Sorry I haven't been posting much lately, I've been busy with work. (It turns out "working from home" means "still spending lots of time working, just in a different place".) Here is a coin I bought from Frank S. Robinson's bargain fixed-price list a few weeks ago: Persis. AR obol (11 mm). Namopad (1st century AD). Obverse: Bearded king's bust left, wearing diadem and mural crown, pellet border. Reverse: King standing at left, star in crescent to right, legend in Aramaic (mostly off flan) "npwpt MLK' BRH 'rthshtr" (King Namopad, son of Ardashir). Alram 602, Sunrise 627. This coin: Frank S. Robinson Bargain List, 2020. Persis is another name for what is now Fars or Pars province of Iran, and is the original homeland of the Persian people. Under the Achaemenid dynasty, the Persians built up an enormous empire that stretched from the edge of Greece, through Asia Minor and the Levant, Mesopotamia, the Iranian plateau, and a considerable chunk of Central Asia, up to the edge of India. However, after the destruction of the Achaemenids by Alexander, the Persian cultural/political sphere contracted back to the homeland of Persis, which seems to have retained a good deal of local autonomy during the Seleucid and Parthian periods. A silver coinage was issued in the name of local rulers, who on later coins style themselves King and make no reference to allegiance to a King of Kings, even though the area was nominally subject to the Parthians. There is unfortunately very little literary or archaeological evidence for the history of Persis, other than the coins themselves. The last king of Persis, Ardashir V, would rebel against his Parthian overlords, overthrowing them completely and establishing the Sasanian Empire about 224 AD. Persis issued an extensive silver coinage from a mint at Persepolis. The earliest coins, from the 3rd century BC, are in tetradrachm and drachm denominations; the tetradrachms stopped by the early 2nd century BC, while drachms and fractional silver continued for the rest of the series (indeed, fractional silver is more common than drachms for many issues). Most earlier coins show a Zoroastrian fire-altar on the reverse; most later coins instead show and name the king's father, which has been helpful to historians reconstructing the royal genealogy. This type, while not featuring a portrait on the reverse, does helpfully tell us that Namopad is the son of Ardashir. Unfortunately this only adds to the confusion, as there were at least three intervening kings between Ardashir II and Namopad. Perhaps Namopad was from the royal family but not the son of the king, or possibly even the founder of a new dynasty in Persis; we just don't know. The names of the kings of Persis are spelled many ways depending on what source you check. (Namopad is also called Nambed and Namopat in various sources.) This is due to the often-poorly-engraved names on the original inscriptions, the multiple transliteration schemes from Persian (or Aramaic) to other languages, and changes going from one modern scholarly language to another. This confusion, together with the lack of contemporary historical references, probably explains why coins of Persis are not a common area of specialization for modern collectors. Nevertheless, I like coins of Persis, as they are an important link in transmission of Persian culture during the Parthian period, and many of the designs are attractive despite the often small coin size. Plus, many of the common types are fairly cheap; this example cost me just $24.95. Please post your coins of Persis, or whatever else is related.
Wow, COOL obol! I know little of Persis' history, other than the Achaemenids propelled an Empire from that homeland, then shrank back to the original Persis area. I only have this little guy that I purchased from FSR, JUST to have a coin from Persis... When I am able to get to my coins again, I plan to re-pic many (if not all) of my poor photos... PERSIS Darius I 2nd C BCE Obol King’s hd r in satrapal head-dress topped by eagle SCARCE - Fire altar S6200
Great write-up and coin, @Parthicus. I picked up this little one at NYINC a couple of years ago. I believe that mine is also a coin of Namopad, but I haven’t been able to fully attribute it.
I have not studied Persis but I really should before buying any more. They tend to be small but can have interesting style and tend not to be expensive. I know I would have more if they had nice Greek names and legends. Prince Y hemidrachm (ex FSR 2012) Napad (son of Namopad) obol - ex. Tinkercoin (otherwise unknown to me so must have been eBay???) Ardashir IV hemidrachm (FSR 2013)
My only coin from Persis as yet - the clear depiction of the fire temple on the reverse attracted me. Kings of Persis, Baydād (Bagadat) AR Drachm. Istakhr (Persepolis), circa early 3rd century BC. Head right, wearing kyrbasia with flaps tied behind / King standing right before fire temple of Ahura-Mazda; standard to outer right, Aramaic legend around. Sunrise 561; K&M -; Alram 516. 3.32g, 20mm, 10h
