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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 2991958, member: 81887&quot;]A recent CNG auction win:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]738394[/ATTACH] </p><p>Sasanian Empire.&nbsp; AR drachm (29mm, 3.68g).&nbsp; Zamasp (497-499 AD).&nbsp; Obverse: Crowned bust of king right, smaller crowned bust (prince or Ahura Mazda) holding out wreath with long ribbon, behind bust ZAM.&nbsp; Reverse: Fire altar with two attendants, star and crescent to either side of fire; to left, date (year 3), to right, mintmark ShY (Shiraz).&nbsp; Classical Numismatic Group, Esale 413, lot 233.</p><p><br /></p><p>Zamasp (also spelled Jamasp, for those who hate the letter Z) was a younger brother of Kavad I.&nbsp; When Kavad ascended the throne in 488 AD, he soon fell in with a heretical Zoroastrian faction known as the Mazdakites.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; In 497 they overthrew Kavad, imprisoning him in the awesomely-named Tower of Oblivion and installing Zamasp as king.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; Meanwhile, Kavad managed to escape from captivity and make his way east.&nbsp; In 499 he returned at the head of a large force of Hephthalites.&nbsp; Zamasp decided not to fight his brother and relinquished the throne to him, heading into exile in Armenia.&nbsp; 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.</p><p><br /></p><p>Coins of Zamasp are somewhat scarce, presumably due to his brief reign.&nbsp; All of his drachms have the small figure on obverse offering a wreath to the king.&nbsp; Some authorities identify this figure as the main Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda, while others claim it is a royal prince.&nbsp; Regardless, it makes his coins easy to recognize.&nbsp; Post your coins of Zamasp, or anything else relevant.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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