Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Tetradrachm of Seleucus I

300–280 B.C.; Seleucid Iran
excavated at Pasargadae Silver
Kept in Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA
Source: [1]
سکه کشف شده در ایران - دوران سلوکوس یکم امپراطور سلوکی
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan. The Seleucid Empire was a major center of Hellenistic culture which maintained the preeminence of Greek customs and where a Greek-Macedonian political elite dominated, mostly in the urban areas.

Money was in use in the ancient Near East long before the invention of coinage in Lydia during the seventh century B.C. According to the museum's website, "early Mesopotamian texts record payments of silver weighed in shekels (about 8.3 grams), minas (about 500 grams), or donkey-loads (about 30 kilograms), but the value of objects was also converted into equal-value weights of grain, copper, and tin." Apparently,The connection between money and weight continued in coins; a drachm, for example, weighed about 4.3 grams, a tetradrachm (4 drachms) about 17 grams. The obverse of this tetradrachm displays a portrait of Seleucus I (r. 312–280 B.C.) wearing a helmet covered with a leopard skin and adorned with a bull's ear and horns. Around Seleucus' throat is another leopard skin, knotted in front by means of the beast's forepaws. The features of Seleucus resemble those on coins showing Alexander the Great and with whom the new Macedonian rulers wished to be compared. It seems, this coin was minted at Persepolis, the administrative center in Persia, where it was excavated by the British Institute of Persian Studies! - Museum

Hercules Statue in Iran

Hercules statue 
Seleucid Empire 
Bisotun, Kermanshah Province, Iran

This statue was built around 153 A.D. At the time, Parthians were the Seleucid's main rivals in Iran. In the 20th century, however, the head was broken off and stolen. As a result the government built a new head and installed it on the body. According to the legends, since this Greek statue was naked, his private parts were damaged by the authorities after the Islamic revelation in 1979. As result, few features of this statue has been changed over the years comparing to the original design. 
Source: [1
 مجسمه هرکول دوره سلوکی - بیستون، کرمانشاه  
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan. The Seleucid Empire was a major center of Hellenistic culture which maintained the preeminence of Greek customs and where a Greek-Macedonian political elite dominated, mostly in the urban areas. The Greek population of the cities who formed the dominant elite were reinforced by emigration from Greece. Seleucid expansion into Anatolia and Greece was abruptly halted after decisive defeats at the hands of the Roman army. Their attempts to defeat their old enemy Ptolemaic Egypt was frustrated by Roman demands. Much of the eastern part of the empire was conquered by the Parthians under Mithridates I of Parthia in the mid-2nd century BC, yet the Seleucid kings continued to rule a rump state from Syria until the invasion by Armenian king Tigranes the Great and their ultimate overthrow by the Roman general Pompey.

Male Bust of Parthian Man

Male bust of a nobleman
Parthian period, Iran
Made of Green Turquoise
Pahlavi Library Collection, Tehran, Iran
Source: [1]
بالاتنه یک مرد اشکانی ساخته شده از فیروزه سبز
The Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD), also known as the Arsacid Empire, was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia. Its latter name comes from Arsaces I of Parthia  who, as leader of the Parni tribe, founded it in the mid-3rd century BC when he conquered the Parthia region in Iran's northeast, then a satrapy (province) in rebellion against the Seleucid Empire. Mithridates I of Parthia (r. c. 171–138 BC) greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids. At its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now south-eastern Turkey, to eastern Iran. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and Han Empire of China, became a center of trade and commerce.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Sassanian Nobility in Naqsh Rustam

Naqsh-e Rustam, Iran
Sassanian nobility

Naqsh-e Rustam (Persian: نقش رستم‎ Naqš-e Rostam) also referred to as Necropolis is an archaeological site located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars province, Iran. Naqsh-e Rustam lies a few hundred meters from Naqsh-e Rajab.

Sassanian Dish From Georgia

Sassanian Period. 3rd Century A.D.
Found in Georgia
Kept in National Museum of Georgia
Sources: [1], [2]

An statue with similar outfit can be seen here [3]. Nobles carved in Naghsh Rustam look similar to the image on this dish as well.