Shapur II (The Great) was the ninth ruler of the Iranian Sassanid Empire from 309CE to 379CE. During his long reign (seventy years), the Iranian Sassanid Empire saw its first golden era since Shapur I (241CE - 272CE). It is said that Shapur II may have been the only king in history to been crowned in utero: the crown was placed upon his mother's belly. This child, named Shapur, was therefore born Emperor; the government was conducted by his mother and the magnates. But when Shapur II came of age, he turned out to be one of the greatest monarchs of the dynasty and one of the greatest in world history. By his death in 379CE, the Persian Empire was stronger than ever before, considerably larger than when he came to the throne, the eastern enemies were pacified, Rome (Iran's only real rival on the world stage) was forced into several humiliating defeats and treaties, and Persia had gained control over the largest world empire up to that time, an empire about the size of the USA, stretching from Gujrat State in India and modern-day Kyrghistan on the Chinese border to Libya in North Africa, and from Yemen, Oman,and the Gulf Sates on the Arabian Peninsula to the Russian Caucasus republics. It was the mightiest and richest state in world history up to that time, The Superpower of its era.
"I, the embodiment of the Iranian Nation, Land, People, and Religion, and the Ruler or Iran, Shāhanshāh, do hereby Proclaim, in my Imperial Decree, that I do declare of my God-given Right and Imperial Prerogative to do all that I can do and all that must be done to keep my Nation independent, sovereign, and free of any and all foreign invaders an mischief-makers, and that I do declare of my God-given Right and Imperial Prerogative to take the life of any Iranian and all other persons, foreign or domestic, who threaten the independence and integrity, freedom and functions, heritage and wholesomeness, culture and way of life, security and sovereignty of the Iranian Nation, Land, People, and Religion."
