Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Music & vocals by Farya Faraji, lyrics by Farzad Barzanji. The Epic Iranian series is a project where the sounds of modern Iranian music are used as a framing device for themes pertaining to the history of Iranian civilisation.
Shapur II, known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian monarch and reigned for 70 years, making him the longest reigning monarch in Iranian history. He ruled from infancy and forged one of ancient Iran's most powerful eras. He crushed Arab incursions in the south, waged long wars with Rome to reclaim Mesopotamian and Armenian territories, and expanded Iranian influence eastward beyond the Indus. Domestically, he strengthened royal authority, promoted Zoroastrianism as the state faith, and oversaw the Avesta’s codification, a religious policy that came hand in hand with severe repression of Christianity in the empire. His reign brought architectural and artistic flourishing, from city foundations to monumental reliefs, and established the Sasanian Empire as a dominant superpower of Late Antiquity. Shapur II is remembered today as one of the great monarchs of Iranian history, alongside the likes of Darius and Khosrow Anushirvan.
The instruments used are the santour, dotar, tar, and a variety of traditional drums. The mode is a local, regional one from the north not found in the Dastgāh system, which is broadly equivalent to Turkish Uşşak or Byzantine Chant's Tone 1, with a microtonal second interval that's slightly higher than the typical Shur one in Iranian music.
Middle-Persian lyrics:
Az Šābuhr-am, šāh ī šāhān
nibišt andar āsmān rāh
pahlawān ī ērān šahr
šāhān šāh ī ērān
Az ērān šahr bandag kard
hamāg pad dād pusān zādag
ānōh šahr ud dēn
andar dast man
Mardōmān az dahr paydāg
hamāg andar dād paydāg
Wištāsp rāh andar
pad Šābuhr šod
Ānōh xyon ud Hrōmāyīg
pad zarrīn zanjīr bast
ānōh dushmanān andar
zīr ī pāy man
Šāhān šāh ērān ud anērān
pad xwarrah ud āsmān rāh
ānōh zamīg andar
paywand andar man
Az Ohrmazd šāhīh dād
pad ān xwarrah ēstād
ānōh yazdān rāh
andar man šod
Spāh ī dushman frāz kardam
pad tīr ud asg sardam
nibišt andar dahr
pērōz man-am
Pad dād ī rāst šahr sāxtam
andar ān mardōm šāyistag
ānōh šahr bawēd
xwāstag Ohrmazd
Az xyon spāh frāz āmad
andar ērān rāh šikast
ānōh spāh ud sardār
andar dast man
Armin šahr pad sang bastam
druj ud dushman andar kastam
ānōh pahragān andar
pērōz man-am
Az Hrōm šāh frāz āmad
pad tīr ud asg sardam
ānōh kaysar andar
zīr ī pāy man
Ānōh šahr ud šahrdarān
hamāg pad xwarrah ēstād
ērān ud anērān
paywand andar man
English translation:
I am Šābuhr, King of Kings,
my path is written in the heavens,
I am the champion of Iran’s realm,
the King of Kings of Iran.
The realm of Iran I bound in service,
all as offspring in righteousness,
that realm and the faith
are within my hand.
All mankind is manifest from the world,
all made manifest within justice,
the path of Wištāsp
is with Šābuhr.
The Khyon and the Romans I subdued,
in golden chains I bound them;
those enemies now
are beneath my feet.
King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians,
with glory and the path of heaven,
all this earth entire
is bound in me.
From Ohrmazd my kingship was given,
upon that glory I stood firm;
the path of the gods
entered into me.
The armies of the foe I raised up,
with arrow and sword I struck them down;
inscribed upon the world,
victorious am I.
By righteous law I shaped the realm,
and therein mankind was made worthy;
that realm shall remain,
the will of Ohrmazd.
From the Khyon an army arose,
They broke the path into Iran,
Those armies and their captains,
Fell into my hand.
Armenia I enclosed in siege,
The Lie and the enemy I cast down,
In those borderlands,
Victorious am I.
From Rome the Caesar rose up,
With arrow and sword I struck him down,
That Caesar himself,
Lies beneath my feet.
Those realms and their lords,
All stood firm in glory,
Iran and non-Iran alike,
Are bound within me.
Music & vocals by Farya Faraji, lyrics by Farzad Barzanji. The Epic Iranian series is a project where the sounds of modern Iranian music are used as a framing device for themes pertaining to the history of Iranian civilisation.
Shapur II, known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian monarch and reigned for 70 years, making him the longest reigning monarch in Iranian history. He ruled from infancy and forged one of ancient Iran's most powerful eras. He crushed Arab incursions in the south, waged long wars with Rome to reclaim Mesopotamian and Armenian territories, and expanded Iranian influence eastward beyond the Indus. Domestically, he strengthened royal authority, promoted Zoroastrianism as the state faith, and oversaw the Avesta’s codification, a religious policy that came hand in hand with severe repression of Christianity in the empire. His reign brought architectural and artistic flourishing, from city foundations to monumental reliefs, and established the Sasanian Empire as a dominant superpower of Late Antiquity. Shapur II is remembered today as one of the great monarchs of Iranian history, alongside the likes of Darius and Khosrow Anushirvan.
The instruments used are the santour, dotar, tar, and a variety of traditional drums. The mode is a local, regional one from the north not found in the Dastgāh system, which is broadly equivalent to Turkish Uşşak or Byzantine Chant's Tone 1, with a microtonal second interval that's slightly higher than the typical Shur one in Iranian music.
Middle-Persian lyrics:
Az Šābuhr-am, šāh ī šāhān
nibišt andar āsmān rāh
pahlawān ī ērān šahr
šāhān šāh ī ērān
Az ērān šahr bandag kard
hamāg pad dād pusān zādag
ānōh šahr ud dēn
andar dast man
Mardōmān az dahr paydāg
hamāg andar dād paydāg
Wištāsp rāh andar
pad Šābuhr šod
Ānōh xyon ud Hrōmāyīg
pad zarrīn zanjīr bast
ānōh dushmanān andar
zīr ī pāy man
Šāhān šāh ērān ud anērān
pad xwarrah ud āsmān rāh
ānōh zamīg andar
paywand andar man
Az Ohrmazd šāhīh dād
pad ān xwarrah ēstād
ānōh yazdān rāh
andar man šod
Spāh ī dushman frāz kardam
pad tīr ud asg sardam
nibišt andar dahr
pērōz man-am
Pad dād ī rāst šahr sāxtam
andar ān mardōm šāyistag
ānōh šahr bawēd
xwāstag Ohrmazd
Az xyon spāh frāz āmad
andar ērān rāh šikast
ānōh spāh ud sardār
andar dast man
Armin šahr pad sang bastam
druj ud dushman andar kastam
ānōh pahragān andar
pērōz man-am
Az Hrōm šāh frāz āmad
pad tīr ud asg sardam
ānōh kaysar andar
zīr ī pāy man
Ānōh šahr ud šahrdarān
hamāg pad xwarrah ēstād
ērān ud anērān
paywand andar man
English translation:
I am Šābuhr, King of Kings,
my path is written in the heavens,
I am the champion of Iran’s realm,
the King of Kings of Iran.
The realm of Iran I bound in service,
all as offspring in righteousness,
that realm and the faith
are within my hand.
All mankind is manifest from the world,
all made manifest within justice,
the path of Wištāsp
is with Šābuhr.
The Khyon and the Romans I subdued,
in golden chains I bound them;
those enemies now
are beneath my feet.
King of Kings of Iranians and non-Iranians,
with glory and the path of heaven,
all this earth entire
is bound in me.
From Ohrmazd my kingship was given,
upon that glory I stood firm;
the path of the gods
entered into me.
The armies of the foe I raised up,
with arrow and sword I struck them down;
inscribed upon the world,
victorious am I.
By righteous law I shaped the realm,
and therein mankind was made worthy;
that realm shall remain,
the will of Ohrmazd.
From the Khyon an army arose,
They broke the path into Iran,
Those armies and their captains,
Fell into my hand.
Armenia I enclosed in siege,
The Lie and the enemy I cast down,
In those borderlands,
Victorious am I.
From Rome the Caesar rose up,
With arrow and sword I struck him down,
That Caesar himself,
Lies beneath my feet.
Those realms and their lords,
All stood firm in glory,
Iran and non-Iran alike,
Are bound within me.
