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Hemidrachm - Bagadates I Second reign, temple reverse
| Issuer | Kingdom of Persis |
|---|---|
| Year | 280 BC - 260 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.9 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A frontal view of a fire temple or columned shrine with a gabled roof surmounted by flame-like projections or merlons, rendered in a schematic architectural style characteristic of Persis coinage. The temple facade displays three vertical panels or doors between squared pillars, suggesting a multi-chambered sanctuary associated with Zoroastrian fire worship. To the left of the temple stands a robed figure in profile, likely a priest or the ruler, facing the shrine in a posture of veneration. An Aramaic inscription appears to the right of the temple and along the lower portion of the flan, identifying the issuer. The entire composition is set within the irregularly shaped flan with no border. |
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| Mintage | ND (280 BC - 260 BC) |
| Additional information |
Bagadates I was among the earliest rulers of Persis to assert a distinctly Iranian dynastic identity following the fragmentation of the Seleucid grip on the region, and the temple reverse type on his second-reign issues is thought to depict the fire sanctuary at Istakhr, near Persepolis — a site carrying enormous ceremonial weight as the heart of Achaemenid religious memory. These small silver fractions circulated in a province that had never fully absorbed Greek monetary conventions, and their iconographic choices were deliberate rejections of Hellenistic norms rather than adaptations of them.