The Heritage of Sasanian Iran: Dinars, Drahms and Coppers of the Sasanian and early Muslim Periods

The American Numismatic Society announces:


The Heritage of Sasanian Iran: Dinars, Drahms

and Coppers of

the Sasanian and early Muslim Periods


Co-sponsored by The Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia


New York

Thursday and Friday, June 19-20, 2003



Sasanian coins and their subsequent Muslim, Dabuyid and Hunnic
imitations formed an important part of the monetary systems of late
Antique and early medieval Iran. Late Sasanian coins became the
pre-eminent silver coinage in the Near East during this period. The
early Muslims in Iran and dynasts of northern and eastern Iran later
copied the main outlines of these coins while creating distinct
provincial and regional coinages. The coins today represent
documents of social, political and economic life at a time of great
cultural efflorescence as well as social and political change.

The conference invites papers treating any aspect of Sasanian and
early Muslim coins of Iran as artefacts of civilization and culture.
The topics of papers may be numismatic, historical or art historical.
They may examine problems in the reading and interpretation of the
Pahlavi and Arabic legends or the iconography, the representation of
sovereignty, Zoroastrianism and Islam, or the production, use and
regulation of these coinages.

The conference will also feature a workshop in reading the Pahlavi
legends on these coins and a roundtable for the discussion of issues
of common interest and coins if anyone wishes to bring them in.

Queries and abstracts should be sent by e-mail to Dr. Stuart D. Sears
at sears@aucegypt.edu or Dr. Michael L. Bates at bates@amnumsoc.org
or by mail to: Dr. Stuart D. Sears, The American University in Cairo,
Department of Arabic Studies, Box 2511, Cairo, Egypt 11511.
Communications by E-mail are preferred. Abstracts must be submitted
by March 1st, 2003.