Shapur I was the Sassanid king who captured the Roman emperor Valerian in 260 AD.
The capture occurred during the Roman–Persian wars after the armies of Shapur and Valerian met at the Battle of Edessa in northern Mesopotamia. Valerian, who was then about sixty years old, attempted to negotiate with the Persian ruler but was taken prisoner along with members of his senior command.
The event was extraordinary because Roman emperors were rarely captured by foreign powers. Shapur commemorated the victory in monumental reliefs, including scenes at Naqsh-e Rostam and Bishapur that show Valerian kneeling or being seized by the Persian king. The Roman emperor remained in captivity until his death, although later Roman and Persian accounts differ on the details of his treatment.
The episode strengthened Shapur’s reputation as a major military opponent of Rome. It is sometimes confused with the later capture of Roman emperor Philip the Arab’s forces or with victories won by other Sassanid rulers, but Shapur I is the ruler specifically associated with Valerian’s capture.