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Drachm - Wahram II
| Issuer | Sasanian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 276-293 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Varhran II (Bahram II) facing right, wearing an elaborate winged crown surmounted by a korymbos, with a distinctive trefoil of pellets placed immediately behind the korymbos. The portrait is rendered in the characteristic Sasanian high-relief style, with fine detail in the royal regalia. The field carries an inscription in Inscriptional Pahlavi script identifying the ruler. |
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| Mintage | ND (276-293) |
| Additional information |
Wahram II ruled for seventeen years but spent much of that reign managing simultaneous crises: a usurpation by his brother Hormizd in the east, Roman pressure under Carus — whose campaign in 283 AD reached Ctesiphon itself — and persistent Kushano-Sasanian instability along the northeastern frontier. That Carus died under mysterious circumstances near the Sasanian capital, and Rome promptly withdrew, likely saved the dynasty from a genuinely existential threat.
The references here — Göbl and the SNS Iran corpus — place this squarely among the earliest systematized Sasanian silver issues, before regional mint differentiation became pronounced.