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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 March 2011
In June, 1839, I submitted to our Society a brief paper on the subject of the Pehlvi Legends occurring on the medals of the early Mohammedan conquerors of Persia. As the memoir in question was avowedly left incomplete, consequent upon my return to my duties in India, I have since uniformly cherished the hope of being able, at some future period, to remedy the defects and supply the deficiencies of my first essay. In this view, on my arrival in this country a few months since, I commenced collecting new materials, and rigidly examining my previous inferences and conclusions, trusting that I might eventually succeed in compiling a treatise more worthy of the pages of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, than that which our Council had already complimented me by printing.
page 376 note 1 The 
being represented by 
and the 
being expressed by 
See Spiegel's Grammatik der Pârsisprache. Leipzig, 1851.
page 376 note 2 The majority of these Inscriptions commence thus— 
which is translated in the Greek to 
or, in other cases, Toyto to 
—.See De Sacy's Mem. sur div. Ant. de la Perse; Ker Porter; Rich's Babylon, &c. I may add, that the third letter in the Hájí-ábád plaster cast is decidedly a 
M. Louis Dubeux reads this 
—See Journal Asiatique, 1841, p. 650.Google Scholar
page 378 note 1 De Sacy, Mem. sur div. Ant.; Ker Porter, Travels; Malcolm's Persia; Boré, Jour. Asiat. XI.; Dubeux, ditto, 1843; Rich's Babylon, &c.
page 378 note 2 And also for 
, &c.; but I keep these out of sight to simplify the main argument.
page 378 note 3 Having given introductory facsimiles, I shall now use the type Pehlvi 
for L, and 2 for R.
page 378 note 4 See note to mint No. 24.
page 378 note 5 For facility of reference, I annex a list of the Sassanian mouarchs—
page 379 note 1 Gold. Weight, gr.
Obv. King's bust, facing to the right; the head is covered with a skin of a lion, after the manner of Alexander the Great's coin portraits; and the whole is surmounted by what may possibly be intended for flames of fire, below which again, appear the Sassanian fillets.
Legend
Rev. Fire-altar, with ministering Mobeds.
page 380 note 1 As examples, I cite the finals in Shahpuhurí, Bagí, Pápekí; the initials and medials in Mazdísn, Iran, &c.
page 380 note 2 Coins of Ardeshir. Longpérier, I. 3. Rev. in 
page 380 note 3 Ibid. I. 2.
page 385 note 1 In order to avoid repetition in future references, I cite in full in this place the editions of the various geographical works I am likely to quote in the course of my examination of the Sassanian mints.
1. Liber Climatum, auctore Scheicho Abu-Isbako el-Faresi, vulgo ElIssthachri. Facsimile Arabic text. J. H. Moeller. Gothæ, 1839.
2. Géographie d'Edrisi, par P. Amédée Jaubert. Paris, 1836.
3. Yakuti's Lexicon Geographicum, cui titulus est 
e duobus Codicibus MSS. Arabice editum. Ed. Tuynboll, T. G. J., Lugduni Batavorum. 1852.Google Scholar (In course of publication).
4. El-Cazwini's Kosmographie 
Ferdinand Wüstenfeld. Gottingen, 1847–9.
5. Géographie d'Aboulféda. Texte Arabe. Par MM. Reinaud et De Slane. Paris, 1840.
page 385 note 2 I am not disposed to concur in M. de L.'s assignment of this medal to Feroz. I dissent both on simple numismatic typical grounds, and on the still more decisive argument of interpretation of legends. The former question need not detain us here; but as regards the latter, I may observe that the supposed name on the reverse is not susceptible, even from the specimen described, of transcription as Feroz: it might possibly be made into 
but these would be scarcely satisfactory readings.
We have four specimens of this type of coin in the British Museum: the obverse triliteral legend is seemingly uniform in all, and may be represented in modern character by 
The Reverses are as follows—
The two latter examples probably give the correct orthography of the Paris medal, though the outline given in the Plate might answer for 
I myself should be disposed to render the doubtful word as
but that I am aware I have no justification for taking any such liberty with my materials, as in this case the French engraving, and what remains of the penultimate letter on the third specimen now quoted, equally confirm the value of that character as 
page 386 note 1 
Fire.
page 386 note 2 Ferhang-i-Jehangiri, 
page 386 note 3 Mordtmann wishes to read this word as 
page 386 note 4 Longpérier, Plates I. and II. Mordtmann, , loco cit. p. 88.Google Scholar
page 387 note 1 Wilson, , Ar. Ant., Pl. xiv. 15.Google Scholar
page 387 note 2 Longpérier, , Pl. VIII. fig. I.Google Scholar
page 388 note 1 Hyde de Relig. Vet. Pers., cap 35, p. 415.— “At quoad Elami ipsius sedem, ea apud Bar Bahlûl statuitur in regioue Ahwâz, quæ est Elymais: 
Elam est regio Ahwâx, quæ in Persarum libris est 
Stephano 
, Herodoto 
seu 
Ideóque, vel Elam, vel aliquis alius habuit filium aut nepotem a quo ista regio sic denominata fuit. Gen. xxii. 21 memoratur 
Nachoris (Abrahami fratris) filius, qui videtur posteà fixisse sedem in Elymaide, ibi reliquens sui nominis urbem Chûz, quæ nunc extat: unde tota regio hodiè in libris nominatur, 
Chuzistan, seu Cossæorum regio. Iste Chûz fuit ex Arpacshadi prosapia, seu seris nepotibus, in succedente generatione 8vâ. Is autem aliàs, tam à suis, quàm à vicinis gentibus, dictus est 
Hûz (sc. 
). unde supradicta urbs ad hodiernum diem in plurali formȧ appellatur 
Nam Assyriis isti populi vocantur 
Huzóye, Huzæi, et regio ipsa (quæ Chuzistan) est 
Beth-Huzóye, locus Huzæorum.’. …………et hodié dicuntur Chuzæi, seu, ut Assyrii scribunt, Huzæi Ista est urbs quæ in SS. Bibliis vocatur 
Gozan, minus recté, pro Persico 
Abulfeda, 
Ouseley, 2, 72. Rawlinson, , pp. 87, xi. J. R. A. S.Google Scholar
page 389 note 1 Ouseluy, , pp. 73, 76.Google Scholar
page 389 note 2 Rawlinson, , xii. 436.Google Scholar
page 391 note 1 
“ * * * Boun is one of the towns of Bazghees. * * * The author of this work says further: for Boun they write Bubnut likewise, with two single ba's, the first with a futteh, and the second sakin; and he adds, this is a city in Bazghees, near the said Bameeyun.”
See also Merásid-ul-Ittelá, in voce 
and Istakhri, p. 112: 
page 392 note 1 
page 392 note 2 Journal Royal Asiatic Society, XII. 327.Google Scholar
page 393 note 1 Journal Royal Asiatic Society, XII. p. 280.Google Scholar
page 393 note 2 Coin of Zíád, No. 6, p. 288, Vol. XII., et seq.Google Scholar
page 394 note 1 Abulfeda, p.
Mohl, Mojmel Al Tawárákh, Jour. Asiat. XI. 333.Google Scholar
page 394 note 2 The Pehlvi 
is really ā, as the Zend 
is áí in the former alphabet.
page 394 note 3 Rawlinson, , X. 119.Google Scholar
page 395 note 1 Tawáríkh, Mojmel Al, Jour. Asiat. VII. 274.Google Scholar
page 396 note 1 See also Gem 56, infra, and note on Alphabets, p. 379.
page 397 note 1 As purely conjectural readings, a choice of Sad Hormuz, Sad Behmen—both names of revenue divisions under the Arabs—might be suggested (see Asiatic Journal, 1839).Google Scholar
page 397 note 2 Should 
(S) prove the correct letter, it might be a question whether the monogram could not claim to represent 
Tabari distinguishes this city very plainly in the following passages—
page 398 note 1 Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, Vol. X. 1840.Google Scholar
page 399 note 1 As this coin is of considerable interest, both for the superiority of the execution of its dies and for the novelty and unusual fulness of its legends, I transcribe tire latter in modern Pehlvi.
The name of Yezdegird commences the circular intra-marginal scroll, which continues, as above arranged, around the field; the word Atishi occupying the space immediately at the top of the piece, above the flame of the fire-altar. I have been careful in distinguishing in my mere servile transcript the R's and L's, the former of which are represented in the original by 2, which sign, it must be remembered, answers equally for the modern letter,. The letter L 
I use as the equivalent of the Sassanian 
It will be seen that I adopt a different letter for the initial of the term (title ?) Lámashtari, as found on the reverse. I do so strictly in accordance with the oulines employed in my medallic text; but the letter in question may fairly be taken for an 
Of the other examples of this word I may note the following:
Generally 
may be accepted as the favourite reading, as the word is by no means of uncommon occurrence, though it is seldom perfectly expressed. It will be seen from this that I do not coincide in Mordtmann's interpretation of Rastachi. In the same manner I must explain that I have rendered the third letter of the Atishi 
in accordance with the form employed on the piece I am describing, though I am by no means satisfied that the word is anything else than the common 
with its third and fourth letters joined, which, in effect, would make them into the single character which stands for 
however, the lower limbs of the characters 
if such they are, have been unduly elongated; and Atishi must for the present be taken as the preferable reading.
page 400 note 1 I observe a further peculiarity in this last coin, which I may as well take this opportunity of noticing. A practice obtained in the mintages of the Sassanian monarchs, from Sapor Zu'laktaf to Yezdegird II., of inscribing the word 
in the parallelogram which forms the column of the altar. The word, however, varies considerably, both in completeness and accuracy of expression, on the different coinages, and on some of the better executed samples the inscribed letters seem to necessitate a variation in the reading. The coin in question offers us a case in point, as the letters run 
On M. de Longpérier's coin, depicted as No. 2, Pl. VII., the characters engraved form the word 
.
page 400 note 2 I would draw attention to the uniform use of 
both as R and L in the legends on this gem; the same alphabetical sign doing duty for R in Púhuri, and for L in Malka, &c.
page 400 note 3 Quarto. London, 1801. I venture to differ from Ouseley in the transcription he adopts for the legend of this gem: I would suggest the following—
page 401 note 1 Abulfeda, 
page 402 note 1 Vol. XII. p. 288, and fig. 8 of Pl. II. See also “Le Genie de l'Orient.” Bruxelles, 1849.
page 402 note 2 See also, Longpérier, VIII. 5. Wilson, , Ar. Ant. XVI. 5.Google Scholar
page 402 note 2 Vol. XII. 270. I am bound, however, to state that my best evidence of the use of L for, is in its employment as the initial in 
If it be allowable to read this initial as 
and transcribe the date in modern letters as 
the argument above will be considerably shaken.
page 403 note 1 These doubts do not now extend to the accuracy of the transcription of the fourth letter of the name of Yezdegird II. as 
= R, which is satisfactorily confirmed both by new examples and variants in the alphabetical style.
page 403 note 2 Vol. XII. p. 282.
page 405 note 1 It may be objected, that I have elsewhere (Mint, No. 4) proposed the ancient 
as the equivalent of the second letter in the modern transcription of 
and that I now adopt the Pehlvi 
the representative of that character; but I should claim the option on the ground of provincial variations, had I not already medallic authority for the absolute commutability of the two Pehlvi letters. See Colonel Rawlinson's coin, quoted under Mint 9.
page 405 note 2 Relig. Vet. Pers., p. 524 (Edit. 1760).
page 408 note 1 It would be a curious subject of inquiry to ascertain whether the obverse die was renewed on these occasions.
page 408 note 2 It has been suggested that this monogram should be interpreted as 
Silver. Apart from the deficiency of the requisite letters in the original, I note the serious objection to the rendering proposed, in the fact that the monogram in question is used on the copper coinage.
page 410 note 1 Ockley, , I. pp. 174, 321,Google Scholar &c.: “From the servant of God, Omar,” &c.
page 410 note 2 Ockley, , I. p. 121:Google Scholar “Omar being the first that ever was called by that title.” See also D'Herbelot, in voce Omar.
page 412 note 1 This coin possesses an additional interest in the fact of its being the only one in the entire series of Arabico-Pehlvi money that presents us with the name of Mohammad; indeed, it affords, probably, the single extant monument of the expression of the designation of the Arabian Prophet in the Pehlvi character, as well as offering one of the earliest instances of its then infrequent use as a commemorative appellatio.
page 414 note 1 I have generally distinguished the 
and 
by their modern Pehlvi diacritical points, as the repetition of the unmarked 
which in its normal form answered for D, G, and E, &c., tended to complicate rather than simplify the reading.
I have also taken a liberty with my type of making use of 
properly 
to mark the 
as discriminated from 
for had I followed the modern Parsi practice of employing one character to represent the two diverse sounds, I should have left my transcript less legible than the originals, for whose elucidation it was intended.
For the distinction between the 
and 
I have been obliged to rely upon the Persian type, and the obvious difference in the facsimiles.
page 415 note 1 Where not otherwise specified, the gems in this list are to be understood as belonging to our national Museum.
I append a notice of the three interesting gems published by Ouseley, in 1803.
A. —Bust of prince to the right; head-dress and general appearance very similar to the figure described under No. 1 above.
Legend —Already quoted, under Mint No. 32, suprâ.
B. —Bust, with profile to the right; the hair is arranged in close curls over the entire skull, but depends behind in plaited twists; the whisker is also plaited, while the beard itself is uncurled; an ear-ring and necklace adorn the figure.
Legend.—
See also gem 70.
C —Bust to the right, bearded; tho hair smooth, and in short curls round the temples and back of the head.
page 415 note 2 I am doubtful whether the 12th letter above should not be rendered 
instead if 
page 416 note 1 I question whether the final and penultimate letters in this legend, as well aa those to be seen in a similar position in an analogous word on No. 88, ought not to be rendered as the single vowel 
I have met with several apparent instances of what I should term the duplication of two final 
= e's supplying the place of an 
and, as in the case of the 
we have found the optional modification of the normal form of the letter into a character nearly similarly outlined to that now under notice (Khubus, Pl. I. c, and Vol. XII. pp. 329, 342, 343, Pl. III. 9, 10).
So we may fairly admit the applicability of a parallel system to a letter possessing so many analogous details as the 
evinces in common with the 
I imagine I detect an occasional difference between the open forms of the two letters, such as would accord directly with the originals of each, in the lower corners of the 
being kept at a more direct angle than was requisite to form the more inclined lines of 
but, as we have seen in the case of the prototypes themselves, it will not do to rely upon these apparent indications.
In gems Nos. 6 and 40 I have adopted the 
in my transcription of a nearly identical character, and I should propose a like reading for the doubtful letters in Nos. 31 and 38.
page 417 note 1 See Gem 35.
page 418 note 1 Nanaia of the Indo-Scythian coins, (Artemis, Aphrodite,) the tutelary goddess of Armenia; Bíbí Nání of the Indian Moslems, &c. See Jour. As. Soc. Beng., III. 449, V. 266; Ariana Antiqua, 362; II. Maccabees, i. 13.Google Scholar
page 418 note 2 
Sháh, is written 
on Ouseley's gem, No. 3.
page 419 note 1 See Layard, , II., p. 459.Google Scholar
page 419 note 2 The 8th and 15th letters in this legend are doubtful; the original may possibly stand for 
page 420 note 1 A second specimen has 
page 421 note 1 See also coin legends noticed p. ante; Wilson, Ar. Ant., Pl. fig.
page 421 note 2 A portion of this legend is inserted in the plate after No. 73.
page 421 note 3 I have transcribed this as 
instead of 
as I find that the Pehlvi word for men is 
Müller, Jour. Asiatique, torn VIII. p. 332. At the same time, I ara aware that 
must have been in very ancient use, as it is noted among the favourite Sassanian names in the Mojmel-al-tawáríkh, Merdán Sháh, &c.
I would take this opuortunity of referring to the occurrence of 
on the coins of Vásu Léva, No. 75, previous series.
page 424 note 1 These symbols formed a very common device on the reverses of certain sub-Parthian or early Persian coins. The obverse bears the crowned head of the king, whose hair and beard are elaborately plaited in close rows. The legends are expressed in a debased style of Chaldæo-Pehlvi writing.
A second variety presents us with a man's figure on the reverse, in addition to the star and crescent. See Num. Chron. Vol. XII.;Google Scholar Wilson's, Ar. Ant., Pl. XV.Google Scholar
page 425 note 1 There are a great variety of types of this device, as also numerous subordinate modifications of No. 68, exhibiting the whole or portions of the standard Legend Apastán-ul-Yazdán.
page 426 note 1 The gem from whence the above legend is taken, was sent me for inspection by a friend, some years ago. My note-book gives me the writing, but I find I have omitted to keep a record of the device.
page 427 note 1 The gems marked B are the property of W. B. Barker, Esq.
page 427 note 2 My copy of this legend in Pl. II. has been imperfectly drawn, having been taken from an incomplete outline in my note-book. A re-examination of the original determines the initial letter to be 
and supplies what has been omitted in the Plate transcript.
page 428 note 1 I must remind the reader that 
strictly sh, may be read at discretion 
&c.