Sassanian King Khusru II Drachm

This large silver coin shows the ambitious Sassanian King Khusru II. Many cities fell to his advancing armies: Damascus, Alexandria, even Jerusalem, where his army seized the True Cross. The reverse shows a Zoroastrian fire altar, an important religious symbol for the Sassanians. When the Byzantine emperor Heraclius defeated Khusru II, he destroyed the Sassanians' main fire alter in retaliation for the sack of Jerusalem.

Khusru II, 590-628, Hamadan, Yr. 32, Superb EF, fine style, exceptionally well struck, ltly toned