Historical Context

The coinage of the Kingdom of Persis preserves an uninterrupted record of regional Iranian dynastic identity in modern Fārs province, bridging the gap between the dissolution of the Achaemenid Empire and the emergence of the Sasanian Dynasty. Centered around Persepolis and Istakhr, the rulers of Persis exercised local administrative and religious autonomy. Initially designated as fratarakā under Seleucid hegemony, these local rulers gradually transitioned into autonomous client kings (mlk') within the orbit of the Arsacid (Parthian) Empire.

By the second half of the 1st century AD (designated as Dynasty 4 by Klose and Müseler, or Phase IV by van't Haaff), the kingdom experienced extensive cultural and political integration with Parthian imperial norms. The traditional Persian soft bashlyk headdress was superseded by the rigid, domed Parthian tiara (kulāf), mirroring contemporary Arsacid court regalia. Concurrently, regional epigraphic standards suffered pronounced degradation; the clearly articulated Imperial Aramaic legends and patronymics of earlier dynasts deteriorated into illiterate patterns of stylized strokes and pellets.

Because the mint output of this era preserves no legible personal names, modern numismatists employ conventional typological classifications. Jacques de Morgan classified these anonymous sovereigns using alphabetic markers, assigning the labels "Prince X," "Prince Y," and "Prince Z." In his foundational survey Nomina Propria Iranica in Nummis, Michael Alram reclassified this specific monarch as Unbekannter König II ("Unknown King II"), positioning him between Kapat (Napad) and Prince Z. Contemporary references often synthesize both traditions, referring to the issuer as "Prince Y (former Unknown King II)."

Obverse: Iconographic Composition

The obverse composition features a bearded royal profile bust facing left, executed in high relief with stylized, linear engraving. The portrait shows a pointed or squared beard and a defined horizontal mustache.

The monarch is depicted wearing a domed Parthian-style tiara (kulāf). The crest and lower border of the tiara are ornamented with bands of pearls or pellets. The side of the headgear displays a central celestial emblem consisting of an upward-curving crescent moon enclosing an interior pellet. The tiara includes an articulated ear flap covering the cheek and a wide neck guard draping over the nape. Encircling the base of the tiara is a diadem whose ribbons extend behind the neck. The sovereign wears a torque about the throat above the embroidered border of a Persian tunic.

In the right field behind the portrait, dies regularly feature an isolated triskeles—a three-legged solar or dynastic symbol common to the regional numismatic repertoire. On small fractional dies, this motif is occasionally truncated or flanked by stray pellets. The entire portrait is framed within an outer border of fine pellets, frequently incomplete due to narrow flan modules.

Obverse: Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The obverse dies of the Prince Y fractional silver series are strictly anepigraphic. Unlike earlier Persis coinages that occasionally incorporated isolated Aramaic monograms or royal initials into the field, fractional obols of this phase lack alphabetic characters entirely. Identification relies entirely on iconographic attributes, particularly portrait orientation, the crescent-and-pellet tiara ornament, and the presence of the posterior triskeles.

Reverse: Iconographic Composition

The reverse displays an abstract device that George Francis Hill and George C. Miles demonstrated to be an aerial, bird's-eye depiction of a royal diadem (deyhīm). This motif replaced earlier traditional Persis reverse scenes depicting fire temples, royal adoration, or seated rulers.

The design consists of a circular or elliptical ribbon band representing the loop of the diadem. In primary issues, this ring is bisected by horizontal cross-ties terminating in folded ribbons or loops. In secondary die variations, the motif appears as an open hoop, lacks interior cross-ties, or is configured as a concentric double ring. The motif is enclosed by an outer circular border of pellets, rarely struck in its entirety on fractional planchets.

Reverse: Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The reverse legend encircles the peripheral field around the central diadem. The script represents a highly degraded stage of Imperial Aramaic (the precursor to the Inscriptional Pahlavi script). The engraving on this series is entirely blundered and illiterate, consisting of isolated vertical bars, angled wedges, and pellets rather than orthographically coherent characters.

Because the die engravers reproduced purely decorative approximations of letters, verified textual transliterations and modern translations cannot be established. Scholarly consensus rejects any attempt to reconstruct a ruler name—such as Darius (d'ryw) or Napat (npt)—from these corrupted pseudo-legends, and mechanical reconstructions of authentic Aramaic Unicode text are unsupportable for this series.

Typology and Documented Variants

The fractional silver obols of Prince Y / Unknown King II are cataloged within two principal typological varieties based on the treatment of the reverse diadem:

Documented Variants

  • Type 1: Diadem with Horizontal Cross-Ties
    Obverse: Bearded bust left wearing pearl-banded tiara with crescent-and-pellet; triskeles behind head.
    Reverse: Single circular diadem band bisected horizontally by internal ribbon ties; blundered pseudo-legend traces around.
    Catalog References: Alram Type 620; van't Haaff Type 620.1 (subtypes 620.1-1a through 620.1-1c); Susan Tyler-Smith (2004) no. 216; Sunrise Collection no. 649.

  • Type 2: Diadem without Cross-Ties or Double Diadem
    Obverse: Bearded bust left wearing pearl-banded tiara with crescent-and-pellet; triskeles behind head.
    Reverse: Open circular diadem band lacking internal cross-ties, or rendered as a concentric double ring; blundered pseudo-legend around.
    Catalog References: Alram Type 620 var.; van't Haaff Type 620.2 (subtypes 620.2a through 620.2c).

Metrological Data (Comparison Reference)

Extant documented specimens in reference collections indicate the following physical standards:

  • Denomination: Silver Obol (one-sixth regional drachm)
  • Weight Range: Approximately 0.28 g to 0.53 g (well-preserved specimens typically cluster between 0.35 g and 0.42 g; e.g., Sunrise 649 at 0.36 g; Tyler-Smith 216 parcel specimens across 0.28–0.44 g)
  • Diameter: 7.0 mm to 9.5 mm
  • Fabric: Compact, thick flans struck with deep intaglio dies, routinely resulting in partial displacement of outer borders and legends

Commercial listings occasionally designate specimens weighing below 0.30 g as "hemiobols." However, major reference corpora (Alram, Tyler-Smith, van't Haaff) do not identify a distinct hemiobol denomination for Prince Y; such pieces are classified as reduced, clipped, or underweight obols.

Scholarly Debates and Attribution Limitations

Interpretation of the Reverse Motif

An early debate regarding the reverse imagery centered on its symbolic identification. Jacques de Morgan interpreted the circular element with ribbons as a stylized fire shrine, describing it as a "barbarous representation of the pyre" (figuration barbare du pyrée). This view was subsequently overturned by George Francis Hill and George C. Miles, who demonstrated that the motif depicts an aerial view of a royal diadem with fluttering ties, functioning as an abstracted sign of royalty.

Chronological Placement

Jacques de Morgan originally assigned Prince Y a broad chronological window between 38 BC and AD 200. Subsequent research, particularly Susan Tyler-Smith's 2004 study of a Persis coin parcel, established that Prince Y was contemporary with the terminal issues of Kapat (Napad) and immediately preceded Prince Z. This contextual evidence places Prince Y's rule in the mid-to-late 1st century AD (approximately AD 50–90), contemporaneous with Arsacid rulers such as Gotarzes II, Vardanes I, and Pacorus II.

Denominational and Mint Distinctions

Archaeological and museum records require precise denominational discernment. George C. Miles cataloged a specimen of Prince Y from Istakhr (no. 15), but this excavation piece is a silver hemidrachm (1.20 g, 13 mm) rather than an obol. Similarly, the early British Museum collection cataloged by Hill possessed drachms (e.g., registration IOC.425) and hemidrachms (e.g., registration 1844,0803.161), but lacked fractional obols of Prince Y. Furthermore, Klose and Müseler distinguish the denominations under separate types (Type 4/54 for drachms, Type 4/56 for hemidrachms, and Type 4/57 for obols). In the absence of mint marks, production is conventionally attributed to Istakhr or Persepolis, though the operation of mobile workshops during Parthian dynastic disturbances remains a possibility.

References

  1. Nomina Propria Iranica in Nummis: Materialgrundlagen zu den iranischen Personennamen auf antiken Münzen. pp. 179–180, nos. 618–620 (Unbekannter König II)
  2. Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Arabia, Mesopotamia and Persia. pp. clxxix–clxxx; pp. 237–238, nos. 1–15
  3. Excavation Coins from the Persepolis Region. p. 22, no. 15 (Hemidrachm of Prince Y)
  4. Iran: A Parcel of Persis Drachms, Half Drachms and Obols. The Numismatic Chronicle 164 (2004), pp. 253–271, no. 216
  5. The Sunrise Collection of Parthian, Persis, and Sasanian Coins. p. 194, no. 649 (Uncertain King II, AR Obol)
  6. Catalogue of Persis Coinage: Ca. 280 B.C. – A.D. 228. pp. 102–104, Type 620 (subtypes 620.1 and 620.2)
  7. British Museum Collection Online: Object IOC.425. Registration IOC.425 (Silver drachm of Unknown King II)
  8. Statthalter, Rebellen, Könige: Die Münzen aus Persepolis von Alexander dem Großen zu den Sasaniden. Further reading: Klose & Müseler (2008), p. 63 (Types 4/54, 4/56, 4/57)