Vahram (Bahram) VI, also known as Chobin, Sasanian King AD 590-591

, Extremely Fine

Mint: AIRAN ( Present day Shush in Southwest Iran). Regnal Year : One. The coin presented here is one of the rarest of Sasanian gold dinars.

.

Bahram VI, also known as Bahram Chobin, was the primary military commander of Hormizd IV who gained great popularity by defeating the Byzantines in the west and Turks in the east. However his popularity worried Hormizd IV who saw a growing threat in his loyal general. Hormizd waited for an opportune moment to humilate and dismiss Bahram from his position. The opportunity came when Bahram suffered a military defeat at the hands of the Romans. Hormizd IV sent Bahram a gift of women’s attire and fired him from his command. Bahram then rebelled against his overlord and removed Hormizd IV from power. However Khosrau II, the son of Hormizd IV, was not about to give up his throne. Khosrau escaped to the court of the Byzantine emperor Maurice. Maurice gave him a force of several thousand to reclaim his throne from Bahram. In the final confontation, Bahram was defeated and fled to the east where Khosrau’s assassins caught and killed him. The obverse of this coin bears a traditional Sasanian design. The reverse includes and new representation of two stars on either side of the flame and two crescent moosn at the either side of the fire altar. It is important to note that the pronunciation of the name, “Chobin” has led to various spellings such as “Chubin”, “Shubin” or “Zubin”.