d by tradition to Sapor I., is the great
dyke at Shuster. This is a dam across the river Karun, formed of cut
stones, cemented by lime, and fastened together by clamps of iron; it is
twenty feet broad, and no less than twelve hundred feet in length. The
whole is a solid mass excepting in the centre, where two small arches
have been constructed for the purpose of allowing a part of the stream
to flow in its natural bed. The greater portion of the water is directed
eastward into a canal cut for it; and the town of Shuster is thus
defended on both sides by a water barrier, whereby the position becomes
one of great strength. Tradition says that Sapor used his power over
Valerian to obtain Roman engineers for this work; and the great dam is
still known as the Bund-i-Kaisar, or "dam of Caesar," to the inhabitants
of the neighboring country.

Besides his works at Shahpur and Shuster, Sapor set up memorials
of himself at Haji-abad, Nakhsh-i-Rajab, and Nakhsh-i-Rustam, near
Persepolis, at Darabgerd in South-eastern Persia, and elsewhere; most
of which still exist and have been described by various travellers. At
Nakhsh-i-Rustam Valerian is seen making his submission in one tablet,
while another exhibits the glories of Sapor's court. The sculptures are
in some instances accompanied by inscriptions. One of these is, like
those of Artaxerxes, bilingual, Greek and Persian. The Greek inscription
runs as follows:

[Illustration: PAGE 289]

In the main, Sapor, it will be seen, follows the phrases of his father
Artaxerxes; but he claims a wider dominion. Artaxerxes is content to
rule over Ariana (or Iran) only; his son calls himself lord both of the
Arians and the non-Arians, or of Iran and Turan. We may conclude from
this as probable that he held some Scythic tribes under his sway,
probably in Segestan, or Seistan, the country south and east of the
Hamoon, or lake in which the Helmend is swallowed up. Scythians had been
settled in these parts, and in portions of Afghanistan and India,
since the great invasion of the Yue-chi, about B.C. 200; and it is not
unlikely that some of them may have passed under the Persian rule during
the reign of Sapor, but we have no particulars of these conquests.

Sapor's coins resemble those of Artaxerxes in general type, but may be
distinguished from them, first, by the head-dress, which is either a cap
terminating in the head of an eagle, or else a mural crown surmounted by
an inflated ball; and, s