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Economy of Ancient Persia

The ancient Persian economy was based on agriculture, herding and trade. However, the sudden acquisition of the Median Empire, Babylon, Egypt, Lydia and gold rich areas of India made Persia an economic powerhouse. At its peak, Persia controlled the agricultural areas of Mesopotamia, the grasslands of Anatolia, the trade routes in every direction and rich deposits of metals and other resources. Still, despite such resources and innovations, the ancient Persians were unable to eliminate poverty from their society. In fact, the rich kept getting richer and the poor, poorer because the system was engineered to benefit the elite on the cost of the poor.

Economic innovations and reforms were made by Darius who systemized taxation, standardized weights, measures, introduced coins, improved transportation routes, promoted agriculture and international trade. But still, despite reaching such economic milestones, none of the empires were able to last long and were eventually taken over by an insider or a foreigner.

The Achaemenid Empire, extending from the Indus River to the Aegean Sea, comprised of economically developed countries such as Egypt, Syria, Phoenicia, Babylonia, Elam, and Asia Minor, lands which had their long traditions of social institutions, as well as Sakai, Massagetai, Lycians, Libyans, Nubians and other tribes undergoing the disintegration of the primitive-communal phase. Therefore, the socioeconomic structure of the empire was characterized by extreme diversity. For this reason, the empire remained a relatively decentralized state with each ethnic province honoring local customs and tradition. ¹ The economy was divided in to four spheres:

The royal economy, responsible for coinage, imports and exports, as well as the expenditures of the empire.
The provincial or satrapal economy headed by the governor of a province (satrap). It is interrelated with the royal economy and derives most of its income from land. Further revenue comes from peculiar products, merchandise, taxes, cattle, and other resources.
The ‘political economy’ which operated on the city level. Its income was derived from merchandise, scarce resources, and taxes.
The personal economy on the individual level. Individuals earned a living based on landed property and other various business opportunities. ²

Agriculture

In the Zend-Avesta, agriculture was considered as the basic and noblest occupation of mankind, pleasing above all other labors to Ahura-Mazda, the supreme god. ³ Barley was the most frequently sown cereal in the empire—grown in Babylonia, Egypt, Elam, and Persia— while spelt and wheat were less frequently sown. In Palestine, wheat was staple food, along with peas, lentils, and mustard. In Babylonia, barley, millet, sesame, peas, mustard, garlic, onions, cucumbers, apples, pomegranates, and apricots were grown. In Babylonia and Elam, wine, vinegar, and honey were basic foods, along with barley; dates were also consumed there and bread made from the seed. Wine production (for which ancient Persia was renowned) was also developed in Syria, Celicia, Armenia, and Sogdiana, while Babylonia and Elam brewed beer from dates and barley. Egypt, Babylonia, Phrygia, and Persia were rich in livestock, but dairy products occupied an insignificant place in the diet of the population in the empire. Poultry and fish also constituted part of the food consumed. ⁴ To increase the amount of arable land, the existing systems of irrigation channels were extended. Barley and rice were grown, as were other types of grain. Wine was produced on large estates, and orchards allowed the cultivation of different kinds of fruits and nuts. ⁵

Agriculture was the leading form of economic activity in Sasanian Iran as well. The bulk of the population lived in the country and made their living by cultivating the soil as free or dependent farmers. It was in arable land that the ‘elite’ invested and reinvested their financial resources, and aside from noble descent, the keys to their social prestige and political ambitions were large landed estates and a great number of retainers. As for the king, his treasuries drew much more on rural than on urban taxes, and even recruits for his army came mainly from the country. ⁶ In spite of her great size and small population, Persian grew grains enough for their own need, for the greater part of the country was uncultivated, owing to the shortage of water. As there was no rain falls in summer, so most of the villages were situated near some range of hills or rivers. ⁷ The gap between the wealthy landowners and the farmers, many of them perhaps tenant farmers, was considerable, and by the 6^th century reached a point where Khosrow-I had to take countermeasures to stop the imbalance between rich and poor farmers and created the class of the dehkanan, independent landowners who provided a strong enough class to curb the power of the landed aristocracy. ⁸ Across the empire, some people worked for the kings and nobles, farming the fields of the rich. Others owned small plots of land. Some farmers rented plots from the richer landowners. On the steppe, nomadic herders raised livestock and traveled with their flocks as they searched for food. ⁹

Other Industries

Industry was poorly developed in Persia during the Achaemenid period; Persia was content to let the nations of the Near East practice the handicrafts while it bought their product with their imperial tribute. Persian industry showed improvement in the field of communications and transport. ¹⁰ The main industry which played a vital role in the economy of the Persian Empire was the silk industry. Silk first came from India by sea. The overland routes by central Asia, where regular transit was maintained by the Sogdians, put Persia, and so the Roman Empire, in communication with China, whence silk was also obtained direct. Chinese, for their part, prized the valuable Persian eyebrow-dye, and imported it for the use of Empress. Babylonian carpets were in great demand in the land of the great wall. The precious stones of Syria, the corals and pearls of the Red Sea and the textiles of Egypt were conveyed to China by caravan, along the southern edge of the desert of Gobi.

Silk was produced on Khuzestan and it was produced in large quantities which were sufficient to supply to entire Persia and also provided a balance for export to Mesopotamia and further western Empires. There is for example evidence that the silk fabrics which were used in Egypt in the 4^th century B.C. were made in Persia in the province of Khuzestan, which was then, as now, the most highly industrialized part of Persia. ¹¹

Other Jobs

Government workers called kurtash worked both unskilled and skilled jobs. They helped construct government buildings in Persepolis and other Persian capitals. They also built the roads that helped soldiers and goods move around the empire. The most skilled kurtash made goods and jewelry out of gold and silver. The Persepolis Fortification Tablets show that skilled workers received the highest rations of food. At times they also received silver coins. The kurtash included women and children. Women sometimes led groups of other women in carrying out their various duties.

Jobs in the empire included making weapons, armor, and a variety of tools for farming or construction. Artisans also made vases, mirrors, and other items that were traded across the empire. Some Persians worked at the kings’ huge warehouses, where supplies and food were stored for soldiers. The empire also had small factories that produced dishes and other goods for the royal family.

A large number of people worked for the king and attended to his lavish lifestyle. Greek records show that while traveling to fight Alexander the Great, Darius-III had almost 300 cooks, more than 300 musicians, and 70 people whose job was to filter wine. Heraclides (4^th century B.C.), a Greek writer, described how the Great King’s waiters prepared to serve him: ‘They . . . first bathed themselves and then served in white clothes, and spend nearly half the day on preparations for the dinner.’ Some jobs in trade and manufacturing were not tied to the government. Banking was carried out privately, and some craftsmen made goods that they traded for food or other items with their neighbors. Herodotus claimed the Persians did not have open-air markets, as the Greeks did. ¹²

Government Revenue

The main sources of the revenue were taxes (sometimes forced), trade and the gifts or tributes given to Kings, to gain their trust and showing loyalty. Revenues of all sorts poured into the satrapal capitals and from there to the king. The organizational elements were attributed to Darius-I, but even if he reformed the system, there was certainly tribute collected by his predecessors. Tribute also included additional elements such as troop levies and what we would term taxes: payments from royal holdings (granaries, fisheries and mines) either in kind or in coin, for the maintenance of government officials. ¹³ According to list given by Herodotus, the total amount raised annually from the 20 provinces (including the Indian contribution paid in gold-dust) by the regular taxation was 14,560 Euboic talents or in round numbers about 3.5 million pounds sterling. The heaviest contribution was the gold-dust of India valued at 4680 talents; after this the largest contribution was made by the province of Assyria and Babylon (1000 talents); the next largest was the Egypt and other African domains; the four satrapies of Asia minor paid 1760 talents; the fifth satrapy (Phoenicia, Syria and Cyprus) 350 talents, Bactria 360, Susiana 300, some of the largest but much less thickly populated provinces paid considerably less than these sums; the seventh satrapy with its contribution of 170 talents paying at least. The proceeds of this taxation were forwarded annually by the satraps to Susa, where the surplus that remained, after defraying the annual outgoings, accumulated in the king’s treasury as a reserved fund. The reserve fund grew to be considerable later on, and Darius-III drew on it heavily to finance the war with Alexander the Great. According to Herodotus, during the reign of Darius, the entire income of the state was valued at about 165 million dollars, equal to eight times that sum at the present rate of estimating the worth of money. ¹⁴ Additions to the revenue were furnished by the income from the Royal domain and the royalties payable to the king, which amounted to a considerable sum every year. These royalties were derived from the mines, etc. among which must be made of the gold mine of Pharangion. Booty obtained in the course of the numerous wars formed an irregular revenue which at times amounted to considerable sums of cash, large quantities of jewelry and commodities and even slaves. The customs duties were also another item of revenue which was paid into the Royal Exchequer. ¹⁵

Taxation

Taxation in ancient Persia was increased or decreased according to the wish of king and his officials. The inhabitants of Persia, the home district or satrapy of the king, were exempted from the proper taxation because of their power which was only used against poor inhabitants. Instead, they bought the best of their possessions as a gift to their king on festival days to win his illegal support to run their illegitimate businesses. In return for this, he distributed rich presents to those Persian men and women and the women of Pasargadae, who were members of the king’s tribe, each received a piece of gold. The other satrapies, which for the most part had been added to the king’s dominions by conquest, each had to contribute certain taxes to the state. Before the time of Darius there was no system of equitable taxation based on the fertility of the soil or its produce and each province of the empire had to contribute a certain sum which was fixed without any regard being paid as to whether it was able to do so or not. Herodotus writes that in the reign of Cyrus and Cambyses and after him there was no fixed tribute, but payment was made in gifts. ¹⁶

Darius was the first Persian king who imposed proper taxes, before him the kings used to collect tax in the form of tribute. The use of the word ‘tribute’ implied that the payment of an amount of valuables (in specie or in kind), which was imposed on a subjected area or nation by a higher sovereign. Ancient empires, such as the Achaemenid, the Seleucid, and the Roman, were commonly described as tributary empires. Yet, primary sources demonstrate that elaborate elements such as systematic and regular taxation with a specified tax basis existed. The pertinent ancient sources did not distinguish between tax and tribute. The Old Persian term used for ‘tax/tribute’ was bāji, in Elamite, baziš, which basically refers something like the king’s share. ¹⁷

The king Darius, divided his empire into 20 satraps, and an important function of the satrap, in association with his administrative and military supremacy, contributed greatly to his power and facilitated later the tendency on the part of satraps to independences, was the control of finance. As there were satraps and satrapies before Darius, the conquered countries contributed tribute or taxes to the states. ¹⁸ The state received a proportion of the produce which was fixed according to the richness of the soil and ranged from one-tenth to as much as one-half. Furthermore, the crops could not be reaped or the fruit could not be collected until the tax-collector counted the produce and was ready to take the share due to the state. According to Herodotus, most countries paid the tax in solid gold coins or in gold or silver dust. Most countries paid a special tribute in kind, according to their respective staple produces. Some paid the tax in horses, mules, sheep, grain, ivory and slaves etc. The richest of all the provinces were Assyria and Babylonia which paid the largest sum, even more than Egypt and Libya. Only Persia which was the Royal province, was exempted from all taxes and discharged its obligations to the head of state in military and civil service. ¹⁹ Vegetables, sesame seed, cucumbers and cotton were not taxed, probably because they were mainly grown for the consumption of the owner himself and his household. Other untaxed crops were date palms, since it was assumed that every passerby would help himself to their fruit. ²⁰ During the Parthian Empire, the kings inherited the tradition of the Old Persian kings, and that the system of taxation remained much the same as it was in the time of Achaemenians. The system of taxation during the early Sassanian period was divided into two main categories, namely, the land-tax and the personal or poll-tax. The land tax was called ‘Kharagh’ and the personal tax called ‘Gesith’. The annual amount of the poll-tax was fixed once and for all. This tax may have origin in the cash payments levied by the Achaemenians and its development into a fixed annual payment may have been influenced largely by the tribute in cash paid by the Greeks and Jews residing within the Parthian Empire. The land-tax was based on an assessment of the produce, each district or locality paid from one-sixth to one-third of the produce according to the productivity of the land and its proximity to the town. This system continued until Khosrau-I who introduced the new system which remained in force for the number of centuries. In this new system a fixed amount, payable either in cash or in kind, was substituted for the fluctuating tax hitherto in force.

Indirect Taxes

Besides these taxes, some other types of indirect taxes were also imposed. In the Achaemenid period a sales tax on slaves was added. Taxes on the transport of goods were raised at city gates (muṣu tax) as well as at bridges (miksu tax) and harbors (karu tax). They consisted of a percentage of the transported goods. The few quantifiable data suggest that one-thirtieth of the value of the cargo was charged. These taxes were most often paid in silver, only rarely in kind; and it seems that the officials, who at least in the Hellenistic period were tax farmers, preferred silver payments. A payment for irrigation rights from canals was owed to the proprietor of the land, including temples, private persons, and the crown. It is not certain whether there was a general water tax payable to the royal administration. If so, it may have served the maintenance of the irrigation system. ²¹

These regular taxes were not the only burdens which the people had to bear. They also had to give customary gifts called ayin, and compulsory presents which were given at the equinoctial festivals called Nowroz and Mihragan. ²²

Trade

Merchants moved a variety of goods within the empire. Many of these traders were Babylonian, since they were centrally located. Workers in Asia Minor mined iron, copper, tin, and silver. From Egypt came gold and ivory, while Phoenician winemakers provided the Persians with wine. Foreign trade went on with India and Greece. Gold from distant Siberia, in what is now Russia, seems to have reached Persia. Buying and selling goods, especially overseas, became easier with the silver and gold coins Darius introduced. He also set up a standard system of weights and measures, so people always knew the exact amount of the goods they bought and sold. ²³

The ancient Persian Empire traded with countries far and wide. However, contact between the Parthian empire and China was only established at the end of the 2nd century B.C., following the visit of the Chinese general of the emperor Wu. Commerce and industry grew during this period and the first trade relation between China and Persia were established during the period of the Arsadis, which is called by the Chinese An-Sih. For both empires, the desire was for luxury. Goods proved an expanding basis for commercial exchange, and even included Parthia’s enemy Rome in commercial exchanges. The most important items were steel and silk, the production of which remained a secret that only became known in the West after A.D. 551. Silk was the most luxurious textile and in strong demand by kings and the aristocracy of both Parthia and Rome. ²⁴

The trade in the Parthian empire, especially long-distance trade, in which Parthians or individuals acting on their behalf controlled the exchange of goods by land from west to east and vice-versa. Seeing that their eastern trade depended on Parthian middlemen, and also that transport by sea was considerably cheaper, the Romans, for their part, tried to choose the sea-route for their contacts with Arabia and India. For a number of reasons, however, maritime trade never completely supplanted overland trade. Apart from the route from Syria over Mesopotamia and Iran to China (the ‘Silk Road’), a significant part was also played by the combined land-and-sea trade, leading from Syria to southern Mesopotamia (Messene) and from there by sea to India (and also overland further east). For this route, the inhabitants of Palmyra in Syria were the ‘middlemen’, transporting goods between Syria and Messene as transit traders. Although their success entirely depended on friendly relations between the Roman and Arsacid empires, these two great powers must have been sufficiently interested in such contacts to allow the Palmyrans to exercise their activity for a long time and in relative peace. ²⁵ When the Sasanians came to power in A.D. 224 the overland routes of the Silk Road had long been established. Silk remained the most important Chinese export, valued by the Sasanian as well as the Roman aristocracy.

Part of the trade was conducted by sea, leading from the Euphrates into the Persian Gulf, along the coast of the Arabian Peninsula to Oman and Yemen, and eastward along the coast to the River Indus and even reaching as far as Sri Lanka. From Yemen and Oman Persian ships carried myrrh and frankincense, and from the east the Persians imported spices, perfumes and wild animals. Apart from silk, the most sought-after luxury items of the Sasanian aristocratic classes were pearls, which were worn as jewelry, but also used to embroider fabrics for their elaborate dresses and costumes. Trade relations between Sasanid Persia and Rome played an important role in the political and diplomatic exchanges between the two empires. ²⁶

Money

Initially metals, oxen, and sheep were used as currency in Ancient Persia. Later on, when the Persians conquered Lydia in the middle of the 6^th century B.C., they adopted the idea of coinage

from the conquered Lydians and facilitated its further expansion. ²⁷

The ancient coins of the Persian Empire were divisible into three classes. The earliest of them is of the dynasty of the Cyrus, which began B.C. 560, and ended with Darius-III, B.C. 331, by the conquest of Alexander of Macedon. ²⁸ Darius was the first Persian king who struck coins. Darius struck two kind of coins, the one, a daric of gold, equal to a 1 pound, the other, a siglio which was equal to a shilling.b ²⁹ Gold and silver coins were minted and used mainly for military, political, and administrative purposes, while copper and other precious metal coins were used for various economic and commercial activities. While gold was rare, and gold coins (darics) could be coined only by the Great King, silver and other coins could be minted by satraps for payment to soldiers and mercenaries and for commercial and public management purposes. ³⁰ These coins were called Darics because of Darius.

The second series commenced with the Greek Domination. In the partition of the vast conquests of Alexander, Syria, Persia and Bactria constituted one empire, under Seleucus, a Greek general. But at the end of the half century, Persia was erected into a separate monarchy by Arsaces, founder of the dynasty of Arsacidae, which lasted from B.C. 256 to A.D. 223. The coins of this class bore inscription in Greek. The rule of the Greek was overthrown by Ardeshir, or Artaxerxes, a Persia, A.D. 223-226.

The coins of the third division were in the ancient Persian or Pahlavi character and the language, which, along with the worship of fire, were diligently restored by this native dynasty. ³¹ The Sassanian series of coins form a sort of continuation of that of the Aesacidnae. On the coins of the Sassanidae, Greek inscriptions entirely disappeared and the characters varied in different provinces and even on the coin of the same king. The weight of the Sassanian gold coins was the same as that of the Roman aureus which was made of silver and the Attic drachma. The cause was the Persians saw that coins were made from silver; hence, they followed that practice. Later on, the Roman style was followed in the new coinage of that metal as the Roman influence predominated over the Greeks in time of Sassanids. There were several varieties of inscriptions on the coins of the Sapor, but all were of same characters. Proeopius has stated that, although the Persian kings placed their effigies on their silver coinage, they did not venture to assume that prerogative on the gold. On the coins of the Sapor-I, the ornamental heads-dress appears evidently intended to represent a celestial globe. The crescent also appears afterwards on the variously-shaped crowns of his successors, sometime with or sometime without the stars. On the reverses of some of Sapor’s coins, two figures guard the alter-wearing the loose trousers and short frock still common in many parts of east. ³²

Persian coins were struck by the hammer process. First, the metal was prepared in the long bars. Then these bars were on a kind of anvil. A piece of the requisite weight and thickness was cut off and upon this the die was fixed and struck with the hammer, the process was so negligently conducted that sometimes the only edge of the coin was pressed. ³³

Economic Reforms of Darius

Darius’s economic reforms were wide in scope and included the three sectors of government corporations or state enterprises, private sector (both urban and rural), and public sector. All three sectors flourished under his economic reforms, reinforcing each other. Although the feudal aristocracy dominated, commercial and mercantilist economy prospered. The economic reform also included the major tax reforms with fiscal and monetary reforms as its backbone, affecting the tax structure, public finance, the price system, and the banking and financial institutions throughout the united state of the empire. For the first time in the ancient world a fixed taxation was administered and stabilized, and the weights and measures were standardized with great details and specifications. Lands were carefully surveyed and various taxes—individual, collective, property, import-export, and excise— were collected, as well as a wide range of other taxes and tributes. These included municipal and public enterprise taxes, tolls on major roads and waterways, taxes on harbors and marketplaces, animal taxes, property taxes, and the like. In addition to various taxes, tributes were fixed on conquered peoples, except Persians. The monetary policy of the state also affected the price and interest rate systems and, along with other financial measures, stabilized the flourishing economy. The monetary reform included an established universal coinage system, which along with the increasing urbanization, promoted a monetary economy, replacing the barter system to a great extent. ³⁴

Banking and Finance

In Babylonia, banking had deep roots even before it came under Persian rule. Records uncovered in the city of Nippur describe one successful family during the reign of the Achaemenids. The founder of the Murashu family was born about 500 B.C., and he, his sons, and grandsons made a fortune as bankers. They loaned silver coins to local residents so that they could pay taxes to the Kings. The taxpayers repaid the loans with interest, a fee paid for the right to borrow money. ³⁵

The two most famous banking houses Egibi and Marashu operated in Babylon. They were contracted out by the state for tax collection and financial management. Despite the prosperous and stabilized economy, the peasantry throughout the empire experienced hardship, for they paid the heavy price of taxation and supply of labor. The urban working class shared that hardship too, but they had the advantage of mobility, whereas the peasantry was mostly confined to the land under the aristocratic nobility, who both suppressed and protected the peasantry. Taxes of all kinds were collected with efficiency, and pay for services were a common financial management practice, particularly in urban areas. ³⁶

Like other civilizations, the problems of the Persian Empire were corruption, forced taxation, inequality. Moreover, the economic system was made only to ensure that the elites benefited from it and became richer while the poor remained submissive and became poorer. Hence the economic system rarely contributed anything positive for the welfare of the ancient Persian society.

¹ Encyclopedia Iranica (Online Version): http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/economy-iii Retrieved: 06-03-2019.
² Kristin Kleber (2015), Taxation in the Achaemenid Empire, Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K., Pg. 5.
³ Will Durant (1942), The Story of Civilization, Simon and Schuster Inc., New York, USA. Pg. 357.
⁴ Encyclopedia Iranica (Online Version): http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/economy-iii Retrieved: 06-03-2019.
⁵ Maria Brosius (2006), The Persians: An Introduction, Routledge, New York, USA, Pg. 122.
⁶ Josef Wieshofer (2001), Ancient Persia from 550 B.C. to 650 A.D. (Translated by Aziz Ehazodi), I.B. Tauris, London, U.K., Pg. 191.
⁷ H. F. Haig (1923), Peeps at Many Lands Persia, A. C. Black, Ltd., London, U.K., Pg. 81.
⁸ Maria Brosius (2006), The Persians: An Introduction, Routledge, New York, USA, Pg. 184.
⁹ Michael Burgan (2010), Empires of Ancient Persia, Chelsea House Publishers, New York, USA, Pg. 93-94.
¹⁰ Will Durant (1942), The Story of Civilization, Simon and Schuster Inc., New York, USA, Part 1, Pg. 358.
¹¹ Mostafa Khan Fateh (1928), Bulletin of the Oriental Studies: Taxation in Persia: An early Synopsis from the Early Time to the Conquest of Mongols, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., Pg. 724.
¹² Michael Burgan (2010), Empires of Ancient Persia, Chelsea House Publishers, New York, USA, Pg. 96-97.
¹³ Matt Waters (2014), Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire, 550–330 B.C., Cambridge University Press, New York, USA, Pg. 99.
¹⁴ Zenaide A. Ragozen (1888), The Story of Media, Babylonia and Persia, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, USA, Pg. 387.
¹⁵ Mostafa Khan Fateh (1928), Bulletin of the Oriental Studies: Taxation in Persia: An early Synopsis from the Early Time to the Conquest of Mongols, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., Pg. 731.
¹⁶ Ibid, Pg. 725.
¹⁷ Kristin Kleber (2015), Taxation in the Achaemenid Empire, Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K., Pg. 2.
¹⁸ J. B. Bury, S.A. Cook and F. E. Adcock (1926), The Cambridge Ancient History, Cambridge University Press, London, U.K., Pg. 199.
¹⁹ Zenaide A. Ragozen (1888), The Story of Media, Babylonia and Persia, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, USA, Pg. 387.
²⁰ Josef Wieshofer (2001), Ancient Persia from 550 B.C. To 650 A.D. (Translated by Aziz Ehazodi), I. B. Tauris, London, U.K., Pg. 192.
²¹ Kristin Kleber (2015), Taxation in the Achaemenid Empire, Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K., Pg. 2.
²² Clement Huart (1927), Ancient Persia and Iranian Civilization, Kegan Paul, London, U.K., Pg. 158.
²³ Michael Burgan (2010), Empires of Ancient Persia, Chelsea House Publishers, New York, USA, Pg. 96-97.
²⁴ Maria Brosius (2006), The Persians: An Introduction, Routledge, New York, USA, Pg. 123.
²⁵ Josef Wieshofer (2001), Ancient Persia from 550 BC. To 650 AD. (Translated by; Aziz Ehazodi), I. B. Tauris, London, U.K., Pg. 146.
²⁶ Maria Brosius (2006), The Persians: An Introduction, Routledge, New York, USA, Pg. 168.
²⁷ Benjamen Geva (1987), Osgoode Hall Law Journal: From Commodity to Currency in Ancient History, On Commerce, Tyranny, and the Modern Law of Money, York University, Ontario, Canada, Vol. 25, No. 1, Pg. 125-132.
²⁸ Jacob R. Eckfeldt and William E. Dubois (1852), New Varieties of the Gold and Silver Coins, George Putnam, New York, USA, Pg. 65.
²⁹ Maneck Pithawalla (1923), The Light of Ancient Persia, Theosophical Publishing House, Madras, India, Pg. 162.
³⁰ Ali Farazmand (2001), Handbook of Comparative and Development Public Administration, Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York, USA, Pg. 52.
³¹ Jacob R. Eckfeldt and William E. Dubois (1852), New Varieties of the Gold and Silver Coins, George Putnam, New York, USA, Pg. 65.
³² Henry Noel Humphreys (1851), Ancient Coins and Medals, Grant and Griffith, London, U.K., Pg. 90-92.
³³ John Peggot (1874), Persia-Ancient and Modern, Henry King & Co. London, U.K., Pg. 218.
³⁴ Ali Farazmand (2001), Handbook of Comparative and Development Public Administration, Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, USA, Pg. 52.
³⁵ Michael Burgan (2010), Empires of Ancient Persia, Chelsea House Publishers, New York, USA, Pg. 96.
³⁶ Ali Farazmand (2001), Handbook of Comparative and Development Public Administration, Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, USA, Pg. 52.