Persian

12/19/2011                                                                                    link back up to main Chapter 262 Coins

leaving Baghdad 

      

Lucky to come up with such nicely defined and interesting images on this 7th century Persian coin from the Sassanid Dynasty via ebay Portugal. The guy even sent me a picture of the envelope before he sent it out; surprising how well the international mail works.

 

 

                                  

This is a drachm coin from year 600 AD of Khusrau II King of Persia who ruled from 590-628. They also called him Parvez, "the ever victorious" for the many wars engaged in over his lengthy 39 year career. Born in Iraq, he eventually made some peace with the Roman/ Byzantines but was eventually run out of his Baghdad home by the Islamics and killed in his palace. Nothing new here.

Khosran's sacred fire temples shown here and on the back of the coin between two attendants were destroyed during the wars with the Byzantine Empire. In their Zoroastrian religion a sacrifice at the fire temple would purify them and bring happiness,

 The little winged symbol displayed at the base of the altar on the coin and on his crown is their version of a guardian angel. Probably originated thousands of years ago in Egypt or BEYOND. I find it ironic that this symbolic icon in Iran looks like a model airplane or the U.S. unmanned predator drone recently landed "shot down" there. The sun and crescent moon symbols go back centuries to ancient Greece and Egypt, then on to the current Muslim states. The squiggles are Pahlavi  (Iran) writing giving the date, mint, and ruler name. Although the religion might go back thousands of years and was once very significant there are few practitioners remaining.

 

 This map gives visual context to the coin. You get idea of where the Sassanian or Sassanids were located in middle Persia (Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan) before the Muslim conquest turned it Islamic. Border wars with the Romans and others caused boundaries to morph throughout the ages. 

 

 excellent Guide to Identification

Khusro II, AR Drachm, Year , minted in Gay or Jayy during his second reign

GDH apzwt | hwslwb

Facing bust, head right, wearing winged crown with star and crescent, inside double dotted-border, crescents with stars at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock

y'cwyst' | GD

Fire altar with two attendants, crescents on heads, inside triple dotted-border, crescents with stars at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o'clock

31mm x 34mm, 4.11g

Göbl SN, Xusro II, IIb/3

 The beginning of the split between Muslims and Christians in Egypt began in 639 when Khusro II led the Muslim Conquest of Egypt . From then on Muslims increasingly became the majority squeezing the Coptic Orthodox Church into a disgruntled minority. Members of the Coptic Church are apparently responsible for the 2012 film "Innocence of Muslims" that has triggered many protests and killings in the Muslim world including Libya.