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Drachm - Varhran V type I/1
| Issuer | Sasanian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 420-438 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Reverse description | A stepped Zoroastrian fire altar, its shaft and cup adorned with suspended ribbons, supports a tall flame rising from the altar bowl at centre. Two royal attendants stand facing inward on either side of the altar, each rendered in three-quarter view with flowing robes and holding a staff or barsom; the composition is enclosed within a beaded border. The scene follows the canonical Sasanian fire-altar reverse type that persisted throughout the dynasty. |
| Reverse script | Middle Persian (Pahlavi) |
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| Additional information |
Varhran V — known in Persian literary tradition as Bahram Gur, "the wild ass hunter" — came to power in 420 after a disputed succession that required him to prove his legitimacy before the assembled nobility, reportedly by seizing the crown from between two lions. His reign brought a notable shift in Sasanian monetary practice, with the Type I coinage consolidating mint output under tighter administrative control following the instability of his father Yazdegerd I's later years.
The .900 fine standard held consistently across this type, a disciplined specification given the concurrent pressures of war with Byzantium in 421-422 and ongoing frontier conflicts with the Hephthalites to the east.