Persian Treasury
Denomination

The Drachm: a Persian numismatic guide

The drachm — Parthian and Sasanian silver, the most-collected denomination in Iranian numismatics. 28 catalogued examples spanning Seleucid Persia, Parthian (Arsacid) Empire, Sasanian Empire.

Catalogued
28
Eras
4
Metals
2
Denominations
3

Seleucid Persia · 312 – 141 BCE

Era overview →

Early Seleucid Tetradrachm

Antiochos I Soter (Seleucid)

281–261 BCE

Anchor symbol referenced the Seleucid dynasty's founding legend.

Antiochus III "the Great" Tetradrachm

Antiochus III

222–187 BCE

Struck in massive quantities to fund eastern campaigns.

Greco-Bactrian Tetradrachm of Diodotus I

Diodotus I (Greco-Bactrian)

c. 250 BCE

Diodotus broke from the Seleucids to found the Greco-Bactrian kingdom — Hellenistic coinage striking deep into eastern Iran.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes Tetradrachm

Antiochus IV Epiphanes

175–164 BCE

The most ambitious Seleucid king after Antiochus III — his eastern campaigns took him deep into Iran where he died in 164 BCE near Tabae in Persis. His coinage is the high-water mark of Seleucid royal portraiture.

Antiochus VII Sidetes Drachm — Ecbatana

Antiochus VII Sidetes

138–129 BCE

Last Seleucid push east — Antiochus VII briefly recaptured Media from the Parthians in 130 BCE before dying in battle at Ecbatana, ending Seleucid presence on the Iranian plateau.

Greco-Bactrian Tetradrachm of Euthydemus I

Euthydemus I

c. 230–200 BCE

Withstood a three-year siege by Antiochus III at Bactra. His coinage is the high-water mark of Greco-Bactrian portrait engraving. Image: related Diodotid Bactrian tetradrachm.

Parthian (Arsacid) Empire · 247 BCE – 224 CE

Era overview →

Mithradates I Tetradrachm

Mithradates I

171–138 BCE

First king to title himself 'Great King'.

Mithradates II Drachm

Mithradates II

121–91 BCE

Coinage shifts from Greek to Iranian royal imagery.

Orodes I Silver Tetradrachm

Orodes I

90–77 BCE

Orodes I ruled in a turbulent period of Arsacid civil war. His successor Orodes II would later defeat Crassus at Carrhae (53 BCE).

Vologases VI Drachm

Vologases VI

208–228 CE

Vologases VI was the last Arsacid king; he was overthrown by Ardashir I, who founded the Sasanian Empire.

Phraates IV Silver Tetradrachm

Phraates IV

37–2 BCE

Phraates IV defeated Mark Antony's Parthian expedition (36 BCE) and later received the four Roman legionary standards lost at Carrhae back from Augustus (20 BCE) — a diplomatic coup commemorated on Roman coinage. His Seleucia tetradrachms are precisely dated month-by-month.

Vologases I Tetradrachm

Vologases I

51–78 CE

Vologases I founded a new dynastic branch and is credited by Pahlavi tradition with the first systematic collection of the Avesta. His reign coincided with Rome's wars over Armenia and the Treaty of Rhandeia (63 CE).

Artabanus IV Drachm

Artabanus IV (last Arsacid)

c. 213–224 CE

Killed by Ardashir I at the Battle of Hormozdgan in 224 CE — the end of the Arsacid dynasty after nearly five centuries and the dawn of the Sasanian empire.

Kingdom of Persis – Drachm of 'Darius'

Darius II of Persis (Darayan)

1st century BCE – 1st century CE

The semi-autonomous Frataraka and later kings of Persis ruled the Achaemenid homeland under Seleucid then Parthian overlordship. Their coins preserve Persian religious iconography (fire altar, royal figure) that the Sasanians would revive and standardise.

Elymais Tetradrachm of Kamnaskires V

Kamnaskires V of Elymais

c. 54–32 BCE

The Kingdom of Elymais — successor to ancient Elam in lowland Khuzestan — minted vassal coinage under Parthian overlordship. Their stylised portraits are some of the most distinctive of the period.

Persis Frataraka Tetradrachm

Vahbarz / Vadfradad (Frataraka)

c. 220–140 BCE

The Frataraka ('Foremost') were local princes of Persis (modern Fars) who minted in a deliberate revival of Achaemenid iconography — the ideological seed-bed of the later Sasanian dynasty. Image: related Persis silver of Darius II of Persis.

Characene Tetradrachm — Spasinou Charax

Attambelos I of Characene

1st century BCE – 1st century CE

The Kingdom of Characene at the head of the Persian Gulf was a Parthian vassal controlling Indian Ocean trade. Its coins debased steadily as silver gave way to lead-bronze. Image: related Elymaean billon tetradrachm.

Sasanian Empire · 224 – 651 CE

Era overview →

Ardashir I Drachm

Ardashir I (founder)

224–242 CE

Founder of the dynasty after defeating Artabanus IV.

Shapur I Drachm

Shapur I

240–272 CE

Defeated three Roman emperors including Valerian (captured 260 CE).

Khosrow I (Anushirvan) Drachm

Khosrow I

531–579 CE

Currency reformer; standardised drachm weight and purity. Massive output.

Khosrow II Drachm

Khosrow II

590–628 CE

Most common Sasanian coin; struck in huge quantities through 38-year reign.

Peroz I Drachm

Peroz I

459–484 CE

Peroz's wars against the Hephthalites bankrupted the empire and he was killed in battle in 484. From his reign onward, mint and year on Sasanian drachms enable precise dating.

Kavad I Drachm

Kavad I

488–531 CE (two reigns)

Kavad's reforms paved the way for Khosrow I. His support for the radical Mazdakite movement marks one of the most dramatic episodes in late antique Iran.

Yazdegerd III Drachm

Yazdegerd III (last Sasanian)

632–651 CE

Killed at Merv. His coins continued posthumously into the Arab-Sasanian series.

Bahram II Drachm

Bahram II

276–293 CE

Bahram II's coins are exceptional in Sasanian numismatics for showing the royal family together — a propaganda response to the religious challenge of Manichaeism, brutally suppressed under his predecessor Bahram I.

Bahram Chobin (Bahram VI) Drachm

Bahram Chobin (usurper)

590–591 CE

A Sasanian general from the Mihran clan who briefly seized the throne from Khosrow II — the only non-Sasanian to rule Iran between Ardashir I and the Arab conquest. Khosrow II recovered the throne with Byzantine help; Bahram Chobin's coins were struck for barely a year.

Arab-Sasanian & Early Islamic · 651 – 1258 CE

Era overview →

Arab-Sasanian Drachm

Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad

673–683 CE

Transitional issue — Sasanian iconography continued for 50 years after the conquest.

Tabaristan Hemidrachm (Abbasid Era)

Issued under Caliph al-Mahdi

AH 158–169 / 775–785 CE

Long after the Arab conquest the Caspian province of Tabaristan retained semi-autonomous local dynasties (Dabuyids, then Abbasid governors) who continued striking Sasanian-style half-drachms with Pahlavi script — among the latest survivals of pre-Islamic Iranian coinage, well into the late 8th century.

Explore related hubs

Denominations here

Metals here