Ardashir I, Emperor of Sasanian Persia

Sasan is said to be the father of Ardeshir (180-242) by a daughter of Papak. Papak raised him as his son on the condition that he be known as "of the House of Sasan".

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Iranica online.com (excerpt)

It was Ardašīr, a minor Parthian vassal in Persis, who was to bring about the demise of the Parthian empire. From roughly CE 220 onwards he began to subjugate nearby territories and others further afield, such as Kermān. (For details of these events, see G. Widengren in La Persia nel Medioevo, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Quaderno 160, Rome, 1971, pp. 711ff.) When Artabanus IV proceeded to take counter-measures it was too late. The decisive battle, probably on 28 April 224 in the region of what is now Golpāyegān, between Isfahan and Nehāvand (see Widengren, op. cit., p. 743-44), cost the Parthian Great King his life and in practice meant the end of the Parthian empire, even though Ardašīr only had himself crowned “King of Kings” some years later, probably in CE 226. At all events it can be assumed that the Sasanian dynasty, so named after an ancestor of Ardašīr, possibly his grandfather Sāsān, already exercised power throughout the Parthian empire before the year CE 230.

Résumé. The Parthian empire remained in existence for roughly 475 years and constituted, even during its periodic weak phases, the most significant power factor in the ancient East alongside the Romans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Sasanian_Empire
The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty is the name used for the Persian dynasty which lasted from 224 to 651 AD.

   224 - Ardashir I introduces the title Šāhanšāh (king of kings); the Sasanid dynasty is founded.

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Wikipedia

He was King of Persis (about 222), Shah of Persia (224), and King of Kings of the Iranians (Arians). According to his enemies Ardashir was born from the union of a common soldier (Sassan) with the wife of a tanner (the tanner was Papak). However, his adherents claimed that he was descended from a branch of the ancient kings of Persia. After succeeding his father as King of Persis, he disposed of his brothers and subdued neighboring monarches. In 224 he defeated the last Arsacid monarch (Artaban V) and became Shah of Persia, styling himself "King of Kings of the Iranians (Arians)." He and his descendants also included "god" in their lists of titles. The empire which he founded, the neo-Persian or Sassanid empire, was essentially different from that of his Arsacid predecessors, being a continuation of the Achaeminid traditions which were still alive in their native soil.

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Ardashir I (also spelled Ardašir I; Arđaxšēr from Middle Persian and Parthian Artaxšaθra, Pahlavi ʼrthštr, "Who has the Divine Order as his Kingdom"; also known as Ardashīr-i Pāpagān "Ardashir, son of Pāpağ"; other variants of his name include Latinized Artaxares and Artaxerxes), founder of the Sassanid dynasty, was ruler of Istakhr (206-241), subsequently Persia (208-241), and finally "King of Kings of Iran" (226-241). The dynasty Ardashir founded would rule for four centuries until overthrown by the Rashidun Caliphate in 651.

Ardeshir was born in the late 2nd century in Istakhr, what is present-day Fars in Iran, then a vassal kingdom of the Parthian Arsacids. According to one tradition, he inherited the throne of Istakhr from his father Pāpağ (sometimes written as Pāpak or Babak) who had deposed the previous king Gochihr to gain the throne for himself. His mother may have been named Rodhagh (Rodak of Pars). Prior to succeeding his father, Ardeshir is said to have ruled the town of Darabgerd and received the title of "argbadh". Upon Pāpağ's death, Ardeshir's elder brother Šāpūr ascended to the throne. However, Ardeshir rebelled against his brother and took the kingship for himself in 208.

Most Scholars have assumed that Ardeshir's father was Papak, a vassal king, and his grandfather was Sasan. However, there is another theory of his lineage, which is found in the Middle Persian book Book of Deeds of Ardeshir Son of Papak. This story is later confirmed by Ferdowsi's Shahname, and it is the theory represented in this tree. This theory suggests that Sasan married the daughter of Papak after the latter discovers that Sasan is of royal Achaemenid descent. Hence Ardeshir was born. From here onwards Sasan disappears from the story and Papak is considered the father.

Here is a different representation. The birth of Ardashir (Artaxerxes) was obscure, and the obscurity equally gave room to the aspersions of his enemies, and the flattery of his adherents. If we credit the scandal of the former, Artaxerxes sprang from the illegitimate commerce of a tanner’s wife with a common soldier. The tanner’s name was Babec (Papak); the soldier’s, Sassan (Sasan): from the former Artaxerxes obtained the surname of Babegan (Pāpagān), from the latter all his descendants have been styled Sassanides.

Ardeshir helped Papak conquer some parts of Fars. It is possible that after Papak's death, his son Shapur, had a short reign which was probably ended by an accidental death. Around 216 Ardeshir became ruler of Papak's kingdom, which was confined to central Fars. Soon he extended his realm into Kerman to the east and Elymais to the west.

After this Artabanus V ordered the ruler of Khuzestan to confront Ardeshir , but he was defeated in battle. In 226 Artabanus V invaded Fars to defeat Ardeshir, his rebellious vassal. Ardeshir won the first battle, but with heavy losses on both sides. In the second battle the Parthians suffered a grater loss and Ardeshir won again. The final battle fought between Ardeshir and Artabanus was fought in Hormuz, near the modern city of Bandar Abbas. In this battle the Parthian army was completely defeated and Artabanus was killed. According to one account, Ardeshir and Artabanus fought in close combat on horseback. Ardeshir pretended to flee, turned around in the saddle and shot Artabanus through the heart.

Ardeshir rapidly extended his territory, demanding fealty from the local princes of Fars and gaining control over the neighboring provinces of Kerman, Isfahan, Susiana, and Mesene. This expansion brought the attention of the Arsacid Great King Ardavan (Artabanus) IV (216–224), Ardeshir's overlord and ruler of the Parthian Empire, who marched against him in 224. Their armies clashed at Hormizdeghan, and Artabanus IV was killed. According to the hagiographic Book of the Deeds of Ardashir son of Babak, Ardeshir I then went on to capture the western vassal states of the now-defunct Arsacids.

Crowned in 226 as the Šāhān šāh Ērān "king of kings [of] Iran" (his consort Adhur-Anahid took the title "Queen of Queens"), Ardeshir finally brought the 480 year-old Parthian Empire to an end and began four centuries of Sassanid rule.

Over the next few years, Ardashir I further expanded his new empire to the east and northwest, conquering the provinces of Sistan, Gorgan, Khorasan, Margiana (in modern Turkmenistan), Balkh, and Chorasmia. Bahrain and Mosul were also added to Sassanid possessions. Furthermore, the Kings of Kushan, Turan, and Mekran recognized Ardashir as their overlord. In the West, assaults against Hatra, Armenia and Adiabene met with less success.

According to historian Arthur Christensen, the Sassanid state as established by Ardashir I was characterized by two general trends which differentiated it from its Parthian predecessor: a strong political centralization and organized state sponsorship of Zoroastrianism.

The Parthian Empire had consisted of a loose federation of vassal kingdoms under the suzerainty of the Arsacid monarchs. In contrast, Ardeshir I established a strong central government by which to rule his dominions. The empire was divided into cantons, the dimensions of which were based on military considerations. These cantons were designed to resist the influence of hereditary interests and feudal rivalries. Local governors who descended from the ruling family bore the title of shāh. In an attempt to protect royal authority from regional challenges, the personal domains of the Sassanids and branch families family were scattered across the empire. While the old feudal princes (vāspuhragan) remained, they were required to render military service with their local troops (for the most part peasant levies). The lesser nobility was cultivated as a source of military strength, forming the elite cavalry of the army, and the royal household found a useful (and presumably reliable) military force through the hiring of mercenaries.

Zoroastrianism had existed in the Parthian Empire, and—according to tradition—its sacred literature had been collated during that era. Similarly, the Sassanids traced their heritage to the Temple of Anahita at Staxr, where Ardashir I's grandfather had been a dignitary. Under Ardeshir however, Zoroastrianism was promoted and regulated by the state, one based on the ideological principle of divinely granted and indisputable authority. The Sassanids built fire temples and, under royal direction, an (apparently) "orthodox" version of the Avesta was compiled by a cleric named Tansār, and it was during the early period that the texts as they exist today were written down (until then these were orally transmitted). In the western provinces, a Zurvanite doctrine of the religion with Time as the First Principle appears to have competed with the Mazdaen form (as it is known from the Sassanid prototype of the Avesta).

In other domestic affairs, Ardeshir I maintained his familial base in Fars, erecting such structures as the Ghal'eh Dokhtar and the Palace of Ardashir. Despite these impressive structures, he established his government at the old Arsacid capital of Ctesiphon on the Tigris River. He also rebuilt the city of Seleucia, located just across the river, which had been destroyed by the Romans in 165, renaming it Veh-Ardashir. Trade was promoted and important ports at Mesene and Charax were repaired or constructed.

In the latter years of his reign, Ardeshir I engaged in a series of armed conflicts with Persia's great rival to the west – the Roman Empire.

Ardeshir I's expansionist tendencies had been frustrated by his failed invasions of Armenia, where a branch of the Arsacids still occupied the throne. Given Armenia's traditional position as an ally of the Romans, Ardeshir I may have seen his primary opponent not in the Armenian and Caucasian troops he had faced, but in Rome and her legions.

In 230 Ardeshir I led his army into the Roman province of Mesopotamia, unsuccessfully besieging the fortress town of Nisibis. At the same time, his cavalry ranged far enough past the Roman border to threaten Syria and Cappadocia. It seems that the Romans saw fit to attempt a diplomatic solution to the crisis, reminding the Persians of the superiority of Roman arms, but to no avail. Ardashir I campaigned unsuccessfully against Roman border outposts again the following year (231). As a result, the Roman emperor Alexander Severus (222–235) moved to the east, establishing his headquarters at Antioch, but experienced difficulties in bringing his troops together and thus made another attempt at diplomacy, which Ardeshir I rebuffed.

Finally, in 232, Severus led his legions in a three-pronged assault on the Persians. However, the separate army groups did not advance in a coordinated fashion, and Ardeshir was able to take advantage of the disorder and concentrate his forces against the enemy advancing through Armenia, where he was able to halt the Roman advance. Hearing of the Roman plans to march on his capital at Ctesiphon, Ardeshir left only a token screening force in the north and met the enemy force that was advancing to the south, apparently defeating it in a decisive manner. However, one can discern that the Persians must have suffered considerable losses as well, as no attempt was made to pursue the fleeing Romans. Both leaders must have had reason to avoid further campaigning, as Severus returned to Europe in the following year (233) and Ardeshir did not renew his attacks for several years, probably focusing his energies in the east.

In 237, Ardeshir—along with his son and successor Shapur I (241–272)—again invaded Mesopotamia. The successful assaults on Nisibis and Carrhae and the shock this caused in Rome led the emperor to revive the Roman client-state of Osroene. In 241, Ardeshir I and Shapur finally overcame the stubborn fortress of Hatra. Ardeshir I died later in the year.

Ardeshir I was an energetic king, responsible for the resurgence not just of Persia but of Iranian-speaking peoples as a unified nation (ethnous as it appears in the Greek version of his successor's inscription on the Ka'ba-ye Zardosht), the strengthening of Zoroastrianism, and the establishment of a dynasty that would endure for four centuries. While his campaigns against Rome met with only limited success, he achieved more against them than the Parthians had done in many decades and prepared the way for the substantial successes his son and successor Shapur I would enjoy against the same enemy.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardeshir_I for more information.

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Ardashir I or Ardeshir I (Middle Persian:ArdashirPahlaviName.png, New Persian: اردشیر بابکان, Ardashir-e Bābakān), also known as Ardashir the Unifier[3] (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was the ruler of Estakhr since 206, subsequently Pars Province since 222, and finally "King of Kings of Sasanian Empire" in 224 with the overthrow of the Parthian Empire, ruling the Sasanian Empire until his death in 242. The dynasty ruled for four centuries, until it was overthrown by the Rashidun Caliphate in 651.

He was the second son of Pāpak (Bābek), the offspring of Sassan (Sāsān), after whom the dynasty is named. Pāpak had made himself king of the district of Istakhr (in the neighbourhood of Persepolis, which had fallen to ruins). After the death of Pāpak and his oldest son Shapur (Shāhpuhr, Sapores), Ardashir made himself king (probably A.D. 212), put his other brothers to death and began war against the neighbouring dynasts of Persis

Ardashir (Arđaxšēr from Middle Persian and Parthian Artaxšaθra, Pahlavi ʼrthštr, "Who has the Divine Order as his Kingdom") is also known as Ardeshīr-i Pāpagān ("Ardashir, son of Pāpağ"), and other variants of his name include Latinized Artaxares and Artaxerxes.

Various different sources relate details of Ardashir's early life. According to Al-Tabari, Ardashir was born to a Persian noble family in Tiruda, a village in Estakhr.

His grandfather Sasan is described as a priest of a fire-temple called Fire of Anahita in Estakhr. The grandmother of Ardashir was a descendant of the Bazrangi noble family. His father was named Papak (Babak in Modern Persian), a son of Sasan. However, the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht does not name Sasan as Papak's father but instead names him as the lord. According to Book of Deeds of Ardashir Son of Papak, which is later confirmed by Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, Sasan married the daughter of Papak after the latter discovered that Sasan had royal Achaemenid descent. Hence Ardashir was born.

However, according to Touraj Daryaee, Sasanian sources cannot be trusted because they were from the royal Sasanian archives, which were made by the court, in the words of Daryaee, "to fit the world-view of the late Sasanian world".[4] Daryaee and several other scholars state that Sasan had his name from a deity who was known in many parts of Asia but not in Fars, the homeland of the Sasanians, which thus means that Sasan was an Iranian foreigner from the west or the east who had settled in Fars, whose inhabitants did not know about this deity he believed in.[4] Sasan later managed to become the priest of the important Anahid temple in Estakhr,[5] the capital of Fars. According to the Bundahishn, which according to Daryaee was made independently and not by the Sasanian court, Sasan's daughter later married Papak and bore him Ardashir. Furthermore, the Bundahishn states that Sasan was the son of a certain Weh-afrid

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His predecessor was: Artabanus V of Parthia (Arsacid empire 247 BC – 224 AD) also known as Ardavan V (Parthian: 𐭍𐭐𐭕𐭓), was the last ruler of Parthian Empire from c. 213 to 224.[1] He was the younger son of Vologases V, who died in 208. Artabanus V, king of Parthia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artabanus_V_of_Parthia

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Ardashir I or Ardeshir I (Middle Persian 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥 , New Persian: اردشیر بابکان, Ardashir-e Bābakān), also known as Ardashir the Unifier[3] (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the dynasty of the Kings of Persis [The Kings of Persis are a series of Persian kings, who ruled the region of Persis in southwestern Iran, from the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE (c. 230 BCE – c. 210 CE). They ruled as sub-kings of the Parthian Empire, until they toppled the Parthians and established the Sassanid Empire. They effectively form some Persian dynastic continuity between the Achaemenid Empire (6th century BCE-4th century BCE) and the Sasanian Empire (3rd century CE-7th century CE).[1]], until he founded the new empire.

After defeating the last Parthian shahanshah Artabanus V on the Hormozdgan plain in 224, he overthrew the Parthian dynasty and established the Sasanian dynasty. Afterwards, Ardashir called himself "shahanshah" and began conquering the land that he called Iran.[4][5]

There are various historical reports about Ardashir's lineage and ancestry. According to Al-Tabari's History of the Prophets and Kings, Ardashir was son of Papak, son of Sasan. Another narrative that exists in Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan and Ferdowsi's Shahnameh also states it says that Ardashir was born from the marriage of Sasan, a descendant of Darius III, with the daughter of Papak, a local governor in Pars. ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardashir_I

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The Sassanid Empire was established in Estakhr by Ardashir I.

Papak was originally the ruler of a region called Khir. However, by the year 200 he had managed to overthrow Gochihr and appoint himself the new ruler of the Bazrangids. His mother, Rodhagh, was the daughter of the provincial governor of Pars. Papak and his eldest son Shapur managed to expand their power over all of Pars. The subsequent events are unclear, due to the elusive nature of the sources. It is certain, however, that following the death of Papak, Ardashir, who at the time was the governor of Darabgerd, became involved in a power struggle of his own with his elder brother Shapur. Sources reveal that Shapur, leaving for a meeting with his brother, was killed when the roof of a building collapsed on him. By the year 208, over the protests of his other brothers who were put to death, Ardashir declared himself ruler of Pars.

آتشکده‌ی اردشیر در خرابه‌های شهر استخر در استان فارس قرار دارد که نام دیگر آن، آتشکده‌ی آناهیتا یا ناهید می‌باشد. چون اردشیر بابکان بنیانگذار سلسله ساسانی از خانواده موبدان بزرگ بود به همین دلیل این آتشکده را به شادمانی برقراری سلسله‌ی تازه تاسیسش در ایران ساخت. آتشکده اردشیر نخستین بنای طاق‌دار سبک ایرانی است که از دوران ساسانی به جا مانده و در نزدیکی شهر فیروزآباد استان فارس و در ویرانه‌های شهر استخر قرار دارد. در تاریخ بلعمی و طبری آمده است که چون یزدگرد سوم نوه خسرو پرویز بوده است، پس بزرگان ایران او را به مقام پادشاهی رسانند و در آتشکده اردشیر استخر تاج شاهنشاهی را بر سر وی گذاشتند و سپس او را به پایتخت ایران در تیسفون فرستادند. این بنا با طول 116 متر و عرض 55 متر یکی از کاخ‌های ییلاقی اردشیر به شمار می‌رود که از سنگ پاره و ملاط گچ ساخته شده و نمای آن از شمال به چشمه جوشان ورودی موسوم به برم پیر ( قمپ و خنب ) که آب زلالی از آن می‌جوشد و جاری می‌شود و از جنوب به دیوار باره بلندی است که آتشکده‌ی اصلی در آن جهت و بیرون از کاخ ساخته شده است. از ورودی شمالی بعد از ایوانی به طول 28 و عرض 14 متر با سقف گهواره‌ای به تالار میانی مربع شکل و گنبدواری به ابعاد 14×14 و ارتفاع بین 25-21 متر وصل می‌شود و از تالار میانی به دو تالار قرنیه در شرق و غرب اتصال دارد و هر تالار با راهروهای جداگانه به بخش‌های دیگر کاخ راه دارند و راهرو تالار غربی به پلکان طبقه دوم کاخ منتهی می‌شود. ایوان جنوبی بیشتر به اتاق‌های چهار جانب کاخ که به نظر جمعی از کارشناسان مهمانسرای کاخ بوده و به ورودی جـنـوبـی باز می‌شود. گچبری و تزئینات تالارها بسیار زیبا و باشکو شبیه به کاخ تچر در تخت جمشید می‌باشد و زیربنای کاخ با چشمه جوشان 8500 متر مربع است. آتشکده‌ی اردشیر بیرون از کاخ اردشیر ساخته شده است.