Ancient Sassanid Empire Silver Drachm Coin Gift Set 600AD

A large genuine ancient silver coin from the Sasanian Persian Empire, dating from approximately 600 A.D. Each coin is slightly larger than a quarter and is made of silver.

Gift set includes:

• One Sasanian silver drachm coin
• Certificate of Authenticity
• Historical info slip
• Gift box

The front side of each coin features a portrait of a Sasanian king, while the reverse side features a Zoroastrian fire altar with two priests. 

The Sasanian Empire was the last great Persian empire before the rise of Islam. The empire spanned a vast territory, including modern-day Iran, Iraq, parts of the Caucasus, Central Asia, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula. The Sassanids were renowned for their military prowess and economic prosperity. Their state religion was Zoroastrianism, an ancient fire-based religion centered around the eternal struggle between order and chaos.

The Sassanids were a chief military rival of the Roman Empire (at one point defeating and capturing a Roman emperor in battle) as well as its successor, the Byzantine Empire. The empire reached its territorial peak in the 600s but ended up overextending itself, exhausting its military and overtaxing its population, and quickly collapsed over the course of three decades of near-constant war against the Byzantines and Muslim Arab tribes. Its remaining territory was completely absorbed by the Islamic Caliphate.