Bahram II, who was in the east, was unable to mount an effective coordinated defense at the time, possibly losing his capital of Ctesiphon to the Roman emperor.

In the Caucasus, Bahram II strengthened Sasanian authority by securing the Iberian throne for Mirian III, an Iranian nobleman from the House of Mihran.

He also ordered the carving of several rock reliefs that unambiguously emphasize distinguished representations of his family and members of the high nobility.

[5] The Sasanians had supplanted the Parthian Arsacid Empire as the sovereigns of Iran in 224, when Ardashir I (Bahram II's great-grandfather) defeated and killed its last monarch Artabanus IV (r. 213–224) at the Battle of Hormozdgan.

[6] A terminus post quem for Bahram II's birth is c. 262, since that is the date of Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht,[7] which mentions the rest of the royal family but not him.

[11] He then made a settlement with his brother Narseh to give up his entitlement to the throne in return for the governorship of the important frontier province of Armenia, which was constantly the source of conflict between the Roman and Sasanian Empires.

[14] As a result, the province had since its early days functioned as a form of vassal kingdom, ruled by princes from the Sasanian family, who held the title of sakanshah ("King of the Saka").

[16] Bahram II's accession is mentioned in the narratives included in the history of the medieval Iranian historian al-Tabari; "He is said to have been knowledgeable about the affairs [of government].

When he was crowned, the great men of state called down blessings on his head, just as they had done for his forefathers, and he returned to them greetings in a handsome manner and behaved in a praiseworthy fashion toward them.

[11][22] The Sasanians, due to severe internal problems, were unable to mount an effective coordinated defense at the time; Carus and his army may have captured Ctesiphon.

[22] However, this division is dismissed by the modern historian Ursula Weber, who argues that it conflicts with other sources, and that the Sasanians most likely kept control over Armenia until the later Peace of Nisibis (299).

[25] After Mirian III's marriage with Abeshura (daughter of the previous Iberian ruler Aspacures), 40,000 Sasanian "select mounted warriors/cavalry" were subsequently stationed in eastern Iberia, Caucasian Albania and Gugark.

"[15] He displayed a particular fondness to his name-deity by giving his son the name of Bahram, and by selecting the wings of the god's bird, Verethragna, as the central component of his crown.

[16] The clergy from now on served as judges all over the country, with court cases most likely being based on Zoroastrian jurisprudence, with the exception of when representatives of other religions had conflicts with each other.

[16] It is thus under Bahram II that Kartir unquestionably becomes a powerful figure in the empire; the latter claimed on his inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht that he "struck down" the non-Zoroastrian minorities, such as the Christians, Jews, Mandaeans, Manichaeans, and Buddhists.

[15] According to the modern historian Parvaneh Pourshariati: "it is not clear, however, to what extent Kartir's declarations reflect the actual implementation, or for that matter, success, of the measures he is supposed to have promoted.

[16] According to the Iranologist Touraj Daryaee, "this is an interesting feature of Bahram II in that he was very much concerned to leave a portrait of his family which incidentally gives us information about the court and the Persian concept of the royal banquet (bazm).

[11] The scenery has been the subject of several symbolic and metaphorical meanings, thought it is most likely supposed to portray a simple royal display of braveness during a real-life hunt.

[11][18] A seventh relief, at Tang-e (or Sarab-e) Qandil, depicts a divine investiture scene, with Bahram II receiving a flower from Anahita.

[43] The modern historian Matthew P. Canepa calls Bahram II a relatively weak shah, whose shortscomings allowed Kartir to take over some of the royal privileges.

[44] Military wise, however, Bahram II was more successful, putting an end to the disturbances in Khuzestan and the east, and repelling the Romans from Mesopotamia.