Lot 75: Kushano-Sasanian. Hormizd I. Ca. A.D. 265-295. Æ unit. Kavad, imperial governor. VF, brown patina with earthen-green deposits. Decent condition for these.

Kushano-Sasanian. Hormizd I. Ca. A.D. 265-295. Æ unit (18 mm, 4.55 g, 12 h). Kavad, imperial governor. Sasanian-style bust of Hormizd I right, wearing crown with lion's crest; before, "Kavad" (only partially visible) / Sasanian-style fire altar. Carter 13; cf. MACW 1293; Alram 1409. VF, brown patina with earthen-green deposits. Decent condition for these.

With the replacement of the Parthian dynasty by that of the Sasanians in A.D. 226, the new ruler Ardashir faced the perennial problem of all Persian rulers; the disposition and defense of his eastern borders. Confronted by the Kushans in northern India, Ardashir erected a series of buffer states between the two kingdoms, with princes of the royal house placed in charge. The most important of these became Kushanshahr, or the Kushano-Sasanian kingdom. This quasi-independent province appears to have been fully developed by the reign of Shapur I, and probably survived about 100 years. In 359 Shapur II signed a peace agreement with the Chionite Huns, who had arrived in the area from the interior of Central Asia. The Kushano-Sasanians had apparently lost their primary function as a border buffer, and the reduced kingdom probably did not survive to the end of the 4th century. 

A major obstacle in studying the Kushano-Sasanians is the almost complete lack of historical documentation regarding the kingdom. Scattered references in the chronicles, a few often cryptic dedicatory inscriptions, and the coins of the kings are all we have to work with. The result is a wide range of conflicting opinions about basic facts of chronology and identification of rulers. For example, the coins identified as belonging to Peroz I by Carter have at least five different styles of crown. Is this Peroz one long-lived ruler who changed headgear as his relationship with the central power shifted, or do we have five sequential rulers of the same name, who changed the design of their crown in the Sasanian fashion? Even the basic chronology is controversial. The dates given for the coins of the Kushano-Sasanian rulers Peroz I and Hormizd I are based on the chronology of Carter and Cribb, with coins struck from the early days of the kingdom, beginning ca. A.D. 265. Another faction, represented by Göbl and Alram, compress all the Kushano-Sasanian coinage into a brief period of about 25 years, starting around A.D. 350. The issue will not be resolved until we have a firmer grasp of the history of Central Asia.

[Commentary provided courtesy of Sayles & Lavender, LLC]

Donated by: Pars Coins

• Offered By: VAuctions
• Lot #: 75
• Listing #: 182448
• Closed: Thursday, October 7, 2010 7:28:00 PM CT
• Estimate: $75