ABSTRACT
Ardashir-i-Papakan, the son of Sasan the shepherd, and the adopted son of Papak, the Prince of Pars, was the first king of the second national empire of Persia—the Sasanian. About eighteen towns are supposed to have been built or rebuilt by Ardashir-i-Papakan, and it is a remarkable fact that as many as eleven of these are seaports, for they either lie on the coast itself, or on rivers navigable to seagoing craft. Judged by the length of the voyage, the composition of the crew, the smallness of the fleet, the age and enterprise of the admiral, and the resources and the strength of the enemy, the conquest of Yemen is the most laudable achievement of the Sasanian empire in the Indian Ocean. There is the evidence of philology that Sasanian navigation extended far beyond Ceylon and the limits of Himyarite enterprise to Sumatra and the ports of China.
