History of Iron Age swords and scabbards, £85.00
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Iran before Islam: The Sasanians
The last Sasanian ruler
Yazdgird III was the grandson of Khusrow II and last ruler of the Sasanian empire. He was a child when he came to the throne in 632 and by this time, the Sasanian empire was exhausted by wars on all its borders. It was also facing its biggest challenge from the followers of the new religion of Islam. The Sasanian army first clashed with the Arabs in 632-34. It lost its final battle in 642 at Nahavand in western Iran. Yazdgird III fled to the east, where he was murdered in 651.
On the front of this coin, Yazdgird III is shown as a young man without a beard, wearing a winged crown. A Zoroastrian fire altar and two figures appear on the back. The inscription to the right of the altar tells us that this coin was issued at the central imperial mint. To the left of the altar, the year of the king's reign is given as year nineteen, which corresponds to AD 650.