Al-Nadirah

The fortified desert city of Hatra, which had repelled three Roman and one Sasanian sieges, fell to the Sasanian king Shapur I in 241.

The medieval story of al-Nadirah is about the fall of Hatra and its princess, who fell in love with the young king Shapur I while he was besieging the city.

This partially fictional narrative is recorded in Persian and Arabic sources of the early Islamic period, and some of its elements inspired some modern stories. Its general theme has common features with some Greek and Roman legends.