Denag (sister of Ardashir I)

Denag (Middle Persian: Dēnag) was a 3rd-century Sasanian queen (banbishn), who was the wife and sister of the Sasanian king (shah) Ardashir I (r. 224–242).

Biography

She was one of the daughters of Pabag, a local ruler in Pars; her brothers were Shapur, Ardashir I, and Balash. She later became the wife of Ardashir I in accordance with the Zoroastrian law of consanguine marriage. She was thus given the title of bānbishnān bānbishn ("Queen of Queens") and is assumed to have been represented the figure on the far right of the investiture relief of Ardashir at Naqsh-e Rajab. She was most likely also the mother of Ardashir's son Shapur I, and later lost her title of bānbishnān bānbishn after the death of her husband in 242.

Sources

• Gignoux, Philippe (1994). "Dēnag". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VII, Fasc. 3. p. 282.