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Drachm - Shapur I
| Issuer | Sasanian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 244-253 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Right-facing bust of Shapur I in high relief, depicted with an elaborate korymbos — the distinctive Sasanian globe-shaped hair arrangement — surmounted by a mural crown with crenellations and a large spherical finial. The king wears a richly detailed diadem with billowing ribbons visible behind the neck, and a beaded torque or necklace at the base of the bust. The facial features are rendered with strong Sasanian stylization: a prominent beard rendered in wavy locks, a sharp profile, and a commanding expression. The obverse field is encircled by a beaded border, with a circular Pahlavi legend running along the inner margin of the coin. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | mzdysn bgy šhpwhry MLKAn MLKA 'yr'n MNW ctry MN yzd'n |
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| Additional information |
Shapur I came to power having already co-ruled with his father Ardashir I, the dynasty's founder, and his earliest drachms reflect that transitional moment before his iconography fully broke from the Ardashirid model. The period 244–253 covers his first major western campaigns, including the catastrophic Roman defeat at the Battle of Misiche in 244 — where Philip the Arab may have paid a substantial ransom to extract the Roman army — and the opening moves of the wars that would eventually produce the capture of Emperor Valerian in 260.
The Göbl I/1 classification places this among the earliest Shapurian emissions, distinguished by specific die axis and crown typology that later issues abandoned.