Drachm - Shapur I

Shapur I's reign produced one of the ancient world's most consequential military victories: the capture of the Roman emperor Valerian at the Battle of Edessa in 260 AD, the only time in Roman history a reigning emperor was taken prisoner in battle. The humiliation was permanent — Valerian died in captivity, reportedly used as a mounting block by Shapur before his body was stuffed and displayed in a Persian temple.

This drachm belongs to the earliest phase of Shapur's coinage, a type that established the crowned bust format his successors would maintain for the next three centuries of Sasanian minting.