Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TIF, post: 1825434, member: 56859&quot;]A hemidrachm and drachm of <strike>Ahmadinejad</strike> Vadfradad II&nbsp; (well, he does rather look like him and it could be a relative...)</p><p><br /></p><p>Due to the influence of Noob and others I&#039;ve sought out some examples of coins beyond the usual Greek and Roman ancients.&nbsp; These are surprisingly affordable and are my only &#039;mint state&#039; ancients.&nbsp; So far <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]300337[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>KINGDOM OF PERSIS, Vadfradad (Autophradates) II</b></p><p><b>Mid-2nd century BC</b></p><p>AR hemidrachm, 2.06 gm</p><p>Obv:&nbsp; head of Vadfradad right with short beard, wearing diadem and kyrbasia adorned with eagle</p><p>Rev:&nbsp; fire temple, Ahura-Mazda above; to left, Vadfradad standing right; to right, vexillum standard surmounted by eagle.</p><p>Ref:&nbsp; Sunrise 578.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]300338[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>KINGDOM OF PERSIS, Vadfradad (Autophradates) II</b></p><p><b>Mid-2nd century BC</b></p><p>AR drachm, 4.13 gm</p><p>Obv:&nbsp; head of Vadfradad right with short beard, wearing diadem and kyrbasia adorned with eagle</p><p>Rev:&nbsp; fire temple, Ahura-Mazda above; to left, Vadfradad standing right; to right, vexillum standard surmounted by eagle</p><p>Ref:&nbsp; K&amp;M 3/2. Alram 547. Sunrise 576.</p><p><br /></p><p>Not a great deal of information about this kingdom and these coins, but there is some scholarly information here:&nbsp; <a href="http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/persis-kings-of" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/persis-kings-of" rel="nofollow">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/persis-kings-of</a></p><p><br /></p><p>In looking at these coins and reading the descriptions, I had no idea what a kyrbasia was.&nbsp; From the British Museum:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Nor was I familiar with Ahura-Mazda (though I&#039;ve seen Acuras and Mazdas <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />).&nbsp; Turns out it is the Zoroastrian God.&nbsp; Zoroastrianism, one of the world&#039;s oldest monotheistic religions, began in ancient Iran some 3500 years ago, founded by the prophet Zarathustra.&nbsp; More about Zoroastrians here:&nbsp; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/zoroastrian/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/zoroastrian/" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/zoroastrian/</a></p><p><br /></p><p>And speaking of Zarathustra, for an utterly fantastic jazz rendition of <i>Also Sprach Zarathustra</i> (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, aka the iconic music from <b>2001:&nbsp; A Space Odyssey</b> ), check out this arrangement by Eumir Deodato:&nbsp; <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Deodato/_/Also+sprach+Zarathustra" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.last.fm/music/Deodato/_/Also+sprach+Zarathustra" rel="nofollow">http://www.last.fm/music/Deodato/_/Also sprach Zarathustra</a></p><p><br /></p><p>...which I first heard in one of my all-time favorite movies, <b>Being There</b>, the last film Peter Sellers completed.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078841/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078841/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" rel="nofollow">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078841/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in