Sassanian: Jamasp, Brother Of Kavadh I, 496-498

Picked this up with a recent CNG lot

Sassanian Empire
Jamasp (Zamasp)
Younger brother of Kavadh I
Ruled 496-498
AR Drachm
Obv: Bust of Jamasp right, smaller bust of prince (or Ahura Mazda?) Facing, holding wreath
Rev: Fire altar with attendants



Jamasp was a younger son of Peroz, and the brother of emperor Kavadh I. Early in his reign, Kavadh became the adherent of a communistic cult and ordered the mandatory redistribution of wealth to the poor, and, er, compulsory wife-swapping. This of course did not make him many friends in the Persian courts, and he was deposed by the nobility and replaced with his brother Jamasp in 496.

Jamasp led a short and uneventful reign; later sources describe him as a generous and rational emperor. He was deposed in 498 when Kavadh escaped from prison to reclaim the empire, backed by a sizeable Hepthalite mercenary force (he had befriended them while a hostage at their court). Not wanting bloodshed, Jamasp stepped down and went into exile, where it is believed he founded the dynasty that would rule the Sassanian rump state in Tabaristan until the Abbasid period.