While fighting against this empire in the Battle of Samarra, Julian the Apostate fatally took a spear to the neck. For 10 points each:
[10m] Name this Zoroastrian empire that was led in that battle by Shapur II. This empire’s monarch Khosrau forced a costly and temporary eternal peace with the Byzantine Empire.
ANSWER: Sassanid Empire [or Sasanian Empire or Sasan]
[10e] Zend−hapet was a Sassanid title given to a commander who led a corps of soldiers mounted on these large animals. Hannibal lost to Scipio Africanus in spite of his use of these animals at the Battle of Zama.
ANSWER: war elephants
[10h] These units were used alongside Azadan and Deqhan to make up the majority of the Sassanid military force. The later Persian aswārān units were made up of these heavily armored cavalry who typically wielded kontos lances.
ANSWER: cataphracts [or kataphraktos]
<SM, Ancient History>