A recent CNG auction win: Sasanian Empire. AR drachm (29mm, 3.68g). Zamasp (497-499 AD). Obverse: Crowned bust of king right, smaller crowned bust (prince or Ahura Mazda) holding out wreath with long ribbon, behind bust ZAM. Reverse: Fire altar with two attendants, star and crescent to either side of fire; to left, date (year 3), to right, mintmark ShY (Shiraz). Classical Numismatic Group, Esale 413, lot 233. Zamasp (also spelled Jamasp, for those who hate the letter Z) was a younger brother of Kavad I. When Kavad ascended the throne in 488 AD, he soon fell in with a heretical Zoroastrian faction known as the Mazdakites. The Mazdakites preached a socialist-sounding program of redistribution of wealth, as well as the more lurid idea they are most remembered for, wife-swapping. Some modern historians argue that the wife-swapping part was heavily embellished by the enemies of the Mazdakites to make them look bad, but regardless of how true that was, the wealth-redistribution part was more than enough to alarm the nobles. In 497 they overthrew Kavad, imprisoning him in the awesomely-named Tower of Oblivion and installing Zamasp as king. Zamasp was apparently a moderate and humane king; he returned the state religion to more orthodox Zoroastrianism, and while he stopped the confiscation and redistribution of wealth, he did lower the taxes on the poorer classes. Meanwhile, Kavad managed to escape from captivity and make his way east. In 499 he returned at the head of a large force of Hephthalites. Zamasp decided not to fight his brother and relinquished the throne to him, heading into exile in Armenia. The descendants of Zamasp would eventually found the Dabuyid dynasty, famous among numismatists as an independent dynasty in the Tabaristan region along the Caspian Sea that continued to mint Sasanian-style coins long after the collapse of the main Sasanian dynasty. Coins of Zamasp are somewhat scarce, presumably due to his brief reign. All of his drachms have the small figure on obverse offering a wreath to the king. Some authorities identify this figure as the main Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda, while others claim it is a royal prince. Regardless, it makes his coins easy to recognize. Post your coins of Zamasp, or anything else relevant.
The mint is AW, not ŠY. The stories about the sharing of women were true. It brought about a major crisis in the nobility, since the paternity of male offspring couldn't be reliably established. Consequently, the officer corps of the army was greatly expanded under Khusro I. Eauction 413 had two big rarities, 223 and 227, both of which went for criminally low bids.
Great coin @Parthicus and really interesting write-up. That Zamasp would renounce the throne instead of fight his brother is quite remarkable. Also, you would think something named "The Tower of Oblivion" would be nigh impossible to escape from.
Here's a Kavad. I just pasted a part of your nice writeup (with attribution!) into my database entry for this coin. Note: Attributed to DL mint based on style.
I do not know a lot about their histories, nor their coins. Nice job @Parthicus ! Great write-up and nice coin. I have shown this before, but it is the only Silver I have of the Sassanians: Persia Sassanian Ardashir III 628-629 CE AR Drachm 36mm 3.85g Zoroastrian Fire Alter Gobl II-1 yr 2 Delta RARE
@pfitzner: I think you are right about the mintmark, it does look more like AW than ShY. The auction description at CNG also lists it as ShY, so at least I am not alone in my faulty reading. Re: wife-swapping under Kavad I, my intention was not to imply that it never happened, I just don't want to make Persia under Kavad I sound like a 70s key party. Thanks for pointing out the low bids on two rarities from that sale, I had avoided bidding on those expecting that I wouldn't win, but now I will be more confident in the future. I did pick up a nice Hormazd V in the same sale that I will be posting here soon.
