Cameo with Valerian and Shapur I

The Cameo with Valerian and Shapur I is now on display in the Cabinet des Médailles of the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.

[3] On the right side appears the Sasanian king Shapur I (reigned AD 241–272).

The scene shows most likely the capturing of emperor Valerian by Shapur I in the Battle of Edessa in AD 260.

The battle was a huge success for the Sasanian troops as they managed to seize the Roman emperor, an event that was celebrated on several monuments.

[4] Carved gems was a Ptolemaic invention and a common art in the Greco-Roman culture that was also adopted by the Sasanians.