Iranica Antiqua, vol. XLIV. 200<í doi: U INVESTITURE OR MITHRA. TOWARDS A NEW INTERPRETATION OE SO CALLED INVESTITURE SCENES IN PARTHIAN AND SASANIAN ART BY Barbara KAIM (Institute of Archaeology, Warsaw University) Abstract: It is commonly accepted among scholars that the investiture or corona- tion scenes appear regularly in Parthian and Sasanian art. A key to this interpreta- tion lies is the presence of a ring. Deemed to be a symbol of royal power, the ring is, however, mentioned as the insignia of royal power in no textual sources. A review of the ring involving scenes, provided that the symbol concerned retains its meaning irrespectively of context, permits to believe that the ring should be perceived as a symbolic expression of a contract or covenant {mithra). The noun mithra has a strong ethical tinge and is closely relating to Mithra. the divinity who not only presides over contracts but also warrants their inviolability. Keywords: Parthian and Sasanian periods, rock reliefs, numismatics, glyptic, investiture, mithra. Ten out of twenty eight Sasanian rock reliefs are commonly interpreted as showing a royal investiture (De Waele 1989: 811-823). They depict a deity, either standing or mounted on horseback, presenting a beribboned ring to, and facing, standing or mounted king. The earliest scenes of this kind are on reliefs commissioned by founder of the dynasty, Ardashir I. Two of them portray the king and the deity, both standing and facing each other (Firuzabad I. Naqsh-e Rajab III), while one shows the monarch and the deity, each mounted on horseback (Naqsh-e Rustam I). The date for the reliefs has been subject to a scholarly dispute. W. Hinz contended that the Firuzabad relief is the earliest "investiture" scene of Ardashir I, exe- cuted soon after the king's coronation at Ctesiphon in 226. The relief at Naqsh-e Rajab was considered chronologically the second by the scholar, and followed by the scene carved at Naqsh-e Rustam (Hinz 1969; 123). G. Herrmann shares the view of W. Hinz (Hernnann 1969: 65-74), while W. Lukonin, comparing Ardashir's crowns pictured on coins with those