Hemidrachm - Bahram II

Bahram II ruled longer than either of his two immediate predecessors combined, but his reign was far from stable — he faced a usurpation by his brother Hormizd in the eastern provinces and was the first Sasanian king compelled to sign a disadvantageous treaty with Rome, ceding territory to Diocletian in 287 AD. The hemidrachm denomination itself was already archaic by this period, a fractional survival from pre-Sasanian monetary practice that would effectively disappear from regular issue within a generation.