THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND SASANIAN PERSIA IN THE THIRD CENTURY A.D.

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The principal object of this study is an examination of the political, military, cultural, and religious relations between the Roman Empire and Sasanian Persia, neither of which would have yielded to the other in their rivalry to border on the frontier more than four centuries. I have achieved the following results.1. The great tri-lingual inscription of Sapor I commonly called the Res Gestae divi Saporis was discovered in A.D.1936/39 on the sides of the Kaabah of Zoroaster at Naqsh-i Rustam. We may draw the conclusion that the story as told by this inscription, especially of the capture and the treatment of Valerianus by Sapor I (ca. A.D.260) is basically more trustworthy than that of the Greek and Roman authors such as Lactantius and Zosimos.2. In order to pay deep regard to the assertion of the Persian side. I tried to reexamine iconographically a series of reliefs of Sapor's victories over the Roman Emperors, which most evidently exhibit the Persian ideas on government and investiture, and I could thus acquire more detailed and accurate informations.3. Viewed from a different standpoint, not the state's but the masses', it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the Christian Church was really spreading over the both Empires at this crucial period. Consequently, the World of the Middle East turned to Islam, and the World of Europe became Christian. It is very interesting to examine the differences in character of the two religions and the religious policy of the two Empires.In Japanese academic circles, such study is still an unexplored field. So, I had to spend most of my time in gathering literature on this subject. The main issues will be dealt with and published successively from now on.