On the bank of the royal road: the coin of Aegina from Jameshuran Tepe in Mahidasht in the National Museum of Iran

Articles in Press

Authors

1 PhD in archaeology , university of mazandaran.

2 PhD in historical archaeology University of Mazandaran

3 phD in Archaeology

10.22084/nb.2025.28659.2640

Abstract

Jame Shuran, along with Godin Tepe, Noushijan, and Babajan, are among the most significant archaeological sites of the Iron Age in Central Zagros, located along the vital road of Greater Khorasan. The simultaneous excavations led by Louis Levin at Jame Shuran and the Mahidasht region coincided with the Revolution 1979, which resulted in the final report on this site remaining unpublished to this day. According to fragmented information published regarding the ceramics from Jame Shuran, this site encompasses settlements from the Iron Age to the Parthian period.

This paper introduces, dates, and analyzes a silver coin discovered at Jame Shuran, which is now housed in the National Museum of Iran and was retrieved from Levin's excavations at Jame Shuran Tepe. The ensuing research, by utilizing the content of historical texts, aims to address two fundamental questions: the antiquity of the coin and the significance of studying it in historical reviews. The results indicate that this coin, minted in the island of Aegina, along with examples found at the foundational stone of the Apadana of Persepolis and the Malayer treasure, represents one of the few Greek coins contemporaneous with the Achaemenid era in Iran.

Nevertheless, due to the lack of published data from Jame Shuran excavations, it remains unclear whether this coin was found in a context associated with the Achaemenid Persian period or a later one. Our only clue regarding the archaeological context of this coin is the excavator's remark suggesting that a coin was found in connection with what appeared to be a Parthian burial jar. Regardless, if this coin is indeed a relic from the Achaemenid era, as the treasures of Persepolis and Malayer imply, it could be a sign of the circulation of coins from the western Achaemenid Empire along the Royal Road and the four Persian capitals in Babylon, Ecbatana, Susa, and Persepolis

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Main Subjects

pazhoheshha-ye Bastan shenasi Iran

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 12 April 2025

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