Coinage of the Sassanian Empire
Throughout the ages, the area known as Persia, now Iran, has been home to a number of civilization’s greatest empires. From the Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire founded in 550 BC by Cyrus the Great to the Parthian Empire which lasted from 247 BC-224 AD, Persia was a truly great and significant polity. One of the longest lasting great Persian Empire was the Sassanid Empire which spanned the period 224-651 AD. This was the last Pre-Islamic empire in the region and it’s many rulers fostered a vibrant and complex culture.
“The period of Sassanian rule is considered to be a high point in Iranian history and in many ways was the peak of ancient Iranian culture before the conquest by Arab Muslims under the Rashidun Caliphate and subsequent Islamization of Iran. The Sassanians tolerated the varied faiths and cultures of their subjects, developed a complex and centralized government bureaucracy, and revitalized Zoroastrianism as a legitimizing and unifying force of their rule. They also built grand monuments, public works, and patronized cultural and educational institutions. The empire’s cultural influence extended far beyond its territorial borders—including Western Europe, Africa, China, and India and helped shape European and Asian medieval art. Persian culture became the basis for much of Islamic culture, influencing art, architecture, music, literature and philosophy throughout the Muslim world.”1
Among the many surviving Sassanian artifacts are an enormous body of beautifully struck coins in gold, silver and base medals. Each king had their coins crafted to display a unique crown or head dress and the various issues can be definitively identified by the different style of crown.
The chart below2 shows the differences between the crowns of the various rulers displayed on their coinage.
click to enlarge
This coinage had a profound influence on the coinage of other polities including regimes into the Islamic era.
A small sample of these coins are among the items in the collection and are presented here to add some visual context for the group of seals from this same period.
click to enlarge
143
Sassanian Empire, silver Drachm from the reign of Shapur II, 309-379 AD. This coin has on its face the elaborately crowned bust of the bearded Emperor facing right, within a crenellated circle. The reverse features a fire altar surmounted by a bust, likely of Ahura Mazda, flanked by two highly stylized attendants facing inwards, holding swords upright. No mint is indicated. This coin weighs 4.188 gms. and measures 22 mm. in diameter. Shapur II was the longest ruling monarch in Persian (Iranian) history, reigning for the entirety of his 70-year life, from 309 to 379 AD. He was the son of Hormizd II whose brief reign lasted from only of 302–309 AD. Ahura Mazda, also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the Yasna. The literal meaning of the word Ahura is “lord”, and that of Mazda is “wisdom”.
click to enlarge
144
Sassanian Empire, silver Drachm from the reign of Bahram IV. Bahram IV, also known as Vahram IV, reigned from AD 388-399. This coin measures 23 mm in diameter and weighing 3.98 gms. The face of the coin shows Bahram IV wearing a crenellated crown with wing and korymbos. The reverse shies a fire altar surmounted by bust r., flanked by attendants facing inwards and holding swords. Bahram IV, was the Sassanian King of Kings of Iran from 388 to 399. He was likely the son and successor of Shapur III. Before his accession to the throne, Bahram served as governor of the southeastern province of Kirman.
click to enlarge
145
Sassanian Empire, silver Drachm from the reign of Yazdegerd, also sometimes spelled Yazdgird I, 399-420 AD. It features the bust of the Emperor facing right with the elaborate headdress or crown indicative of his reign. The reverse features a fire altar flanked by two standing attendants holding swords, within a raised circle. Minted at Veh Ardashir, a Sassanian city in present day Iraq, this coin weighs 4.20 gms. and measures 26 mm in diameter. A son of Shapur III, he succeeded his brother Bahram IV after the latter’s assassination. Yazdegerd I’s largely-uneventful reign is seen in Sasanian history as a period of renewal.
click to enlarge
146
Sassanian Empire, silver Drachm from the reign of Bahram V. Bahram V (also spelled Wahram V or Warahran V, also known as Bahram Gor and Varhan V, reigned from 420 to 438 AD. This coin features a bearded bust of the Emperor facing right wearing a very elaborate crown or headdress, within a crenellated circle with an inscription. The reverse features a fire altar flanked by two standing attendants. This coin is from the Riv-Ardashir mint, struck 425-438 AD, weighing 4.22 gms. and measuring 31 mm. in diameter.
Bahram V is remembered as one of the most famous kings in Iranian history, due to his cancellation of taxes and public debt at celebratory events, his encouragement of musicians, and his enjoyment of hunting. He was succeeded by his son Yazdegerd II.
click to enlarge
147
Sassanian Empire silver Drachm from the reign of Kavad I who reigned from 474 to 531 AD. This roughly struck coin features the bust of the Emperor facing tight within a single circle. The reverse shows a fire altar flanked by two standing attendants. This coin weighs 3.9 gms. and measures 28 mm. I’m diameter. Because of the many challenges and issues Kavad successfully overcame, he is considered one of the most effective and successful kings to rule the Sassanian Empire. In the words of the Iranologist Nikolaus Schindel, he was “a genius in his own right, even if of a somewhat Machiavellian type.iii
click to enlarge
148
Sassanian Empire, silver Drachm of King Peroz I. This deeply but roughly struck coin features the traditional bust of the Emperor facing right, within one circle topped with the characteristic elaborate headdress. The reverse features a traditional fire alter flanked by two standing attendants. It measures 28 mm. in diameter and weighs 4.15 gms. Peroz I was the Sassanian King of Kings of present day Iran, reigning from 459 to 484 AD. Son of Yazdegerd II, he seized the throne by successfully disputing the rule of his elder brother Hormizd III who ruled from 457 to his overthrow in 459 AD. His tumultuous reign was marked by war, famine and rebellion.
click to enlarge
149
Sassanian Empire, silver Drachm from the reign of Khosrow I, struck at the Shiz mint in Azarbayjan in Year 26 of the Emperor’s reign. The face of this roughly struck coin depicts a crowned bust of the Emperor facing right. The reverse shows a fire altar flanked by standing attendants. Khosrow I, traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan, was the Sassanian King of Kings of Persia, now Iran, from 531 to 579 AD.
click to enlarge
150
Sassanian Empire, silver Drachm of Hormizd IV (Hurmuz), 579-590 AD. On the face a very clear and bold bearded portrait bust of the Emperor facing right, featuring the characteristic tall headdress, within a single circle. The reverse shows a tall fire alter flanked by two highly stylized standing attendants, within a single circle. This coin weighs 4.013 gms. and measures 31 mm. in diameter. During his reign, Hormizd IV had the high aristocracy and Zoroastrian and priesthood slaughtered, whilst supporting the landed gentry. His reign was marked by constant warfare but in a surprising contrast, Hormizd IV was also noted for his religious tolerance, declining appeals by the Zoroastrian priesthood to persecute the Christian population of the country.iv
click to enlarge
151
Sassanian Empire, silver Drachm of Khusro II, 590-628 AD. This coin features the bearded bust of the Emperor facing right wearing the elaborate headdress characteristic of this era. On the reverse is the image of a fire altar flanked by two standing attendants, within three circles. This coin measures 31 min diameter and weighs 4.044 gms.
click to enlarge
152
Arab-Sassanian silver Hemidrachm from the period of the Abbasid Governors of Tabaristan Umar Ibin al’Ala. The face of this coin features a crowned Sassanian style bust facing right. The reverse shows a fire altar within a double circle with inscriptions on either side. This coin dates from after the Muslim conquest of Persia, 771-782 AD. Minted in Tabaristan, this coin is an issue of ‘Umar ibn al-‘Ala (Umar is written in Arabic in front of his face). Dated PYE 127 = AH 162 (AD 778/9). PYE is Post Yazdgird Era. It weighs 1.957 gms. and measures 28 mm. in diameter. This coin shows the enduring influence of imperial Sassanian coinage into the Islamic era, unusual as the reverse shows key imagery from another competing religion.
click to enlarge
153
Arab Sassanian issue of Sulaiman, governor in Tabaristan. Tabaristan mint, silver Hemidrachm. Dated PYE 137 = AH 172 (AD 788/9). Faceless bust, presumably in response to the religious ban on human images. Rev: Fire altar with attendants flanking. This coin weighs 1.96 gms. and measures 23 mm. in diameter.
When Islam first swept the region, the Arab rulers didn’t have the technology or the means to change the mints so they continued using Sassanian coins and eventually made a small change. They managed to write “Bism Allah” or in the name of god on the 3-4 o’clock position of the obverse. This coins follows the same trends. They made more modifications mainly to the obverse and instead of a king, we now have a diamond shape around a crescent and star. There is still the wings of the king’s crown at the top and the crescent and star around the outside of the border. This symbol goes back a few millennia to Babylon. Elymais coins also have it. The imagery on the reverse is identical to the previous Sassanian coins. There is a fire alter along with two attendants.
References
i Wikipedia
ii Frye, Cambridge History of Iran 3.1, p. 135
iii Wikipedia
iv Wikipedia