"Finance in the Sasanian State (224–651 AD) and Its Role in Internal Crises"

Abstract

Because money is one of the components of the establishment and prosperity of states, the Sassanians were interested in organizing the financial affairs of their state in the best way, and this task was undertaken by specialized departments and institutions, and to give a clear picture of these institutions, the nature of their work and their administrative staff, the research specialized in studying the state’s financial resources, and the departments that were responsible for controlling them. A number of offices were enumerated that were concerned with the affairs of movable and immovable funds, then the Sassanian monetary system was studied by addressing the types and weights of money, the impact of political and religious developments on the monetary system, the role of multiplication, the administrative apparatus of financial institutions, and research into the state’s revenues that were distributed among taxes. Of all kinds, war fines, minerals, spoils of war, gifts presented to kings, trade and customs duties, then studying aspects of government spending, especially the salaries of state employees, public projects and services, military spending and royal court expenses, and the gifts and grants that the Sassanid kings provided to the private and public.