Investigating the reason why Marv was named Sāhīgān and the activity of its mint during the Sasanian period

IntroductionThe article "Investigating the reason for naming Merv to Shahigan and the activity of its mint during the Sasanian period" examines a special and important title for the city of Merv during the Sasanian period, under the title of "Shahigan"This title, which appears in Islamic sources as "Shahijan", indicates the special importance of Merv during the Sasanian period. Interestingly, this title is not mentioned in any Sasanian inscriptions or coins, but in Manichaean and Pahlavi texts, Shahigan means the palace of the Shah. This probably refers to the existence of a luxurious palace in Merv that the Sasanian emperor used when he was in the eastern regions of the empire. Historical findings such as coins and seals also show that Merv was a very important city since the time of Ardashir Babakan, the founder of the Sassanid dynasty, and her successors. This importance was so great that Merv was the first city that its names was minted on the back of coins, although it was not customary to do so in the early Sasanian period. The present study specifically addresses the issue of why Merv received this special title but was not mentioned in any inscription, what factors made this city of special importance to the Sasanians, and what is the connection between this title and Sasanian coins. Despite extensive research by scholars such as Arthur Christian Sen and Theodor Noldeke on the Sasanian Empire, this issue has not yet been addressed comprehensively and accurately.Materials and methodsIn this article, examines of the numismatic evidence show that Merv minted both gold and silver coins from the very beginning, alongside Ctesiphon. Gobel misreads the Pahlavi name Merv, written as MLWY on the back of Shapur II's coins, as MLKY, which is Shahi. Gobel concludes that Merv must have been a royal city and had the title Shahigan because of its gold minting. In fact, it must be said that Gobel has only come a little close to the essence of the matter and has not reached the true truth of the matter (Altheim et al., 2012: 84). The approach of this historical and numismatic research and the method used are qualitative, descriptive and analytical, and to obtain the required data, Pahlavi texts, Islamic texts, as well as images and contents of books by researchers such as Gyselen (2004, 75), Schindel (2014), Alram (2013: 32), Mochiri (1977), and study of images of seals in Gyselenl's book (2002, 41), Manichaean texts in the Parthian language obtained from the Turfan papers (Boyce, 1975, 84) were used.Discussion and resultsFinally, this research answers key questions about the role of Merv in the Sasanian economy and financial system, as well as the city's connection to gold and silver mints. Examining the title "Shahigan" and its significance can lead us to a better understanding of the strategic and economic position of Merv during the Sasanian and Islamic periods. After examining a Manichaean text and some Islamic texts from the third and fourth centuries AH, it was concluded that the word šāhīgān means the palace of the Shah, which was the residence of the Shah of Iran. Therefore, the existence of a palace at the level of the capital, which was under a royal province, acted as the eastern capital. As Marquardt points out, Merv was the main seat of Iranian government and the seat of the Sassanid ruler. This is why Merv was known as Shahigan because of the presence of the Shahanshah's palace. It now becomes clear why Merv minted gold coins in the early Sassanid era. Merv served as a royal mint and a commercial crossroads, which even issued orders to set up other mints within Merv's borders in times of need, such as war, to provide for the stipends of the soldiers and the money needed. The existence of compound mints with the name Merv such as Merv-Winard and Merv-Rud confirms this.ConclusionAn examination of the title "Shahigan" showed that this title symbolized the special importance of Merv in the political, economic, and financial structure of the Sasanian Empire. The existence of the Shah's Palace and the extensive activity of the mint identify this city as the eastern capital. Furthermore, Merv's strategic location at the crossroads of trade and its key role in minting gold and silver coins further added to its importance during the Sasanian and Islamic periods. A review of historical and numismatic evidence has clearly elucidated Merv's unique role in the financial and economic system of that period.