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Sep 226 min read

Fire Altars

Sasanid-era relief at Naqsh-e Rostam depicting Zoroastrian god, Ahura Mazda presenting the diadem of sovereignty to Ardashir I, photo by Wojciech Kocot, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons


Today's notes start from my latest coin, issued by the Islamic rulers of Bukhara, dating to the 8th century CE. Bukhara, which is now part of modern Uzbekistan. Bukhara was a significant center of culture and trade in Central Asia. This is the starting point to explore a wide range of coins with Fire Altars and King's portraits over a millennium.


A Drachm from Bukhara

Today's coin of interest is a drachm from the Islamic Lords of Bukhara. The coin a physical representation of the trade and interconnections between ancient peoples. The fire-altar on the reverse of this coin is influenced by Sasanian drachms, and are based on the type of Vahran V (420-438 CE).

Islamic, 'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Mahdi, the third Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 775 CE to his death in 785 CE, AH 158-169 . Drachm (Billion, 25mm, 2g), Lords of Bukhara, Bukhara mint

Obv: Crowned and draped bust to right; behind, 'al-Mahdi' in Kufic; before, 'Lord of Bukhara' in Sogdian.

Rev: Sasanian fire altar, bust of Ahura Mazda in flames right on altar, flanked by two attending priests (mabedh) standing facing each other.

Ref: Album 94.


This open-air Sasanian era site has twin cubic altars at Naqš-e Rostam near Persepolis in Fārs. Both have a relief of an arch on each side of the cube.

Fire Altars & Zoroastrianism

The spread of ideas and beliefs can be seen across centuries of coins. Zoroastrianism, which has over time had elements of monotheism and dualism (equal deities of good vs. evil), and continues today as the religion of the Parsis (Parsees) in India, who migrated from Iran in the 10th century. Zoroastrianism became the primary religion of the Achaemenids (550-330 BCE, and was disrupted by Alexander the Great's empire and Greek influence under the Parthians (238 BCE-226 CE), and grew to prominence again under the Sasanians (226-651 CE). There are multiple paths and religious variants that I oversimplify here in the interest of brevity - for much more see Encyclopædia Iranica (Zoroastrianism, Historical Review up to the Arab Conquest).


Zarathrushtra (Zoroaster in Greek) was the prophet who reformed his religion and established the form that became dominant in Iran until the rise of Islam. Light was the attribute of Ahura Mazda, The Wise/Good Lord. Sacred fires were maintained in fire temples. Fire was not worshiped, but served as a symbol of Ahura Mazda.


The Islamic rulers of Bukhara retained the Zoroastrian symbols on their coins as these had long been associated with royal power and divine favor and added legitimacy and familiarity to both the currency and their rule. They also ruled over a heterogeneous population.


Strabo mentions practices of Zarathrushtrians in Cappadocia:

"In Cappadocia (for there the sect of the Magi, who are also called Pyraethi [fire kindlers],​ is large, and in that country are also many temples of the Persian gods), the people do not sacrifice victims with a sword either, but with a kind of tree-trunk, beating them to death as with a cudgel. They also have Pyraetheia [fire houses], noteworthy enclosures; and in the midst of these there is an altar, on which there is a large quantity of ashes and where the Magi keep the fire ever burning. And there, entering daily, they make incantations for about an hour, holding before the fire their bundles of rods and wearing round their heads high turbans of felt, which reach down over their cheeks far enough to cover their lips."
-Strabo, Geography, XV.3.15

This coin from the third century CE (400 years earlier) is from Sasanian King, Shapur I, who humiliated the Romans with the capture of their Emperor Valerian:

Sasanian Kingdom, Shapur I, AR Drachm. Mint I ("Ctesiphon"), phase 1c, circa CE 252/3-272.

Obv: Draped bust to right, wearing diadem and mural crown with korymbos

Rev: Fire altar flanked by two attendants wearing diadems and mural crowns


This map shows the locations of ancient cities where the coins in this post were minted.

Here is coin from 270 CE, a Kushano-Sasanian coin of Hormidz which again shares iconography of king + fire altar and is contemporary with the coin of Shapur. We will see more examples below extending over more than 7 centuries.

Kushano-Sasnian, Ormazd (Hormizd) I, circa CE 270-300, AE, Harid

Obv: Crowned bust right.

Rev: Half-length bust, holding wreath and spear, emerging from fire altar


This coin from Sasanian King Kushro II, shows a fire altar on the reverse flanked by two attendants.

Sasanian Kingdom, Khusro II AR Drachm. RD (Ray, Media/Northern District) mint, RY 15 (pncdh) = CE 605.

Obv: Crowned bust to right, wearing mural crown with frontal crescent, two wings and star in crescent; APD (translates to 'good/excellent') in margin

Rev: Fire altar with ribbons, flanked by two attendants; star and crescent flanking flames, date to left (pncdh), mint to right

Ref: Göbl type II/3; Sunrise 984 var. (RY date)


This 8th-century coin, minted in what is now Afghanistan, imitates the coins of Khusrau II and reflects the region’s rich cultural diversity. The coin bears inscriptions in three languages: Brahmi, Pahlavi, and cursive Greek, symbolizing the intersection of Indian, Persian, and Hellenistic influences. The coin was issued in the name of Vasu Deva, a relatively obscure figure. An interesting feature of this coin type is the small copper or gold plug often found on the obverse.


The Hephthalites, as nomadic conquerors, appear to have been religiously tolerant and syncretic. They ruled over diverse populations practicing different religions, including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, and they seemed to have adopted or tolerated varied religious practices to consolidate their rule.

Turko-Hephthalites in Afghanistan, Vasu Deva. Circa 720 CE AR Drachm 3.25g. Mint in Zabulistan or Seistan.

Obv: Winged Turkish bust right, Brahmi legend, Greek legend around, copper plug on neck and countermark

Rev: Fire altar with attendants and ribbon, Pahlavi to either side, Greek legend around. Triliungual legends (Pahlavi, Bactrian, Greek)


The Hephthalites, of uncertain origin, overtook Sogdia in 480 CE. Their ethnicity remains debated, with some linking them to the Hsiung Nu (Xiongnu) a confederation of nomadic peoples who lived in the steppes north of China. They came from the northeast, conquering eastern regions of the Sasanian Empire, including Afghanistan, Sogdia, and Khwarezm, though they were held off by the Kushans for a time (circa 350-450 CE). Hephthalite coins began as imitations of Sasanian and Kushan currencies, often crude in design, with features like elongated foreheads on portraits.


After capturing the Sasanian King Peroz in 469 CE and ransoming him, they circulated millions of Sasanian drachms, countermarking them to maintain value. The gold plug may have been incorporated to ensure value or prevent counterfeiting. (see: Hephthalites (White Huns)


As Islam spread, the currency still retained the connections to the Sasanian drachms. This coin from the Governors of Tabaristan in the late 8th early 9th century.

Islamic, 'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Rashid, AH 170-193 / CE 786-809, AR hemidrachm citing the governor of Tabaristan, Hani (AH 172-174 = CE 788-790), Tabaristan, PYE 137 = AH 172 = CE 788

Obv: Crowned and draped Sasanian-style bust to right; behind head, AFZUT GDH ('may his kingship increase' in Pahlawi); before head, 'Hani' in Kufic; in outer margin, APD NWKW ('excellent' and 'good' in Pahlawi)

Rev: Sasanian fire altar set on three steps, flanked by two attendants standing facing; to left, date; to right, mint TPURSTAN ('Tabaristan' in Pahlawi)

Ref: Album 69


Sulayman, as governor of Tabaristan, replaced the Sasanian bust with an abstract design to adhere to the Islamic stricture against portraiture.

Dabuyads of Tabaristan, Sulayman, 787-789 CE. AR Tabari Drachm (26mm, 1.50 gm). Dated PYE 136 (787/8 CE).

Obv: Sasanian style bust imitating Khosrau II right, but with face replaced by rhomboid bearing the Arabic word bakh

ReEv: Fire altar flanked by attendants; date and mint.

Ref: Walker, Arab-Sasanian p.145, B.43; Album 65


This coin from the 3 centuries (8th to 10th CE) of Pratihara and Pala rule over Northern India. Agin we can see the king's portrait / fire altar derived from Sananian coins.

India, Pratihara - Pala supremacy (Circa 780-980). Debased drachm (4g, 22mm)

Obv: Indo-sasanian bust right, wearing turreted headdress.

Rev: Stylized fire altar.

Ref: MNI 365-7.


This next coin from the 10th century CE is again inspired by the Sasanian silver drachms of Shah Peroz I (459-484), Peroz lost three wars against the Hephthalite Huns and twice paid large ransoms to free himself and his son Kavadh. In 484 he died on the battlefield once again fighting with the Huns An interesting illustrated write-up on these coins from CoinTalk.


This map shows the Kingdom of Gujarat ruled by the Chalukya Dynasty from 10th to 13th Century.

India, Medieval, Chalukyas of Gujarat, 950-1000 CE, Gadhaiya, emission 4, possibly an early Chalukya issue

Obv: Bust with an elongated skull and large ears to right, traces of drapery

Rev: Sasanian fire altar flanked by two stylized attendants


References

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