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Ancient coins from Iran, Central Asia and India are an important medium for featuring Zoroastrian divine representations. As per the belief of kingship in Iran and India of yore, a king is personally blessed and given the right to rule by one or more deities. Such divinely blessed rulers were widely regarded to have superhuman qualities and attributes, some of which were considered bestowed upon them by the legitimizing deities. In the ancient Iranian tradition, an important attribute was Khvarrah or God-given (kingly) glory which made a king resplendent with divine light.   

  All photos: www.pro.coinarchives.com

  9. Yazata Anahita on drahms and denars of Khusru II; on coins of Kanishka: 

  16. Orlagno or Verethragna carrying a sword and wearing a helmet surmounted with the bird Veregna

Probably the earliest depiction of this association between a king and a divine form in an Iranian context comes from coins of the western provinces of the Achemenian Empire. On silver coins of the Satrap (governor) Mazaios struck in the fourth century BC in Samaria (corresponding to the Holy Land around central Israel/Palestine), we see an Iranian king holding a scepter seated on a throne on one side of the coin. On the other side is a bearded winged figure, readily identified by Zoroastrians as a Farohar, the symbol of the personal spirit, holding a flower in one hand and a ring, which bestows kingship, in the second. 

The Frataraka or sub-Satrapal governors of the Fars (Persis) region of Iran, in the late third and early second centuries BC, depict a fire enclosure on their coins, such as on those issued by King Baydad. The king is shown standing outside this enclosure and raising his hands in adoration or prayer. The enclosure has three chimney-like structures and a closed door below a row of cross-beams. On coins of Vadfradad II, the enclosure has crenelated turrets with a Farohar-like figure hovering above. On smaller denominations from the kingdom of Persis we see the king offering prayers before the holy fire contained in an altar-basin in the shape of an afarganiyu with a staff/sword in his hand. 

The Arsacid Parthians surprisingly have very little reference to Zoroastrianism on their coinage, given that they were most likely practitioners of the religion. On the coins of Phraates IV (circa 40-30 BC) we see the depiction of  a bird carrying a round object in its beak hovering behind the king’s bust on the obverse. This round object might be a ring or a diadem (crown), but it undoubtedly is connected to kingship. The bird is probably the heavenly bird of prey, Veregna, who is associated with the Yazata Verethragna, the manifestation of victory, as one of his 14 forms described in the Bahram Yasht. On some other Arsacid coins we see Nike, the goddess of victory, hovering at the same place as the bird. It is interesting to note in this context that on the coins of Vadfradad II we see a falcon-like bird perched on a standard (flag) next to the fire enclosure. Perhaps this too is a representation of Veregna.

By far the greatest patrons of Zoroastrianism were the Sasanians who built a great empire over several centuries, stretching from the Mediterranean to the River Indus at its eastern extremity. Emperor Shapur II (AD 309-379) made Zoroastrianism the state religion of the Sasanian Empire. This empire was also highly monetized, being one of the most significant money-issuing authorities in the ancient world. The bulwark of Sasanian currency was the silver drahm although occasionally gold coins, called denars, were struck mainly as a store of wealth and as markers of celebrations. The issuance of the coins was vested in kingship and centrally controlled by the Sasanian state while the coinage was produced from several mints situated in cities and towns all across the empire.

The Sasanians made the Zoroastrian fire altar a major element of the reverse design on their coinage. On the coins of Ardashir I, the first Sasanian emperor (circa AD 224-240), the altar is shown like a pillar set on a three-stepped base, with three parallel steps at the top. The top of the altar is supported with props in the shape of a lion’s legs that land on ornamental foot-rests. A diadem is tied to the props, and the Pahlavi legend on the reverse reads "the fire of Ardashir.” This suggests that the fire must be the dynastic one which was kept burning during the reign of each king. 

On coins of the later Sasanian emperors, the shape of the altar appears elongated. As evident on the denar of Shapur I (circa AD 240-270), the altar is almost always flanked by figures, shorter than the altar itself. One of these figures, on the left of the altar, is presumably the king himself, for whom this particular fire was established. The figure on the right varies from time to time and is usually deemed to be a priestly one. 

A few rare Sasanian issues like drahms and denars of Khusru II (AD 591-628) also bear an image of the Yazata Anahid/Anahita shown with a flaming nimbus (luminous vapor, cloud), a reference to her being the patron divinity (under Ahura Mazda) of the Sasanians. 

  19. Yazata on coins issued by Kushano-Sasanian rulers

In the Greater Iranian World, Zoroastrianism underwent local modifications. This is well represented on coins with imagery that speaks multiple vocabularies. Co-opting and remodeling deities into an Iranian context gave rise to a pantheon with unusual visual characteristics. Such developments are seen on the coinages issued by Central Asian nomads such as the Kushans, who culturally aspired to be Iranians. They adopted the Iranian dress, language and religion. Allusions to Zoroastrian practices are seen on their coins. King Wima Kadphises (circa AD110-128) is depicted sitting on a throne, with flaming shoulders representing the ‘God-given kingly glory,’ with his left hand covered by the sleeve of his tunic. This is precisely the same practice that Zoroastrian priests would observe in the presence of the holy fire.  

During Emperor Kanishka’s reign (circa AD128-152), divine representation on coins went one step further. The reverse now showed the representation of a deity, identified by an accompanying ‘label’ inscription. On the face, Kanishka himself is shown conducting a sacrifice at an altar, dressed in full central Asian attire comprising pointed headgear, tunic, a cloaked coat and heavy boots. The king offers the sacrifice to exercise his kingship, while the deity sanctifies the rite and the performer by blessing them and thereby legitimizing the king’s position.

It is in this context that we find many Zoroastrian Yazatas depicted on coins of Kanishka and his son, Huvishka. Earlier on, Kanishka’s choice for inscriptions on the obverse of his coins was Greek and the deities appearing on Kanishka’s coins have Greek names — Helios, the sun god and Salene, the moon god. But it is evident from their attire that they were actually from the Zoroastrian pantheon. In the third year of his reign Kanishka opted for Bactrian language, which he refers to as ‘Arian’ (Iranian) in his inscription found at Rabatak in northern Afghanistan. Consequently, the deities were described by their Iranian names, inscribed in the hybrid script. Thus, Helios became Miiro, or the Zoroastrian Mithra while Salene became Mao, the Iranian Mah. 

With these, a whole host of Zoroastrian yazatas appeared on Kanishka’s coins. Chief amongst them are the fertility goddesses Anahita, referred to as Nana and Ardokhsho, the Iranian equivalent of the Indian Lakshmi in being a goddess of fertility and plenitude. Athsho, the god of fire (Atash) and Pharro, the god representing the Khvarrah (God-given glory) are also represented. All these deities are draped in flowing costumes and shown with their attributes — Nana carries a scepter (sometimes with a lion’s head), Ardokhsho, a cornucopia or horn of plenty and Athsho carries pliers while flames emanate out of his body. Pharro carries a bag of money in one of his hands and thus is identified also with Panchika, the Buddhist version of Kubera, the lord of wealth.

Kanishka also portrayed lesser known Iranian gods, namely Lrooaspo, a god of horses and Orlagno, or the Zoroastrian Verethragna, on his coins. The former is shown as an elderly man accompanied by a horse, while the latter appears holding a standard and carrying a sword, conspicuously sporting a helmet surmounted with the bird Veregna. Lrooaspo is very likely a representation of the Mithraic deity Apam Napat, "the grandson of the waters,” and associated with Neptune. According to the description in a Yasht, Apam Napat possesses the epithet Aurvat-Aspa, or possessing a swift horse. Another rare depiction of an equestrian god to appear on Kanishka’s coins is Mozdoano, who in all likelihood represents the supreme Zoroastrian god Mazda. He rides a double-headed horse. 

The fusion of different forms of belief in depictions of Zoroastrian divinities are best exemplified by the image of Manaobago, found on coins of Kanishka and Huvishka, which is a representation of Vohu Mana (good mind), one of the Amesha Spentas associated with Ahura Mazda. The divinity is shown as a man seated on a throne with lion’s legs, wearing boots and a loose tunic in the Roman fashion. He has, much like an Indian god, four arms which emanate from his shoulders. In each, he carries a unique attribute — a plough, a wheel, a diadem and a thunderbolt. The plough and wheel are undoubtedly representations of Balarama and Vasudeva, the two heroes from the Pancharātra belief system. The thunderbolt would refer to the Indian Indra or the Greek Zeus and the diadem legitimizes the kingship. The divinity has a crescent moon across his shoulders and he wears a Greek helmet and a diadem which give him Hellenistic royal qualities. Despite these myriad cross-cultural features, he is identified as personification of a Zoroastrian concept!

This trend of trans-culturation (introduction of elements of other cultures) is also evident in the coinages of the Kushano-Sasanians or the Kushanshahs. The Kushano-Sasanian kingdom was a sub-kingdom in the Sasanian Empire, located in Central Asian regions presently covered by Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. It was established by conquering areas from the Kushans as their empire crumbled in the third century AD. Coins issued by Kushano-Sasanian rulers depict Yazatas like Mithra and Anahita, sometimes identified with Bactrian inscriptions. Another interesting Zoroastrian depiction seen on Kushano-Sasanian coins is the personification of the holy fire, shown as a bearded male emanating from an altar, holding a scepter and a diadem. 

A highly unusual scene is seen on some Kushano-Sasanian gold and copper coins which clearly alludes to the role of Anahita as a carrier and transferor of the ‘God-given glory’ to the king. It is an investiture scene shown here on a gold coin of Hormazd I (circa AD 270-290). Here the king is standing in front of an enthroned Anahita who offers him a royal diadem while he performs libations (pouring of liquid) on an altar that is shaped like a falcon. Such investiture scenes are normal in Sasanian sculpture where different Yazatas, and the supreme God Ahura Mazda, are all shown to confer and sanction kingship on individual rulers. 

No corpus of evidence from the ancient world is as prolific, detailed and evocative as coins in helping us understand and appreciate the role this age-old religion played in dynamics of socio-cultural processes over a vast land mass stretching from India to Turkiye (as Turkey was once known), with Iran occupying a cardinal nodal position in these disseminations.     

Shailendra Bhandare is the curator of South Asian and Far Eastern coins and paper money at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford and a fellow of St Cross College.