My first Persian coin!

Khosrau II, Sassanian Empire
AE 12 nummi
Obv: Facing bust of Khusru II, beardless, wearing chlamys and crown surmounted by a cross; star to left, crescent to right
Rev: Cross potent on globe, I to left, B to right
Mint: Alexandria
Mintmark: ALEZ
Date: 618-628 AD
Ref: SB 855

(In response to you guys probably thinking I've lost my mind lol ) It is a coin struck in Egypt when the province was under Sassanian Persian rule during the final war between the Romans and Persians. It depicts the Persian king Khosrau on the obverse, and is my first "occupation coin". It was high on my list and it being unidentified by the seller, I got it for cheap . This type was struck in two sizes: a smaller one at around 15 mm wide, and a larger and scarcer one at around 25 mm (mine is the smaller type). Let me tell you, I feel very fortunate that the encrustations decided make their home on the reverse and not plaster themselves over the obverse! Even though it has an Sear Byzantine number, I still consider it a coin struck under the authority of the Sassanian government and thus a Sassanian coin. Its just in Byzantine-style . You can tell it was from them and that it depicts Khosrau due to the addition of the traditional Persian symbols the star and crescent to either side of the bust. You might be wondering why a Persian king and a Zoroastrian is being shown with a cross on his crown. It has been speculated this was to show that he was tolerant of Christianity, the official religion of the Romans. Khosrau's wife also happened to be a Christian as well.

Warning, a long read:

Most everyone here has heard of the numerous conflicts between the Romans and the Persians, but how many of you know when and how they finally ended? The rivalry between the two powers lasting from the days of Crassus continued with the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) and Sassanian Persia.

My solidus of Emperor Maurice:



We begin with the Emperor Maurice Tiberius, who, in the previous war that ended in 591 AD, helped a rival prince, Khosrau, gain the Persian throne. The war ended well for the Romans; they gained concessions and an end to having to pay tribute. Maurice himself made an impression on the new Sassanian king; Khosrau thought of him as a friend and a fatherly figure. For now there was peace between the two empires.

Khosrau II (and wife and guards):



But events within the Roman Empire would soon lead to yet another breakdown in relations. An officer named Phocas, rose up with his troops in the Balkans against Maurice in the year 602. The emperor was captured and murdered, and Phocas gained the throne. This lead to a counter-revolt in the Roman province of Mesopotamia, which asked for helped from Khosrau. The Persian king agreed to lend assistance; through this he wanted to avenge Maurice's death, but he also used this opportunity to enlarge the Sassanian Empire through conquest. Through the rest of Phocas reign, the Persians would advance through Roman territory, with Phocas' forces proving inadequate to stop the invasion.

The two empires in 600 AD:



During this time, rebellion swept another portion of the empire, this time in Roman North Africa. There in 608, general and exarch Heraclius the Elder and his son, also named Heraclius, raised the standard of revolt and invaded Egypt, a territory still held by Phocas. Their forces took the province and later, went for Constantinople itself, defeating Phocas himself and executing him in 610 AD. Heraclius the Elder himself died, the cause of death unknown, soon after his son became the new Augustus.

Heraclius:



Heraclius (the son) worked to try and re-establish peace between the Romans and the Persians, but the successes and victories of the latter led them to reject the overtures. Ignoring normal custom, Heraclius decided to personally lead his troops in battle. The poor performence of his generals, however, allowed the Persians to continue seemingly unabated. They managed to reach the Mediterranean Sea and cut the Roman Empire in two. Among the victories for Khosrau's troops by this point were the cities of Antioch and Jerusalem. With the capture of Jerusalem came also the capture of the True Cross, the Holy Lance, and the Holy Sponge, which Khosrau sent as spoils of war to the Sassanian capital Ctesiphon.

Movements of forces from 611 to 624:



In 618, the Persian armies crossed into Egypt, and within three years, had completely conquered the province. This was a major blow for Heraclius, since this deprived him of a loyal province and also the grain that was shipped to Constantinople. To add insult to injury, after Egypt was lost, Khosrau sent Heraclius a letter basically telling him to give up the fight and submit to him, claiming that God and Christ had failed to come to his aid. Things soon became worse when Persian forces began their invasion of Asia Minor. They seemed well on the road to Constantinople by this point. Never before in nearly 700 years had the Roman Empire come so close to total collapse.

Sassanian Empire including conquests, by 621:



Heraclius realized he had to change things up if he didn't want to become a vassal to Khosrau or worse, a prisoner. He started to reorganize the economy and his government to help fight inefficiency and increase the amount of money to further prosecute the war. Heraclius also helped to retrain his forces for his coming counterattack. The Romans under his command struck at the Persians occupying Asia Minor and won a resounding victory in 622. The tables were starting to turn for Khosrau.

Mosaic depicting the 626 siege of Constantinople:



After a brief campaign in fighting barbarians on the Danube who had taken advantage of the Roman war with Persia, Heraclius continued on. He began to retake territories in the Causasus. With the help of some deception, Heraclius managed to rout three Persian armies sent after him. One year later, in 625, the Roman armies moved into northern Mesopotamia. In the following year, some of Khosrau's troops were able to sneak through the lines and in conjunction with the Avars and Slavs, besiege Constantinople, but this attack was met with failure. Also in that year, the Sassanian governor of Egypt rebelled. Soon after these events, Heraclius finally began his invasion of Persia itself.

Aftermath of the Battle of Nineveh (a Roman victory), in 627:



The full force of the Roman Empire was now bearing down towards Khosrau and his capital Ctesphon. Heraclius sent an ultimatum to the Persian king to stand down and work towards peace. But unfortunately for Khosrau, what remained of the Persian army deposed him and after several days of hunger in a dungeon, was executed by arrows. The new king, Khosrau's son Kavadh, entered into peace negotiations with Heraclius. The war was finally over in 628, and harsh terms were not imposed by the victorious Romans, for they were already strained as well. Only a return of territories, prisoners of war, and the holy relics were enough for Heraclius.

Heraclius returned to the empire a hero. Peace had been achieved and the Romans had won over their longtime rival. Things had seemed to ultimately work out for Heraclius. The process of rebuilding could now begin for people and lands devastated after the nearly three-decade long war. But a new threat was emerging south, in Arabia. The Arabs became united by Muhammad and the new religion of Islam.

Two years after the Prophet's death in 632, the Muslim Arabs poured out of Arabia. Taking advantage of the still-weakened empires, they swiftly took over much of the region, conquering the territories that had just been reclaimed by the Romans a few years prior. Heraclius launched a campaign against them, but he could not repeat the successes he had achieved. After several defeats, he abandoned Syria and Palestine to the Arabs. Egypt was mostly lost as well by the time Heraclius died, in 641. Despite some temporary gains in North Africa and at Alexandria, the Roman Empire never retook these lands. The Sassanian Empire fared worse against the Arab invasion, being conquered and wiped out by 651, with most of its territory being added to the new Islamic Caliphate.



Please post anything relevant, and thanks for reading!

 

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interesting. great write up.

 

Thanks for the good read, it's a part of history I'm sorely lacking in. Awesome new coin too! Good stuff man!

 

Cool coin, Jango ... congrats on scoring yourself that neat new addition

Ummm, I happen to have one of those babies as well (remember this lil' beauty?)

Byzantine Empire, Sassanian occupation of Egypt Æ 12 Nummi / Khusro II
Date: Circa 618-628 AD
Measure: 19.66 mm
Weight: 8.26 grams
Obverse: Cuirassed bust of Khusro facing, wearing crown with simple cross, star to left, C to right
Reverse: Cross on globe between I-B, AΛEΣ in exergue
Attribution: DOC 191; SB 855
Notes: A very nice example of this scarcer type

 

Excellent post!

 

Here's mine. Like the OP, it's not in good condition either. This is the light version of about 6 gr., other pieces are as heavy as 14 gr.

 

@ValiantKnight you should check out the current issue of Ancient Warfare. It has articles covering the various Persian empires 500 BC - 600 AD.

Of course, that is a cool coin and excellent write up. I'm on my phone so no pics to share.

 

I like the write up and the images. Thanks for sharing the history.

Heraclius
Mint: Alexandria
610 to 641 AD
AE 12 Nummi
Obvs: Draped and cuirassed bust facing, wearing crown surmounted by cross within crescent. Eight-rayed star to left, crescent to right.
Revs: Large IB, cross on globe between. AΛЄΞ
18mm, 6.38g

Still attributing this one, but was minted a few decades later as an arab/byzantine coin.

 

Wow, very nice write-up. Very enjoyable synopsis, and great coin (s).

 

A very enjoyable read and a very cool coin!!


I suppose the closest I have to something relevant is Macedonia under Roman rule...so I'll skip posting a coin for now.

 

Thanks all for the comments+likes. As a Byzantine collector I knew I had to get one of these, but it wasn't even on my mind much less actively searching for it at the time my example popped out of nowhere. I don't collect Persian coins but I feel as if I now need a silver coin of Khosrau II to complement my 12 nummi.

 

That was a super writeup/ love history from that period. Love Sassanian Empire coins/ also the Kushano-Sasanian Empire/ Hunnic Empire ones. Here is an example of a Kushano-Sasanian/ Peroz I/ Ardashir I/ 255-310AD Balkh Mint
AV Dinar 8.01g./ 24mm. ANS Kushan 1692(this coin) ex; Adams/ ex: Persic Gallery
obv. Vasudeva
rev. Siva facing/ Bull "Nandi"

 

Cool coin Panzer!

 

Excellent write-up, @ValiantKnight ! I've been trying to get a good Alexandrian occupation bronze of Khusro for a while now, definitely a historical type.

If you want a silver drachm of Khusro II, you're in luck- his coins are the commonest Sasanian coins on the market, and even near mint state examples are usually not very expensive. Here's one from my collection, a drachm of Khusro II from the mint of Shiraz:

 

Nice coin and write up. Lots of history between the Persians and Romans. The Persian history even goes into China's history. Here is one of mine.

 

Nice VK!

here's my first silver coin picked up about 5 years ago, a Khuso II...



here's my fav of Heraclius....

 

Detailed and shiny coins, I like

I don't really see myself expanding into Persian coinage but I would like one of these Khosrau II drachms one day, since they look nice. In fact, a couple of years ago I saw one going for cheap in auction so I thought "what the heck" and I threw a bid. But I got outbid at the last second. I haven't looked at any for sale since then, however.

 

A very nice catch, and a great writeup - thanks! (Why not pick up a few more Persian? and Arab-Byzantine? and... )

Here are a few of mine to accompany the story:

I tend to call him Khusru II, issued 622-23 (WYHC mint, location uncertain):


And the nasty brute, Focas (Follis, Constantinople, 607-8, SB 640):


Heraclius, year 1 (610-11) follis from Nikomedia, scarce:


And finally, a couple of early Arab issues:
Temp. Mu' awiya I Ibn Abi Sufyan, 661-680 "Arab-Byzantine" fals


Arab-Sasanian, Khusru type, ca. 666-670, AR drachm, A-5, with bism Allah rabbi in obverse margin, issue of Ziyad b. Abi Sufyan. Also sports two Turco-Hephthalite countermarks.

 

Isn't that the rare 6 nummi type of the Persian occupation of Alexandria?

 

Here is my only Sassanian:


Khusru II, Sassanian Kingdom, AD 590-628
AR, 31.5mm, 4.12g, 2h
Obv.: Bust of Sassanian king facing right wearing winged crown
Rev.: Fire altar flanked by two attendants