Hemidrachm - Ardashir I

Ardashir I founded the Sasanian dynasty by defeating and killing Artabanus IV of Parthia at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224 AD, ending four centuries of Arsacid rule. His early coinage, including this hemidrachm, was struck while he was still consolidating control over former Parthian territories — some regions resisted for years after Hormozdgan. The hemidrachm denomination itself was inherited from Parthian monetary practice, which Ardashir initially retained before the Sasanian series developed its own weight standards under later rulers.