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Drachm - Bahram II with Queen and Prince 4
| Issuer | Sasanian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 276-293 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Conjoined busts of Bahram II (Vahrām), wearing a winged crown surmounted by a korymbos, and his queen, wearing a kolah adorned with a boar's head, both facing right; opposite them, in the left field, the bust of Prince 4 faces left, presenting a wreath and wearing a kolah topped with an eagle's head. The confronted composition is a hallmark of Bahram II's distinctive multi-figure coinage. Inscriptional Pahlavi legends appear in the surrounding field. |
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| Reverse script | Inscriptional Pahlavi |
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| Additional information |
Bahram II is the only Sasanian king to have placed both his queen and a prince on the obverse of his coinage — a political maneuver almost certainly connected to succession anxieties and internal dynastic pressure from the powerful Zoroastrian priesthood under Kartir. The triple-bust arrangement was not decorative convention; it was a public declaration of legitimacy at a moment when the empire was simultaneously fending off Roman incursions under Probus and Carus and managing a rebellion by Bahram's own brother, Hormizd, in the eastern provinces.
The "4" designation in this variety sequence reflects the later emission within the reign, distinguished by subtle die characteristics catalogued under the Iranian national series classification.