Coins

Silver coins of Alexander of Macedonia, until the arrival of Parthians in the 1st century BC, have been put in WDXRF in order to determin Ag, Cu, Pb and Au as major and trace elements for fineness, debasement and refinement of silver in ancient Persia. Seleucid kingdom from 4th to 1st century BC was succeeded by several dynasties and kings. But the chemical composition of their silver coins and their fineness shows there was no changes in technology and economic policy.

Coins are engraved metals like books full of historical, cultural, religious, and mythological information. They are also like written documents that can be analyzed through their motifs through symbolism, and they are the most important guide for researchers in recognizing and familiarizing themselves with religious beliefs in different historical periods. Therefore, studying the images and symbols on them opens a window to ancient periods for researchers. Due to its long reign, the Parthian is one of ancient Iran's most important critical periods. They minted many coins with various motifs. One of the symbols used is the pattern of a palm branch, which from the time of Phraates II can be seen as the reverse of the drama and tetradrachm coins of the Seleucid Mint. This study has investigated the symbol of palm branch in coins of Phraates II in the Seleucid Mint to realize political goals. These coins are kept in Reza Abbasi Museum in Tehran (Iran) and were purchased through private collectors. In this study, 250 Parthian coins were examined, among which 60 coins had palm motifs. The palm branch is considered a mythological plant common between Mesopotamia, and Greek. Parthian king, the branch palms were used as symbols for victory, under the cultural influence of the Seleucid and Mesopotamia.

Sasanian Empire was one of the most powerful periods in ancient Iran. Archaeological evidence and traces, and Sasanian and Post-Sasanian texts show cultural and artistic relations of the Sasanian Empire from the East to the West. However, official Sasanian methods of warfare are one of the most important legacies of the period that have been less studied. These offensive and defensive arms and armor can be analyzed by looking at remaining evidence left by kings and officials within the national borders to the lands abroad. Sasanian swords are depicted on rock reliefs, silver dishes, and coins (drachmas and dinars). Although studies have been done on the classification of Sasanian swords shown on rock reliefs, no systematic study on the depiction of Sasanian swords on Sasanian drachms has been done so far. The following paper tries to restudy the subject by comparing the swords depicted on Sasanian coins and compare them to the swords shown on rock reliefs and dishes. Sasanian swords are depicted on different Sasanian royal arts such as Sasanian coins, Sasanian silver dishes, and Sasanian rock reliefs. Different elements will be taken into consideration such as the shape of swords in general and their method of hanging from the belt in particular. A closer look shows that Sasanian drachmas and dinars show two major types of hanging Sasanian swords via a scabbard slide system: A. hanging the sword in front of the body. B. hanging the sword on the left or the right hip. Additionally, the following paper will compare them to some extant examples of Sasanian swords that are kept in museums and private collections.

Iconology is a type of scientific study in which the worldview of the creation era of visual works is determined. This type of cultural studies includes the description of the visual patterns of the work (pre-iconography), the introduction of the narrative or narratives that are observed in the work (iconography analysis) and finally the interpretation of iconology. The purpose of this study is to examine the written content engraved on Safavid coins using the iconographic analysis method. To fulfill this purpose, all the texts engraved on Safavid coins are described, and then, using the method of iconography or iconography analysis, the narratives about these texts are stated. Moreover, the iconographic analysis of the written content engraved on Safavid coins shows some of the political, cultural and religious developments of this era, such as the position of Hamza Mirza, the son of Shah Muhammad, in the developments of Safavid era, the religious approach of Ismail II, the continuity of Safavid position in Iran's internal developments after Afghan invasion, and the high position of Shiite religion and the Persian language during Safavid era.