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Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: اردشیر بابکان), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire of Iran, ruling as its King of Kings from 224 to 242.

Name
Ardashir is the Middle Persian form of the Old Persian Ṛtaxšira (also spelled Artaxšaçā, meaning "whose reign is through truth"). The Latin variant of the name is Artaxerxes. Three kings of the Achaemenid Empire were known to have the same name.

Origins
There are various different sources regarding the relationship between Pabag, Sasan, and the first Sasanian monarch Ardashir I ((r. 224 – 242)). According to the Shahnameh ("The Book of Kings") by the Persian poet Ferdowsi (d. 1020), Sasan is a descendant of the Kayanian rulers Dara II, Dara I, Kay Bahman, Esfandiyar and Vishtaspa. The claim of Sasan belonging to the Kayanian family was designed in order to justify that Ardashir was descended from the ancient Kayanian kings, who reflected memories of the Achaemenids.

Dara II, the last Kayanian king to rule before Alexander, is partly based on the last Achaemenid King of Kings, Darius III ((r. 336 – 330)), whose empire was indeed conquered by Alexander's forces. A son of Dara II, named Sasan (called "the elder") fled to India and lived there in exile until his death. He was survived by a son who was likewise named Sasan (called "the younger"), "which continued in the family for four generations". A descendant of the family, likewise named Sasan, worked for Pabag, who was a local ruler in Pars. Pabag's daughter married Sasan, and bore him a son named Ardashir. Following this, Sasan is no longer mentioned. The Shahnameh thus indicates that the ancestors of Sasan resided in India following Alexander's conquests. This report has been used by scholars to point out Sasan's Indo-Parthian connection.

The Middle Persian text Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan ("Book of the Deeds of Ardashir, son of Pabag"), says the following regarding the ancestry of Ardashir: ardaxšīr ī kay ī pābāgān ī az tohmag ī sāsān ud nāf ī dārāy šāh ("Ardashir, the Kayanian, son of Pabag from the parentage of Sasan and from the lineage of King Dara"). Another Middle Persian text, the Bundahishn, however, gives the genealogy of Ardashir as following: Artaxšahr ī Pābagān kē-š mād duxt ī Sāsān ī Weh-āfrīd ("Ardashir son of Pabag whose mother (was) the daughter of Sasan son of Weh-afrid"). This demonstrates the inconsistencies between Middle Persian texts regarding the origins of the Sasanian dynasty. Both sources regard Pabag as the father of Ardashir, whilst Sasan is presented as the latters grandfather or ancestor.

In Roman and Armenian sources, a different account appears. According to the Roman historians Agathias and George Syncellus, Sasan was the biological father of Ardashir, whilst Pabag was his stepfather. The Armenian writers Movses Khorenatsi and Agathangelos likewise call Sasan the father of Ardashir. However, they do not make any mention of Pabag. A Greek variant of Agathangelos' work, calls Ardashir "son of Sasanus, which is the origin of the Sasanian name of the Persian kings descended from him".

Background and state of Pars
Pars (also known as Persis), a region in the southwestern Iranian plateau, was the homeland of the southwestern branch of the Iranian peoples, the Persians. It also was also the birthplace of the first Iranian Empire, the Achaemenids. The region served as the center of the empire until its conquest by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great ((r. 336 – 323)). Since the end of the 3rd or the beginning of the 2nd century BCE, Pars was ruled by local dynasts subject to the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. These dynasts held the ancient Persian title of frataraka ("leader, governor, forerunner"), which is also attested in the Achaemenid-era. Later under the frataraka Wadfradad II (fl. 138 BC) was made a vassal of the Iranian Parthian (Arsacid) Empire. The frataraka were shortly afterwards replaced by the Kings of Persis, most likely at the accession of the Arsacid monarch Phraates II ((r. 132 – 127)). Unlike the fratarakas, the Kings of Persis used the title of shah ("king"), and laid foundations to a new dynasty, which may be labelled the Darayanids.

Consolidation of Pars
Pabag ruled a small principality in the area of Khir, south of the Bakhtegan Lake. He was a vassal of Gochihr, the Bazrangid king of the Persian capital of Istakhr, who was in turn a vassal of the Arsacid King of Kings. With the permission of Gochihr, Pabag sent Ardashir to the fortress of Darabgerd to serve under its commander, Tiri. Pabag reportedly served as a priest of the fire-temple of Anahita in Istakhr, which served as a rallying point of the local Persian soldiers, who worshipped the Iranian goddess. The Arsacid Empire, then ruled by Vologases V ((r. 191 – 208)), was at this time in decline, due to wars with the Romans, civil wars and regional revolts. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus ((r. 193 – 211)) had invaded the Arsacid domains in 196, and two years later did the same, this time sacking the Arsacid capital of Ctesiphon. At the same time, revolts occurred in Media and Pars.

The Iranologist Touraj Daryaee argues that the reign of Vologases V was "the turning point in Arsacid history, in that the dynasty lost much of its prestige." The kings of Persis were now unable to depend on their weakened Arsacid overlords. Indeed, in 205/6, Pabag rebelled and overthrew Gochihr, taking Istakhr for himself. According to al-Tabari, it was at the urging of Ardashir that Pabag rebelled. However, Daryaee considers this statement unlikely, and states that it was in reality Shapur that helped Pabag to capture Istakhr, as demonstrated by the latter's coinage which has portraits of both them.

There he appointed his eldest son Shapur as his heir. This was much to the dislike of Ardashir, who had become the commander of Darabgerd after the death of Tiri. Ardashir in an act of defiance, left for Ardashir-Khwarrah, where he fortified himself, preparing to attack his brother Shapur after Pabag's death. Pabag died a natural death sometime between 207–10 and was succeeded by Shapur. After his death, both Ardashir and Shapur started minted coins with the title of "king" and the portrait of Pabag. Shapur's reign, however, proved short; he died under obscure conditions in 211/2.

War with Artabanus IV
The location of the battle has not been found. The Arabic chronicle Nihayat al-arab states that the battle took place in bʾdrjʾan or bʾdjʾn, which Widengren translated as *Jurbadhijan (Golpayegan). This is however improbable, due to Ardashir I operating around Kashkar before the battle. According to an unfinished work by Bal'ami, the battle took place at Khosh-Hormoz, which is another name for the notable city of Ram-Hormoz, situated near Arrajan and Ahvaz. This implies that Ram-Hormoz was perhaps another word for Hormozdgan, and also clarifies why the latter is not mentioned by Islamic geographers whilst the former is reported in detail. The town of Ram-Hormoz still endures today, and is 65 km east of Ahvaz, "in a wide plain just at the foot of the hills that form the northeastern tail of the Bengestan Mountain of the Zagros chain." According to Shahbazi, "the plain nearby is admirably suited for a cavalry engagement." According to al-Tabari, whose work was probably based off Sasanian sources, Ardashir I and Artabanus IV agreed to meet in Hormozdgan at the end of the month of Mihr (April). Nonetheless, Ardashir I went to the place before due time to occupy a advantageous spot on the plain. There he dug out a ditch to defend himself and his forces. He also took over a spring at the place. Ardashir I's forces numbered 10,000 cavalry, with some of them wearing flexible chain armor akin to that of the Romans. Artabanus IV led a greater number of soldiers, who, however, were less disposed, due to wearing the inconvenient lamellar armor. Ardashir I's son and heir, Shapur, as portrayed in the Sasanian rock reliefs, also took part in the battle. The battle was fought on 28 April 224, with Artabanus IV being defeated and killed, marking the end of the Arsacid era and the start of 427-years of Sasanian rule.

Coronation
The chief secretary of the deceased Arsacid king, Dad-windad, was afterwards executed by Ardashir I. Thenceforth, Ardashir I assumed the title of shahanshah ("King of Kings") and started the conquest of an area which would be called Iranshahr (Ērānshahr). He celebrated his victory by having two rock reliefs sculptured at the Sasanian royal city of Ardashir-Khwarrah (present-day Firuzabad) in his homeland, Pars. The first relief portrays three scenes of personal fighting; starting from the left, a Persian aristocrat seizing a Parthian soldier; Shapur impaling the Parthian minister Dad-windad with his lance; and Ardashir I ousting Artabanus IV. The second relief, conceivably intented to portray the aftermath of the battle, displays the triumphant Ardashir I being given the badge of kingship over a fire shrine from the Zoroastrian supreme god Ahura Mazda, while Shapur and two other princes are watching from behind.

Vologases VI was driven out of Mesopotamia by Ardashir I's forces soon after 228. The leading Parthian noble-families (known as the Seven Great Houses of Iran) continued to hold power in Iran, now with the Sasanians as their new overlords. The early Sasanian army (spah) was identical to the Parthian one. Indeed, the majority of the Sasanian cavalry composed of the very Parthian nobles the had once served the Arsacids. This demonstrates that the Sasanians built up their empire thanks to the support of other Parthian houses, and has due to this has been called the "the empire of the Persians and Parthians". However, memories of the Arsacid Empire never completely vanished, with efforts trying to restore the empire in the late 6th-century made by the Parthian dynasts Bahram Chobin and Vistahm, which ultimately proved unsuccessful.