worked for Pabag, who was a local ruler in Pars. Pabag's daughter married Sasan and bore him a son named Ardashir. Following this, Sasan is no longer mentioned. The Shahnameh thus indicates that the ancestors of Sasan resided in India following Alexander's conquests. This report has been used by scholars to point out Sasan's Indo-Parthian connection. According to the medieval Iranian historian Al-Tabari (d. 923), Pabag was the son of Sasan and a princess named Rambihisht, who was from the Bazrangid family, a dynasty of rulers in Pars. He presents Pabag as the father of Ardashir. Like Ferdowsi in his Shahnameh, Al-Tabari also describes Sasan as a foreigner in Pars, however, unlike him, he does not mention Sasan's place of origins. Middle Persian texts The Middle Persian text Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan ("Book of the Deeds of Ardashir, son of Pabag"), says the following regarding the ancestry of Ardashir: "Ardashir, the Kayanian, son of Pabag from the parentage of Sasan and from the lineage of King Dara". Another Middle Persian text, the Bundahishn, however, gives the genealogy of Ardashir as following: "Ardashir son of Pabag whose mother (was) the daughter of Sasan son of Weh-afrid". This demonstrates the inconsistencies between Middle Persian texts regarding the origins of the Sasanian dynasty. Both sources regard Pabag as the father of Ardashir, whilst Sasan is presented as the latter's grandfather or ancestor. Roman and Armenian texts In Roman and Armenian sources, a different account appears. According to the Roman historians Agathias and George Syncellus, Sasan was the biological father of Ardashir, whilst Pabag was his stepfather. The Armenian writers Movses Khorenatsi and Agathangelos likewise call Sasan the father of Ardashir. However, they do not make any mention of Pabag. A Greek variant of Agathangelos' work calls Ardashir "son of Sasanus, which is the origin of the Sasanian name of the Persian kings descended from him". Sasanian inscriptions and coinage Ardashir, on his coin engravings and inscription on Naqsh-e Rostam, claims to be the son of "divine Pabag, the king". His son and successor, Shapur I (), on his inscriptions at Naqsh-e Rajab and Ka'ba-ye Zartosht, calls himself as a son of Ardashir I and grandson of Pabag. Although various figures named "Sasan" are mentioned in the inscription, none of them are associated with the House of Sasan. The Paikuli inscription of Shapur I's son Narseh (), however, makes direct references to the