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Drachm - Ardashir I
| Issuer | Sasanian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 226-228 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Inscriptional Pahlavi |
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| Reverse description | A stepped fire altar of classical Sasanian form occupies the center of the field, surmounted by tall, stylized flames (type 2c) rising prominently above the altar top. Two royal diadems of type G hang symmetrically from the sides of the altar shaft, their ribbons rendered in fine relief. Flanking the altar on either side are attendant figures, their forms visible at the lower lateral fields. An encircling legend in Inscriptional Pahlavi is positioned within a beaded border, and the overall composition is contained within a dotted inner circle consistent with early Ardashir I coinage. |
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| Additional information |
Ardashir I struck these early drachms in the immediate aftermath of his defeat of the last Parthian king, Artabanus IV, at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224 AD. The Sasanian dynasty he founded would endure for over four centuries, but this narrow window of 226–228 represents the regime at its most precarious — consolidating territory, establishing administrative legitimacy, and building a coinage tradition almost from scratch on the ruins of Arsacid monetary practice.
The Göbl and Sunrise references anchor this to a tightly defined early emission. Three years in, the mint infrastructure was still being organized.