Iran, Sasanian, 3rd-4th Century - Horse-Shaped Drinking Vessel - 1964.41 - Cleveland Museum of Art

The Sasanian Empire (224 – 651 CE, also given as Sassanian, Sasanid, or Sassanid) was the last pre-Islamic Persian empire, established in 224 CE by Ardeshir I, son of Papak, a descendant of Sasan. Zoroastrianism was the state religion, and at various times followers of other faiths suffered religious persecution. The Empire lasted until 651 CE when it was overthrown by the Arab Rashidun Caliphate. It is considered by the Iranian people to be a highlight of their civilization for, after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550 –330 BCE) at the hands of Alexander the Great in 330 BCE, Persian culture was sustained through the Parthian Empire (247 BCE – 224 CE) and reached its height in the Sassanian Period; there was not to be another state that truly felt ”Iranian" after its fall.