A New Look at One Sassanid Shapur I Gold Coin (241-272 AD)

In the minting of the first Sasanian coins, the details of the designs, faces, figures, and arrays of the king were carefully considered. In this research, the content of a gold coin from the time of King Shapur I (241-272 AD) has been investigated. The shape of the Shah’s face is different compared to other coins minted during Shapur’s time, which shows weakness and withering. There is also a three-horned spear in the hands of two figures around the fire pit on the back of the coin. Dihim’s attachment to Shapur’s foot is one of the important points of the studied coin. For a better understanding of Shapur’s face, the verses of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, which narrates the end of Shapur’s life, have been used. Studies have shown that the image on the studied coin shows the sick face of the king at the end of his life, which is confirmed by referring to the poems of Shahnameh. The three-horned spear on the back of the coin as a symbol of Shiva and the hyacinth of the Kushan religion is a sign of the king’s power and his successes, especially in the battle against the Kushans. It could be said that the three-pronged spear in the hands of the king and Ahura Mazda, the guardian of the hearth and the sacred fire, is a reminder of the submission of the Kushan religion to the Iranian religion, and Dihim is its symbol. From the Sassanid kings, along with a three-pronged spear, fire, crescent, and moon, meaning connection and friendship with Ahura Mazda and the gods Mehr and Anahita. Also, the similarity of the faces of the king and Ahura Mazda shows the same claim that the early Sassanid kings considered themselves to be of Yazdani race and face.