Moneta's Temple and Gallery

SASANIAN_KINGS_of_PERSIA_Khosrau_II

stretrader99z — Sun, 24 May 2020 17:56:44 -0700

by: stretrader99z

Sassanian - Ardashir I - 223 - 240 A.D. & Zoroastrian Fire Alter

Moneta — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 19:23:07 -0700

by: Moneta

Description: Founder of the Sassanian Empire. More to follow... SASSANIAN EMPIRE. Ardashir I, A.D. 223-240. AR Drachm (4.25 gms, 25 mm), Ctesiphon Mint (?), ca. 233-239 A.D. Condition AU or almost FDC. Göbl type III/2/2. Sunrise 714 or Sunrise-713 (further research required). Diademed bust right wearing close-fitting globular crest headdress and korymbos; Reverse: Ornate fire altar with ribbons. The Sassanian Empire encompassed modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Armenia, as well as portions of Syria and Turkey. To the Sassanian people, they were called "Eranshar"-- the "Iranian Empire." Ardashir I or Ardeshir I (Ardaxšīr; New Persian: اردشیر بابکان, Ardashir-e Bābakān), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. After defeating the last Parthian shahanshah Artabanus V on the Hormozdgan plain in 224, he overthrew the Parthian dynasty and established the Sasanian dynasty. Afterwards, Ardashir called himself "shahanshah" (King of Kings)and began conquering the land that he called Iran. There are various historical reports about Ardashir's lineage and ancestry. According to Al-Tabari's History of the Prophets and Kings, Ardashir was son of Papak, son of Sasan. Another narrative that exists in Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan and Ferdowsi's Shahnameh also states it says that Ardashir was born from the marriage of Sasan, a descendant of Darius III, with the daughter of Papak, a local governor in Pars. [Wikipedia] The reverse of the Sassanian coins usually show the Zoroastrian Fire alter; for Ardashir I the alter or "ATAR" is show without attendants. See the Moneta Museum (Next Image) for an example of all later rulers that have two flanking attendants. Atar (Avestan ātar) is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza, 1987:389). It is considered to be the visible presence of Ahura Mazda and his aša. The rituals for purifying a fire are performed 1,128 times a year. In the Avestan language, ātar is an attribute of sources of heat and light, of which the nominative singular form is ātarš, source of Persian ātaš (fire). It is etymologically related to the Avestan āθrauuan / aθaurun (Vedic अथर्वन् atharvan), a type of priest. It was later copied by the Latin ater (black) and possibly a cognate of the Slavic vatra (fire).[1] In later Zoroastrianism, ātar (Middle Persian: ādar or ādur) is iconographically conflated with fire itself, which in Middle Persian is ātaxsh, one of the primary objects of Zoroastrian symbolism. My write up at Numis.org follows: Ardashir I, the founder of the Sasanid Empire, did so by extinguishing the Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) which figured so prominently in Roman history. In doing so Ardashir established a new and larger module of silver coinage that lasted through the Arab-Sasanian coin transition to the Umayyad style coinage of Abd al-Malik Bin Marwan (685 -705 AD) where only Arabic writing is present due to the prohibition of human or animal images. In establishing a new coinage for his newly minted empire, Ardashir increased the size and weight of the drachm and also created a subsidiary silver coinage. He maintained a copper coinage that conformed more to the previous Parthian types but he also established a gold coinage that the Parthians never had and that were larger and heavier than the contemporary Roman gold aurei. Here Ardashir wears a koryimbus and the legend around states "The Mazda worshipper, the divine Ardashir, the king of kings of Iran" in Pahlavi. I have to admit that what drew me to this series, beyond the important history, is the reverse design. Here we see a Zoroastrian fire altar (without flanking attendants as found on subsequent rulers' issues) and the legend "Fire of Ardashir" in Pahlavi script. The Fire Altar dominates the reverse of Sassanian coinage for the next 400 years, usually with flanking human attendants with the whole design becoming rather stylized in later years and copied in other nearby kingdoms. Zoroastrianism is a very important religion that is still practiced today and had a great influence on the development of early Christianity. AR Drachm (4.25 gms, 25 mm), Ctesiphon Mint (?), ca. 233-239 A.D.; Göbl type III/2/2. Sunrise 713 or 714. In 230 AD, Ardashir I invaded the Roman province of Syria, and threatened Armenia and Cappadocia, forcing the young emperor, Severus Alexander, who earlier had tried to prevent war by diplomatic means, to fight. The two armies met in 232 AD, in a battle in which both sides sustained such heavy losses that each was compelled to withdraw. Although not a victory, the removal of the Roman forces allowed Ardashir to consolidate his new holdings in Armenia. Upon his death in 240 AD, Ardashir had established a new and significant threat in the Roman east.

Sassanian - Hormozd II

Moneta — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 13:19:44 -0800

by: Moneta

Description: SASSANIAN KINGS. Hormozd II. 303-309 AD. AR Drachm (4.08 gm; 27 mm). He assumed a crown very similar to that of Bahrām II, representing the varəγna, the royal falcon. Bust right, wearing eagle crown with korymbos; pseudo-legend around / Fire altar with ribbon and bust in flames; flanked by two attendants, the left wearing crown with korymbos, the other wearing mural crown; pseudo-legends at sides. Cf. SNS type Ia/3a; cf. Gobl type I/1a var.; Numismatic Art of Persia, The Sunrise Collection 815. Struck on a nice full flan. Choice EF with iridescent toning. Rare.

Arab-Sasanian - Salm b. Ziyad

Moneta — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 12:48:10 -0800

by: Moneta

Description: AR silver Drachm of Salm b. Ziyad circa AH 61-65 (680-684 A.D.). This coin is a main type of the Pre-Reform coinage. Coins were struck in the name of this governor until the year AH70, five years after is deposition, for reasons that are still undetermined, but undoubtedly tied to the three-way struggle between the Zubayrids, the Umayyads and the Ephthalites. All Arab-Sasanian coins are distinguished from the former Sasanian drachms by the addition of an Arabic inscription (usually 'bism Allah' - 'in the name of God') in the obverse margin. His coins were mainly struck at mints in Khorasan. Album A-18, 3 pellets at obverse bottom (x2), Scarce VF+ (S. Album) Salm. b. Ziyad, ca. 680-685, AR drachm (3.8g), MRWRWT (Marw-Rud), year 8, A-18, finest style, clearly a regular Arab issue and not an Hephthalite imitation, nive VF+, RRRR. Salm was governor in Khorasan AH61-64/65, and returned to Basra, where he remained until his death in AH73. The meaning of the date TWMNAH ( "8 ") is obscure. It could refer to year 8 or some sort of recognition in opposition to his replacement 'Abd Allah b. Khazim, or an abbreviation of AH68 by the same issuer.

Nezak Huns - Vasudeva

Moneta — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 12:18:51 -0800

by: Moneta

Description: Part of the Hunnish Tribes associated with "White Huns", often grouped with coins of the Indian Subcontinent. This coin is a silver Drachm of VASUDEVA (ca. 720 A.D.) with gold plug is from the mint of Zabistan or Sistan. Often the gold plug is missing. This gold plug may have been incorporated to ensure value or prevent counterfeiting. These were of a similar design issued by Sasanians of Persia. OB: Bust right, wearing crown with two wings, surmounted by lion's head; Rx: Fire Altar (Zoroastrian) with ribbon, two attenants are flanking the altar, star and crescent flank the flames of the altar. REF: Gogl Em.244 (Sahi Tigin or Tegin); Sunrise # 1037. Choice Good VF, toned 3.20 g.; 32mm. Another reference refines the description: Nezak (Nspk) Huns Kingdom of Zabul Vakhu (Vasu)-Deva, Sub-ruler of Shahi Tigin Circa 720-738 AR Drachm. Sasanian style bust right, imitating Ardashir III; Brahmi legends in fields, Sogdian (ie. 'Baktrian') legend around rim, thunderbolt countermark on bust. Two horned attendants flanking fire altar, crescents above; Pahlevi legend in fields, Sogdian legend around. Göbl (Huns) Em. 244. Rare. This type hails from well within the Arab-Sasanian era, where similar types were coined by the Arab-Ephthalites. The Nezaks or other Turkic Huns remained non-Islamic and competed with the neighboring Arabs for domination. The personage portrayed here is definitely not Shahi Tigin (more accurately Kagin), although the bust is formalized. The ruler's name on obverse is 'Sri Vajara Vakhudevah' in Brahmi, and KOGONO appears on the reverse in Sogdian script. Still another description from a Steve Album auction - would have to be taken as the latest and best attribution: TURK SHAHI KINGS: Vakhu Deva, early 8th century, AR drachm, standard Sasanian design, with legends in Brahmi, Bactrian and Pahlavi, gold plug in center. 480 CE is when the Hephthalites conquered Sogdia. The Hephthalites were nomads of uncertain ethnicity. There is controversy regarding their origin, perhaps they were related to people called Hsiung Nu by the Chinese, who might have been related to the people the Romans called Huns. They are also referred to as Chionites and White Huns. Some of their coins have the word "Hono” on them, others have the word "Alchon.” But there is no consensus regarding who they were. Their art shows men with big moustaches, looking more "Turk" than "Mongol” or "Persian.” They came from the northeast, like all of the nomads, and took all of the eastern regions of Sasanian Persia: western Afghanistan, Sogdia, Khwarezm (western Uzbekistan), Turkmenistan. But the Kushans, in Pakistan, held them off for the time being. This was about 350-450 CE. Hephthalite coins work like this: In the 350s CE the Hephthalites conquered Bactria and issued imitations of Sasanian silver drachms of Shapur I, also imitations of Kushanshahr gold coins. In southern and eastern Afghanistan we have Sasanian-style coins featuring men, some of them with elongated foreheads that have made some people wonder if they practiced cosmetic head binding. Reverses of these coins are often extraordinarily crude. They are silver and billon, have various sizes, and various legends or none. They have been in the market. In 469 CE the Hephthalites captured the Sasanian King Peroz and ransomed him for millions of Sasanian silver drachms, which they proceeded to circulate in commerce. As the coins deteriorated from wear and clipping, local Hephthalite authorities started countermarking them to guarantee their value (and collect a small fee.) As the original supply became depleted they started making imitations of progressively more debased alloy and countermarking them, because countermarks had become normal in the markets. Eventually, they made copies with imitation countermarks engraved in the original dies. Various series based on style and location developed in Afghanistan and Pakistan and on into India. The later issues are generically described as"Indo-Sasanian." For Bactria and neighboring Sogdia a series of Sasanian-style billon drachms appeared around 475 CE, continuing perhaps a century. They are generically called “Napki Malka” coins, though now I think people prefer to read that legend as Nezak Malka, and some of the coins read Sri Shaho, Holy King. As a series, they are not uncommon. The Hephthalites were, in their turn, ousted by Turks starting in the sixth century CE. It was different people but the same process. Something went wrong in northern Xinjiang and Siberia and vast hordes of people started to move southwest. [WCN - Bob Reis, May 2020]