animal figures in the reliefs and stuccos. They represent Zoroastrian deities.
Figure Image Symbol of Lotus Farr, Anahid Tree of life Abundance, immortality Grape Blessing and fertility Date palm Blessing and fertility Pomegranate Blessing, Anahid
Reliefs
Some of the greatest achievements are mainly a series of more than thirty rock relief monuments. They are mostly found in Fars province, which was the original province of the ruling Sassanid house. The reliefs mostly date back to between the 3rd and beginning of the 4th centuries. The reliefs depict some significant event and are usually attributed to specific rulers.
A relief at Naqsh-e Rostam is mounted below the Achaemenid royal tombs, and is therefore probably in reference to this, as a way for a monarch to likein and connect himself to the old dynasty and pay homage. Ardashir I is depicted with the god Ahura Mazda, each in strict profile and of the same size. This depicts an equality of the monarch and the god, indicating a greatness about him. The relief is modeled very strong, but is rather cautious in the presentation of details. There is evidence of Hellenistic influences in the relief.
Other reliefs, such as at Taq-e Bostan, are mounted in a rock-hewn arch. On the back wall of this there are almost fully sculpted figures. Khosrow II is illustrated on a horse in a heavy suit of armor. The scenes on the sides of this show a royal hunt. The figure of the ruler is shown in front view, his face contrast in three-quarter view. His figure is tall and dominates the whole scene, other figures, however, are shown comparatively small. The composition gives the representation of landscape and many details such as the court of the king, a rather picturesque impression and was certainly once painted.
Stucco In addition to the rock reliefs, stucco reliefs played a major role in art under the Sasanians. Since stone brick buildings were conceived as ugly, they were covered in stucco. Within these stucco walls reliefs were often carved of mainly floral patterns, but also figurative representations and especially animals. Often important state buildings, such as palaces and administrative headquearers, would have been decorated as such, often colored white.
Paintings
Paintings played a substantial role in Sassanid art, although it is currently poorly documented. Mani was known to have been a painter of some fame, apparently for panel paintings or miniatures in books. Nothing of this sort remains from the period, although the tradition of the Persian miniature from some centuries later was apparently the earliest in the Islamic world.
One of the few sites where wall-paintings survived in quantity is Panjakent in modern Tajikistan, and ancient Sogdia, which was barely, if at all, under the control of the central Sasanian power. The old city was abandoned in the decades after the Muslims eventually took the city in 722 and has been extensively excavated in modern times. Large areas of wall paintings survived from the palace and private houses, which are mostly now in the Hermitage Museum or Tashkent. They covered whole rooms and were accompanied by large quantities of reliefs in wood. The subjects are similar to other Sasanian art, with enthroned kings, feasts, battles, and beautiful women, and there are illustrations of both Persian and Indian epics, as well as a complex mixture of deities. They mostly date from the 7th and 8th centuries.Marshak, Boris I, "Panjicant", 2002, Encyclopaedia Iranica; Canby (1993), 9; Harper; many photos at warfare.ml
In Hajjiabad, Iran, a mansion was excavated that still contained well-preserved paintings. The walls were decorated with frontal view busts.Massoud Azarnoush: The Sasanian manor house at Hājīābād, Iran, Firenze 1994 The frescos at Dura Europos, on the frontier of the Roman Empire and Sasanian Persia, are also relevant, with many figures in Persian dress. The most famous come from the Dura-Europos synagogue, and date from around 244–256; those in the Dura-Europos church may be a few years older.
At Bishapur, floor mosaics in a broadly Greco-Roman style have survived, and these were probably widespread in other elite settings, perhaps made by craftsmen from the Greek world.Keall for Bishapur; see Harper for other sites
Architecture
The grandest buildings of Sasanian architecture were very large palaces in brick, with high vaulted halls, that were important in the development of the iwan in Islamic architecture. The Sasanians further developed the vaults and arches used by the Parthians, usually with a large opening to one side of the hall in iwan style.
Taq Kasra, the palace at Ctesiphon, is dominated by an arched hall, with much of the enormous vault still standing. The facade is elaborately articulated with columns and niches which once bore paintings and reliefs.