Persis - AR Obol Of Napad

Been wanting one of these for a while; found this one for a very reasonable price a while ago.

Persis (Parthian satrapy in Fars)
Napad (late 1st century AD)
AR Obol, 9mm 0.5g
Bearded bust left, wearing diadem and Parthian-style tiara decorated with crescent , pellet border
Bearded bust left (probably his father Nambed), wearing diadem, blundered Aramaic legend



The history of Persis is fragmentary and poorly understood. Their territory included Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid empire. Under the Greeks, Persis was apparently little more than a small kingdom, but maintained independence for a time, perhaps due to a perceived lack of a threat to the Seleucid Empire. The area was later subjugated by Parthia, but minted its own coins. In the early third century after spending so much time in the sidelines, a Persian king named Ardashir was able to consolidate power, and then expanded rapidly against the weakened Parthians, establishing the Sassanian Empire in 224. According to Ardashir's propaganda, Persis had been a rump state of the Achaemenid Empire for the past 500 years, and his rule marked the return of the true Persian dynasty.

These coins are common enough, but fairly scarce in this grade. I took a swing at the legend and got something like "BYGZZ". Realized that's about what normal Aramaic would translate into, and admitted I was in over my head. It looks pretty, at least.

Feel free to contribute your other coins of Persis, or provide any extra reading!