Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Researcher and Adjunct at the University of Tehran
Abstract
This article is dedicated to the meaning, concept, and reason for minting the legend "l’st" on the coins of several Sasanian Kings of Kings in the fourth and fifth centuries CE. The author has attempted to answer the question of why this legend was minted on Sasanian coins, based on textual studies, epigraphic sources, and historical analysis. Furthermore, the hypothesis is proposed that the legend "l’st”, transliteration of rāst, is not only related to the concept of justice but may also indicate the Kings of Kings’ adherence to personal orthodoxy (rāst-dēnīh), which plays an important role in Zoroastrian teachings.
It seems that in the critical conditions of the late fourth century and early fifth century, when the Sasanian court needed the support and cooperation of the Zoroastrian religious institution, the minting of the title rāst on the coins of the Kings of Kings of this period indicates the Sasanian court’s efforts to attract Zoroastrian audiences, especially the clergy, and to gain legitimacy. Additionally, it appears that the words and compounds in which the term rāst is used have focused more on the religious-moral aspect of justice rather than on the technical terms of legal science.
Textual evidence, both in Middle Persian Zoroastrian texts and in Islamic texts, indicates the continuity of the claim to justice by rulers throughout the Sasanian era and its transfer to the Islamic period.
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