When the days of the wise King Ardashir drew to a close, tidings of his passing reverberated across the realms, and the crown of Iran descended upon his valiant son, Shapur. Taking advantage of the transition of power, the Romans withheld their customary tribute. When King Shapur learned of their defiance, he ordered the war drums sounded and marched swift and unencumbered toward the Roman borderlands near Altuvina.
Out from the Roman lands came a formidable army led by Baranush, a renowned commander held in high esteem by Caesar, famed for his mastery of the lasso and battlefield tactics. As the war horns blared from both flanks, the earth shook beneath the thunder of hooves, and spears gleamed like blazing fires. From the Iranian ranks stepped forth the heroic Gorzasp the Lion, and the battle turned ferocious at the center of the field. Amidst the deafening roar of elephant drums and bronze bells, Baranush was overwhelmed and taken captive, while three thousand Roman warriors fell and thirteen hundred were bound as prisoners.
Seeing his forces crushed, Caesar dispatched an envoy to Shapur, pleading for clemency and reminding the Great King of divine judgment regarding the shedding of blood. Caesar promised to restore the full annual tribute, accompanied by ten ox-hides filled with wealth, a thousand Roman attendants, countlessly woven silks, and noble hostages. Shapur accepted the terms and waited seven days at Altuvina until the tribute arrived in full.
Returning victorious to Ahvaz, Shapur founded the splendid city of Shapur-Gard to house the Roman captives, and further ordered magnificent public works across Pars, Seistan, and Nishapur. Taking the learned Baranush with him to Shushtar, where a wide and torrential river flowed, Shapur commissioned him: 'If thou art a master of engineering, assemble the wise philosophers of Rome and raise a bridge one thousand cubits long across these waters, drawing whatever riches thou needest from my treasury.' Baranush set to work with immense skill, completing the great bridge of Shushtar, whereupon Shapur fulfilled his royal promise and granted him safe passage back to his homeland in joy and honor.