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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 3539351, member: 81887&quot;]Another recent auction win from Frank Robinson:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]940568[/ATTACH] </p><p>Sasanian Empire, Rayy mint.&nbsp; AR drachm.&nbsp; Hormazd IV (579-590 AD), Royal Year 3.&nbsp; Obverse: Bust of king right, inscription in Pahlavi script.&nbsp; Reverse: Zoroastrian fire-altar with two attendants, star and crescent above; to right mintmark RD (Rayy), to left date (Year) Three.&nbsp; This coin: Frank S. Robinson Auction 108, lot 473 (April 9, 2019).</p><p><br /></p><p>Hormazd IV was the son of Khusro I (531-579 AD); his mother was the daughter of a foreign khagan, though whether it was the Turkish or Khazar khagan seems to be in dispute.&nbsp; Hormazd clashed often with the nobles and the Zoroastrian religious leaders, and is said to have ordered the executions of over 13,000 of his noble and religious opponents.&nbsp; He fought a series of minor battles against the Byzantines in the 580s, but the main military highlights of his rule came from the east.&nbsp; In 588 he sent a force under general Vahram Chobin to repel the Turkish forces that had conquered Balkh.&nbsp; Vahram was spectacularly successful, driving back the Turks and acquiring new territory, killing the Turkish khagan and capturing his son, and seizing a huge quantity of gold and other plunder.&nbsp; Unfortunately, the glory of Vahram made Hormazd jealous of his subordinate, and in 589 he had Vahram humiliated and removed from office.&nbsp; Vahram began to raise a rebellion, which inspired a palace plot to depose, blind and kill Hormazd and place his son Khusro on the throne.&nbsp; The rather opportunistic Vahram now declared himself the avenger of Hormazd and marched against Khusro, which did not end well for Vahram.</p><p><br /></p><p>Note the rather weird-looking portrait, which Frank Robinson in the auction description called &quot;typical crude fish-eye portrait.&quot;&nbsp; Despite the odd depiction, this is actually a pretty decent example of Hormazd IV&#039;s drachms, with clear designs and inscriptions and a barely noticeable weak area on the obverse.&nbsp;&nbsp; The city of Rayy was formerly known as Rhagae and was a major mint city under the Parthians; today Rayy has been absorbed as a district of the expanding city of Tehran.&nbsp; The hammer price on this coin was $38, which is reasonable for a better-than-average drachm of Hormazd IV.&nbsp; Post your Hormazd IV coins, or any other portraits with crazy fish-eyed portraits.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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