Elements of forgotten empire While the Sassanids are perhaps best known for their defeat at the hands of Arab forces in 642 CE, a new exhibition reveals more about their empire than its sudden final collapse, writes David Tresilian in Paris Sassanid king Shapur III (reigned 383-388) shown spearing a leopard, fourth century (St Petersburg: Hermitage Museum) Occupying the ground-floor rooms of the Musée Cernuschi in Paris until 30 December, Les Perses Sassanides, Fastes d'un empire oublié (The Sassanid Persians: Splendours of a Forgotten Empire) is an exhibition that brings together items from major European and North American museums and...