The Legend of Wide Religious Prosecutions during the Reign of Shapūr II

Since some of the Roman emperors launched massive religious prosecutions against Christians, a large number of them entered Iran during the rule of the Parthians. Christians even enjoyed a good opportunity to hold their religious affairs during the reign of the first Sassanid kings, especially Shapur I. However, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century AD, there has been, for more than a century, a prevailing hypothesis among scholars of history that Shapur II placed Christians under intense religious prosecutions in the fourth century AD. The syriac testimonies dating back to the fifth century AD which traditionally dealt with this issue are the main sources show these prosecutions. With the assumption that such events have taken place and on the basis of it, some researchers, on the other hand, have attempted to interpret the limited resources left from the fourth century AD. Various related resources, including those of the fourth century AD and the Syriac testimonies have been examined, in present study, and it has been shown that there are many contradictions and prejudices in reports of Christian resources about the religious prosecutions were enacted during the reign of Shapur II that cause serious doubts about their credibility. Finally, it has been made clear that Christian rituals did not lead to extensive prosecution in that period and the Christian community continued to grow during the rule of Sassanid Empire.