Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVI 26 Sep 2018
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Sasanian Kings, Azarmidokht AR Drachm. WYHC (Weh-az-Amid-Kavad) mint, AD 631. Bust of Khosrau II right, wearing mural crown with frontal crescent, two wings, and star set on crescent; star-in-crescents in border / Two attendants flanking fire altar with ribbons; star and crescent flanking flames; star-in-crescents in border. Göbl -; Mochiri 505; Saeedi -. 3.28g, 30mm, 3h.
Near Extremely Fine; edge lightly corroded at 6 o'clock obv., otherwise good metal. Extremely Rare.
The daughter of Khosrau II, Azarmidokht was queen of the Sasanian Empire in AD 631. Her ascension followed a particularly bloody period during which time her brother, Kavad II (also known as Shiruya) overthrew their father in AD 628 and killed all of his seventeen brothers before executing him. His sisters were not included in the slaughter however and following Kavad II's death after just a few months of rule, as well as the death of four successors over the next few years including Boran, a daughter of Khosrau II, Azarmidokht took the throne. Kavad II's massacre of the royal family had left the Sasanian Empire uncontrollable; internally, claimants for the throne including generals and aristocracy were in a state of constant conflict and externally the Turks and the Kazars saw the weakening Empire as an opportunity for invasion. Azarmidokht herself was only queen for a few months, as related by the historian Tabari. Having been offered marriage by the military governor Farrokh Hormozd, Azarmidokht reportedly had her would-be husband assassinated rather than refuse his offer. She was in turn murdered by Rostam, the son of Farrokh Hormozd. The Sasanian Empire never fully recovered from this calamitous period, and later the Sasanian dynasty fell with Yazdegerd III in AD 651. This coin pays tribute to Azarmidokht's father, Khosrau II, perhaps to validate his daughter's right to the throne at a time when stable government was desperately needed.
Near Extremely Fine; edge lightly corroded at 6 o'clock obv., otherwise good metal. Extremely Rare.
The daughter of Khosrau II, Azarmidokht was queen of the Sasanian Empire in AD 631. Her ascension followed a particularly bloody period during which time her brother, Kavad II (also known as Shiruya) overthrew their father in AD 628 and killed all of his seventeen brothers before executing him. His sisters were not included in the slaughter however and following Kavad II's death after just a few months of rule, as well as the death of four successors over the next few years including Boran, a daughter of Khosrau II, Azarmidokht took the throne. Kavad II's massacre of the royal family had left the Sasanian Empire uncontrollable; internally, claimants for the throne including generals and aristocracy were in a state of constant conflict and externally the Turks and the Kazars saw the weakening Empire as an opportunity for invasion. Azarmidokht herself was only queen for a few months, as related by the historian Tabari. Having been offered marriage by the military governor Farrokh Hormozd, Azarmidokht reportedly had her would-be husband assassinated rather than refuse his offer. She was in turn murdered by Rostam, the son of Farrokh Hormozd. The Sasanian Empire never fully recovered from this calamitous period, and later the Sasanian dynasty fell with Yazdegerd III in AD 651. This coin pays tribute to Azarmidokht's father, Khosrau II, perhaps to validate his daughter's right to the throne at a time when stable government was desperately needed.