Sasanian Kingdom. AR drachm. Khusro II (590- 638 CE), dated RY 38. Obverse: Bust of Khusro II right, name before. Reverse: Fire-altar with two attendants, mintmark AHM (Hamadan) to right, date 38 to left. This coin: Frank S. Robinson Auction 132, lot 425 (September 6, 2026). Khusro II, also known as Khusro Aparviz (Khusro the Victorious), was the last great king of the Sasanian Persian empire, and also saw the start of its downfall. He was the son of Hormazd IV, who in 590 was blinded and killed in a palace intrigue, leaving Khusro II king. However, a nobleman named Vahram who had been disgraced by Hormazd, recast himself as the avenger of Hormazd and claimed that Khusro had been behind the plot to kill him. Khusro was forced to flee to the Byzantine empire and appeal for help to Emperor Maurice. Meanwhile, Hormazd had himself crowned as Hormazd VI. With Maurice's help, Khusro reclaimed his throne in 591, and Hormazd was hunted down and killed. In 602, the Byzantine emperor Maurice was killed by Phocas, and Khusro used this murder of his former benefactor as the premise for an invasion of Byzantine territory, quickly taking land in Syria and western Anatolia. In 614 Khusro's troops advanced south to the Holy Land, conquering Jerusalem and carrying off the alleged True Cross, and by 618 he had conquered Egypt. He also expanded Sasanian control in the Arabian peninsula during this time. In 622, the Byzantines under Heraclius started their counter-attack into northwestern Iran, where they burned a major Zoroastrian sanctuary in revenge for Khusro's theft of the True Cross. By 628, the Byzantines had reconquered all the territory that Khusro had taken from them, temporarily took the Sasanian capitol at Ktesiphon, and regained the True Cross, to much rejoicing. The Sasanian nobles seized Khusro, put him on trial for his mismanagement of the war (among other charges), and predictably found him guilty and executed him. He was succeeded by a series of weak non-entities, none of whom could stand up to the expanding Muslim power to their south, and in 651 the last Sasanian king was killed, ending the dynasty. Khusro II is one of the better-documented Sasanian kings, largely because of his proximity in time to the early Muslim writers. He is generally considered a sympathetic figure in Persian culture, and is the hero of several classical romances. Despite his theft of the True Cross, he was overall tolerant of Christianity, and his beloved wife Shirin was a Christian. During his reign, he also reportedly received a letter from an Arabian man named Muhammad, who was trying to interest the emperor in a new religious movement. Khusro angrily tore up the "insolent" letter and ordered his vassal in Yemen to capture the author. (Spoiler: Muhammad was not captured.) Coins of Khusro II are the most common Sasanian coins available today, and are usually relatively inexpensive even for high-grade examples like this one. The mint of Hamadan (still an important city in Iran) was known in Seleucid and Parthian times as Ecbatana, and was the major mint for Parthian drachms. While not as important for Sasanian coins, it is not a rare mint for them, either. What really attracted me to this coin was the late date of Royal Year 38. This was minted not long before the nobles put Khusro on trial, hastening the downfall of their empire. A few rare drachms of Khusro with the date of 39 are known, but 38 seems to be the latest date that is usually seen. Please post whatever related coins you have.
Very nice! Love the write-up. My only Sasanian. Not nearly so nice as yours, and not really sure of full ID, but here it is:
@Neal Your coin is also Khusro II, having trouble with the mintmark and date. Weak strike on part of the reverse (as is common, the wide, thin flan of Sasanian drachms often meant there wasn't enough metal to fill all the space on the dies) but still cool.
Nice. Congrats on the recent purchase. I own but one Sasanian coin, and it too is from the reign of Khusro II. Admittedly, I know little about them, but wanted at least one ancient Persian coin of some kind. I suppose I should eventually get something representative from the Parthian and Achaemenid Empires as well. I submitted this one to NGC and was pleased when it received perfect Strike and Surface ratings.
PS- thanks for the historical information vis-a-vis the relationship of the Sasanian Empire at this time to the Byzantines and the rise of Islam. Interesting. I am still so very uninitiated to all this. Lately I've been revisiting the History of Rome podcast, which I first listened to nearly 20 years ago. The Parthians, and later the Sasanians, are of course mentioned as the frequent opponents of the Romans. But since I'm still back in the 3rd century in the narrative, Khusro II and his immediate forebears have not entered the story yet. But the drama of Shapur I capturing the Roman emperor Valerian has of course been covered. Now I want a coin of Shapur. That's the thing about listening to podcasts or audiobooks about ancient history. It makes one want certain coins.
