The Concept of 'pd Legend on the Drachms of Xusraw II

'pd is one of the Sasanian coin legends with different suggestions on its meaning, reason, and concept. Today, most numismatists and historians believe that this legend is the transliteration of abd , which means wonderful, and its inclusion on the drachms of Xusraw II, abarwēz, is related to his conquests in battle with the Byzantine Empire. However, all efforts to understand the concept of this legend have been unsuccessful. Contrary to the opinions that have examined the minting of this legend from an economic perspective, in this article, attention has been paid to this issue from the point of view of legitimization. It seems that the reading of a recently-found letter belonging to the period of Xusraw II can be the key to understanding the concept of legend. According to the content of this letter, 'pd can be read as the first part of the descriptive compound abd-gund , meaning [having] the marvelous army, which is mentioned in this letter as a title for Xusraw II and is the only textual evidence of the use of this legitimizing title for him.