The battle was the culmination of rivalry between Ardashir son of Papag, Parthian vassal king of Persis and his overlord, Shahanshah Artabanus IV of Parthia.
Born in Palembang in 1234 into a poor family, he gained high status after learning the ancient black arts from Raja Rai or Raidashir - who was arguably the brother to King Ardashir I of Persia.
Ardashir, the early ruler, expanded the empire in the Eastern territories beyond his borders.
According to the Book of the Deeds of Ardashir son of Babak, Ardashir I, after having defeated the Parthian Artabanus V, began subduing the vassal-states of the fallen Parthian Empire.
In 224 AD, Ardashir I, the local ruler of Pars, deposed and replaced Artabanus IV, the last Parthian Emperor, and founded the fourth Iranian dynasty, and the second Persian dynasty, the Sassanian Empire.
Parthia ultimately fell not to the Romans, but to the Sassanids under Ardashir I, who entered Ctesiphon in 226.
Although several sources (e.g. al-Biruni) appear to have considered 'Arash' to be the origin of the name 'Arshak' (i.e. Arsaces), the name of the Parthian dynasty derives from a Parthian- or Eastern Iranian equivalent of 'Ardashir', i.e. 'Artaxerxes', specifically Artaxerxes II, who the Arsacids claimed to descend from.