Sassanid ruler Ardashir I, a king of kings, in a complete reversal of the Parthian form of governance, has centralized power in his hands.

Ardashir is 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 Zartosht), the strengthening of Zoroastrianism, and the establishment of a dynasty that will endure for four centuries.

Ardashir has constructed massive building projects in Fars province as a proclamation of imperial grandeur.

While his campaigns against Rome have met with only limited success, he has achieved more against them than the Parthians had done in many decades and has prepared the way for the substantial successes his son and successor Shapur I, who accedes to the throne first as co-ruler and then sole ruler following his father’s death in 242, will enjoy against the same enemy.