Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan

His own life story—his rise to the throne, battle against the Parthian king Ardawān (or Artabanus), and conquest of the empire by the scion of the House of Sāsān, as well as episodes concerning his heir Šābuhr and the latter’s son, Ohrmazd.

[1] After Ardashir was born, son of Pabag's daughter and Sāsān, he spent his childhood in the court of Artabanus IV of Parthia and then ran away with a maidservant of the King.

The sole independent manuscript of this text to have been identified so far is codex MK, which was copied in 1322 in Gujarat by Mihrābān ī Kay-Husraw, a gifted copyist belonging to a well known family of scribes.

However, the contents of the text draw from more ancient Iranian lore, since some traits of Ardashir’s life as narrated in this work reflect themes known from the legend of Cyrus the Great.

[1] Mary Boyce, a British scholar of Iranian languages, commented that "[t]his is a short prose work, simple in style, probably written in Pars towards the end of the Sasanian period.

It too was evidently the work of priests, and a comparison of it with Firdausi's rendering shows how effectively Zoroastrian elements were obliterated in the Muslim redaction.

The Kârnâmag contains some historical details; but its generally romantic character has been explained as due to contamination with legends of Cyrus the Great, still current then in Pars.

Then follows his campaign against a group of nomads and then his victory against Haftobād (a giant worm) through a stratagem suggested by the pious brothers Burzag and Burz-Ādur.

[1] The plot fails and Ardashīr sentences her to death, notwithstanding her but the wise and compassionate Zoroastrian priest, without the knowledge of Ardashir, spares her life so that she may give birth to Shapur.

Modern Persian translation: در کارنامهٔ اردشیر بابکان این‌چنین نوشته شده‌است که پس از مرگ اسکندر رومی، ایرانشهر را ۲۴۰ کدخدای بود.