Sassanids, Sapur I, 240 – 270, AV Dinar o.J.
Obv.: Dinar, Ctesiphon., Cr. Bust with corymbos r.
Rev.: fire altar between guards
Minting place: Ctesiphon was a "twin city" in present-day Iraq, formed from the merging cities of Seleucia on the Tigris and Ctesiphon.
Tired of Roman antiquity? How about a dinar of one of Rome's fiercest rivals! Buy an Emporium coin of the Sassanid ruler who put fear into Roman Emperor Valerian. And quite incidentally, he made an important contribution to the Jewish religion.
Historical
The Sassanid Empire - Between Orient and Occident
The Sassanid Empire existed from 224 - 651 and was the second Persian empire of antiquity. It extended in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages to territories of present-day Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Until the middle of the 7th century, the Sassanids were the fiercest rivals of the Roman Empire. Their most important ruler is considered to be Sapur I, who defeated the Roman emperor Valerian at the Battle of Edessa and who was subsequently taken prisoner. The king was also tolerant in religion. Thus, he legitimized the role of the exilarch (leader of the Jewish community) in the administration of Jewish affairs and demanded obedience to state laws in return. The Talmudic scholar Samuel made an agreement with Sapur, which applies to Jews in the Diaspora to this day. Consequently, "The law of the government is law."