When the years of King Ardashir reached seventy-eight, a heavy sickness befell his weary body, and he knew that the vibrant leaves of his life's spring were turning gold for autumn's arrival. Summoning his noble son Shapur to his bedside, the founder of the Sasanian empire delivered his paramount testament on statecraft and virtue. He declared that Kingship and Faith are twin brothers, two masterfully woven tapestries under a single roof; neither can a crown endure without religion, nor can religion stand protected without the royal throne. He counseled Shapur to embrace justice, shun greed, wrath, and falsehood, and guard the common folk, warning that three things destroy a dynasty: tyranny in the ruler, exalting the worthless over the gifted, and hoarding gold extracted from the misery of subjects.
Reflecting upon his forty years and two months of reign, Ardashir recounted the six magnificent cities he had founded across the realm—Khurreh Ardashir, Gundeshapur, Maysan by the Euphrates, Barkeh Ardashir, Ram Ardashir, and Hormizd Ardashir. Yet, with prophetic foresight, he warned that five centuries hence, descendants would abandon wisdom, embrace evil ways, and break the sacred covenant, bringing ruin upon the realm. With his final blessings invoking the almighty Lord of the Universe, Ardashir closed his eyes forever, relinquishing the crown of Iran to Shapur.