This article aims at re-evaluating the Classical (Eutropius, Historia Augusta, Ammianus),Byzantine (Orosius, Zosimus, Zonaras) and Iranian (the trilingual Kaʿba-ye Zardošt inscription) sources on... Show moreThis article aims at re-evaluating the Classical (Eutropius, Historia Augusta, Ammianus),Byzantine (Orosius, Zosimus, Zonaras) and Iranian (the trilingual Kaʿba-ye Zardošt inscription) sources on thedeath of the Roman emperor Gordian III during his campaign against the Sasanid king Shapur I in AD 244. In thecurrent scholarly debate, two groups of scholars can be distinguished: the first group, following the Classical andByzantine sources, argues that Gordian III was killed by his own peers, attributing a vicious role to his imperialsuccessor Philip the Arab. Basing themselves on the Iranian sources, the second group believes that Shapur Iclaimed to have killed Gordian III in a military confrontation. The study will use historical and linguistic arguments,focussing on the trilingual Kaʿba-ye Zardošt inscription, to come to a new historical interpretation about the endof the life of Gordian III. Show less
