Sassanian coins: from royal portraits to economic insights
The coinage of the Sasanian Empire (circa 224-651 CE) serves as the most crucial primary source for its monetary and economic history and holds significant importance for both history and art history.
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The coinage of the Sasanian Empire (circa 224-651 CE) serves as the most crucial primary source for its monetary and economic history and holds significant importance for both history and art history.
The Sasanian emperors minted a considerable number of silver coins, known as drachms (pronounced ‘drams’).
The royal portraits on these coins allow for the identification of kings depicted in other forms of Sasanian art, such as silverware or rock and stucco reliefs.
Coin-striking remained a royal prerogative throughout Sasanian history, with a consistent typology employed across the empire, indicating central control over the mints. Initially, coin dies were primarily produced locally, but from the mid-5th century onwards, they were centrally manufactured and distributed to various mints, resulting in homogeneity not only in typology but also in style.
Under the Arsacid rulers, Iranian coins bore Greek script, which had become the lingua franca of the Middle East following Alexander the Great's conquests. However, the Sasanian emperors distinctly used the Middle Persian script called Pahlavi, emphasizing Zoroastrianism.
The reverse of Sasanian drachms depicted an Atashtan, a ‘fire altar’, sometimes flanked by incense burners or attendants, often representing Magi or Zoroastrian priests. Contrary to common belief, Zoroastrians do not worship fire itself but communicate with God, known as Ahura Mazda, through the holy flame. The presence of the Atashtan on Sasanian coins mirrors the cross on the coins of their rivals, the Late Roman/Byzantine Empire.
The obverse of Sasanian drachms featured the Emperor's bust, known as the Shahanshah, meaning king-of-kings. Each emperor wore a personalized crown, with different elements symbolizing various aspects of kingship such as victory, glory, manliness, and piety.
Sasanian drachms were among the first truly flat coins, signifying a transition in coinage from the chunky, thick-flan coins of the ancient world to the wafer-thin coins of the Medieval era. This change aimed to deter forgery by increasing the surface area to volume ratio, making it more difficult and expensive for forgers to produce counterfeit coins.
Although Sasanians minted gold and base metal coins, these were exceedingly rare. Sasanian drachms played a global role, serving as the basis for the Caliphal dirham and influencing coinages in the Indian region and Central Asia.
Currently, 32 rulers are known from the coins. However, there is ongoing debate regarding the attribution of coins to the reign of Bahram III and the identification of some short-lived rulers after khosrow II with individuals known from historical records. The reigns of Kavad I (Kawad I) and Khosrow II are divided into two periods due to the usurpation of Jamasp and Bahram VI, respectively.
Similar to the Roman Empire, coin production followed precise and well-organized plans. Although surviving numismatic material offers insight into the Sasanian coinage system, it represents only a fraction ofa the empire's total monetary output.
Who were the Sasanians?
Before Islam's ascendancy in the seventh century, the Sasanian Persian Empire stood as the most potent rival to the Byzantine Empire in the East. It was centered around modern-day Iran and Iraq, with its capital in Ctesiphon, near present-day Baghdad.
In 224 CE, Ardashir, a descendant of the Zoroastrian priest Sasan, overthrew the Parthian Emperor Ardavan IV, establishing a dynasty that ruled over the Persian Empire for 400 years until the advent of Islam and the defeat of the final Sasanian Emperor, Yazdgird III, in 651 CE.
During the Sasanian era, Iranian society was primarily agrarian, leading to an economy heavily reliant on farming and agriculture. The Sasanians' main exports included silk, woolen and golden textiles, carpets and rugs, hides, leather, and pearls from the Persian Gulf. Additionally, goods in transit from China (such as paper and silk) and India (spices) were subject to Sasanian customs taxes before being re-exported from the Empire to Europe.
