Shapur I commissioned the rock relief showing his victory over the Roman emperor Philip the Arab.
The relief at Naqsh-e Rajab depicts Shapur I in an imperial victory scene connected with his wars against Rome. Philip the Arab agreed to terms with Shapur after the Roman emperor Gordian III died during the campaign of 244 CE. The monument presents the Sasanian king as triumphant over Roman power.
Shapur later achieved an even more famous victory in 260 CE, when the Roman emperor Valerian was captured. That event appears in other Sasanian reliefs, especially at Naqsh-e Rustam and Bishapur, and is sometimes confused with the earlier victory involving Philip. Shapur’s monuments used royal imagery to publicize military success and divine favor.
The reliefs are valuable historical evidence, but their artistic scenes are ideological statements as well as records of events. They must be read alongside Roman and Persian literary sources.