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Drachm - Wahram II
| Issuer | Sasanian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 276-293 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Pahlavi (Middle Persian) |
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| Reverse description | A fire altar depicted in the center field, with flames rising from its top, flanked by two standing royal attendants facing inward. The attendant on the left wears the winged crown with korymbos, while the attendant on the right wears a mural crown, both with korymbos. The scene is a standard Sasanian religious motif referencing Zoroastrian fire worship. The composition is enclosed within a beaded border, with a Middle Persian (Pahlavi) legend in the outer field. |
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| Additional information |
Wahram II ruled longer than either of his predecessors of the same name, but his reign was anything but stable — he faced a usurpation by his brother Hormizd in the east and a Roman invasion under Carus that briefly penetrated as far as Ctesiphon in 283 AD. That Roman advance collapsed only because Carus died under circumstances still debated: lightning strike, illness, or assassination. Wahram's coinage from this period reflects an administration under persistent pressure to project legitimacy it had to repeatedly defend by force.