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Rubbing It In: History’s Greatest Flexes and Ownages

Khalid Elhassan June 3, 2025 17 min

14. A Symbol of Roman Vulnerability

Ownage - A rock face relief depicts the victory of Shapur I over Valerian — A rock face relief depicts the victory of Shapur I over Valerian. Wikimedia

Persian sources, such as the rock reliefs at Naqsh-e Rustam, take a more propagandistic tone. They depict Shapur holding Valerian by the arm while another Roman bows before him, to symbolize Persian superiority. The inscriptions emphasize the greatness of Shapur’s victory, but do not detail the emperor’s fate. Valerian’s capture had far-reaching consequences.

It was a severe blow to Roman prestige, and highlighted the empire’s fragility during the Crisis of the Third Century. His son, Gallienus, ruled alone afterward, and faced numerous rebellions and invasions. Valerian’s captivity remains a symbol of Rome’s vulnerability, and the shifting balance of power between Rome and Persia in the third century AD.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.