SASANIAN EMPIRE
Khusru II (AD 591-628)
AR Drachm. 4.16g, 34.6mm
MINTED: SY (Shiraz) mint, RY 37 (AD 626/7)
REF: Göbl II/3; Karlsson -
OBVERSE: Cuirassed bust right, wearing winged crown surmounted by star and crescent; inside double dotted-border with three crescents with stars.
REVERSE: Fire altar flanked by two attendants, ribbon, star and crescent; regnal year to left, mint signature to right.
 
Provenance:
Ex Dr. David Majer Collection
 
Notes:
Toned with some iridescence. 
 
Historical Notes:
The Sasanians came to power in Persia, when the founder of the dynasty, Ardashir I, defeated the last Parthian king, Artabanus IV, in AD 224.  During the course of the next four centuries, the Sasanian Empire would become a great regional superpower, at its height challenging the suzerainty and influence of the Roman and Byzantine Empires.  The power of the Sasanians declined precipitously after the first few decades of the 7th century, and they ultimately were conquered by the emergent Arab Muslim caliphate.  
 
Khusru II ruled from AD 590 to 628 and was last great Sasanian king.  He initially consolidated his power with the help of the Byzantine emperor Maurice Tiberius, but after Maurice's death in AD 602, Khusru waged war against subsequent Byzantine emperors, capturing from them a swath of territory stretching from Anatolia and Syria to Egypt.  After a lengthy reign, Khusru was overthrown and executed his son, Kavad II.