1917,] Numismatic Supplement No. XXIX. 161 



an Z and not a G. De Morgan is very cautious in accepting 

 the reading of Mordtmann and remarks that it seems prefer- 

 able to refrain from all interpretations until we possess a great 

 number of coins or till one of these monograms is found in 

 another epoch, permitting us to fix the value of the first sign. 

 1 read the monogram ZUZN on this coin and identif y it 



with the town of Zuzen after Mordtmann. "cjjj; Zewzen (also 



pronounced Zuzen) is a town and vast canton between Nisha- 

 pur and Herat. It was dependent ordinarily on the province of 

 Nishapur. It was surnamed 'Little Basrah' on account of 

 its producing many doctors, savants and learned men. 



The name Zuzen was given in the following circumstances. 

 When the Magi transported the fire which they adored in Azer- 

 baijan to Seistan, the camel which carried it, arrived on the 

 site of this actual town, knelt down and refused to rise again. 

 Its conductor then said to it, zud zen (uij &j)) 9 that is to say, 



haste thee (J~0, but the animal did not move, even when 

 cajoled and struck. It is in remembrance of this portent that 

 a temple of fire was erected on that spot and was given this 

 name." (Barbier de Meynard, Dictionnaire geographique, his- 

 torique et litteraire de la Perse, etc., p. 290). 



Description of the third drachme. 



Metal.— Silver. Date.— Slj deh (thirteen). 



Weight.— 59 grains. Mint,— RD (Hekatompylos). 



Diameter. — 1*20 inches. 



\v 



ljAorv 



Ailharmazi afzun. 



STJ DH. 



QjJJ (Slj deh) 



RD (Hekatompylos) 



. This coin is also of Hormazd IV and the description it 



almost the same as the last. „ . r - 7Q _ nd as 



Hormazd IV came to the throne in February 579 >and a 

 *as customary he reckoned his first regnal year from the last 

 Ne* Year's day, which fell on 30th June 578. According to 

 Noe Mek he , as deposed and ki „ e d in the summer of ^ H 



