RESOURCESistrative usage. Part III of the Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum (Lon-
don, 1955 onward) is devoted to Pahlavi inscriptions and contains
photographic plates of the inscriptions, ostraca, papyri, and some coins
and seals with short introductions that identify some of the published
editions and literature. E. Herzfeld's Paikuli, Monument and Inscrip-
tion of the Early History of the Sasanian Empire (Berlin, 1924) has
very useful notes that range much further than the inscription itself.
R. N. Frye's "Remarks on the Paikuli and Sar Mashad Inscriptions,"
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 20 (1957): 702-9, should also be
consulted, as well as V. Papp and H. Humbach, "Die Paikuli-Inschrift
im Jahr 1971," Baghdader Mitteilungen 6 (1973): 99-109. There are
also articles by Frye on "The Middle Persian Inscription of Kartir at
Naqs-i Rajab," in the Indo-IranianJournal8 (1964-65): 211-25, and
"The Persepolis Middle Persian Inscription from the Time of Shapur
11," in J. P. Asmussen and J. Laess0e, eds., Iranian Studies, Presented
to Kaj Barr (Copenhagen, 1966), pp. 83-94. For the importance and
use of inscriptions as historical sources, see Frye's "History and Sa-
sanian Inscriptions," in La Persia nel Medioevo, pp. 215-24.
Seals.
Seals and seal impressions (bullae) are more important than inscrip-
tions as artifacts and primary sources for the late Sasanian period.
Private seals contain images and symbolic devices, sometimes with the
owner's name; administrative seals contain inscriptions which identify
officials with their administrative jurisdictions. As historical evidence,
bullae are more significant than the seals themselves because they are
proof that those seals were used and give some indication of how they
were used. The images on seals are important for Sasanian art history,
although the significance of certain images is still debated. The in-
scriptions are invaluable contemporary evidence for the development
of Pahlavi orthography and usage, especially in the late Sasanian pe-
riod. The local background for the use of seals and a basis for com-
parison are provided by M. Gibson and R. D. Biggs in Seals and Sealing
in the Ancient Near East (Malibu, 1977).
A great many Sasanian seals in museums and private collections
have been published in illustrated catalogues. P. Horn's "Sasanidische
Gemmen aus dem British Museum," ZDMG 44 (1890): 650-78, gives
a brief description of 149 seals, their motifs, and the personal names
inscribed on them. The seals in the Berlin Museum were published by
P. Horn and G. Steindorff in Sassanidische Siegelsteine (Konigliche