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Drachm - Yazdgird I
| Issuer | Sasanian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 399-420 |
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| Value | Drachm (1⁄12) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Effigy of Yazdgird I facing right, set upon a floral ornament at the base, wearing a distinctive mural crown surmounted by a frontal crescent and korymbos hair arrangement. The royal bust is rendered in the characteristically stylized Sasanian manner, with fine drapery detail visible at the shoulder. A Pahlavi letter 's' appears in the field behind the head, serving as a mint or regnal identifier. The design exhibits the formal, hieratic portrait style typical of early fifth-century Sasanian coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Pahlavi |
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| Additional information |
Yazdgird I ruled for over two decades in a manner so tolerant of Christians and Jews that Syriac sources gave him the epithet "the Sinner" — a rebuke from Zoroastrian clergy who considered his pluralism a betrayal. His reign saw a Christian bishop, Marutha of Maipherqat, operate with unusual freedom at the Sasanian court, partly as a diplomatic conduit to Constantinople. The peace with Rome held for most of his rule, which meant stable silver supplies and consistent mint output rather than the emergency issues that bracket so many Sasanian reigns.