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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;acanthite, post: 261706, member: 6647&quot;]I wanted to show one of my recent purchases.&nbsp; A silver drachm from the rule of Khusro II (590-628AD) of the Sassanian Empire (in Persia).&nbsp; This piece was minted in regnal year 27 (616/7 AD), and weighs 3.84g.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x7/karakorum_photos/SAS_KusroII_bought.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The obverse is a bust of Khusro II, facing right, with the ruler&#039;s name behind the head and the letters APD in the outside field (meaning &#039;praise&#039;).&nbsp; Sassanian script is read right to left as Arabic is.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The reverse shows a fire alter flanked by two attendants.&nbsp; The state religion of the Sassanians was Zoroastrianism and they promoted it heavily in the lands they conquered, sometimes building a fire alter in a conquered city.&nbsp; In the left field is the regnal year (27) and in the right field a series of letters indicating the mint (WYH, though I can see it being a few other possibilities).&nbsp; The WYH mint refers to the city of Veh-Kavad in central Iraq.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The reign of Khusro II (son of Hormazd IV) was initially marked by numerous conquests in Asia Minor, Egypt, and Syria.&nbsp; However, the Romaion emporer Heraclius managed to rally and take back all of what Khusro II invaded.&nbsp; He was eventually assassinated (his own son may have been responsible) in 628AD, his rule ending in miserable failure.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Silver drachms of the Sassanians were used primarily for payment to the military during campaigns.&nbsp; Not having a regular conscripted army like the Romans, the Sassanians relied on amassing large numbers of men for warfare as the need arose.&nbsp; It is relatively easy to find drachms of this particular ruler, thus this says something about the amount of time the army spent in the field during his reign.&nbsp; It is said the Khusro II boasted that during his rule, the number of drachms in his treasury had more than doubled.&nbsp; There were many mints in the Sassanian Empire and more than a few appear to have been temporary.&nbsp; It is thought that mint facilities followed the army and struck coins at points along the way.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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