Drachm - Shapur II

Shapur II holds a singular distinction in Sasanian history: he was crowned in utero, the nobles reportedly placing the diadem on his mother's womb after his father Hormizd II died in 309 without a living adult heir. He then reigned for 70 years — the longest of any Sasanian king — a span covering three Roman emperors and two major campaigns against Constantius II. Early issues from his reign, including types dateable to around the 320s, predate the brutal persecution of Christians he launched mid-century, itself partly a political response to Constantine's adoption of Christianity in Rome.