Sassanian Sealstone, circa 4th - 7th century AD. Hard-stone domed seal - pierced for suspension. 10 x 18mm - 3/8 x 3/4'' and 15mm - 5/8'' deep.
Engraving of an ibex in front of a plant.
The Sassanian, or Sasanid, Dynasty (224-651 AD), was the last dynasty of native rulers to reign in Persia before the Arab Conquest. The kings of the Sassanid Dynasty ruled an empire similar to the extent of the Persian Empire of the earlier Achaemenids, and they adopted the Zoroastrian religion. The Sassanians fought repeatedly with the Roman and Byzantine Empires and were defeated by the Arabs in 640 AD.
