88 / 166
TYRANT COLLECTION
86
203
Sasanian Empire
Silver Drachm (4.12g, 29 mm), AD 496-498
Zamasp (Jamasp), Sasanian King, AD 496-498
Extremely Fine.
Mint: WH (Veh Ardashir) (one of the satelite cities around the capital of Ctesiphon).
Zamasp was placed on the throne with the cooperation of the nobility and the priesthood after his older
brother Kavad I was overthrown due to his Mazdakite sympathies. The Mazdakites were a communistic
movement who pursued vigorously the redistribution of wealth and land among its members. Once
Kavad I was able to muster sufficient troops to lay siege on the capital, Zamasp peacefully abdicated
in favor of his brother. Kavad I treated Zamasp with great respect and offered him the governorship of
Persearmenia and the Cacasus region. Later, the provinces of Tabaristan and Daylaman on the southern
coast of the Caspian Sea were added to his governate. Zamasp was able to score a series of victories in
Persearmenia. He also was able to defeat the nomadic Khazars who came from the northern region of
the Caspian Sea and threatened the Sasanian’s northwestern frontier. In general, Zamasp is considered
to be a fair and just king. After Zamasp, his sons and grandsons continued to rule the southern Caspian
region even after the Arab invasion and the fall of the Sasanian monarchy. These successors of Zamasp
continued issuing coins in Sasanian style, though typically half drachms rather thanf full drachms, well
in to the 9th century. Their coins were typically minted in Amol, Gorgun and Abarshahr (all three were
former Sasanian mint centers). Due to his short reign, Zamasp’s coins are rare. Typically there are silver
drachms and smaller fractions such as obols which are of the highest rarity. His coin shows him facing
right and a crowned figure offering him the ring of kingship. The identity of this figure has long been
debated. Many historians believe that the figure represents Ahuramazda, the “wise lord” of the Zoroas-
trian religion.
202
Sasanian Empire
Silver Drachm (4.07g, 26.5 mm), AD 488-497
Kavad I, First Reign, Sasanian King, AD 488-497
Sunrise # 959 (this coin), SNS Type I/1, Gobl Type I/1. Extremely Fine.
Mint: LD (City of Ray south of present day Tehran).
A fine example of a Kavad I silver drachm. Ray, the mint place of this coin, is an ancient city. It was the
place where Alexander the Great found the dying Darius III. It also is home to a major Muslim saint, an
ancient fire temple and the burial place the Sasanian princess Shahrbanoo, which is a shrine open only
to women.