Khosrow II, 591-628, Drachm

Khosrow II, drachm, AR, reign 591–628, uncertain mint, circa 591–628, 4.08 g, 33 mm. Obverse: Diademed and draped bust right, wearing mural crown with frontal crescent, two wings, and star-in-crescent; ribbons and crescents on shoulders; stars flanking the crown; within double border; four star-in-crescent symbols in the margin. Reverse: Fire altar with ribbons, flanked by two attendants facing inward; four star and crescent symbols flanking the flames; within triple border; star-in-crescent symbols in the margin. Well-centred and clearly struck, with the principal types fully legible and the peripheral symbols largely visible. Reference: Göbl, type II/3.

Khosrow II’s drachms represent the standard silver currency of the late Sasanian Empire, a period marked by sustained military conflict with Byzantium and extensive state administration supported by regularized precious-metal coinage. The consistent iconography of the royal bust and the Zoroastrian fire altar with attendants reflects imperial authority and official religious symbolism, while widespread minting and broad circulation made these drachms a principal medium of payment and fiscal accounting across Iran and adjacent regions in the early seventh century.