Narseh was the seventh king of the Sassanid Empire. The youngest son of Shapur I and grandson of Ardashir, Narseh was siblings with Hormizd I and Bahram I. Narseh's rise was fraught with family conflict. Bahram had no claim to the throne due to the low status of his mother, and Narseh ranked higher in Shapur's eyes despite being younger than Bahram. However, when Hormizd died, Bahram gave Nasreh the viceroyalty of Armenia in exchange for his right to the throne. Bahram and his son, Bahram II, held the throne for 24 years.

When Bahram II died, his son (Bahram III) was crowned through the machinations of the nobleman Wahnam. The rest of the nobility rejected Bahram III's candidacy and supported Narseh's ascendancy. The conflict threatened civil war, but Bahram conceded the crown to his grand-uncle Narseh. Wahnam was executed, and Bahram III died (or was killed) under mysterious circumstances.

Narseh erected the Paikuli Tower as a monument to victory. The tower, which now lies in ruins, features five busts and an inscription of Narseh in both Parthian and Middle Persian. Ernst Herzfeld's work from 1911 to 1924 focused on determing the tower's original structure, translating 129 inscribed blocks, and placing/ordering them within his model. More recent scholarship has produced a coherent, albeit still incomplete reproduction of the tower and inscription. The inscription gives Narseh's titles and geneaology and goes on to narrate the succession crisis involving Wahnam and the nobility. Narseh concludes by listing all of his supporters by name as well as the dignitaries and kings who acknowledged his right to rule.