(image borrowed from seller as my photos didn't come out well) Sasanian Kingdom. AE pashiz (19 mm). Vahram V (420- 438). Obverse: Bust of king right, crescent and Varavahar symbols in front. Reverse: Zoroastrian fire-altar with two attendants. This coin: Pars Coins Auction 31, lot 208 (October 31, 2022). (historical section contains re-used text) Vahram (also spelled Vahrahan or Bahram) V was born around 400 AD to the Sasanian king Yazdegard I (399-420) and his wife Shushandukht, the daughter of the Jewish exilarch (leader of the Jewish community in Mesopotamia). As his mother was Jewish, Vahram would therefore be considered Jewish under Jewish tradition, even though there is no evidence that he ever practiced the Jewish religion. Young Vahram was sent off to be raised at the court of the Lakhmids, an Arab dynasty that ruled part of southern Iraq and northern Arabia. In 420 AD, a conspiracy of nobles and Zoroastrian priests murdered Yazdegard and placed one of his sons on the throne as Shahpur IV, but they soon after murdered him and replaced him with Khusro (who was so short-lived he doesn't even get a number). Vahram rushed back to the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon to claim the throne for himself. A folk tale claims that he had the royal crown placed between two lions, and challenged Khusro that whoever could retrieve it by killing the lions should be king. Khusro proved a coward and refused, while Vahram successfully passed the challenge and was accepted as king. While this almost certainly never happened, it is certain that Vahram was able to claim the throne fairly quickly, with support from the priests. The first major incident of his rule was a brief war with the Eastern Roman Empire. At the urging of the Zoroastrian priests, he began persecuting Christians in his realm, many of whom fled to Roman territory and attracted the sympathy of Theodosius II. In 421, the Romans and Sasanians fought in Armenia and Mesopotamia, to a relative standstill. A peace treaty the next year reset relations between the two empires, with no territory exchanged, and with both sides guaranteeing religious freedom in their realms. He then fought a more significant war with the Kidarite Huns, who had been ravaging the eastern part of Sasanian territory. This war proved far more decisive, with Vahram ultimately killing the Kidarite king and forcing out the Kidarites. He also ended the practice of giving Armenia a semi-independent king, incorporating it as a frontier province of the empire under a margrave. His policies of cancelling many taxes and public debts made him popular with the people. He encouraged musicians, and loved hunting; his nickname of "Vahram Gor" (Vahram the Onager, or wild ass) reflects his favorite prey. Vahram died in 438 AD, in unclear circumstances; different sources claim he died peacefully in bed, or fell into a cave, or a swamp, or drowned. Vahram has had considerable popularity in Persian culture, and is the subject of several major poems. Vahram was an interesting and historically important ruler, but this coin especially interested me because of the uncommon symbol it uses. On the obverse, you will note what looks like a human stick-figure, with a circle head and single-line limbs. This is actually a stylized version of a Faravahar: The Faravahar is a Zoroastrian religious symbol, and was most often found on Achaemenid-era carvings, although it also occurs in Persis and Sasanian contexts. Its exact meaning is unclear, and it derives from pre-Zoroastrian precursors, but it has been used to symbolize the Zoroastrian faith. It is also sometimes used as a secular symbol of Persian culture. The reason for its use on this coin is not known; perhaps Vahram wanted to burnish his credentials as a supporter of the Zoroastrian faith? Regardless, it's an interesting and scarce symbol to find on a coin, and this coin will likely make an appearance on my forthcoming end-of-year Top 10 list. Please post whatever coins you have that are related.
are you certain this symbol on a Vahram V bronze coin is a schematic Faravahar? It could be a Persian heraldic symbol attested as early as the 3rd C. In Firuzabad (Iran) there is a huge rock-relief depicting the victory of Ardashir I and his son Shapur I at Hormizdaghan in 224 AD against the last Parthian Arsacid king Artaban IV. The characters ride caparisoned horses, and the caparisons are covered with a repeated symbol. The symbol on Ardashir's horse caparison is the same as on your coin : It does not mean of course that it cannot be a schematic Ahura Mazda but, if so, what would be the meaning of the symbols on the other horses' caparisons? I also happen to know an Iranian woman who has a big tatoo on her back : Nice, isn't it?
@GinoLR : Good question on how I connect the stick-man symbol to the Faravahar. Mainly I am taking the seller's word for it, and the shapes seem to match in my (admittedly highly subjective) opinion. Given that the seller is a recognized expert in Persian numismatics, I tend to agree with their opinions. However, on further searching I didn't find any published scholarly assertion that this symbol is a stylized Faravahar. Given that it occurs across at least two centuries (Ardashir I and Vahram V) it can't be a personal symbol. A dynastic meaning is also possible, I suppose (if Vahram V is indeed directly descended from Ardashir I- I'd have to check that). But thanks for reminding me of the importance of citing sources. Also, yes, that tattoo is very lovely, thanks for sharing.
There are quite a variety of symbols / tamghas / monograms in this same spot on Sasanian copper and lead coins. The variety can be appreciated in these lots from Steve Album's auctions via acsearch.info. It's interesting to ask not only what the various symbols meant individually but what their purpose was collectively.
These symbols on Sasanian coins and reliefs are an interesting question. Like you said, the two-legged ankh symbol (as the one on your coin) is most often described by dealers as a "fravahr symbol" (fravahr, faravahar, there are different spellings in latin script), that is to say a simplified Achemenid winged disc. But like you, I could not find any confirmation of such an identification in peer-reviewed literature. In fact, the >IO symbol appears to be associated with the I-OC symbol 1) on the Firuzabad relief : Ardashir's horse's caparison is covered with >IO symbols, while Shapur's horse's caparison is covered with I-OC symbols. 2) on Narseh's silver drahms : on the reverse there are >IO and I-OC symbols above the fire altar attendants. The >IO symbol can also be found on the reverse of Shapur II and Vahram II drahms, sometimes associated with the I-OC symbol. The >IO symbol also figures on Shapur I eagle-tiara. These two symbols are associated and are supposed to make sense together. On your coin (and other similar Vahram V AE coins), the symbol seems to be a combination of the two : >IOC ... I found an article from a peer-reviewed publication: Abolala Soudavar, The Vocabulary and Syntax of Iconography in Sasanian Iran, Iranica Antiqua XLIV (2009) pp.417-460. https://www.academia.edu/2374243/The_Vocabulary_and_Syntax_of_Iconography_in_Sasanian_Iran He identifies the >IO symbol as "the child sign", the god Apam Napat. And he identifies the I-OC symbol as "the cow sign".
