Six Sassanian artworks engraved with hunters: king, crown prince, aristocrat or pretender to the throne?

Abstract

This article focuses on six Sassanian plates that have caused contradictory opinions about those depicted on them. Considering these works and a historical context, the authors have assessed the prevailing opinions and expressed their own views and probabilities. As such, the person engraved on the four Sassanian works is probably a prince who ruled northern and northeastern regions of Iran during the 4th and early 5th centuries AD and was in contact with nomadic tribes between Iran and China.