Šāpūr II & Šāpūr III’s Inscription, Ṭāq-e Bustān (ŠTBn-I & II)


	Period:	Šāpūr II and Šāpūr II
	Abbreviation	ŠTBn-I & II
	Description:	There are two busts at Taq-e Bustān which are almost identical, representing Šāpūr II and Šāpūr III from the late forth century CE. Next to the two standing king of kings, the inscriptions provide a generic information which goes back to the early Sasanian inscriptions
	Bibliography:	Akbarzadeh, D. & Tavoosi, M. Pahlavi Inscriptions, Khaneye Farhikhtegan-e Honarhaye Sonati, Tehran, 2006. Back, Michael. Die Sassanidischen Staatsinschriften, Acta Iranica, Vol. 18. Leiden: Brill, 1978. (Online) Nasrollah-Zadeh, C. Kāzerūn Pahlavi Inscriptions, Tehran, 2006.

ŠTBn-I
Transliteration:
ptkly ZNE mzdysn
bgy šhpwhry
MLKAn MLKA ’yr’n W ’nyr’n
MNW ctry MN yzd’n BRE
mzdysn bgy ’whrmzdy
MLKAn MLKA ’yr’n
W ’nyr’n MNW ctry MN
yzd’n npy bgy
nrshy MLKAn
MLKA
————————————

Transcription:
pahikar ēn mazdēsn
bay Šābūhr
šāhān šāh Ērān ud anērān
kē čihr az yazdān pus
mazdēsn bay Hormizd
šāhān šāh Ērān
ud anērān kē cihr az
yazdān nāf bay
Narsēh šāhān šāh
————————————

Translation:
This is the image of the Mazda-worshipping
lord, Šāpūr,
king of kings of the Iranians and non-Iranians,
whose lineage is from the gods, son of
the Mazda-worshipping lord, Hormizd,
king of kings of the Iranians
and non-Iranians, whose lineage is from the
gods, grandson of the lord,
Narsē, king of kings

ŠTBn-II
Transliteration:
ptkly ZNE mzdysn
bgy šhpwhry
MLKAn MLKA ’yr’n W ’nyr’n
MNW ctry MN yzd’n BRE
mzdysn bgy šhpwhry
MLKAn MLKA ’yr’n
W ’nyr’n MNW ctry MN
yzd’n npy bgy
’whrmzdy MLKAn
MLKA
——————————–

Transcription:
pahikar ēn mazdēsn
bay Šābūhr
šāhān šāh Ērān ud anērān
kē čihr az yazdān pus
mazdēsn bay Šapūr
šāhān šāh Ērān
ud anērān kē cihr az
yazdān nāf bay
Hormizd šāhān šāh
——————————–

Translation: This is the image of the Mazda-worshipping
lord, Šāpūr,
king of kings of the Iranians and non-Iranians,
whose lineage is from the gods, son of
the Mazda-worshipping lord, Šāpūr,
king of kings of the Iranians
and non-Iranians, whose lineage is from the
gods, grandson of the lord,
Hormizd, king of kings