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Obol - Ardashir I
| Issuer | Sasanian Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 233-238 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A Zoroastrian fire altar of distinctive Sasanian form occupies the center of the field, rendered with a stepped base, a tall shaft with lateral projections, and flames rising from the altar's bowl at the top. Two attendant figures, identified as royal fire-keepers or guards, stand to either side of the altar facing inward, each rendered in profile. A Inscriptional Pahlavi legend runs around the periphery within a beaded border, conveying a religious or royal dedicatory inscription. The scene is characteristic of early Sasanian coinage and underscores the dynasty's close identification with Zoroastrian orthodoxy. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Ardashir I founded the Sasanian dynasty by defeating and killing Artabanus IV of the Parthians at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224 AD, ending nearly five centuries of Arsacid rule. These tiny silver obols belong to his later emission groups, struck after he had consolidated control from Mesopotamia to Bactria and was actively dismantling Parthian administrative and monetary conventions. The denomination itself is a Greek survival, inherited through layers of Seleucid and Parthian numismatic tradition that Ardashir retained even while building an aggressively new Persian identity.
The SNS Iran reference places this piece within a tightly defined die study grouping.