Sassan, King of Persis

Sāssān, considered the eponymous ancestor of the Sasanians of Sasanian Empire, was "a great warrior and hunter" and a Zoroastrian high priest in Pars and living sometime near the fall of the Arsacid Empire.

Daryaee and several other scholars state Sasan had his name from a deity who was known in many parts of Asia, but not in Fars, the homeland of the Sasanians, which thus means that Sasan was a Iranian foreigner from the west or the east, who had settled in Fars, whose inhabitants did not know about this deity he believed in.[4] Sasan later managed to become the priest of the important Anahid temple in Estakhr,[5] the capital of Fars. According to the Bundahishn, which according to Daryaee was made independently and not by the Sasanian court, that Sasan's daughter later married Papak, and bore him Ardashir.Furthermore, the Bundahishn states that Sasan was the son of a certain Weh-afrid.

The political ambition of Sasan was evoked by the troubles and weakness caused in last years of Parthian empire. According to Tabari, Papak managed to consolidate his power with the help of his own sons Shapur and Ardashir. This is considered the beginning of the Sasanian dynasty.

Sasan's family managed to become the rulers of the second Persian Empire in antiquity and rule over a greater portion of Western Asia, the first of such empire was the dynasty founded by Cyrus the Great. The three "founders" of this new empire, that is Papak and his two sons, are depicted and mentioned on the wall of the Harem of Xerxes at Persepolis, a remnant site of Achaemenids – a representation suggested to be the evidence of a claim to Achaemenid heritage likely later added.

Sasan is known for his efforts in trying to bring Zoroastrianism back into the Empire. He even encouraged Papak to take over the Parthian satrapy of Pars.