An Investigation into the Ritual Symbols of Coins of Dabuyid Ispahbads and Abbasid Rulers of Tabaristan in the First Two Centuries AH
Document Type : Original Article
Author
Mostazafan Foundation’s Cultural Institution of Museums
10.22080/jiar.2023.25055.1034
Abstract
Dabuyid Ispahbads, survivors of high-ranking Sassanid Dynasty in Early Islamic era, resisted strongly against Arabs and achieved independence. Similar to the Sassanians, they imprinted ritual signs on their coins, with the picture of kings on one side and a brazier on the other. The ruler’s crown is decorated with the wing of a hawk and the margin with the pictures of a crescent moon and star. Barsom is imprinted in the guards’ hands and three dots are imprinted symmetrically between the crescent moon and the star.
With a numismatic approach, this study seeks to understand the meanings of the ritual symbols on the coins of Dabuyid Ispahbads and Abbasid rulers in the first and second centuries AH. The study has been conducted using field research on the coins of Mostazafan Foundation’s Cultural Institution of Museums and Sepah Bank and the comparative study of written sources. The two main research questions are: Are the ritual symbols related to Zoroastrianism? and which common rituals in Zoroastrianism do they show? The results indicate the conscious use of motifs to show apparently the rituals related to Zoroaster and to return to the Sassanid era’s religious beliefs. These symbols indicated the stable conditions of the society in Tabaristan despite extensive pressures and attacks. The motifs of star, moon, lotus and iris, eagle’s wing, brazier and fire, barsom, and even the deliberate use of the Pahlavi script show the stable belief of the rule and Tabaristan’s people in Zoroaster and the symbols related to it.
With a numismatic approach, this study seeks to understand the meanings of the ritual symbols on the coins of Dabuyid Ispahbads and Abbasid rulers in the first and second centuries AH. The study has been conducted using field research on the coins of Mostazafan Foundation’s Cultural Institution of Museums and Sepah Bank and the comparative study of written sources. The two main research questions are: Are the ritual symbols related to Zoroastrianism? and which common rituals in Zoroastrianism do they show? The results indicate the conscious use of motifs to show apparently the rituals related to Zoroaster and to return to the Sassanid era’s religious beliefs. These symbols indicated the stable conditions of the society in Tabaristan despite extensive pressures and attacks. The motifs of star, moon, lotus and iris, eagle’s wing, brazier and fire, barsom, and even the deliberate use of the Pahlavi script show the stable belief of the rule and Tabaristan’s people in Zoroaster and the symbols related to it.
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Volume 2, Issue 4
February 2024Pages 123-167
- Receive Date: 20 February 2023
- Accept Date: 11 February 2024