Pages: 425-432 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp264425432

The article examines how sable pelts may have reached Sasanian Iran. The Great Kings Ardashir II and Yazdegerd II are known to have presented such furs to Armenian noblemen. The author argues that the Persians obtained this commodity chiefly from Khwarezm. First, the activity of Khwarezmian merchants in the Kama region, where fur-bearing animals were hunted, is confirmed by finds of coins and silverware. Second, the Chinese chronicles Hou Hanshu and Weilüe (2nd and 3rd centuries) refer, directly or indirectly, to the existence of the fur trade north of the Aral Sea. The nomads living near its shores may have played an important role in establishing commercial contacts between Khwarezm and the Kama region.

Keywords: fur trade, Sasanian Iran, Khwarezm, Ancient Armenia

Information about author:

Andrey Nazarov (Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Ural State Forest Engineering University. Siberian Highway, 37, Yekaterinburg, 620100, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0001-8519-9191