Founder of the Sasanian Empire

[Sulla80]

I was pleased to win this coin from the founder of the Sasanian Empire - Ardashir.  Although the fire altar is very familiar to anyone who has seen a Sasanian Drachm.  This tetradrachm looks and feels more like a Parthian Tetradrachm.

For the longer write-up of this coin see: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/founder-of-the-sasanian-empire

Post any Sasanian coins, coins of Ardashir, or coins of his rivals for power e.g. Parthian King Artabanus VI.

Edited October 12, 2024 by Sulla80

[ominus1]

..Ahura Mazda...i still ain't got one yet..:P

[JAZ Numismatics]

Super coin, and great blog as usual. It's crazy to think about what might have been if Caracalla had married a Parthian princess and united the two empires...

[Sulla80]

13 minutes ago, JAZ Numismatics said:

Super coin, and great blog as usual. It's crazy to think about what might have been if Caracalla had married a Parthian princess and united the two empires...

Thanks @JAZ Numismatics - has been a while since I rolled through your vcoins listings, I see you have some interesting coins - your Celtic Paeonian especially nice!  Yes - Caracalla and the daughter of the Parthian King would have been an interesting twist:

"He (Caracalla) wrote to the king (Artabanus) that he wished to marry his daughter; that it was not fitting that he, emperor and son of an emperor, be the son-in-law of a lowly private citizen. His wish was to marry a princess, the daughter of a great king. He pointed out that the Roman and the Parthian empires were the largest in the world; if they were united by marriage, one empire without a rival would result when they were no longer divided by a river."
-Herodian, 4.10.1

 

Caracalla seems to have had more treachery than diplomacy in his heart :

"Then the signal was given, and Caracalla ordered his army to attack and massacre the spectators. Astounded by this onslaught, the barbarians turned and fled, wounded and bleeding. Artabanus himself, snatched up and placed on a horse by some of his personal bodyguards, barely escaped with a few companions."

-Herodian, 4.11.5

Edited October 12, 2024 by Sulla80

[Parthicus]

Nice OP coin (and post/blog).  Yes, the coinage of Ardashir definitely shows evolution during his lifetime.  Here are three coins (all of them AR obols) that show that clearly.  First, a coin issued while he was still Ardashir V of Persis and had not yet conquered all the Parthian lands.  The style of the coin is very much in keeping with late Persis coinage:

Next, a coin from early in his reign as Ardashir I.  Note that he wears a Parthian-style on the obverse, but the reverse shows the Zoroastrian fire-altar, similar to the OP tetradrachm:

And finally a coin from later in his rule, where the obverse portrait has a more "Sasanian" look:

 

[Croatian Coin Collector]

A unique Gold coin of his is up for auction soon, here is the link in case anyone on the forum is interested in bidding for it: https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=8485&lot=524