ed that the right-hand
figure was erected by Sapor II., and the other afterwards added by Sapor
III.; but the unity of the whole sculpture, and its inclusion under a
single arch, seem to indicate that it was set up by a single sovereign,
and was the fruit of a single conception. If this be so, we must
necessarily ascribe it to the later of the two monarchs commemorated,
i.e. to Sapor III., who must be supposed to have possessed more than
usual filial piety, since the commemoration of their predecessors upon
the throne is very rare among the Sassanians.

[Illustration: PLATE 20]

The taste of the monument is questionable. An elaborate finish of all
the details of the costume compensates but ill for a clumsiness of
contour and a want of contrast and variety, which indicate a low
condition of art, and compare unfavorably with the earlier performances
of the Neo-Persian sculptors. It may be doubted whether, among all the
reliefs of the Sassanians, there is one which is so entirely devoid of
artistic merit as this coarse and dull production.

The coins of Sapor III. and his predecessor, Artaxerxes II., have little
about them that is remarkable. Those of Artaxerxes bear a head which
is surmounted with the usual inflated ball, and has the diadem, but is
without a crown--a deficiency in which some see an indication that the
prince thus represented was regent rather than monarch of Persia. [PLATE
XIX. Fig. 2.] The legends upon the coins are, however, in the usual
style of royal epigraphs, running commonly--_"Mazdisn bag Artah-shetri
malkan malka Air an ve Aniran,"_ or "the Ormazd-worshipping divine
Artaxerxes, king of the kings of Iran and Turan." They are easily
distinguishable from those of Artaxerxes I., both by the profile, which
is far less marked, and by the fire-altar on the reverse, which has
always two supporters, looking towards the altar. The coins of Sapor
III. present some unusual types. [PLATE XIX. Fig. 6.] On some of them
the king has his hair bound with a simple diadem, without crown or cap
of any kind. On others he wears a cap of a very peculiar character,
which has been compared to a biretta, but is really altogether _sui
generis_. The cap is surmounted by the ordinary inflated ball, is
ornamented with jewels, and is bound round at bottom with the usual
diadem. The legend upon the obverse of Sapor's coins is of the customary
character; but the reverse bears usually, besides the name of the king,
the word