Ancients: SASANIAN KINGDOM. Shahpur I (AD 240-272). AV dinar (21mm, 7.40 gm, 4h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 3/5, brushed....

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SASANIAN KINGDOM. Shahpur I (AD 240-272). AV dinar (21mm, 7.40 gm, 4h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 3/5, brushed. Mint I ("Ctesiphon"), Phase 2, ca. AD 260-272. Draped bust of Shahpur I right, wearing mural tiara with ear flap and korymbos; one pellet above and two pellets below diadem ties / Fire altar flanked by two attendants standing facing, turned outward, both wearing a mural crown; mintmark to left of flames. Sunrise 740. Göbl type I/1.

Shahpur I (alternatively Sabuhr), the son of Ardashir I, continued the expansionist and consolidatory policies of his father, diplomatically maneuvering between the Romans, Kushans, and Saka in a series of treaties and battles. Shahpur I subjugated the Kushan Empire in Bactria and installed members of the Sassanid dynasty in the new eastern province. The most notable achievements of his reign were his defeat of the Romans at the Battle of Misiche in 244 AD, resulting in the death of the Roman Emperor Gordian III, and his later capture of the Roman Emperor Valerian at the Battle of Edessa in 260 AD. This latter victory marked a high point in Sassanid military success and humiliated the Roman Empire, with Shahpur I commemorating his triumphs in numerous rock reliefs across the empire. Within the imperial borders he was a patron of significant architectural projects, founding the city of Bishahpur in 266 AD and building numerous fire temples across the empire. The legends of his coins repeat the same Zoroastrian and imperial titles of his father, asserting the use of primogeniture for the new Sassanid dynasty.

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