The King of Kings of Sasanian Persia who defeated three Roman emperors and captured the city of Antioch. Shapur I, second ruler of the Sasanian Empire, inherited a realm forged in fire. With Ardashir I's overthrow of Parthia complete, the weight of defending the newborn empire fell onto Shapur. While the Kushans and Saka threatened in the east, Rome prepared to strike back in the west. To keep Rome in check, Shapur first crushed the eastern kingdoms, installing his own sons as client kings. But Rome launched a massive counteroffensive, seizing frontier fortresses. Shapur struck back, annihilating the Romans at Misiche, where Emperor Gordian III fell, forcing his successor Philip to pay tribute. A decade of uneasy peace followed. When plague ravaged Rome, Shapur seized Armenia and used Rome's interference as pretext for war. His armies stormed across the frontier, capturing thirty-seven strongholds, destroying sixty thousand Roman troops at Barbalissos, and sacking Antioch.