page_title: Sasanian coinage
section_title: Context
hierarchical_section_title: Sasanian coinage / Context
caption_attribution_description: English: Bahram II, with his Queen Shapurdukhtak and prince Bahram Sakanshah.
context_page_description: Sasanian coinage was produced within the domains of the Iranian Sasanian Empire. Together with the Roman Empire, the Sasanian Empire was the most important money-issuing polity in Late Antiquity. Sasanian coinage had a significant influence on coinage of other polities. Sasanian coins are a pivotal primary source for the study of the Sasanian period, and of major importance in history and art history in general. The Sylloge nummorum Sasanidarum is the most important primary work of reference for Sasanian coins.
context_section_description: The main denomination of the Sasanians, introduced by King Ardashir I (r. 224–242) and inherited from the Parthians, was the silver drachm (Middle Persian: drahm). Most Sasanian rulers also issued fractional silver and copper coins. Some of these fractional coins include the hemidrachm, the obol and the tetradrachm. Ardashir I had most likely inherited the hemidrachm and the obol from the monetary system of his home province, Persis (i.e. Pars).
  However, the tetradrachm already fell into disfavor in the early Sasanian period, during the reign of Bahram I (271-74), as it was mostly made out of copper with only a tiny bit of silver. Hemidrachms also only appeared at the beginning of the Sasanian period. Obols and hemiobols were used for a longer period, but they were only sporadically used for special occasions (e.g. investiture gifts, throwing in crowds). Production of the hemidrachms and tetradrachms eventually ceased under Bahram II (r. 274-93), but the Iranian variant of the obol, the dang (which is the Middle Persian word), was minted until the end of Kavad I's reign (488–96, 498–531).
  Gold coins were produced in limited amounts and were mainly minted "for purposes of publicity and to compete with Roman and Kushan gold". Gold dinars (Middle Persian: dēnār, ultimately from Latin denarius aureus) were also introduced by Ardashir I, the first Sasanian ruler. Gold knowns are unknown to the Parthian monetary system, the predecessors of the Sasanians. Gold Sasanian coins weighed between 7 and 7.4 grams until Shapur III's reign (383–388). Minting of copper coins was very limited in the Sasanian Empire.
  During over four hundred years of Sasanian history, minting coins was a sole privilege of the ruling royal, and the typology employed on Sasanian coinage was invariably the same in every part of the empire; this shows that Sasanian mints were under tight control of the royal central authorities. Other than being used for paying taxes, the precise context of Sasanian coinage as money within the empire remains unclear. However, it is known that a large part of Sasanian coinage was used to pay soldiers and troops. Therefore, according to Philippe Gignoux and Michael Bates, Shapur II (r. 309–379) and Peroz I (r. 459–484) "must have" increased coin production during their reigns, as they conducted numerous campaigns. Massive quantities were minted under Kavad I, Khosrow I (r. 531–579) and Khosrow II (r. 590–628), who were involved in high-profile wars. All Sasanian coins were hand struck, and, like in the Roman Empire, coin production was regulated according to "accurate and well-organized plans".
caption: Silver drahm of Bahram II (r. 274–293). Obv: Crowned bust of Bahram II and his Queen Shapurdukhtak, facing right, while their son (later known regnally as Bahram III), who wears a bonnet with an eagle's head, faces left. Rev: Fire altar with attendants; Faravahar to left of flames, taurus symbol to right
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