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Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter November 8, 2014

The Sasanian state: the evidence of coinage and military construction

  • James Howard-Johnston EMAIL logo

Abstract

Iran and surrounding territories were moulded into a strong state in the Sasanian period, i.e. an institutionally developed political entity, managed from an imperial centre. Leaving aside the testimony of clay sealings for different branches of provincial administration and of campaigns for military capability, incontrovertible evidence for the existence of a governmental system with effective outreach and downreach is provided by military construction projects and the monetary system. As regards military infrastructure, attention is concentrated on works undertaken on both sides of the Caspian: two formidable lines of defence were created at narrow points in the passage between the Caucasus and west coast, to be dated probably to the late fourth and early fifth centuries, the front line being upgraded probably toward the end of the reign of Kawad I (488–96, 499–531); to the east where the Gurgan plain offered easy access to the southern shore of the Caspian and passes across the Elburz mountains, a grandiose scheme of linear defence was introduced, probably in the middle decades of the fifth century, consisting of a 200 km long wall guarded by more than thirty-six forts and fronted by a wide, water-filled ditch, several ready-made fortified camps for field forces to the rear and an associated wall across the eastern end of the southern coastal plain. The financial foundations of the state can be examined through study of the coinage, which has been subject to thorough-going analysis in recent publications. Despite a proliferation of mints, there was an impressive uniformity of types in the main silver currency, changes being introduced in a single coordinated operation. The high purity (averaging over 95%) of the silver drachm was maintained from the fourth century to the early 620s, even at times of serious financial strain. Preliminary studies of variations in overall mint output and by region cast additional light on economic and organisational history, while policy initiatives and associated propaganda can be glimpsed thanks to the survival of special issues (in gold as well as silver).

Appendix: regular drachms of Husraw II

Eleven substantial hoards, five late Sasanian and six early Islamic, have been published. The provenance of all but two is known. The exceptions are the Basel and Quetta hoards (both late Sasanian) which reached numismatists through dealers. Most are known to be complete, again with the exception of the Basel and Quetta hoards as well as two concealed in Islamic times (a few coins eluded the Syrian authorities when a large hoard was found in Damascus in 1950, while a near-contemporary find at Bab Tuma, also in Damascus, may have lost coins in transit via a Beirut coin-dealer to Paris in 1966). The number of drachms in individual hoards ranges from 190 (Seleucia) to 2,278 (Susa I). Some of the early Islamic hoards are very large (Jazira 2,820 coins, Damascus 3,819, Babylon over 9,000). The proportion of Husraw II drachms varies in these later hoards, from Babylon (330 out of 9,000 = 4%) to Bab Tuma (598 out of 854 coins = 70%). There are undoubtedly errors in the tables which follow, especially Table II. The totals of coins produced in different mints on which the regional percentages are based are provisional: the assignation of a small number of coins to specific regnal years is insecure; mintmarks on some coins may have been misread; there may be editorial slips in the published catalogues, which would also affect the count. But such errors should largely cancel each other out, and do not affect the overall picture. Rather more significant is the bias which may have been introduced, if the original owner took care to save as many higher-purity ’pd drachms as possible, as seems to have been the case with the Seleucia and Susa II hoards, since some mints produced much higher percentages of ’pd drachms than others – notably WYH in the metropolitan area, GD in Mad (Media), ART, BYŠ, DA and ŠY in Fars. This probably explains the exceptionally high percentage of Fars drachms in Susa II (46%) and the higher than average percentage in Seleucia (38%), as well as the low percentages of Khuzistan issues (8% in both hoards) as against WYH issues (12% Susa II, 18% Seleucia).

Finally, the balance between issues from mints in an individual hoard would normally have reflected the balance in the circulating currency in the locality where the hoard was deposited at the time of its deposit, unless, as in the case of the Seleucia and Susa II hoards, the coins had been selected by a discerning saver. Coins struck in that and neighbouring regions would be likely to predominate. This leads me to suspect that the Basel hoard, which has a high percentage of Fars issues (33%) but without a corresponding high percentage of ’pd drachms, was found in Fars. The more time passed, the less pronounced should be this regionalisation of circulation. As coins circulated, the coin-stocks of different regions would tend to converge. This helps explain the greater degree of homogeneity in the early Islamic hoards, as well as the provenance of five of them from Syria, outside or on the extreme periphery of Sasanian territory.

The following mints in Khuzistan, Mad and Fars are represented in the drachms of Husraw II:

Khuzistan – AW (Ohrmazd-Ardašir), AY (Eran-khwarrah-Shapur), LYW (Rew-Ardashir), NY (Nihawand), WH (Weh-Andiyok-Shapur)

Mad – AH/AHM (Hamadan), GD (Gay), LD (Ray)

Fars – ART (Ardašir-khwarrah), BYŠ (Bishapur), DA (Darabgerd), ST (Stakhr), ŠY (Shiraz), YZ (Yazd)

Table I: size and composition of hoards

  1. Late Sasanian hoards:

  2. Susa I (excavated in 1930–1 in green-glazed ceramic jar – latest coin 634–5) – de la Fuye, et al. (1934), 68–76, 84–7:

    1. 2,278 drachms, of which 2,152 were minted under Husraw II

    2. 35 from years 1–10

    3. 526 ’pd = 24%

  3. Seleucia (excavated in 1967 in ceramic jar – latest coin 627–8) – Göbl (1973–4):

    1. 190 drachms, all of Husraw II

    2. No drachm predating year 13

    3. 126 ’pd = 66%

  4. Susa II (excavated in 1976 in ceramic jar – latest coin 627–8) – Gyselen (1989b):

    1. 1,171 drachms, of which 1,168 were minted under Husraw II

    2. 5 from years 1–10

    3. 906 ’pd = 80% of 1,128 unbroken drachms

  5. Basel (1973 accession in Cabinet de Médailles, from Basel coin-dealer – patina points to origin from single hoard – latest coin 631–2) – Gyselen (1990):

    1. 355 drachms, of which 337 were minted under Husraw II

    2. 2 from years 1–10

    3. 91 ’pd = 27%

  6. Quetta (made available for research by Californian coin-dealer in 1993 – reportedly from single hoard, probably not complete, but it has not been picked through – latest coin 631–2) – Malek (1993):

    1. 299 drachms, of which 298 were minted under Husraw II

    2. No drachms from years 1–10

    3. 29 ’pd = 10%

  7. Early Islamic hoards:

  8. Bab Tuma (reportedly found in Damascus in 1950 – some coins may have been lost – latest coin 747–8) – Gyselen-Kalus (1983):

    1. 854 coins, of which 598 are drachms of Husraw II

    2. 176 from years 1–10 = 29%

    3. 108 ’pd = 26% of drachms from years 11 to 38

  9. Damascus (found in bronze jar in 1950- an unknown number of coins were not recovered from the workmen who found it – latest coin 748–9) – al-Ush (1972a):

    1. 3,819 coins, of which 1,121 are drachms of Husraw II

    2. 367 from years 1–10 = 33%

    3. 102 ’pd = 14% of drachms from years 11 to 38

  10. Umm-Hajarah (found in 1970 outside small village in Jazira – latest coin 808–9) – al-Ush (1972b):

    1. 408 coins, of which 133 are drachms of Husraw II

    2. 26 from years 1–10 =17%

    3. 25 ’pd = 23% of drachms from years 11 to 38

  11. Qamišliyya (reportedly found in 1960 or shortly before – latest coin 815–16) – Gyselen-Kalus (1983):

    1. 1,519 coins, of which 210 are drachms of Husraw II

    2. 66 from years 1–10 = 31%

    3. 39 ’pd = 27% of drachms from years 11 to 38

  12. Babylon (excavated in 1900 – latest coin 819–20) – Simon (1977):

    1. 9,000+ coins, of which 330 are drachms of Husraw II

    2. 78 from years 1–10 = 27%

    3. 68 ’pd = 27% of drachms from years 11 to 38

  13. Jazira (in private collection in Geneva – latest coin 820–1) – Gyselen-Nègre (1982):

    1. 2,820 coins, of which 312 are drachms of Husraw II

    2. 130 from years 1–10 = 42%

    3. 40 ’pd = 22% of drachms from years 11 to 38 (I am grateful to Rika Gyselen for re-examining the coins and elucidating the table at Gyselen-Nègre [1982], 188–9)

Table II: percentages of Khuzistan, Mad and Fars issues in hoards

  1. Late Sasanian hoards:

    • Susa I – Years 11–38

      • Khuzistan 12%

      • Mad 11%

      • Fars 26%

    • Seleucia – Years 11–38

      • Khuzistan 8%

      • Mad 21%

      • Fars 38%

    • Susa II – Years 11–38

      • Khuzistan 8%

      • Mad 18%

      • Fars 46%

    • Basel – Years 11–38

      • Khuzistan 20%

      • Mad 17%

      • Fars 33%

    • Quetta – Years 11–38

      • Khuzistan 21%

      • Mad 18%

      • Fars 21%

B. Early Islamic hoards:

Bāb Tūmā

Years 1–10 Years 11–38

Khuzistan 34% 18%

Mad 5% 19%

Fars 24% 29%

Damascus

Years 1–10 Years 11–38

Khuzistan 27% 21%

Mad 8% 22%

Fars 26% 30%

Umm-Hajarah

Years 1–10 Years 11–38

Khuzistan 27% 17%

Mad 12% 15%

Fars 23% 32%

Qamišliyya

Years 1–10 Years 11–38

Khuzistan 30% 17%

Mad 2% 19%

Fars 27% 25%

Babylon

Years 1–10 Years 11–38

Khuzistan 23% 17%

Mad 10% 23%

Fars 28% 26%

Jazira

Years 1–10 Years 11–38

Khuzistan 27% 18%

Mad 8% 16%

Fars 25% 27%

Table III: peaks in output of drachms under Husraw II (regnal years in brackets)

  1. Late Sasanian hoards:

    • Susa I: 41 (24) – 111 (28), 360 (33), 170 (35), 158 (37)

    • Seleucia: 6 (24) – 18 (29), 16 (33)

    • Susa II: 37 (24) – 103 (28), 56 (33), 47 (35), 52 (37)

    • Basel: 5 (24) – 26 (29), 36 (31), 29 (33), 30 (35), 31 (37)

    • Quetta: 4 (24) – 22 (28), 22 (31), 40 (33), 31 (35), 37 (37)

  2. Early Islamic hoards:

    • Bab Tuma: 6 (23) – 30 (28), 50 (31), 29 (33), 35 (35) 32 (37)

    • Damascus: 17 (24) – 69 (28), 51 (31), 55 (33), 77 (35), 61 (37)

    • Umm-Hajarah: 4 (24) – 8 (27), 10 (31), 15 (35)

    • Qamišliyya: 2 (24) – 16 (28), 13 (35), 15 (37)

    • Babylon: 3 (23) – 16 (25), 16 (28), 31 (31/33), 24 (35)

    • Jazira: 2 (24) – 18 (28), 17 (31), 13 (35)

Acknowledgment

I am grateful to Cécile Morrisson, Rika Gyselen and Eberhard Sauer for their comments, and to the last for providing illustrations and outline plans of the Caspian defences.

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Published Online: 2014-11-8
Published in Print: 2014-11-1

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