West of Shiraz lies this ancient town of Sassanian origin, and nearby the Shapur Cave with the enormous statue of King Shapur can be .visited.
Shapur was the second Sassanian emperor, whose unique achievement was the capture of the Roman Emperor Valerian. This feat consolidated Sassanian government for the next 400 years. The city of Bishapur, his capital, was founded towards the Jniddle of the second century AD, on the site of an older city abandoned in the time of Alexander the Great, and Roman prisoners were instrumental in its construction. The town rapidly became one of the most important cities in Fars Province. Bishapur was taken by the Arabs about the year 637 AD, and then rapidly declined.

The ancient city lies on the left bank of a little stream, on a plain where the river leaves the mountains through a narrow valley. In the valley, Sassanian Kings perpetuated the memory of their victories by having several bas-reliefs carved in the rock. The reliefs show traces of Roman art similar to Trojan's With different tiers of soldiers, prisoners, etc. So do the floor mosaics. which are now in the Louver and some beautiful ones in the National Museum of Iran in Tehran.
Bishapur follows the pattern of Sassanian cities. Instead of the large circular wall as in Our or Darab, there is an ovoid valley with a narrow, easily guarded entrance and exit and sheer cliffs on all sides. This is an ideal place to keep the flocks in periods of danger.
To the north are the remains of a fire- temple, which has been almost completely excavated. It is a square building originally built 7 meters below the ground level. This cellar was used for the ceremonies of the fire cult.
Further on the remains of a palace near the temple can be visited. It consisted largely of one vast room built to a cruciform design and surmounted by a cupola. The palace was enclosed by a high wall which bounded the four corridors round the central room; the cruciform plan of the room was set within a square.