Digital museum showcasing the collection of worldwide legends over the years! 千古不朽博物館展示多年來收藏的世界傳奇故事!
Sassanid Empire
Khusrau II
Drachm
(Type I Version)
薩珊王朝 霍斯勞二世
打蘭(第一類型)
Item number: A197
Year: AD 590-628
Material: Silver
Size: 30.4 x 30.4 x 0.5 mm
Weight: 4.14 g
Provenance: Coincraft 2016
This is a silver drachm coin, minted by King Khusrau II of the Sassanian Empire, who reigned between the years AD 590 and AD 628, commonly known as the “Conqueror King.” On the obverse side of the coin, there are two concentric circles. In the centre, there is a right-facing portrait of King Khusrau II wearing a crown. On either side of the portrait, his name and titles are inscribed in Pahlavi script. Surrounding the central portrait, at the twelve, three, six, and nine o’clock positions, are crescent moons each encircling a star, serving as decorative elements.
On the reverse side of the coin, there are three concentric circles, with four star-and-crescent decorations similar to those on the obverse side positioned around the outer edge. Within the innermost circle is depicted a Zoroastrian fire altar, a religious symbol originating from Persia and associated with the indigenous religion of the Sassanian Empire, Zoroastrianism. Flanking the fire altar on either side are figures of priests wearing crowns and holding swords. Surrounding the scene, there are decorative elements inscribed in Pahlavi script.
Khusrau II, also known as Khosrow Parviz, was the last great emperor of the Sassanian Empire. Upon ascending to the throne in AD 590, he faced challenges from internal rebels, forcing him to flee to the Byzantine Empire for refuge. With the support of Byzantine Emperor Maurice, Khusrau II reclaimed his throne the following year. In AD 602, after Maurice was assassinated, Khusrau II took advantage of the situation to launch an offencive against the Byzantine Empire. His forces advanced as far as the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, achieving the greatest territorial expansion of the Sassanian Empire.
In AD 628, after Khusrau II was assassinated by his son, the empire’s power rapidly declined. Simultaneously, its greatest rival, the Byzantine Empire, weakened due to continuous warfare, provided an opportunity for the rising Islamic forces from the Arabian Peninsula. In AD 633, the first Caliph, Abu Bakr, led the Arabs in launching conquests against Persia, leading to the Islamisation of Persia. During the early Arab rule, coins were minted in the style reminiscent of the Sassanian Empire. It wasn’t until AD 661, with the accession of Muawiyah I, who founded the Umayyad Caliphate, that the Sassanian-style coins with “idolatrous” imagery were gradually phased out.
Alexander Nikitin & Gunter Roth, “The Earliest Arab-Sasanian Coins,” The Numismatic Chronicle, 1995, pp. 131-137
Katayoun Fekripour & Fariba Sharifian, “A Historical Analysis of Three Arab-Sassanid Coins of Bišāpur,” Journal of Historical Researches, 2020, pp. 95-108
Mahdi Motamedmanesh & Samira Royan, “Khosrow II (590–628 CE),” Encyclopedia, 2022, pp. 937-951