Description:
Obverse: Bust of Ardashir I right, wearing cap with ear flap and diadem, and globe with diadem (korymbos). Long hair and beard, with mustache. Pellet border.
Obverse legend: "The Mazda-worshipping Lord Ardashir, King of Kings of the Iranians, whose lineage is of the gods" [Translation from Pahlavi (Middle Persian), surrounding]
Reverse: Fire altar with fluted column. Throne with lion paws and diadem ties resting on incense burners. Pellet border.
Reverse legend: "Fire of Ardashir" [Translation from Pahlavi (Middle Persian), flanking the flames on the altar]
Label Text:
Installed in Art Before 700 CE, Spring 2025 Label Text:
Sasanian Coinage
The coinage of the Sasanian Empire set the standard for Western Asia and the Mediterranean world from the 3rd to the 7th centuries CE. Sasanian silver coins were renowned for their consistently high silver content, especially compared to Roman coinage circulating at the same time. For example, a drachm of Sasanian ruler Ardashir I was composed of about 91% silver, while a contemporary Roman denarius had just 45% silver.
Imitating Sasanian Silver
The consistently high purity of Sasanian silver made it extremely trustworthy and it was used widely around the Mediterranean and Asia. Other rulers of kingdoms across Central and South Asia imitated the imagery of Sasanian coins (a portrait of the ruler on obverse, a Zoroastrian fire altar on reverse) to try to project some of that trustworthiness. The early rulers of the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate did as well, using the legacy of Sasanian numismatic legitimacy to stake their own claim to political authority in the region.
[Displayed with 2004.13.207, 1999.15.249, 2012.39.2, 2004.13.509, 2012.23, 2012.11.2, 2012.11.1, 2012.7, 2012.20.30, 2012.20.32, 2012.20.36, 2012.20.37, 2012.20.34, 2012.20.19, 2012.35, 2012.11.5, 2012.20.4, 2012.11.4, 2012.11.3]
Tags:
ancient; archaeology; numismatics Subjects:
Numismatics; archaeological objects; Civilization, Ancient Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+2012.39.1 |
