Sasanian Silver

The silver plate from the British Museum (inv. 124091) usually attributed as depicting “Šābuhr killing deer”does not have a direct parallel in Sasanian iconography. The attempts were made to explain the image in perspective of relation to Mithraism, however no detailed analysis was done. The plate represents features typical for the Sasanian silver but, at the same time it is modelled upon Mithraic tauroctony. This makes the scene a possibly important argument in discussion regarding the very existence of Iranian Mithraism. The fact that the scene is not a direct copy of the Roman tauroctony arguments for association with Iranian imagery. The scene had to be understood in Iranian terms, despite referring to Roman depictions. This supports the view of Iranian, pre-Zoroastrian Mithraic cult.