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1 Drachm - Phromo Kesaro
| Issuer | Western Turkic Khaganate |
|---|---|
| Year | 738-745 |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Stylized bust of the ruler Phromo Kesaro facing right in the Sasanian tradition, depicted wearing an elaborate winged crown surmounted by a crescent and globe finial, with flowing ribbons or diadem ties extending behind the head. The face is rendered in a schematic, provincial style characteristic of post-Sasanian Central Asian coinage, with a prominent eye and simplified facial features. The bust is surrounded by a beaded border, with Sogdian or Bactrian script inscriptions arranged in the outer field. The overall artistic style reflects the strong Sasanian iconographic influence absorbed into the Western Turkic monetary tradition. |
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| Reverse description | Central fire altar depicted in the standard Sasanian reverse format, flanked by two attendant figures standing in profile facing the altar, each holding a staff or barsom bundle. The altar is rendered in a simplified, provincial style, raised on a stepped base. The design is enclosed within multiple concentric beaded and linear circular borders, typical of late Sasanian and post-Sasanian imitative drachms circulating in Central Asia. The overall composition closely follows Sasanian prototypes, reflecting the cultural and monetary conventions adopted by the Western Turkic Khaganate. |
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| Additional information |
Phromo Kesaro — a Sinicized rendering of a name possibly derived from "Rome Caesar" — ruled as a minor king in the Zabulistan region under loose Turkic suzerainty during a period when Arab expansion from the west was grinding against the last pockets of non-Islamic rule in what is now Afghanistan. These coins imitate Sasanian drachm fabric long after the Sasanian empire itself had collapsed, a monetary conservatism driven by trade familiarity rather than political nostalgia.
The Arab conquest of Zabulistan was not completed until the mid-8th century, leaving this coinage in circulation during one of the final windows of pre-Islamic silver currency in the region.