Ephesus - With thanks to D.Osseman © D.Osseman

PHOENICIA, Sidon. 'Abd'ashtart I. Circa 372-358 BC. AR Double Shekel (27.89 gm; 30 mm). War galley to left over waves / King of Persia and driver in chariot left; Egyptian attendant behind; Phoenician "AB" above. Betlyon 23; BMC Phoenicia pg. 145, 29. Several natural flan cracks resulting from the hammer blow. Very good metal. Courtesy Parscoins.
PCW-G1284-PHOENICIA, Tyre. Circa 377-357 BC. AR half-shekel (3.14 gm; 17 x 14 mm). Melkart riding hippocamp right, holding reins and bow; below, double line of waves and dolphin right / Owl standing right, crook and flail over left shoulder. SNG Cop. 302; BMC Courtesy Parscoins
PCW-G1787-PHOENICIA, Tyre. Circa 377-357 BC. AR 1/4 Shekel (3.39 gm; 14 mm). Deity riding hippocamp right, holding bow in extended right hand; waves below; below waves, dolphin right / Owl standing right, head facing; crook and flail in background. Cf. Betlyon 18 (shekel); Rouvier 1789; SNG Copenhagen 302 and 304; BMC -. Very rare denomination. Courtesy Parscoins
PCW-G1759-PHOENICIA, Byblos. Azbaal. Circa 350-333 BC. AR Dishekel (13.18 gm; 24 mm). War galley left with lion head prow, zigzag row of waves below, three hoplites with round shields within; hippocamp left above murex; NO between hippocamp and galley / Lion attacking bull to left. Dewing 2662; SNG Fitzwilliam 6028. Courtesy Parscoins
 
  Xerxes I in youth witnessed from afar Asia Minor’s Greeks aided by Athens and Sparta, successfully pinning Persian troops to Sardis and sacking this city representing Persian control. His uncle, satrap Artaphernes (page7) valiantly held position till succour arrived. Pursuing success the Greeks turned toward Cyprus, a pivotal maritime sentinel guarding fleet movements navigating West. Its loss to the Achaemenids was unacceptable. Persia’s navy prevailed regardless Ionian sea victories against the Phoenicians. Thereon liberated positions in Ionia fell to the overpowering satraps: Hymaees, Otanes (page7), Daurises and the said Artaphernes. The former died in a Carian ambush along with four Persian generals. Hymaees died of an illness while fighting in the region of Troy. Such events became known as the Ionian Revolt 499 - 494 B.C., a desperate reaching for democracy, fetching instead, mass enslavement and cultural defacement. In sum it would seem Ionians misunderstood Persia’s sheer size of might or its power to rapidly muster considerable forces both on land and sea. Darius' troops massacred Ionians and their allies at Ephesus in 498 on land and at Lade in 494 by sea, thus ending not the war, but at least eliminating foreign participation . Herodotus hints one of the mischief makers behind this uprising remained Megabatos (below), an energetic satrap of many shades. Darius levelled a sour eye towards mainland Greece and Sparta. The father of Xerxes no longer asked: “Who are the Athenians ?”  
  Daiva Inscription - Xerxes: “By grace of Ahura-Mazda I rule the Yaunâ (the Ionians), those dwelling this side of the sea and those across the sea”.  
  After the Ionian revolt Athenian and Ionian shipping were barred from the Black Sea’s vital grain-route. Artaphernes held a cadastral survey of Ionia towards tax impositions to better regulate these. He besides politically reorganized Ionia. Sent in 492 to succeed him in Ionia, Mardonius, deposed tyrants and restored past democracies, an unusual inspiration for the times. Later in his career when Athenians wisely deserted their city before the Battle of Salamis, Mardonius seized the opportunity to torch the city. He had become satrap of Greek areas subservient to Persia, (Boetia and Delphi for example). Mardonius appeared at every battlefront, Marathon, Thermopylae, and eventually Plataea where he died in battle. A story addressed falsely or justly, accused him of aspiring to the summit of a new satrapy: Greece.  
 
 
 
 
  Upon the demise of Darius 486 B.C., empire expansion ceased. Difficulties arose for the Achaemenids. Xerxes I, his son, the next ruler by divine right under “the favour of Ahura-Mazda”, set full priority to a powerful rebellion throughout the sixth satrapy, Egypt, departing for campaign his second year of reign. As principal advisor he had his uncle Artabanos, Bactria’s satrap.(“Artabanos” later became a name for numerous Parthian kings). Restoring Achaemenid control (483), Egypt’s grains welled once again over the empire as did her yearly tribute, seven hundred talents (about twenty tons of silver) which did not include corn supplies feeding 120,000 stationed Persian troops. *22 The cities of Cyrene and Barca along with Libya further enlarged this satrapy. Previously under Cambyses II ruling 530 to 522, the satrapy included Cyprus and Phoenicia (see the fifth satrapy below).  
 
 
 
 
  Cambyses II son of Cyrus the Great, formerly antagonized the powerful Egyptian priesthood, confiscating their wealth, cancelling income and sacrilegious usage of temples occurred.*23 Satrap Aryandes (Aruandês), residing in Memphis alike all Egypt’s satraps, was once appointed through Cambyses then apparently executed by Darius. He seemingly bypassed Persian coin laws, (there exists no proof of this) melting darics bearing the royal image — a matter of high treason — and trading off bullion at massive profit. (Darics see pg 4) Herodotus claimed having seen in Egypt the purest silver issues minted by Aryandes but unfortunately no “Aryandics” ever emerged for our examination. From Byblos Phoenicia silver drachms bearing a Giza type sphinx estimated about circa 500-497 B.C. may represent that which to Herodotus referred but this merely becomes another supposition in an effort to carefully follow the historian’s footsteps such as pondering Xerxes’ canal below, thought a fabulist’s extravaganza. Aryandes, regardless proving a quarter century of loyalty both to Egypt and the Achaemenids, topped by admirable achievements, was replaced by Pherendates. The former’s execution by Darius remains unclear regardless the above coin issue Herodotus explicated, were it correct interpretation of events

Far-sighted Aryandes was probably the influence in shadow behind Darius’ reconstruction (or 497 B.C. completion, according to Herodotus) of the ambitious 150 foot wide canal Pharaoh Wehemibre Necho II (610 B.C. - 595 B.C) built or planned, linking the Nile with the Gulf of Suez. A precursor of Suez Canal it serviced one of the silk routes (map pg. 9) following through northern India, ending at Cairo and Alexandria.
 
Darius Inscription - Darius: “I commanded this canal dug in Egypt from the Nile River to the sea of Persia. Once the canal had been dug as I commanded, ships sailed from Egypt through this canal to Persia, as I intended.”
 

Heavily burdened under taxation Egypt again whisked her flail in 460 B.C. killing off two further satraps, the above Pherendates and a successor Achaemenes (Haxāmaniš) brother of Xerxes. This second uprising brought down Achaemenid rule then under Artaxerxes I son of Xerxes. Egypt had drawn in Athens. The Greeks sailed forth upon a fleet of 200 warships reaching and capturing ancient Memphis, later recovered by Syria’s satrap Xerxes’ brother-in-law Megabyzus (Bagabuxša) in 454, alongside Artabazos (Artavazdâ?) Phrygia’s satrap dominating a princially Greek population.*24 The land of Horus briefly enjoyed freedom until Achaemenid control resumed position in 455. Ctesias of Caria related certain Egyptians were executed in punishment persuant to the revolt regardless the word of honour given by satrap Megabyzus. Apparently for this reason the satrap revolted, opposing his king whose armies he twice defeated. A peace embassy arrived and eventually the satrap returned to his tenure in Syria.

In the wake of Egyptian events Artabazos above, related to Darius I, son of satrap Pharnuchus (page7) followed throughout Xerxes’ invasion of Greece witnessing Persian defeat at the Battle of Plataea (479 B.C.). He guarded his king’s exit from Europe leading an army 60,000 strong whilst the king’s satraps remained behind guarding Thessaly and Macedonia. Artabazos then returned to extinguish revolts threatening Potidaea, and Olynthus Thrace where he massacred a majority of the inhabitants, repopulating it with neighbouring Chaldidice Greeks. It would not be until 499 Athens and Persia buried the Persian Wars. Artabazos’ grandson Pharnuchus (also written Pharnaka *26), equally a satrap of Phrygia, witnessed the Peloponnesian War, 431 B.C. Xerxes’ brothers Ariabignes and Masistes were appointed satraps of Ionia and Bactria respectively. Before ruling the empire, during twelve years Xerxes once exercised authority himself (likely as satrap) over Babylon. Following Egypt’s revolt Babylon rebelled in turn killing their satrap Zopyrus in 482, presumed father of above Megabyzus. Xerxes ruthlessly squashed this insurrection, toppling the city’s fortifications, melting down their ancient gold statues of faith and pitching Babylon into the Assyrian satrapy, (see page 6). Judaea had been a part of the Babylonian satrapy but was next placed into the satrapy named “beyond the River” — Abar naharâ — formed as well with Phoenicia and today’s Syria.

 
   
 

Cambyses unsuccessfully prepared a campaign, challenging Carthage, but no Phoenician navy would sail against a Tyrian colony. The king they left adrift in the doldrums since Persia possessed no sea power.. Under his rule, Phoenicia, Israel, Syria and Cyprus also, formed the fifth satrapy. Phoenicians represented an important structure for Achaemenid control in that they provided ships, naval engineering (for possibly the above mentioned canal), navigators and maritime know-how . Phoenician city-states were thus left unoccupied. Their kings were left in peace. The relationship represented mutual interests between allies. Phoenicia concerned : Byblos, Sidon, Tyre and Ugarit now Ras Sharma, Syria. In Achaemenid times Sidon dominated, supplying Persia an important contingent to assist bridging the Hellespont during the Persian Wars.

Phoenician ships dating to 850 B.C. were found in 1999 by marine archaeologists. An enterprising people, Phoenicians had sailed across the Mediterranean since 1200 B.C. and were first to engineer biremes and keeled hulls thereby allowing navigation of open seas using Polaris as guide rather than hugging coastlines. Typical crook (heka) and flail (nkhakha) Phoenician shekels symbolizing Egyptian god Osiris and the Pharaonic presence graphically reflect essential economics between the two cultures Similarly the Athenian owl was a symbol upon certain satrapial coins. A fifth century Phoenician Byblos issue images Giza's Egyptian sphinx. Interestingly, Achaemenids and Phoenicians were slow to mint coinage though both were extensively involved in trade. (This dampens the theory of coin origins depending upon commerce)

 
  Lasting satrapial families ruled such as the sons of Megabyzus whom we followed under Darius on the previous page and whose descendants continued under Xerxes, such as Megabatos confirmed as satrap of Dascylium according to Thucydides (circa 460-395 B.C.). This would have occured in the 470’s after Oebares (page 7). Herodotus detailed another son, Babares, wed into the Macedonian ruling family, acting as overseer for the construction of Xerxes’ canal south of Macedonia at the Athos peninsula circa 483 B.C. Historians thought this structure to be a slipway (the Greek diolkos). Recent studies however suggest there existed indeed a shallow canal about seventy metres wide, allowing two triremes rowing in parallel. Though unfinished, present research points towards a canal fifteen metres below today’s surface levels. In sum, a signal historical achievement, presumed engineered by Phoenicians. Pharnabazids represented another Persian family. They descended from royal blood through Pharnaces, Persepolis governor and nephew of Darius I. Descendants such as Megabyzus I and II warred in Greece under Darius or Xerxes I, and Artabazos above in Egypt. These family members were frequently chosen as satraps of Anatolia. (see pages 4-5)  
 
 
 
 
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